Monday, March 1, 2010

Laura's Spinach, Pear, Gorgonzola, Cranberry, Pecan Salad

I know I've mentioned that my beautiful and intelligent (am I gushing too much in Aunty pride) niece Laura is a foodie.  She's taken it one step further and has earned a Bachelors in Health and Nutrition, so you know she's serious about good food and food that's good for you.  What I didn't know that she has this flair for presenting good food beautifully, and she sent me an email with the above photograph suggesting that perhaps I'd like to share this with all of you.  Would I?  Absolutely!

There's no recipe, just some ingredients she threw together. She says... "Today I made spinach, pear, gorgonzola salad with glazed pecans and dried cranberries.  Really delicious!!" 

No recipe.  Just kitchen courageous. (Hey, that would be a great name for a new Food Network TV show.  I always said she'd be a star!) 

41 comments:

  1. Katy, you have the SPRING in that plate! Beautiful!

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  2. LAura sounds super amazing and u can tell her that or am sure u already have....i would love this salad too and when just kitchen courages airs....i'll be right there woot woot'n for a high trp...

    Cheers and happy day to ya n ur sweet niece Laura....

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  3. salad looks colorful katy...and how simple with healthy ingredients,lov it

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  4. That's how you recognize a really talented person - she just "threw some ingedients together" and it comes out as beautiful as this! I'm inclined to think she might have gotten some of her Aunt Katy's style! It's wonderful.
    Susan

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  5. That is such a beautiful salad. People that can just "throw" a dish together amaze me. I have to follow a recipe or I'm lost. But there are people out there that can throw something together and just about make anything taste delicious!! True talent Katy!!!

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  6. Kitchen Courageous! Yes that would be a great name for a Food Network show. That salad looks good. I am getting into salads early this year. For some reason salads just perk you up, especially the one you have posted right now. Thx for sharing.

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  7. Katy, Katy, Katy! That salad soars - it sings! Pears! Pecans! Gorgonozla! Oh my! Kudos to your niece.

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  8. An awesome salad - I love the combination of pears, gorgonzola, cranberries and pecans!

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  9. Just the kind of salad I would LOVE.

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  10. your niece definitely is aesthetically inclined....I wonder where she gets it from :P Great salad!

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  11. Looks like a wonderful salad... I love to eat salad for lunch and eat it almost everyday... thanks for the terrific ingredient ideas.

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  12. That looks like a beautiful salad, with lots of goodies!

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  13. Katy..a beautiful spring like salad but I'll take it anytime..

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  14. Beautiful salad! A perfect way to encourage spring to arrive.
    Mimi

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  15. Katy, this salad looks scrumptious! I love the idea of pears in salad! Yum!

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  16. What a gorgeous salad! A job well done by your niece.

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  17. yum. sometimes those recipes are the best! I lOVE that combination of flavors. So summery.

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  18. You have every reason to be proud of her -- I'm proud of her, too! That salad looks so delicious. I wish I was eating one just like it now. I guess I'll go to bed hungry since I only have dried cranberries. :O)

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  19. Congrats to your niece! I'd love to go to school for that same thing. Someday. What a wonderful yummy salad!

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  20. Healthy and colourful salad...

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  21. Aww, it is so sweet to have a niece and to be so proud of her. She's made a wonderful looking salad there. One I'm sure I'd find simply delicious :-)

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  22. Wow, your niece has done a wonderful job, looks refreshing to me...

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  23. Looks very delicious. This is a wonderful salad.

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  24. Hi Katy,
    I see that you are interested in grandma and mothers recipes, me too! I share my original ligurian recipes in my blog.
    You know, one of these recipes is 2000 years old, it was founded in Roman times! and today in my region, it is still famous and very yummy, it is called FARINATA. There are so many old recipes in Liguria (Italy's region) and methods to prepare them. For example FARINATA was made by roman soldiers to eat quickly and cheaply, they prepared a mix of chickpea flour and water which was cooked on the sun rays reflected from their shields (today, it is cooked on big copper pans). Have a look if you are interested, I write also about beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns for anyone interested in knowing this italian coastal region, famous also for the Cinque Terre.

    Hope we can exchange our links.
    Please let me know.

    http://beautiful-liguria-2.blogspot.com/

    Thanks and have a nice day!
    Ciao
    Anna

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  25. never ever tried this salad kathy..

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  26. I can see you are a proud aunt. All the best to your niece.

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  27. You are such a wonderful aunt. The salad is beautiful. i love all the color.

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  28. It's SPRING already! Na... It's your super spring flavour salad! So yummy... love the additional of pear and pecan.

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  29. Definitely a picture that needed to be shared! It such a beautiful presentation!

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  30. Wow. That salad sounds so good and healthy. Beautiful!

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  31. Katie!! Oh my gosh we are having this identical salad at our wedding!!! Well I Am convincing APB that we need to pick this salad over a plain tossed greens option but isn't that crazy?! This looks so tasty :) Thanks for the recipe!! xx

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  32. What a beautiful and delicious looking salad! She should start a blog!

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  33. Delcious, I'd be happy to have that salad in front of me anytime!

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  34. Salad looks so colorful and refreshing.You have a lovely blog with lot of interesting recipes.Do drop by
    http://padhuskitchen.blogspot.com/ when time permits

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  35. Your niece surely is a health freak. What a scrumptious looking salad!!!!

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  36. I know I gush with a father's pride, but is Laura a natural or what? (Thankfully) We all know that she doesn't get her artistic flare or culinary skills from me seeing that all my taste is in my mouth and I couldn't draw a straight line with a ruler. I suppose it's because you (both) make it all look so easy that I have such a respect for what you can do. The fact that it's "good and good for you" (remember Gram saying that?) is truely a bonus. I am blessed to be surrounded by such talent, skill, and knowledge so close to home.

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  37. Go Laura! Looks and sounds good! Salads are always welcome at our table.
    ~ingrid

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  38. Katy, Thanks very much for your continuous support and your valuable comments for the things we have to share with all our blogger friends..You have been such a nice person..in between this salad just looks gorgeous...Happy Women's Day!!

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  39. Okay, I can attest to the fact that your niece Laura is talented, creative and a good writer. She has spent the week with me here in The Meal Makeover Mom kitchen. We've been testing recipes for our new book due out this fall. It's the week to finish our vegetarian chapter so she has cooked with and eaten a lot of beans! Ask her about that! I wish she could stay with us for several more weeks but I guess she has other things to learn in her internship. Love your blog Katy!

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  40. Woohoo for salad! Thanks for sharing me Aunt Kathi!

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