Here’s a quick recipe to use the delicious strawberries that are starting to show up in stores now that their season is coming around. The actual salad is a no-brainer: mix sliced strawberries and torn spinach leaves. I really love what the tangy sesame balsamic vinaigrette does for the salad, and I think some blue cheese crumbles would be an excellent addition. A number of commenters on the recipe I adapted this from also say slivered almonds or walnuts are great on this salad too.

Spinach & Strawberry Salad

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I made this salad a few weeks ago when I was on my oyster craving kick and am just posting it because I wasn’t totally in love with it. But, cooking comes with successes and failures, so I’m putting it up after all.

Fried Oyster Salad

The salad overall was ok, my issue was with my Gorgonzola vinaigrette–in hindsight, I think a creamy dressing would have paired better with this salad than a vinaigrette. However, I had to make do with what was in my pantry at the time.

I’m currently experimenting with frying batters on different items, and for these oysters I chose a seasoned mix of cornmeal and flour (probably about 50/50). I really liked the texture, flavor, and crunch.
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I apparently have a severe case of bloggers’ block lately. I have a few posts in progress but can’t seem to finish! Here’s a little something I made with my pan-seared duck breast leftovers last week (yes, I realize I haven’t posted that recipe yet, but it’s on the way!)

I sliced up leftover duck breast and reheated them for a minute or so in a skillet. Meanwhile, I found a few random salad fixin’s in my pantry–parmesean, walnuts, and baby greens. I found a recipe for “molasses duck salad” via Emeril and modified his molasses vinaigrette with what I had in my pantry for use on my salad. I’ve never made a salad dressing before, so I was really excited that it came out so fantastic! I’m calling it honey vinaigrette. Recipe to follow.

Duck Breast Salad