Dayrecipe Food Community

Makes 10 servings.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4cup red wine vinegar
• 1tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 3/4cup olive oil
• 25-ounce bags mixed baby greens
• 1 1/2cups dried cranberries (about 7 ounces)
• 1small red onion, very thinly sliced
• 1 1/2cups glazed or honey-roasted pecans or walnuts (about 8 ounces)
• 15.5-ounce log soft fresh goat cheese, crumbled (about 1 1/4 cups)

DIRECTIONS Whisk vinegar, mustard, and thyme in small bowl. Gradually whisk in oil. Season dressing with salt and pepper.

Mix greens, cranberries, and onion in large bowl. Mix in enough dressing to coat. Sprinkle with nuts and cheese.

The big bowl and tireless motor of a standing mixer take the heavy work out of preparing these tender brioche loaves.

Makes 3 loaves.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/3cup warm water (105°f to 115°f)
• 1/3cup warm milk (105°f to 115°f)
• 2envelopes dry yeast
• 3 3/4cups all purpose flour
• 2teaspoons salt
• 3large eggs
• 1/4cup sugar
• 1 1/2cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, each stick cut into 4 pieces, room temperature 1egg, beaten to blend with 1 tablespoon water (for glaze)

DIRECTIONS Place 1/3 cup warm water, warm milk, and yeast in bowl of standing heavy-duty mixer; stir until yeast dissolves. Fit mixer with dough hook. Add flour and salt to bowl; mix on low speed just until flour is moistened, about 10 seconds. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl. Beat in 3 eggs on low speed, then add sugar. Increase speed to medium and beat until dough comes together, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add butter, 1 piece at a time, beating until each piece is almost incorporated before adding next (dough will be soft and batter-like). Increase speed to medium-high and beat until dough pulls away from sides of bowl, about 7 minutes.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rise at room temperature until almost doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Lift up dough around edges and allow dough to fall and deflate in bowl. Cover bowl with plastic and chill until dough stops rising, lifting up dough around edges and allowing dough to fall and deflate in bowl every 30 minutes, about 2 hours total. Cover bowl with plastic; chill dough overnight.

Butter and flour three 7 1/2×3 1/2×2-inch loaf pans. Divide dough into 3 equal pieces. Cut each dough piece into 4 equal pieces. Roll each into 3 1/2-inch-long log, forming 12 logs total. Arrange 4 logs crosswise in bottom of each prepared loaf pan. Place loaf pans on baking sheet. Cover pans with waxed paper. Let loaves rise at room temperature until dough almost fills pans, about 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Gently brush top of loaves with egg glaze. Bake until loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped, about 30 minutes. Cool in pans on racks 15 minutes. Turn loaves out onto racks; cool at least 1 hour. (Can be made ahead. Cool completely. Wrap loaves in foil; place in resealable plastic bags and store at room temperature 1 day or freeze up to 1 month. Rewarm room-temperature or thawed loaves wrapped in foil in 350°F oven about 15 minutes, if desired.)

Makes 4.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 very large firm ripe pears, stems on
• 1 bottle (750 milliliters) sweet marsala
• 7 tablespoons cinnamon-sugar

DIRECTIONS Peel pears using a vegetable peeler; leave stems attached.

Pour Marsala into a medium pot with a cover. Add 2 cups water and 6 tablespoons cinnamon-sugar. Put pears in pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium and cover pot. Cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes depending on firmness of pears.

Remove cover and let pears and liquid cool to room temperature. Remove pears with a slotted spoon and put them upright in a bowl. Bring liquid in pot to a boil and cook over medium-high heat until reduced to 1 1/2 cups. Pour over pears and refrigerate until cold.

Serve pears with their syrup. Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon-sugar.

Sue Ellison of Edgewater, Colorado, writes: “Although I play guitar and piano, and have worked for more than 20 years as an elementary-school music teacher, at this point music is just my job; cooking is my passion. It’s an interest I share with my daughter, Hannah. We do a phenomenal amount of cooking together. In fact, I think she learned how to count using chocolate chips, standing on a stool next to me at the kitchen counter while I baked chocolate croissants.”

Roasted pine nuts add a southwestern accent to this lightly sweetened granola. Once the granola has cooled, leave it in large chunks for a snack or crumble it into bits for a cereal topping. Either way, it will keep up to one week if stored airtight.

Makes about 5 cups.

INGREDIENTS

• 2cups old-fashioned oatsnonstick vegetable oil spray
• 1cup shredded sweetened coconut
• 1/2cup pine nuts
• 1/2cup roasted salted sunflower seeds
• 1/2cup natural unsalted cashews
• 1/2cup roasted salted macadamia nuts
• 1/4cup sesame seeds
• 1/2cup pure maple syrup
• 1/4cup vegetable oil
• 1/4cup dark corn syrup
• 2teaspoons mild-flavored (light) molasses
• 1/2cup raisins

DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 300°F. Place oats on large rimmed baking sheet. Bake until oats are lightly toasted, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Transfer baked oats to large bowl.

Increase oven temperature to 350°F. Spray same rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray. Mix shredded coconut, all nuts, and sesame seeds into baked oats. Whisk maple syrup, vegetable oil, dark corn syrup, and light molasses to blend in small bowl. Pour over oat mixture; toss to coat evenly. Spread granola on prepared rimmed baking sheet. Bake 12 minutes. Mix in raisins. Bake until deep golden, about 12 minutes longer. Cool granola on sheet.

INGREDIENTS

• juice of 2 lemons
• 2 large, firm, ripe avocados
• 1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
• gray salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 pound vine-ripened tomatoes, preferably several varieties of different shapes and colors
• about 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or signature olive oil
• 4 teaspoons basil pesto, made without pine nuts
• parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon pine nuts, toasted (optional)

DIRECTIONS Prepare the grill and let it burn down to medium-hot coals. Squeeze the lemon juice into a nonreactive bowl large enough to hold the avocados in a single layer. Halve the avocados, discard the pits, and scoop out the flesh in one piece with a rounded spoon. Immediately toss the avocados with the lemon juice to prevent discoloration.

Using a mandoline or sharp chef’s knife, thinly slice the onion. Separate the onion into rings and place in another bowl. Pour some of the lemon juice from the avocados over the onions and season with salt and pepper. Toss well and set aside. Cut the tomatoes lengthwise into thin wedges, season with salt and pepper, and reserve.

Remove the avocados from the lemon juice and set the bowl aside. Season the avocados on all sides with salt and pepper and drizzle very lightly with about 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Too much and the oil might cause flare-ups.

Grill the avocados, cut side down, until the outside edge looks a little dry and browned, about 2 minutes. Turn onto the rounded side and cook for another 2 minutes. Since so little area is exposed to the heat, this is just to soften, not cook, the avocados. If the avocados were very firm, leave on another minute. Do not turn too often or they may disintegrate. Return the grilled avocados to the bowl with the lemon juice. Spoon the lemon juice over them and set aside until cool enough to handle, then cut into thin wedges.

Place several onion rings in the center of each salad plate. Arrange the avocados on opposite sides and the tomatoes on the remaining two sides. Drizzle each salad with about 1-1/2 teaspoons olive oil and 1 teaspoon pesto. Season again with salt and pepper to taste and give each salad a coarse grating of cheese. Scatter the pine nuts on top, if using, and serve immediately.

Chef’s Note: These directions are for a plated salad. These same ingredients can be used to make a layered salad in a bowl. Cut the avocados and tomatoes into large, equal-size pieces and layer in a bowl with the onion ring seasoning, and drizzle with olive oil and pesto as you layer.