The salad that started it all

     My public food life started with a salad. It's simple enough, just five elements. Something the cafe could serve year-round, something fresh, tangy, sweet and tasty. I had visited family living in Cambria, California a few months before we opened the cafe and they served a great salad with dinner. So I asked for the recipe and began to personalize it. After some trial and error - the "Cambrian" was born.
     The name came, of course, from the inspiration of my visit to Cambria.  I could have just as easily named it the "Jude" after my sister-in-law who prepared it for us, but I was thinking maybe it wouldn't sound as "glamorous."
     As it turns out, this salad became the most requested item on our menu by more that double anything else.  So I only found it fitting to open this blog with that signature salad.

In 2009 my friend and fabulous artist, Claudia True, asked if she could include the recipe in her upcoming 2010 calendar using her artistic interpretation of the recipe as the artwork.  The Cambrian was the April feature!

You can see more of her work, and purchase prints on her blog http://blog.claudiatrue.com/

Now - for the recipe.....

Cambrian Salad

Single Serving

4 oz.                 Mixed greens

1 oz.                 Dried cranberries

1 oz.                 Feta cheese

1 oz.                 Candied pecans

1-2 oz.              Balsamic vinaigrette

3 ounces           Grilled chicken or shrimp (optional)

Balsamic Vinaigrette

2 cups/8- 2 oz servings
1/2	cup	balsamic vinegar
1/4	cup	fresh squeezed lemon juice (or bottled)
2	Tbl	honey
1	tsp	basil flakes
1	tsp	crushed garlic or garlic paste
1/4	cup	olive oil
3/4	cup	canola oil

combine all but oil in bowl, whisk til blended
slowly add oil and whisk thoroughly
shake vigorously when pouring to ensure good blend

Candied Pecans

1                     pound brown sugar

1 ¼      cup water

2                     pounds pecan halves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix sugar and water in medium saucepan, bring to boil to become candy syrup.  Add pecans, mix and take off heat.  Pour onto non-grease rimmed cookie sheet, spreading quickly (don’t pour all the candy syrup or you’ll have pecan brittle – hmmm, not a bad idea!). Bake in oven for about 5 minutes, take out, stir, and return for another 5 minutes. Meanwhile, pull a couple of sheets of wax paper and lay them on the counter, scrape the baked pecans onto the sheets and spread to cool completely. Store in an airtight container. Sprinkle on your Cambrian Salad or enjoy as a special treat!