Earl Makes Arugula Spinach Salad with Fennel, Bacon Chunks & Spanish Goat Cheese

Arugula Spinach Salad with Fennel, Bacon & Goat Cheese

We recently discovered a couple of additions to our homemade salads that really brighten the flavor and improve the crunch...arugula and fennel! Arugula has a nice bite to it, a bit like a radish, and fennel a hint of anise or licorice. Both add to the overall taste and texture of a homemade salad and are great additions.We like them so much that when I saw a Spinach & Arugula mix, I had to try it! Arugula is hard to find in the run-of-the-mill grocery stores for some reason, so I usually get mine at Trader Joe's. Finding this mix with arugula and spinach was a real departure for me because I usually don't buy mixes and almost never buy organic produce. We have both always loved spinach salads so I hoped the addition of arugula would make a great salad.

Trader Joe's Fennel Bulb

But an idea was formulating for a salad that had RAW fennel. It's texture is nice and crunchy, much like celery, but with that great hint of licorice. I have roasted it, but never had it raw in a dish until tonight. The fennel comes partially trimmed from Trader Joe's, all I had to do is cut it in half and slice the half lengthwise into salad size chunks. I should say bite size, because my wife (a.k.a. "Turkey"), thought my chunks were a bit big.

In addition to the arugula & spinach mix and the fennel bulb, I added grape tomatoes, halved, green onions (white & green portions), two kinds of cheese (Spanish goat cheese and blue cheese), my home-baked bacon chunks and my homemade croutons along with bottled dressing.Turkey decided against the cheeses, but liked the salad so much she took it to work for lunch the next day!

Earl Cooks Valentine's Day Steak for his "Turkey" 💖

I wanted to do something a bit special for Valentine's Day for "Turkey" (that's my wife). Some time ago we discovered how much more we enjoy steaks cooked at home if they are cooked correctly, which almost always means "Sous Vide" which is in a water bath bringing it to the perfect doneness and finishing it in a cast iron skillet to give it a seasoned crust that makes a perfect compliment to the nicely tender inside. But I need to do something RESTAURANT quality if it was going to pass the muster on Valentine's Day. I have a plan. 

My plan would start with flowers and grow from there. These can't be just any flowers because "Turkey" likes bright and colorful and playful. I found the perfect tiny bouquet.




 Next, I had on hand something just for a romantic evening. A set of fluted stemware and some bubbly (sparkling white grape juice). "Turkey" doesn't much care for grape juice, but it's the thought that counts...right?

Time for the first 2 "courses". We have recently been loving arugula as a base for salads. It has a mild, peppery taste reminiscent of watercress. To that we added bacon and bright, multicolored cherry tomatoes topped with our favorite dressings ("Turkey" likes Cilantro Lime Ranch, and I like Blue Cheese). I followed that with steamed artichoke hearts (Get it? Hearts on Valentine's), and melted butter. These came frozen from Trader Joe's and are about as close to fresh as you can get. No preservatives. This left us somewhat full and now it was time for...

 ...That's right—BASKETBALL! The Utah Jazz were playing their last game before the All-Star break and had won 10 in a row! We had to see if they could make it to 11! My perfectly cooked steaks would have to wait. Fortunately, we had eaten enough to hold us through. (A good portion of the game anyway). To set your minds at ease, the Jazz pulled it out at the last minute. Now, Back to the food... 

This is my newest kitchen toy, an immersion circulator for cooking sous vide. It works by heating and circulating the water for perfect cooking. Just seal the food in vacuum sealed bags then set it and forget it! It will cook to the right temp. and keep it there for however long you want. 

The steaks turned out great! The top left shows the steak after sous vide and seasoning with Montreal Steak Seasoning. The next is after turning and the third shows a new trick I taught myself. Since the steaks were the same size and shape, I clamped them together with my tongs, locked the tongs and cooked the fat off of the edge. Clamped, they balanced nicely together.

I don't usually cook dessert and Valentine's was no exception. Fortunately, We each thoughtfully provide one another with dessert...Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, although mine, on top, was themed and almost double in size. Thanks "Turkey"!