May Gourmet Club - A Taste of New Orleans!

May's gourmet club gave us a little taste of New Orleans with our cajun-themed dinner, complete with hurricanes! Jeanne was our host and made a great Jambalaya. Karen's appetizer was a delicious cajun shrimp with bread, followed by my Louisiana Sunburst Salad, and then the main course of Jambalaya and bacon-wrapped green beans (yum - bacon!). Lisa broke out the good dark rum for some hurricanes and we wrapped up the evening with bananas foster and ice cream. Delicious!

Below is the recipe for the Louisiana Sunburst Salad. The dressing sounds like a strange combination of ingredients, but all of the flavors worked really well together. Enjoy!

This bright, delicious salad is served by Chef Robert Bruce at the Palace Café on Canal Street in New Orleans -- a beautiful restaurant located in the old Werlein's for Music building and one of my favorites in town. The salad is dressed with an unusual and wonderful cinnamon and Tabasco vinaigrette.

• 24 ounces mesclun mix (mixed baby lettuces, like mâche, frisée, radicchio, baby spinach, etc.)
• 2 ounces dried cranberries
• 2 ounces almonds, sliced and toasted
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 ounce vegetable oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 ounces crumbed Stilton cheese (or blue cheese)
• 2 ounces ruby port wine
• 2 ounces raspberry vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 ounce water
• 5 dashes of Tabasco

Soak the cranberries overnight in the port.

In a large mixing bowl, add the oil, water, vinegar, Tabasco and cinnamon and whisk until emulsified. Add the lettuces and toss. Season with salt and pepper.

Separate the greens onto four plates and garnish each salad with crumbled cheese, cranberries and almonds.

Yield: 4 salads