Cold Green Bean Salad with Goat Cheese Dressing

This is an easy & super fresh salad! I had a craving for green beans, and decided to get a little creative with a salad. I LOVE radishes - they're an obsession I've had since I was a little girl - so anytime I can incorporate them into a recipe, I do. This is a perfect summer pairing for a fish or chicken dish... I served it alongside my Panko Pecan Crusted Flounder.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lbs. fresh green beans
• 10-15 red radishes, sliced
• 5 sweet Campari tomatoes, deseeded and diced
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 or 2 garlic cloves, minced (depending on your love for garlic)
• 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 2.5 oz. goat cheese
• 1 tbsp. fresh dill, chopped
• Kosher or sea salt & freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the green beans and cook until they are a little tender and turn bright green, approx. 2 minutes. Drain. Submerge the green beans in a bowl of very cold water. Drain again and pat dry with a paper towel. 

For the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the goat cheese, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and dill. Salt & pepper to taste. Toss green beans with the dressing and transfer into your serving bowl. Garnish with fresh dill sprigs if you'd like. Enjoy!!

Fennel and Apple Salad

One of my favorite things to do is to look in my refrigerator for ingredients just lying around, and turn them into something yummy!  That's just what I did today at lunchtime.  I had a fennel bulb in my fridge (I used the trimmings in a fish stock the other day), so I decided to whip something up revolving around the distinctive flavor of fennel.  Some people don't like or haven't even tried fennel - I hadn't tasted it until only a couple of years ago - but I think it's one of the most interesting, fresh tasting ingredients out there. One day I'll have to post my interpretation of Prune's Braised Fennel in Trout Roe Butter, but until then, here's my Fennel and Apple Salad... Hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients:

• 1 fennel bulb, chopped
• 1 Honeycrisp apple, cored & chopped (or your favorite variety of apple)
• 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 handful of raw walnuts, chopped
• 2-3 tablespoons of Brianna's Homestyle Poppy Seed Dressing
• 1 lemon wedge
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Prepare all of the ingredients. Squeeze the lemon wedge on the apple just after chopping to prevent the apple from browning.

In a large bowl, mix together the fennel, apple, walnuts, and cilantro. Add some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Stir in the Brianna's Homestyle Poppy Seed Dressing. Done! :)