stacey . smoore . the staceyfish . 
Life in a Northern Town: the exploits of an ecstatic Alaskan
Lens: the adventures of a girl and her camera
You may be sad because summer has come to an end, taking with it delightful foods like nectarines, plums, berries, and locally grown vegetables like greens, cauliflower, chard, beets, and carrots.
But don't fret! Fall has its place in a foodie's heart because it brings delights like root vegetables, butternut squash, pumpkins, an untold number of apple varieties, bartlett pears, and pomegranates.
I recently celebrated fall by having a harvest dinner (suggested by my most wise and venerable husband). On the menu was a roasted pear salad with candied walnuts, blue cheese, and homemade balsamic vinaigrette, cabernet-glazed shallots, butternut squash risotto with wilted spinach and toasted pine nuts, sauteed pork tenderloin with an apple-sage sauce, and stuffed baked Jonagold apples with vanilla bean ice cream for dessert. I love this menu -- it's so autumn-y with its warm, subtle flavors and unifying themes. Sage and apple are present in many of the dishes but are different and subtle enough to not get old or tiring.
Unfortunately, as with most dinner parties I host, I was pressed for time and eager to feed my guests (and myself!) so I didn't get photos. I'm normally loath to post recipes without pictures, but my desire to share this menu with others beat up my lack-of-photos hesitation and stole its lunch money. Hope you enjoy this as much as we did!
Like so many other things worth eating, once you've had homemade salad dressing you can't go back.
I learned this lesson when I made my first batch of balsamic vinaigarette. When you buy this stuff off the shelf, it's overly sweet, oily, bland, and one-dimensional tasting. But when you make it yourself, it's wonderfully assertive, bold but not overpowering, subtle, and complex.
Plus it's super-easy to make.
Are you sold yet? Seeing the stuff in action ought to do the trick....
