The lovely invitation arrived announcing the upcoming wedding shower of our very dear friends, Alex and Alisane! Because we’ve had the pleasure of cooking and breaking bread with Alex and Alisane many times, I immediately knew that they would love a crock pot and a salad spinner. What more do two newly weds need, right?  

Wanting to make this gift extra special, I decided that I would take a crack at my very first recipe box!  My son, Nathaniel, accompanied me to Target…I just love young men who spend time with their moms, don’t you?  There we found the items we were looking for.  I happened to notice these boxes that index cards would fit perfectly in… go figure…smile… I did have to make it personal however, so we made our way to Michaels where we picked out some really neat decorative paper and some stamps and then we made our way home.

As you can see, I included handwritten recipes for fresh and healthy salads and yummy crock pot meals.  We lined the box with decorative paper and create separators and labels. We had to have this adorable “Made with Love” stamp because I suspected that I would enjoy creating my first of the many recipe boxes to come!  I also purchased stamps with the letters of the alphabet and made labels for the categories. Nate and I enjoyed our evening as we cut and glued.  We anticipated Alex and Alisane’s reaction and we couldn’t wait to give them our gift.  If I can make this, and believe me I am not crafty, so can you!

Oh yes, and here is the rest of the recipe for the Roquefort Pear Salad…you know you wanted to see the rest of the recipe! 

A Belgian farmer accidentally discovered the endive, full of vitamin A, but little vitamin C, around 1830. At the time, chicory roots were used as a coffee substitute. That farmer stored them in a cellar. When he came back to pick up the roots, he realized that they had sprouted white leaves. Curious, he ate some and found them to be tender, moist, crunchy and slightly bitter. When traveling in France you will find many different variations of this salad which utilizes the texture and taste of this jewel we Americans call the Belgian endive.

4 to 6 heads of Belgian endive
1 1/2 tablespoons Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
3/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
*1 egg yolk, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons good olive oil
2 ripe Bartlett pears, halved, cored, and sliced
1/4 pound good Roquefort cheese (blue cheese also works very well)
1/2 cup toasted walnut halves

Trim off the core end of each head of endive and slice it in half lengthwise. Cut out the cores; separate the leaves, and place 1 1/2 to 2 heads of endive on each plate.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, egg yolk, salt, and pepper. Slowly whisk in the olive oil to make an emulsion. Toss the pears with some vinaigrette and place on the endive. Drizzle the remaining vinaigrette over the endive leaves to moisten them. Crumble the Roquefort onto the endive. Sprinkle with walnuts and serve at room temperature.

*Raw egg alert: Be sure to use a fresh egg.