Arugula Salad With Goat Cheese

Photo: flickr user ralph and jenny

Ingredients

cup Pecans, chopped fine

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/8 teaspoon Cayenne, or to taste

3 tablespoons Sugar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4 cup Sherry wine vinegar

3/4 cup Extra-virgin olive oil

6 cups Washed and spun dry arugula

1/4 pound Aged goat cheese, coarsely grated

cup Dried cranberries

Preparation

To make the praline:In a bowl stir together pecans, salt, and cayenne. In a dry, small heavy skillet or saucepan cook sugar over moderate heat, stirring with a fork, until melted. Cook, without stirring or swirling the skillet or pan, until a golden caramel. Add pecan mixture and stir to coat nuts with caramel. Spoon praline onto a sheet of foil and cool.

Transfer praline to a cutting board and chop fine.

To make the dressing:In a bowl whisk together mustard, vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Slowly whisk in the oil in a stream.

To make the salad:In a large bowl, toss arugula, goat cheese, cranberries, praline and enough of the dressing to just coat the leaves.

Serves 6

Spencer Christian's Wine Selection:For the vegetarian recipes, I recommend a relatively light red wine, but one that has enough spiciness to stand up to ginger, pumpkin seeds or goat cheese. Any decent pinot noir in the $18-$30 range would be fine. Two particularly good choices: one made by a vineyard called Jed Steele and the other by Fess Parker Vineyards in Santa Barbara County, Calif.