honeycrisp apple and blue cheese autumn salad

I know, it’s August 29th, but I’m shit tired of summer and pretty much mentally in fall mode.

Since I live in Florida, I love the idea of autumn more than its actual execution, since we don’t have seasons here. Instead of a cooler September with technicolored leaves, we get an increased threat of Cape Verde hurricanes. Yahoo! What a time to be alive.

We’re facing an impending storm this week, which for where I live won’t be much more than squally, windy weather and probably some power outages here and there. I didn’t even realize we were already in the “I” for named storms until I heard that this one was dubbed Idalia. Like vidalia. Like the onion. So I’m calling it “The Onion.”

Monday, yesterday, I ran to the store for my weekly grocery shop and found the parking lot smacked with vehicles. The self checkout line was longer than I’ve ever seen it. I think I blacked out that whole outing because I was suddenly home, suddenly behind my camera, then suddenly out for my afternoon walk after I got this recipe done.

Funny how that happens, right? You stress-rush through your chores and don’t really remember anything about them. Granted, I’m not especially scared of the hurricane – it’ll suck, but I’ve been through worse – but the panic-buying surrounding me was enough to set my nerves alight. It’s one thing to experience anxiety, another thing to experience anxiety because of everyone else’s anxiety. Almost worse when the feeling is by association.

I had something else in mind to make, but this salad was what happened, and I’m glad it was because I find tossing greens with crisp produce rather meditative. I call this an autumn salad, but the ingredients are accessible and delicious in this late summer period we’re in.

Those candied nuts are the best fucken part. Nuts usually are the best part of most things. They’re spiced perfectly with a hint of coffee that works beautifully with the maple-brown sugar base. Kinda the most pronounced component of this dish, and the only part that requires heating up the stove – for only 8-10 minutes, mind you, so if your weather is still a scorcher it won’t hurt your house temperature too much.

Deez Nuts

For this here salad, we’re candying pecans and pepitas both. The combination is quite satisfying.

Grab a medium-sized baking sheet and toss both with brown sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, chili powder (love the spicy-sweet flavor play, I use this combo pretty often), and the real kicker: a touch of instant coffee. You don’t have to add the coffee, but it adds a beautiful roasty undertone.

Coat everything real well and spread in an even layer on your baking sheet. Bake until they’re fragrant and starting to bubble up – pepitas do that in the oven – stirring once halfway through. Mine were great after 8 minutes but you might need up to 10.

Mustard Nerd

Now that your cooking is done, the rest of the salad is a breeze. Less of a breeze than a hurricane breeze.

First, vinaigrette. I make this dressing, with a few variants here and there, all the time. Olive oil, cider vinegar, maple syrup, Dijon mustard, fresh oregano and garlic. Shake that puppy up, taste for salt and pepper, and voila – done.

Next, the components. I used shaved Brussels sprouts and arugula in here. You can either pick up a bag of whole sprouts and chop them yourself, or, as I did, buy them pre-shaved. I only did that because the store was out of whole dudes, but it worked swimmingly so I can vouch for both preparations.

If you don’t like either of those options for the green, you can easily switch them for something you prefer. I love kale, especially dino or lacinto, the darker the better. I wouldn’t necessarily use romaine, but hey, if that’s what you’ve got, give it a try.

For the fillers, honeycrisp apples are key, as is the blue cheese. I also threw in an avocado because why the fuck not. Add those to the bowl with the greens and some of the nuts, and if you’re serving right away toss it all up with a few spoonfuls of the dressing. If you’re making ahead, omit the avocado and the dressing until you’re ready to dish out your portions.

I top off each bowl with more nuts and blue cheese, and keep the jar on the table in case I need another drizzle or two. Sometimes I’ll sprinkle in some fresh oregano if I have a plant at my disposal. Any sort of salad accessory is a good idea to me.

Hope this appeals to ya’ll’s early fall yearnings! And if you’re anywhere near the path of this pesky hurricane, stay safe and take your city’s warnings to heart, especially if you’re in the Florida panhandle.

Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!

The apple of my eyeball:

Brie and Bourbon Apple Tarts

Apple and Cheddar Pumpkin Bisque

Shredded Brussels Sprouts Apple Salad with Spiced Maple Walnuts