
This may sound a little crazy but I decided to host my own baby shower. I had a few friends offer up their homes to host which was so generous and kind of them but I honestly couldn’t wrap my mind around being without my own oven/kitchen! My mom will come and help with desserts, we’re going to make this Frankfurter Kranz, this Linzer Torte, this apple cake, this chocolate hazelnut cake and these cookies. So yeah, I think we have the sweets part down. Now on to the savory. I saw a recipe for this apple, fennel and manchego salad in Wine Spectator Magazine. It has all the elements of a festive little fall salad – fresh, crisp, tart, so good! The only change I made was the addition of a little lemon juice. It brightened the whole thing up and kept the apples from browning. If you have any suggestions for savory little treats/party appetizers send them my way!






Ingredients for the Salad
1 granny smith apple, thinly sliced
1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
6 ounces Manchego, cut into batons
1 tablespoon chopped chives
1 big handful walnuts, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Sherry vinegar
pinch of salt and some fresh ground pepper
Directions
Chop everything up into thin slices. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil and vinegar with a pinch of salt. Combine all the ingredients and taste for salt and pepper. Garnish with more chives and fennel fronds.