February 2- February 8, 2026

February 2 – February 8, 2026

(Alas, no picture. Please use your imagination – maroon and white cupped leaves of radicchio, topped with pale green ribbons of endive, orange sections, white, blue-veined cheese, mahogany walnuts, and green leaves of parsley – you get the idea)

Monday:                  Endive and Radicchio Salad with Candied Walnuts, Orange Caramel dressing and Blue Cheese crimbles

Tuesday:                  French Onion Soup

Wednesday:          Hartwood Restaurant

Thursday:                Midnight Bolognese

Friday:                     Labriola’s Fish with Tomato Fried Rice

Saturday:                Chicago-Style Tavern Pizza

Sunday:                   Ultimate Texas Chili for the Super Bowl with Uncle Rick

Constructing a Salad

When the answer to the question, “What’s for dinner?,” is salad, my eyes go dark, there is an emptiness in the pit of my stomach, and I start rummaging in the pantry for protein.  But I have always been willing to believe that there is a rare salad recipe, an outlier, that will produce a satisfying, rounded dinner.  I have, in fact, found one – Salade Niçoise – which I will consume with relish at any time.

This week’s recipe, however, is not a complete dinner, but it is so good that you’ll need just a bit of protein to round it out – an omelet, some leftover ham or beef or pork.  And, in spite of this salad’s shortcomings in the protein arena (no, I am not a fan of the Secretary of Health and Human Services, but I like my protein), this is a salad worth the many moving parts involved in producing it.

The dish combines the bitter crunch of radicchio and endive with the sweet tang of orange vinaigrette, the bite of blue cheese and the absolute gift of caramelized walnuts to produce a belly-filling satisfaction that vegans can only dream of.

My advice is to pair this with an omelet or to serve it after some heavy, protein-filled hors d’oeuvres.  A dry, crisp white wine or a lively pilsener would be a great accompaniment.  And, after you put all this together, you might even make yourself a large martini which, after all, goes with pretty much everything.

Radicchio and Endive Salad with Candied Walnuts, Orange Caramel Dressing and Blue Cheese

(adapted from Alex Guarnaschelli)

Timing:                                                    45 minutes

Ingredients:                                          Serves 4-6

Small head of radicchio (leaves separated), 2 large endives, leaves separated, ¾ cup walnut halves

2 large navel oranges, 1 juiced, 1 peeled and supremed, ¾ cup crumbled blue cheese

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 1/3 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1-2 teaspoons of extra-virgin olive oil, 11 sprigs of flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked from stems

Nonstick cooking spray, Kosher salt

Prep:

Heat your oven to 350 F

Juice one orange, peel and supreme the other

Prepare a parchment-lined sheet pan – spray the parchment with cooking spray

Spread the walnuts on another sheet pan

Gather/measure out other ingredients

Spray a heat-proof spatula with non-stick spray

Cook and Assemble

Put the sheet pan with the walnuts in the oven and toast for 7 minutes, remove and sprinkle with salt and pepper and set aside.

Heat the sugar in a large sauté pan over medium or a bit lower until the sugar melts and turns a light amber – about 6 minutes. Sprinkle the walnuts in a single layer over the caramel and use the rubber spatula to stir the nuts, quickly, to coat with caramel. Transfer the nuts from the pan onto the prepared baking sheet, one by one, if you can – you want them to land separately on the parchment, but clumps are okay.  You should end up with some caramel left in the pan.

Add the vinegar and orange juice to the pan, and turn the heat on to low and whisk until well combined.  Remove from the heat and whisk in the mustard and oil.  Adjust the seasoning.

Arrange the endive and radicchio leaves on a large platter.  Intersperse the orange segments and walnuts.  Drizzle with all of the dressing.  Top with the blue cheese and parsley.  Serve.