When I consider the combination of fruits eaten on Tu B'shevat, the classic Waldorf salad comes to mind. Diced fruit and walnuts with a creamy dressing, the Waldorf screams 1960's to me; possibly another decade to someone else. A lifetime ago, when I was a clothing designer for Nordstrom, the design team stayed at the Waldorf. Having a cocktail in the elegant lounge, we joked about ordering buffalo wings. What does that have to do with Tu B'shevat? Nothing...all sorts of things pop into my brain while cooking.

Most people freak out about mayonnaise these days but I'm not sure why. Maybe it is the raw egg or the cholesterol in the eggs. It can't be the vegetable or olive oil used to make homemade mayonnaise as those are present in most dressings. No worries, my dressing came out more emulsified than whipped so it doesn't have that scary mayo look. All the better.

This salad is a simple mix of diced fruits, pomegranate infused dried cranberries, green and red grapes, celery and a smattering of chopped nuts. I leave the skins on the apples and pears when I dice them to add color to the medley. Really, anything can be tossed into the salad; diced dates or even mandarin oranges. That is what cooking is all about; loosen those wrists and toss things in with out restraint....makes cooking more fun.

Ingredients:

• 2 apples, variety of color and flavor
• 2 pears, variety of color and flavor
• 1/3 cup red grapes
• 1/3 cup green grapes
• 1 navel orange (optional)
• 1 stalks celery
• 1/3 cup pomegranate infused dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts or almonds
• Lettuce for under the fruit salad (optional)

Dressing:

• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 cup olive oil

Steps:

Wash fruit that you plan to use. The more variety of color in the fruit, the prettier the salad.

Dice, slice and otherwise prep the fruit. Combine in a bowl, set aside.

Make the dressing: In a blender, combine the egg yolks, mustard, salt, lemon juice, and 1/4 cup olive oil. Cover and blend on high speed. Immediately add remaining olive oil in a steady and gradual stream. When it is all whipped up, turn off the blender. If it doesn't whip up much (like mine), no biggie.

Soak the dried cranberries in some dressing to soften. Add to salad. Add salad dressing to fruit and gently mix. Put into serving bowl lined with a leaf lettuce.

Serve chilled on a bed of lettuce.

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Tu B'shevat Fruit Salad