Your Best Salad with Apples

In no particular order: pecans, bacon cut into lardons, thyme, fennel, brown sugar, mesclun, lemon, one of two apples (this one's a tart McIntosh), and garlic. Celery root didn't get the memo.

Readying the mise en place -- thyme leaves stripped, fennel shaved, garlic mincing away.

Lonesome without Merrill, Amanda finds comfort in her new pet celery root.

Bacon! Render the fat out slowly and you'll be rewarded with crisp, meaty lardons.

Don't get lazy -- toast those pecans to crisp them up and intensify their nutty flavor. We ran them under the broiler but a dry pan on the stovetop works too.

Amanda sheds the celery root's rough skin to reveal a cool, crunchy interior.

Take 5 for a staring contest.

Celery root trimmed into thin shards, Amanda moves on to dice the gala apple for the dressing.

Cider vinegar and brown sugar caramelize. Watch out -- the vapors will prick your eyes and nose, but it's worth it for the addictive tart-sweet backdrop it lends to the dressing.

In go the apples and garlic to soften for about 5 minutes.

We love blender salad dressings -- more cider vinegar, thyme, lemon juice and salt join the party.

Drizzle in the olive oil (or just dump it in and let the blender do the work).

Magic, or at least emulsification. We could drink this stuff.

You want a tart, crisp apple for the salad -- we used a local McIntosh.

Amanda's poised to dig in and go all Alice Waters on that salad.

But first, a taste test.

The dressing passes muster, and joins its friends in the salad bowl.

A thorough toss -- done and done!

Cascading down from top left: avocado, creme fraiche, garlic, chives, cucumber, honey, lemon, golden raisins, Granny Smith, gorgonzola, pistachios.

Prep time in the shadow of the gorgonzola mountain.

Champagne vinegar is the light, frisky acid in this dressing.

Liquids, fats: prepare to get emulsified.

Fortheloveofyum calls for pretty, green-skinned Granny Smith, but any tart, crunchy apple will do.

Apple salad is hilarious! (that's Jennifer in the background, who probably just told a funny story about last week's Top Chef)

Lemon juice keeps the avocado and apple from oxidizing (a.k.a. getting dark and ugly).

A nice ripe avocado and hunk of gorgonzola -- what more do you need? Let's all gaze lovingly.

Thwack! Twist! This is how you (carefully) remove an avocado pit with the blade of your knife.

Anybody feeling deja vu?

English cucumber for crunch -- no skinning or seeding required.

Shades of green, indeed.

Pistachios (toasted, if you please) and golden raisins lend their shades of green to the palette.

The recipe calls for 1/4 to a 1/2 cup of gorgonzola -- ours was on the pungent side, so we went for a (very) heaping 1/4 cup.

In goes the dressing, straight from the blender.

Mid-toss.

Voila!