Eva's Apple Salad

I have lived in this neighborhood for almost 8 years now and over the years, have made some wonderful friends. Three of us, Anita, Beth and I, started doing this whole Girls' Nite Out thingy where we would once a month, usually a Friday night, pick a restaurant to go to and just do what we normal girls like to do---chat away to glory, eat some good food and laugh like crazy. And then soon we included three more neighbors, Michelle, Oindrila and Dawn. Now there's thirteen of us and what a wonderful diverse group we are!

Ever since February, we have stopped going to restaurants and instead, are into Potluck Parties. Anita hosted it first and made these amazing Polish Golumpkis- stuffed cabbage rolls-- delicious! Last Friday Dawn hosted the party and we again had some awesome food. We sure have some great cooks in our little group! In all that, there was this very simple looking apple salad that Eva, our newest member, had brought.

The first thought that comes to my mind about apple salad is chop up some apples and toss 'em with lemon juice so that they don't turn brown, sprinkle some salt and pepper and there, you have an apple salad. Well, this particular one changed my entire outlook on apple salad. One bite and there was this explosion of flavor and texture and it was extremely addictive. We pretty much wiped out that salad like we'd never eaten an apple salad before. Come to think of it, yes, we had indeed never eaten such a delicious apple salad before! Of course, I had to get the recipe from Eva, which I did and I made it yesterday. My family sure loved it!

Needed:

1. A couple Fuji apples (or any other sweet apple of your choice)
2. 1 clove of garlic
3. Good olive oil
4. Manchego Cheese (this is what Eva specified--got it from Whole Foods. Spanish cheese made from Sheep's milk)
5. Lemon juice

The Ingreds, don't forget lemon juice

Method:

1. Chop up the apples and squeeze some lemon juice to prevent oxidation.
2. Crush the garlic and add to the chopped apples.
3. Chop up the Manchego cheese into little cubes (about the same size as the apple cubes).
4. Drizzle some good olive oil (EVOO works great) and toss everything together.
5. Chill it in the refrigerator. I added some freshly ground black pepper before serving.

Don't go by its simple looks!

The garlic and olive oil add such a wonderful unexpected twist to the salad and the firm yet buttery Manchego blends really well with the crunchy apple to create a textural delight in your palate. I wouldn't go by its simple looks. You have got to try it to actually realize what a genius salad this is!

The next potluck is going to be hosted by Judy. Wonder what new recipe I'll learn?!