A Restaurant Memory, Reimagined at Home—Fennel, Pear, and Strawberry Salad with Gorgonzola by Ang Pompano—Plus a book giveaway!

Ang Pompano: Several years ago, Annette and I were at one of our favorite restaurants in Wooster Square, New Haven’s Little Italy. It’s the kind of place where the pasta is made in-house, the ingredients are chosen with care, and the food respects tradition while quietly kicking things up a notch. That night I had a fantastic fennel salad with pears, gorgonzola, and olive oil, and I’ve never forgotten it.

I thought of that salad this week while reading a WIP by our own Lucy Burdette, in which she quoted a famous chef, who said that no one should try to prepare restaurant food at home.

Lucky for me, ignorance is bliss, because not only did we prepare it, we “improved” it. Or at least doctored it to our taste. After all, isn’t that what cooking is about? Making food that pleases you, not some food critic.

So, we put together the salad as we remembered it. Good, I thought. 

Then Annette had the idea of adding a splash of orange juice, which made all the difference. Better. 

As a big fan of fennel’s licorice flavor, I suggested a drizzle of Sambuca. Great!

That is, it worked for me. Not so much for her. Now when either of us makes the salad, we hold off on the Sambuca until the end and add it if the mood strikes.

Ingredients

1 medium fennel bulb, thinly sliced
2 pears, cored and sliced
2–3 strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup pecans cut
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon Sambuca (optional, or to taste)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

• Slice the fennel bulb into thin strips. Core the pear and cut it into bite-sized chunks. Roughly chop the pecans, slice the strawberries, and crumble the Gorgonzola.

• In a large bowl, combine the sliced fennel and pears.In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the olive oil, orange juice, Dijon mustard, honey, and Sambuca (if using) until well blended.

• Season the dressing with salt and pepper to taste.
• Pour the dressing over the fennel and pears and toss gently to coat.Transfer the salad to a serving platter or bowl.
• Arrange the sliced strawberries, pecans, and crumbled Gorgonzola on top.
• Serve immediately, or chill briefly before serving for a crisper, more refreshing salad.

Wooster Street’s historic Restaurant Row, the culinary heart of New Haven’s Little Italy

So, what about you? Do you agree that we should never prepare restaurant food at home? Or are you like me, trying to duplicate a favorite dish, or maybe even improve it? Let me know in the comments below. And don't forget to leave your email address to be entered in a drawing to win a copy of my book When It's Time for Leaving!

Reminder: Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen will be hosting a panel at Left Coast Crime with Leslie Budewitz (M), Kim Davis, Maddie Day, Leslie Karst, and Ang Pompano. If you’re there, we’d love it if you stopped by to say hi!

Ang Pompano is a mystery author, editor, publisher and blogger. He writes the Blue Palmetto Detective Agency, and the Reluctant Food Columnist series, both published by Level Best Books. In addition to his writing, Ang is a co-founder of Crime Spell Books and serves as co-editor of the Best New England Crime Stories anthology. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, Annette, an artist, and their two rescue dogs, Dexter and Alfie.

Just Released!

Diet of Death

by Ang Pompano

The first in the Reluctant Food Columnist series.

Buy Link

Betty Ann Green is a beloved culinary icon…who doesn’t exist. She is the brilliant, beautiful illusion created by two unlikely collaborators. Behind the façade is Quincy Lazzaro, a culinarily challenged writer whose witty, sharp prose is the public face of Betty, while those flawless, genius recipes are all thanks to his octogenarian neighbor, Mary Ticarelli.

When the arrogant diet guru, Dr. Alan Tolzer, inventor of the Westport Diet, demands a face-to-face interview, Quincy reluctantly steps in as Betty’s frontman, only for Tolzer to drop dead. The police call it natural causes, but Quincy knows better. He sees it as the investigative break he’s been waiting for.

Now, caught between a crime-solving grandma, a no-nonsense detective girlfriend, and a killer who may be one step ahead, Quincy must unravel the mystery before the killer strikes again.

When It’s Time for Leaving

by Ang Pompano

Buy Link

Al DeLucia walked away from the police—and his past. But when his long-lost father leaves him a detective agency in Savannah, Al finds himself trapped between family secrets and a murder on the agency’s dock. Partnered with Maxine Brophy, a fierce detective who doesn’t trust him, Al is pulled into a deadly search through Savannah and the Okefenokee Swamp—where the truth about the case, and his father, may cost him everything.

Blood Ties and Deadly Lies

by Ang Pompano

Buy Link

Al DeLucia returns to Sachem Creek expecting a kayak race and a chance to confront his childhood bully, Abe Cromwell. Instead, he finds a dead lawyer, a web of deceit, and Abe claiming they’re brothers by DNA. Reluctantly joined by Maxine Brophy, his formidable partner and girlfriend, Al dives into a murder investigation that exposes land swindles, hidden maps, and buried family secrets. In a town where the past won’t stay buried, Al must face truths that could upend everything.

Snakeberry: Best New England Crime Stories 2025

Edited by

Christine Bagley, Susan Oleksiw, Ang Pompano, and Leslie Wheeler

BUY LINK

Every year the anthology brings welcome surprises and satisfactions, and this year is no different, featuring stories by 21 of New England’s best crime writers.

Includes “Minnie the Air Raid Warden” by Ang Pompano.