Spinach & marinated fennel salad

Spinach & Marinated Fennel Salad with Champagne Vinaigrette
Makes 1 Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 T champagne Vinaigrette
  
• 1 1/2 oz. Cello Spinach - 1 8oz bag of spinach
  
• .25 oz. Feta Cheese Crumbled
  
• .5 oz. English Cucumber, sliced - 1 English cucumber
  
• .5 oz. Kalamata Olives, sliced
  
• 2 T Marinated Fennel, shaved
  
• 3 Each Sweet 100 Cherry Tomatoes - 1 basket/pint sweet 100 cherry tomatoes
  

Ingredients:

• 2 ea. Shallots -- 2 shallots
  
• 1/3 c Champagne Vinegar - 1 bottle champagne vinegar
  
• 1/8 c Tarragon Vinegar - 1 bottle tarragon vinegar
  
• 1/5 c Olive Oil - 1 bottle olive oil
  
• 2 T Dijon Mustard -- 1 small jar Dijon mustard
  
• 1 T Kosher Salt
  
• 2 t Black Peppercorns
  
• .25 Bunch Tarragon, chopped -- 1 bunch tarragon
  
• .25 Bunch Parsley, chopped -- 1 bunch parsley
  

1. Add all ingredients to blender except for oil and herbs.
   
   
2. Blend in olive oil slowly until all incorporated. Remove from blender and add herbs.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 c Fennel Bulb, Shaved Paper Thin - 1 Fennel Bulb
• 1 T Lemon Juice -- 1 Lemon
• 1/2 T Lime Juice -- 1 Lime
• Salt and Pepper to taste --
• 1/2 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil -- (already purchased for dressing)

1. Place fennel in a mixing bowl.
   
   
2. Add Juice, oil and mix by hand or with a spoon.
   
   
3. Salt and Pepper to taste.

Just over a year ago, Patrick Fassino, a seven-year veteran of The Duck Club's kitchen, found himself in an unenviable position. A sous chef at the time, he was left to run a kitchen that had just experienced a mass exodus: Chef, pastry chef, food and beverage manager, and several line cooks had all defected to Bing Crosby's, the shiny new restaurant just down the road.

Although he had worked several posts in The Duck Club kitchen, being pronounced the top toque more or less out of the blue was quite a shock. He had to rise to the occasion, and rise quickly.

How did he do it? He says, "You just walk into work and say, how are we going to keep it together today?" When the soft-spoken Fassino speaks of grooming inexperienced staff members, he glows with quiet pride. "I've done my best to make them better cooks. It's a great feeling to see someone you've been working with start to move as a chef."

He must have done something right, because when executive chef Evan Crandall came on last year, he made no secret of his admiration for Fassino, promoting him to chef de cuisine. Now, after a short stint, Crandall has moved on, and The Duck Club is searching for a new executive chef.

Meanwhile, Fassino's journey has allowed him to flex his creative muscles. His dishes show off luxurious ingredients, from the velvety slices of perfectly ripe avocado and mango surrounding chunks of lobster in a decadent first-course salad to the brioche-and-foie-gras stuffing of a porcini-powdered chicken breast.

Each delicious bite is testament to Fassino's ability to take every opportunity to raise his game and become a great chef-even while holding things together day to day.

Set along San Francisco's historic waterfront, teatro zinzanni is a bewitching evening of european cabaret and cirque, divas and madmen, spectacle and sensuality with live music and a gourmet five-course dinner - set in the nightclub of your dreams!

For more information, visit love.zinzanni.org