Name: Simple Salad with Dried Fruit and Nuts
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 4 servings

A Southern chef with a scientific mind, Katie Button worked for some of the world's best chefs before opening her own restaurants to rave reviews. Receiving four James Beard nominations and many editorial features, she now inspires the at-home chef with her first cookbook of authentic Spanish recipes.

Katie Button

You can make this with any homemade vinaigrette, but a citrus-herb version is especially good.

Simple Salad with Dried Fruit and Nuts

Meet The Creator

If you’re looking for a side table you can make yourself and customize, we’ve got a simple idea for you! We’re going to walk you through the steps to building

How to Build and Style a Side Table

Do you like happiness? If you don’t, then this recipe isn’t for you. But if you do, then let’s make my macaroni and cheese together. This is the dish that put me on the map. It’s the one everyone talks about and the one that every person who comes over for dinner begs me to make. And the beauty is, it’s so simple. You’ll have friends begging you for this recipe.

Macaroni and Cheese

Pasta carbonara is something I make all the time at home. And tossing in kelp and lobster took it to a whole new level. You can leave those ingredients out or substitute them for something else to get creative. But the briny and buttery flavor that the kelp and lobster bring to this dish is divine.

Katie's Pasta Carbonara with Kelp and Lobster

I’m a firm believer that any time is a good time for comfort food. This rings especially true during busy seasons. There’s just something about a creamy sauce

Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines: Episode 3

When time and care goes into a meal, you can taste it. There’s something satisfying about savoring food that’s not only packed in flavor, but rich in

Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines: Season 5, Episode 3

"A dish that looks fancy but is secretly simple will always have a place on my table. Wedge salads in general are great at pulling this off—and fortunately, everyone in our family enjoys them. I like to slice the iceberg wedges beforehand, then serve the toppings family-style so everyone can tailor their own. The kids and I like to dress our salad with ranch, but Chip always prefers blue cheese. Since this is one of Chip's favorite salads, that classic take is what I've shared here." – Joanna Gaines, Magnolia Table, Volume 3

Joanna Gaines' Wedge Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing

Wedge Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing

The first episode of my cooking show is finally here and I can’t wait for you to see what we’ve been cooking up this year! Playing with recipes, baking,

Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines: Episode 1

This is a simple, nourishing soup that’s full of flavor and easy to make. Blending half of the garbanzos (a.k.a. chickpeas) makes for just the right combination of flavorful broth and satisfying texture — not too thick, not too thin. The tomato makes the soup bright, and the basil adds a summery fragrance and flavor, and you can never have too much Parmesan cheese! If you don’t have time to cook the beans, you can make it with canned beans instead. You can also trade out the garbanzo beans for another type of bean.

Elizabeth Poett's Rustic Garbanzo Bean Soup with Parmesan and Homemade Chili Oil

Rustic Garbanzo Bean Soup with Parmesan and Homemade Chili Oil

If you always walk by celery root in the grocery, unsure of what to do with it, do THIS. First, the method of salt-baking feels elevated but is super easy—anyone can do it. The presentation of cracking open the salt crust is fun and interactive. When it’s finished, the celery root slices beautifully and has a tender but firm texture. The addition of the sauce adds the perfect amount of salinity and umami to each bite of celery root. Bookmark this recipe for the sauce, because you can use it on roasted veggies or meat dishes, too!

Katie Button's Salt-Baked Celery Root with Preserved Lemons and Capers

Salt-Baked Celery Root with Preserved Lemons and Capers

During the holidays, I love to make these cookies to give to neighbors. They are buttery and rich with just the right amount of vanilla. Rolling the dough in sugar makes them sparkly and festive, and you can also vary the type of jam you use. Sometimes I will make a batch and fill a few with blueberry jam, a few with raspberry jam, and a few with apricot jam. The color variation is beautiful and the different fruit flavors make it hard to just have one cookie!

Butter Thumbprint Cookies with Jam Filling

The first step to this recipe is to make a rich mushroom stock, which packs enormous mushroom flavor intensity, adding depth to any recipe where stock is used. When sourcing the fresh mushrooms, look for larger ones because they’ll hold up to the braise. Clusters of lion's mane, oyster mushrooms, and maitake mushrooms can often be found at specialty grocery stores (but white button mushrooms can be substituted). To prep them, pull apart the clusters into 3-inch chunks. The final product is an umami-filled dish with brightness from the orange juice. Enjoy it as a veggie-forward main or a hearty side dish.

Katie Button's Orange and Honey Braised Mushrooms

Orange and Honey Braised Mushrooms

What we love most about this tortilla soup recipe is that it’s not only easy to make, but it’s also very customizable. Add or subtract as many toppings as you

Tortilla Soup Recipe

Taco night is always an easy win in our house. We fire up the grill and pull together a spread of fresh toppings so everyone can build their own. In this

Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines: Season 3, Episode 2

Fried green tomatoes are delicious, but fried okra, well that’s a dish that is close to my heart.  I grew up eating fried okra, so these are two delicious items that you can prepare at the same time. I’m excited to share this recipe, so you can make them at home. Green tomatoes and okra are both seasonal ingredients. If frying okra out of season, you can use frozen okra that’s been thawed.

Millie Peartree's Fried Okra and Fried Green Tomatoes

Fried Okra and Fried Green Tomatoes

In busy seasons, one thing that I always look forward to is a slow Sunday at home with my family. For us, that can look like spending some time in the garden,

Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines: Season 3, Episode 1

Holiday-themed Magnolia Workshops are here, and we’re giving you special access so you can get inspired for the merriest

Magnolia Workshops: Holiday DIYs with Magnolia

Last but not least, here’s a look at the castle’s bathrooms and laundry room. We hope they spark new ideas on how you can make even the most utilitarian

The Castle: Bath and Laundry

When fall is in full swing, it can feel like the Gaines family is moving in every direction. Between school and sports and work, the hustle of the season can

Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines: Season 7, Episode 3

In our area there’s a large Danish community in the town of Solvang. Aebleskiver are a very fluffy, round pancake-like Danish snack or dessert cooked in a special pan. In Solvang they’re a staple on breakfast menus. I love to make aebleskiver with a homemade strawberry-rhubarb filling. Rhubarb can be hard to find, but you can use any kind of jam you’d like. For me, the fragrance of the strawberry and rhubarb cooking together brings back memories of my childhood and working with my mother in her garden.

Elizabeth Poett's Aebleskiver with Strawberry-Rhubarb Filling

Aebleskiver With Strawberry-Rhubarb Filling

"An antipasto salad is meant to be enjoyed, quite literally 'before the meal,' and I love to use this recipe as an introduction for what's to come in the courses that follow. It also works well for lunch, since the mix of meats, cheeses, and greens make it pretty hearty—something that can stand alone." - Joanna Gaines, Magnolia Table, Volume 3