Southern Strawberry Spinach Salad

This salad is the one that disappears first at every church potluck, every family reunion, every bridal shower from here to Baton Rouge. And there's a reason for that. It hits every note you want: sweet from the berries, creamy from the feta, crunchy from the pecans, and just enough bite from the dressing to keep you reaching for more.

Now, I know what you're thinking. A salad in a Cajun cookbook? Trust me on this one. Down here in Louisiana, we don't do delicate little side salads that look like afterthoughts. We make salads that belong on the table, salads that earn their place next to the jambalaya and the bread pudding. This one does exactly that.

The secret is in two places: the pecans and the dressing. Those pecans get a touch of cayenne in the candying process, just enough heat to make you notice without overpowering the strawberries. And that poppy seed dressing has a little Creole mustard worked in, giving it backbone that grocery store dressings don't have. At Lagniappe, we serve a version of this salad every spring when Louisiana strawberries come into season. People drive across town for it.