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You just might be thinking…
“Why is she posting a salad recipe just days before Thanksgiving?”
Well, as tradition goes on my Eskelson side of the family….
we eat a lot of salad with Thanksgiving Dinner.
It makes for a very well rounded meal.
You should try it!
and Green Overnight Salad are all standards.
They visit our table each year.
A couple of months ago I needed a green salad to bring to my Mom’s house for Sunday dinner. While grocery shopping a few days before, I had forgotten to pick up a handy
Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing seasoning packet.
Which makes really good ranch dressing, by the way.
One of my siblings thinks any other dressing should be taken out back and shot.
He wasn’t coming to dinner on this particular day…..and so……….
I opted to take a look in the old pantry, and see what I could come up with. This Green Salad with Pears, Feta and Cinnamon Walnuts was born, my friends. The combination of flavors is divine. The sweet dressing enhances the flavors of pear, red onions, feta cheese and cinnamon walnuts.
MMMMMM….
I think you will love it!
I hope you love it right along with your fast approaching
Turkey Dinner.
1. In a large hot skillet add your chopped walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Cook them over medium heat, stirring frequently until the sugar dissolves and begins to make a candy coating along the nuts. Be careful not to let them burn. Pour them out onto a cookie sheet to cool.
2. Put all of your dressing ingredients, but the oil into a blender. Turn the old girl on, and slowly add your oil. Let it blend for about 1 minute after the oil has been added.
3. Chop up your lettuce, red onion, crumble up your feta and add all three to a large bowl.
4. Just before serving slice and chop your pears. Add them to the salad and sprinkle with the Cinnamon Walnuts. Add the dressing a little at a time, and stir the salad to incorporate.You may have a bit of the dressing left over, depending on how large your heads of lettuce are. Don’t drowned the salad….you just need enough so that all parts of the salad are lightly coated.
***NOTE: The pears, cinnamon pecans and dressing should be added just before serving. Brown pears, soggy nuts and wilted lettuce will be your fate if they are added before hand.***
Ingredients
- Cinnamon Pecans:
- 1 C walnuts or pecans, chopped
- 1/4 C sugar
- 1/8 t cinnamon
- dash salt
- Salad:
- 2 heads green leafy lettuce
- 1/2 red onion
- 1 C feta cheese
- 4 Bartlett pears
- Dressing:
- 1/3 C + 2 T apple cider vinegar (don't laugh at my math skills please.)
- 1/2 C sugar
- 1/2 C mayonnaise (I used light)
- 1/4 C red onion, roughly chopped
- 1/2 C + 2 T canola oil (again, I am not a mathematician....)
- 1/4 t dry mustard
- 1/2 t salt
- Juice from 1 lemon
Instructions
1. In a large hot skillet add your chopped walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Cook them over medium heat, stirring frequently until the sugar dissolves and begins to make a candy coating along the nuts. Be careful not to let them burn. Pour them out onto a cookie sheet to cool.
2. Put all of your dressing ingredients, but the oil into a blender. Turn the old girl on, and slowly add your oil. Let it blend for about 1 minute after the oil has been added.
3. Chop up your lettuce, red onion, crumble up your feta and add all three to a large bowl.
4. Just before serving slice and chop your pears. Add them to the salad and sprinkle with the Cinnamon Walnuts. Add the dressing a little at a time, and stir the salad to incorporate.You may have a bit of the dressing left over, depending on how large your heads of lettuce are. Don't drowned the salad....you just need enough so that all parts of the salad are lightly coated.
Notes
***NOTE: The pears, cinnamon pecans and dressing should be added just before serving. Brown pears, soggy nuts and wilted lettuce will be your fate if they are added before hand.***
Recipe from Jamie Cooks It Up!
This was amazing! Everyone loved it. Huge hit!!
The Invention of Wings, Sue Monk Kidd and An Unseemly Wife, E.B. Moore
I will try this recipe tomorrow for my family