Welcome, everyone! Come on in!
Happy Food Day, everyone!
Well, it’s time to kick off our virtual, progressive dinner party in honor of the day. Let’s head into to the kitchen, where I’m making our first course.
Would you care for a virtual glass of wine? :-)
For tonight’s party, I knew I wanted to make something “autumnal” and also vegetarian. Celebrating Food Day means different things to different people and one way my family has been thinking a lot more about our food is by eating less meat. (We hardly ever ate red meat at home anyway, nor do I serve pork or shellfish, but we’re now down to only about two nights a week eating either poultry or fish.) It’s been relatively easy to make the transition and the change has everyone, including my kids, thinking more about where our food comes from, its impact on our health and how it affects the environment.
I was torn between two recipes that have been very popular Thanksgiving starter courses in my house – one a soup, the other a salad. I decided that salads sometimes get overlooked in the food blogosphere and this one is so good that it deserves a spotlight. (But as a bonus prize for stopping by, I’m sharing the other recipe, too: Roasted Winter Vegetable Soup from the U.S.A. Cookbook, written by the late, great Sheila Lukins. I substitute vegetable broth for the chicken stock called for in the recipe.)
The salad is a Spinach Salad with Bosc Pears, Cranberries, Red Onions and Toasted Hazelnuts from Epicurious, courtesy of The New Thanksgiving Table by Diane Morgan. The name pretty much tells you all you need to know – a fall-inspired melange of fresh spinach leaves, cranberries, pears and hazelnuts. (I’ll admit this salad isn’t entirely “local” as some of the ingredients didn’t come from my farmer’s market – I hope you’ll forgive!)
The salad takes more prep work than the usual tossing of lettuce and veggies in a bowl, but I think you’ll agree it’s worth the effort. First you roast some hazelnuts . . .
And then peel off the skins by vigorously rubbing them in a dark towel (they stain) while the nuts are still very hot . . .
. . .until they look like this:
(You can never get all the skins off, so don’t torture yourself.) Then chop them coarsely and hold them in reserve.
Next you make the dressing - a simple balsamic vinaigrette rounded out with some whole grain mustard and a little sweetener. (The recipe calls for white sugar but since we’re emphasizing “real food” on Food Day, I substituted local honey and it’s just as good.)
Make the dressing first because you’ll need it for softening and plumping up the dried cranberries. (I used organic cranberries, sweetened with evaporated cane juice) . . .
Meanwhile, place the sliced red onions in a bowl of cold water to crisp them up and reduce their sharpness. . . .
Once all that prep work is done, everything comes together quite easily. Just toss the dressing with fresh spinach leaves, the onions, the softened cranberries and thinly sliced Bosc pears, and then sprinkle the chopped hazelnuts on top. And here it is . . .
Simple, slightly sweet, nutty and really good!
Will you be the lucky winner?
Now, before you head off for your entree at Red, Round or Green tomorrow (followed by a side dish at Eat Dinner.org on Wednesday and dessert at The Jolly Tomato on Thursday), take a moment to leave a comment below. You can share what you’re doing to commemorate Food Day, a favorite recipe of your own, or just say hi! I’ll use a random number generator at noon CST tomorrow (Tuesday, October 25th) to choose one lucky winner of this Food Day t-shirt in the size of your choice.
Thanks for coming, everyone! See you tomorrow at Red, Round or Green . . .
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This dressing looks delicious, I love hazelnuts and am always looking for new ways to add them. Thanks for sharing.
I’m so glad the recipe appeals – my favorite part is having leftover roasted hazelnuts just to munch on.
Yum. I’m making roasted butternut squash soup and cheesy flatbread. I roasted an organic chicken yesterday and made stock from the carcass by adding celery, carrots, a shallot and a leftover purple onion halve. (I reserved the extra chicken meat for enchiladas later in the week). There was pizza dough in the freezer from last week’s pizza night that will defrost today. For the cheesy bread, I’ll brush it with olive oil and sprinkle with cheese.
This week, I plan to focus on using what we have around and making the most of every last bit – hence the stock and enchiladas.
We are usually lazy with leftovers and let them sit until they go bad. I’m recommitting to using them in a purposeful way.
What time shall I arrive for dinner?
Kale chips are our new favorite snack. I have been buying a giant bunch of Kale for $2 at the farmers market and it makes 3 cookie sheets full. The whole family loves them and they are easy to make.
Recipe??? I have had mixed success with the kale chip – sometimes delicious and sometimes not crisp enough and/or overcooked. And how to you season?
I just tear the leafs off the ribs, then in half, put in a large bowl and season with evoo and seasalt and toss, then put on a cookie sheet in a single layer. I put in the oven at 250 for 40 minutes (sometimes more if not crisp enough). I do try to turn so there are not soft mushy spots. So far I have not had a bad batch (I am probably jinxing myself). The one thing I never use is the bagged precut kale, only fresh.
What is Evoo?
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
I say celebrate food day every day
We cook a lot at home and love it.
Agreed! More home cooking!
That looks delicious!! Hazelnuts and cranberries are 2 of my favorite things, esp. this time of year! Thanks for sharing!!
Happy Food Day!!! I celebrated on my blog too, I shared a gluten free sweet treat. No need to buy processed junk food for our kids:-) Your salad looks amazing:-) I love the roasted hazelnuts in the beautiful salad:-) Take care, Terra
Terra – thank you! I’ll go check out your treat now.
I’m always looking for new salad ideas. This one sounds delicious!
Why does Food Day have to be on a Monday, the day that I either serve leftovers or something quick and dirty? If food day were on a Friday, I’d have a much more interesting menu.
Tonight’s menu:
Homemade bread
Deviled eggs
Tomato soup with beans, escarole, summer and winter squash, and onion.
I’m going vegetarian/fish from now until Shabbos after the meatfest we had over Jewish holidays. A light dinner is just what I need now.
Oh, that sounds good! If that’s a Monday menu, I’m totally coming over on Friday.
You have outdone yourself. Perhaps you should add food stylist to you resume! This looks simply delicious and it may wind up on our holiday table.
You are too kind!
Lovely salad (and I completely agree about eating less meat); the hazelnuts and cranberries are a great taste combination.
Idea: I use maple syrup in my dressing (being Canadian) to ‘cut’ the acidity, and find it dissolves even better than honey.
Thanks for hosting this ‘virtual dinner party’; great idea!
Karen
Glad you are getting so many wonderful guests at the dinner party! If you have put together a special Food Day menu and blogged about it, please let me know on my site. I’m collecting a “round-up” of real food menus! Thanks Bettina for kicking this off!
#FoodDay #DinnerParty Round-up
http://www.eatdinner.org/2011/10/join-us-for-food-day-dinner-party.html
I have a bag of hazlenuts that have been sitting on my shelf for some time. They now have a purpose!
Also, love the tip for removing the skins!!
I love Fall inspired dishes that hit all the notes, and your salad sure sounds like it does: sweet, crunchy, spicy, and green (those are my favorite food notes anyway). Can’t wait to give it a try. Thanks for all you do!
…..and I get to actually eat this salad. Lucky me!
Midge, aka Mom
Wonderful meal. I will have to make this. Food Day is now my favorite day of the year:)))
Thanks for the great recipes! I know what I’ll be making now for a vegetarian dinner I’m hosting in a couple weeks. Both look delicious! Your photos look good too. Nice!
Really enjoy your school lunch blog, s
o does my 10 year old son. This virtual progressive dinner is a cool diversion and the salad is on my list of recipes to try.
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