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| Mixed Greens with Pecans, Goat Cheese, and Dried Cranberries |
Last month I hosted a dinner party for three other couples.
Because it was scheduled for a Wednesday night I had to be super intentional about
my meal-planning. I didn’t have hours to mess around in the kitchen and instead
spread out my cooking over a few days. It made that Wednesday after work much less stressful and dinner for 8 by
6:30 pm totally manageable.
This salad was on the menu that night and while salad isn’t
all that time-consuming to make, I shaved a few minutes of time off of the
preparation by making the candied pecans and the dressing a day ahead of time.
All that was required to finish it off was throwing all of the ingredients
together.
Of course, you could also omit the homemade candied pecans
and just buy some or even throw plain ones in there. I liked the bit of spice
these gave to the rest of the salad. Judging by the amount of leftover salad
(none), this would be a good addition to your salad repertoire!
One Year Ago: Kale and Butternut Squash Saute and Jam Ribbon Cookies
Two Years Ago: Sweet Potato Chickpea Cakes with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce and Pumpkin Popovers
Three Years Ago: Apple Walnut Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette
Four Years Ago: Asian Meatballs and Tuna Chickpea Salad with Pesto
for the dressing-
-1/4 cup red wine vinegar
-1 tbsp Dijon mustard
-1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
-3/4 cup olive oil
-salt & pepper, to taste
for the pecans-
-1 1/2 cups pecans
-3 tbsp light corn syrup
-1 1/2 tbsp sugar
-3/4 tsp salt
-1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
-1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
for the rest of the salad-
-10 oz mixed greens
-1 cup dried cranberries
-1 small red onion, thinly sliced
-4 oz soft goat cheese
Directions:
1. To make the dressing, whisk the vinegar, mustard, and thyme in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in oil and season with salt and pepper (Note--you will have leftover dressing).
2. To make the pecans, preheat oven to 325F. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with nonstick spray. Combine corn syrup, sugar, salt, pepper, and cayenne in a bowl, stirring to combine. Add pecans and stir to coat. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Bake pecans for 5 minutes before stirring. Return to oven for an additional 10 minutes. Transfer to a clean sheet of foil and separate nuts with a fork. Allow to cool completely and coarsely chop. (Can be made up to 3 days ahead and store at room temperature)
3. Combine greens with cranberries, red onion, pecans, and goat cheese. Toss with desired amount of dressing and serve immediately.
