Arugula Spinach Salad with Feta, Cranberries & Pecans

The holiday season is here and I'm sure you've been planning some special meals.

I try to make several new dishes each year at Thanksgiving and Christmas to go along with our family favorites to add something new and special to the mix.

This year this salad will be one of the stars.  It's a perfect winter salad that will accompany any choice of meat you are having.  Whether it be turkey, ham or beef, this will be perfect as a starter.  It's also a great choice for vegetarian meals as well, and you can certainly leave out the dairy if you choose.

I love this salad for it's flavor combination of sweet and salty. You have the slightly peppery arugula and the ever steady spinach.  The sweet plump cranberries (reconstituting dried cranberries is easy!) and the salty bite from the feta.  Add more crunch with toasted pecans, and some coolness from some Persian cucumbers and you have one awesome salad!

Now the real treat is in the dressing.  The pomegranate vinegar lends another tart fruity flavor to the salad which goes just perfectly with these simple ingredients.  

Trust me, everyone who has ever eaten this salad has asked for the recipe.  So now I'm sharing it with you!  Hope you serve this at your holiday dinner this year.

Enjoy!




Arugula Spinach Salad with Feta, Cranberries & Pecans

serves 8-10

3/4 cup dried cranberries
1 1/2 cups boiling water
3 Tablespoons orange juice
1 1/2 Tablespoons pomegranate vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
6 Tablespoons olive oil
3 Tablespoons Italian parsley, chopped
salt & pepper
5 oz baby arugula (1/2 package)
5 oz fresh spinach (1/2 package)
3 Persian cucumbers, peeled and sliced
1 cup pecan halves, toasted
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled

Place the boiling water in a liquid measuring glass, and add the cranberries.  Let them soak for 10 minutes, then drain.

In a small bowl or jar add the orange juice, vinegar, and mustard.  Add the oil and whisk or shake until blended.  Add the parsley to the vinaigrette and stir or shake once more. 
Season with salt & pepper to taste.  

Place the arugula and spinach in a large bowl.  Add the cranberries, cucumbers, pecans, and feta cheese.  Toss with vinaigrette, or serve on the side.  

Sauteed Shredded Brussels Sprouts

Christmas is coming up and I wanted to bring you a couple of wonderful side dishes that I'll be serving this year.

One of my favorite celebrity cooks is Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa.

I have seen her in person at book signings and talks several times, and own several of her cookbooks. I just love her style of cooking.  She takes simple food and makes them fabulous.  Plus, her recipes are so well thought out and accurate that you can't go wrong with them!

A perfect example of taking something simple and making it fabulous is this wonderful side dish of Brussels spouts.  I saw her cooking on the Food Network the other day with Bobby Flay (another favorite) and they were mixing their two styles for a Thanksgiving feast.  Ina threw together this side dish in a matter of minutes on top of the stove.  Who doesn't love cooking something on the stove when all the prime real estate in the oven is taken?  

Back to the recipe...it has 5 ingredients.  Yep! 5 INGREDIENTS of which salt/pepper, oil, and butter are three of them.  This dish couldn't be easier.  But yet, it tasted spectacular!  Shredded Brussels sprouts are sauteed in a skillet in oil and butter, then seasoned and drizzled with a syrupy balsamic vinegar.  That's it!  SIMPLE!  Oh!  and you can make start them the day before.  I love make ahead dishes.  It save you so much time during the main event! (See my Kitchen Tip below.)

Kitchen Tip: MAKE AHEAD IDEA - You can shred the Brussels sprouts a day ahead and place them in a plastic bag with a damp paper towel.

You might be saying "Oh, I don't like Brussels sprouts!"  Well let me tell you, these will convert anybody into a Brussels sprouts lover.

Enjoy!



Sauteed Shredded Brussels Sprouts

source:  Ina Garten via FoodNetwork.com

serves 6


2 (12 ounce) packages Brussels sprouts, ends and brown leaves trimmed
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons good olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon syrupy balsamic vinegar

Place the Brussels sprouts in the feed tube of the food processor fitted with a large slicing disc.  (There is no need to core them.)  Process the Brussels sprouts until they're all sliced.

Place the butter and olive oil in a large (12 inch) saute pan and heat it over medium heat.  Add the Brussels sprouts, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and saute them, stirring frequently, for about 4 to 5 minutes, until tender but still bright green.  Stir in the balsamic vinegar, season to taste and serve hot.

Cook's Note:  Because you're shredding the Brussels sprouts, there's no need to core them.  Place the shredded Brussels sprouts in a plastic bag with a damp paper towel for up to a day.

Honey and Graham Snack Mix

Every evening when MGG comes home he immediately starts snacking.

He looks around the kitchen for little bites of something, not really anything in particular to snack on.  It could be some crackers, a piece of chocolate, or some hummus.  Really anything.

They guy has no control when it comes to snacking.  I'll go in the other room and come back and find he's eaten a LOT of something.  This has been a problem that I've had to tackle for quite some time.  On top of the fact that he doesn't seem to gain weight (I hate that!) with all this eating it does force me to be creative by keeping healthful snacks around. Grapes are always good.  However, sometimes you just want a little sweet/salty something.

This led me to make on of our favorite snack mixes.  I make a big batch of this cereal based mix and keep it in a big storage container for easy grabbing, cause I know when he walks through that door all bets are off and the snacking is on!

Cereal is a really good choice for snacking.  I'm sure you do it too.  This particular mix has a couple of our favorites. Fiber One makes a great Honey Clusters which provides you with extra fiber.  The Golden Grahams is more savory and blends well. I added a sweet salty nut and some raisins this time around.  Dried cranberries are another favorite to substitute for the raisins.  Make it your own.  It's all good.

So I feel better now that his snacking is a little healthier than before.  No cooking involved with this one, which is a plus!  

We both enjoy this cereal type "trail mix".  I'm sure you will enjoy it too!

Happy snacking!



Honey and Graham Snack Mix

serves 16

3 cups Fiber One Honey Clusters cereal

3 cups Golden Graham cereal

1 1/2 cup honey-roasted peanuts

3/4 golden raisins

additional options:  dried cranberries, mini chocolate chips, raisins, dried cherries, yogurt chips, M&Ms, yogurt covered raisins.

In large bowl mix ingredients.  Store tightly covered in a plastic container or storage bag.