harvest salad & turkey day soup

Harvest Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette

Ingredients                                                                        

1 head Romaine lettuce, torn                                

1 bag, baby spinach leaves                                        

1 log goat cheese, sliced into rounds                          

1/2 cup dried cranberries                                           

3 granny smith apples, diced
crumbled bacon                                      

1/4 cup, candied pecans                                             

freshly ground black pepper         

                              

for the dressing:
1 T. bacon drippings

2/3 c. Olive oil
1 can frozen apple juice
1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
2/3 c. sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. smoked paprika
1/4 t. pepper

Directions:

Mix together vinegar, apple juice concentrate, and sugar in small mixing bowl. Whisk until sugar is dissolved. Add garlic, salt, paprika and pepper. Whisk in bacon drippings and oil. Toss romaine and spinach leaves. Place on salad plates. Arrange goat cheese on top of greens. Grind some black pepper over cheese slices. Add cranberries, apples and pecans. Serve dressing on the side. Use it very sparingly... a little goes a long way.

Turkey Day Soup

Ingredients:

6 c. turkey stock, heated and divided in half

4 to 6 c. red skin potatoes, diced

1 stick unsalted butter

2 medium onions, diced

1/4 c. flour

1 1/2 c. turkey, cooked and chopped

salt and pepper

pinch of poultry seasoning
can of whole berry cranberry sauce

Directions

In medium saucepan, cook potatoes in 3 c. turkey stock until tender. Set aside undrained. Melt butter in deep stock pot. Saute onions until translucent. Sprinkle with flour and let brown a little. Slowly add the remaining hot turkey stock. Simmer 5 or 10 minutes until slightly thickened. Add potatoes with cooking liquid. Add meat, black pepper and pinch of poultry seasoning. Taste and season with salt. Simmer 15 minutes. Place soup in bowl, topping with a small scoop of whole berry cranberry sauce, just before serving.

     The idea to use the little disposable shot glasses as individual salad dressing cups came from a business lunch I attended with my husband last summer in Orlando. The hotel served us a huge salad and right in the center of the bowl was a slender little glass containing our dressing! Each cup is two ounces, so even the most ardent dressing-lover had plenty.