Countdown to Christmas continues! Only two more days! Last night we celebrated Christmas at my parent's house just the four of us (well and my mom's cat Fitz). We had Chicago Beef Sandwiches, and I made my Three-Cheese Spirals aka fancy mac & cheese (both recipes also on the blog). We opened gifts and Brad and I shared our wedding photos with them which turned out AMAZING! I'm spending today in the kitchen and will be posting lots more holiday party-appropriate recipes so make sure you follow along on my insta story (@cuisineandcocktails)! I'm starting by sharing this salad which could not be more perfect for any holiday meal. Its full of fall/winter flavors but not too heavy so it won't fill you up when you have lots of other dishes to load onto your plate!
My Pear & Cranberry Holiday Salad is made up of mixed greens (I bought the "power greens" from Kroger which is baby spinach, mizuna, chard and kale), pear (you can use any kind - I bought a few small ones of different variety and used about ⅓ of each), candied pecans, dried cranberries and goat cheese topped with a homemade balsamic vinegar and maple syrup based dressing.
To make candied pecans quick and easy I use the stove. Combine brown sugar, vanilla, water and salt in a small bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat toast your halved pecans for 2-3 minutes stirring occasionally. Add your brown sugar mixture stirring constantly until coated.
Transfer to parchment paper to cool. Try to spaced them out. I didn't do a great job of that here LOL but once they are cool you can just break them apart into pieces.
Place your greens in a large serving bowl. Add pears, pecans, cranberries and goat cheese and toss. In a dressing shaker mix together balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, olive oil, dijon mustard and salt. I serve the salad with the dressing on the side so your guests can control how much they want to use. And that's it! Super easy but super festive! Enjoy!
- 6 oz mixed greens
- 1 pear total (but can use a variety of different kinds), chopped
- ⅔ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup candied pecans (see directions in post - 1 tbsp. brown sugar, 1 tsp. water, ⅛ tsp. vanilla, ⅛ tsp. salt, ½ cup halved pecans)
- 4 oz crumbled goat cheese
- 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp. pure maple syrup
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- ½ tsp. dijon mustard
- ¼ tsp. salt
- Add greens to a large salad bowl. Add pear, cranberries, pecans and goat cheese. Toss.
- In a salad shaker mix together balsamic, maple syrup, olive oil, dijon and salt. Serve over salad or on the side.
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