We had a full week of family, food and Thanksgivings at our house. Family began arriving on Tuesday and some were still here the following Monday.
What can one do but cherish, cook, and feed them?
To recap my Thanksgiving week and meals:
Tuesday: Went out dinner (Thank goodness!)
Wednesday: The Hubs secret gravy recipe with grilled Italian sausage
Thursday:
Lunch–13 Bean Chili and kale salad
Dinner–Boeuf Bourguignon and Kale & Pear Salad with Shallot Vinaigrette
Friday:
Lunch–leftovers
Dinner–homemade pizza
Saturday:
Garlic Confit Rubbed Turkey (A 22 lb. turkey, I might add.)
Riesling Gravy
Sautéed Swiss Chard
Curried Butternut Squash
Mom’s stuffing
Slow Cooker Creamed Corn
Cranberry Sauce
Brioche Rolls
Lemon Pecan Tart
Chocolate Pie
Mom’s Pecan Pie
Sunday: Leftovers, leftovers, leftovers!
Yes, I know that the Thanksgiving meal was on Saturday and we had Boeuf Bourguignon on Thanksgiving. Such is life as you coordinate the holidays with three families. (Also, if you’re interested in what we munched on for breakfasts you can go to Maple-Chai Pumpkin Muffins and Company’s Coming Granola.)
But, back to the recipe at hand. This salad is delicious and could certainly be a meal itself. I served small portions as a first course to our Boeuf Bourguignon. The recipe comes from Libby Billings of Elote Cafe and The Vault.
Kale and Pear Salad with Shallot Vinaigrette
Kale and Pear Salad with Shallot Vinaigrette
Ever so slightly adapted from T. Magazine (Winter 2015)1 T. plus 1 t. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 large shallot
3 T. rice wine vinegar
3 T. honey
4 dashes Angostura bitters
salt and pepper, to taste
pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 c. whole pecans
1 anjou pear, cored and sliced lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices
2 T. brown sugar
4 c. kale, chiffonade cut
1/2 c. blue cheese crumbles
1/2 c. dried cranberriesHeat 1 T. oil and saute shallots for about 5 minutes (until soft and caramelized but not crispy). Remove from heat and whisk in honey and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Toss pecans in 1 t. olive oil, Angostura bitters, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. Toast nuts on sheet pan at 350 degrees for 5-7 minutes. Set aside.
Toss pears in brown sugar and a pinch of salt. Sear on a grill or cast-iron skillet until caramelized in color but still firm, about 3 minutes on each side.
Sprinkle kale with salt and pepper. Toss kale in shallot vinaigrette, then top with pears, pecans, blue cheese and cranberries.
Maybe you can use this salad for a special meal during the upcoming holidays.
I had some kale salad today too, but with apples :-)) You surely had a busy and fun week, Debra.
Apples could easily be subbed in for this, Angie.
I’m so glad that you serve salad at your Thanksgiving meal. We do too and so many people find it odd because most traditional meals are a carb overload. The kale and pears together look fantastic.
Except keeping with traditions and eating turkey, I could live on the veggie sides during the holidays. In fact, my leftover meals have been more about bowls of sweet potatoes, stuffing, corn, and gravy. I know that isn’t healthy, but it was delicious.
So tell me…how did those pecans make it to the salad? I would have eaten them all right out of the oven. What a great combination of ingredients Debra! Love this salad!
I didn’t use them all on the salads and they went pretty quickly. Pistachios were too expensive and I had just bought five pounds of native pecans.
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This was amazing at Eliot’s table.
Wow!