Harvest Salad with Maple Syrup Vinaigrette

This salad was inspired by a recipe on Closet Cooking, one of the most impressive cooking blogs out there. The interplay of flavors in this salad makes it really interesting--sweet squash and maple syrup vinaigrette contrasted with savory blue cheese and toasted pepitas. I'll be making this salad again tomorrow, on Thanksgiving.

Harvest Salad  
Serves 4

1 acorn squash or pumpkin, pealed and diced
Mixed salad greens
2 ounces blue cheese crumbles
2 tablespoons pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
2 tablespoons dried cranberries
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon sugar 
Salt and pepper
Maple syrup vinaigrette

1. Toss squash with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Roast at 400 degrees about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and add one teaspoon sugar. Let cool.
2. While squash is cooking, roast pepitas at 400 degrees for about 5 minutes. Watch carefully to avoid burning. Let cool.
3. Toss salad greens, blue cheese, roasted pepitas, roasted squash, cranberries, and maple syrup vinaigrette.


Maple Syrup Vinaigrette

1 tablespoon walnut oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
Salt and pepper

Whisk all ingredients together and serve with salad.

Cranberry, Green Onion, and Almond Wild Rice

Wild rice has a nutty flavor that pairs well with tart cranberries and crunchy green onions. You can find these ingredients year round, but I prefer to make this in the fall.

Cranberry, Green Onion, and Almond Wild Rice
Serves 4

1 cup wild rice or wild rice blend
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/4 cup dried cranberries
2 green onions, diced
2 tablespoons sliced almonds
Freshly ground cracked black pepper

1. Cook wild rice in broth according to package directions.
2. Add cranberries, green onions, and almonds.
3. Season with cracked black pepper.

Sweet Potato Samosas with Ginger-Cumin Cranberry Chutney

I love eating what's in season. Right now, sweet potatoes and cranberries are two of my favorite foods to experiment with. As we're nearing Thanksgiving, a lot of the recipes we see out there are variations on the same sweet potato casserole and cranberry sauce I've been eating my whole life. To change things up a bit, I decided to do sweet potatoes and cranberries with an Indian twist.



Sweet Potato Samosas
Serves 4

1 cup sweet potato puree (recipe follows)
1/4 cup frozen peas
1/4 an onion, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon tumeric
1/4 teaspoon ginger
Pinch of curry powder
Salt and pepper
1 pre-made pie crust
1 egg

1.) Saute onion and spices in olive oil over medium heat until onion is translucent
2.) Add peas and sweet potato puree, cook 5 minutes over low heat
3.) Cut the pie crust into triangles
4.) Put a spoonful of sweet potato mixture in center of each triangle
5.) Pull up sides of triangle and pinch together to form samosa
6.) Brush with egg white
7.) Cook at 450 degrees for 20 minutes

Sweet Potato Puree
1 sweet potato
Salt and pepper

1.) Peal and dice sweet potato
2.) Cook sweet potato in boiling water until tender, about 30 minutes
3.) Add salt and pepper and process in food processor until smooth


Ginger-Cumin Cranberry Chutney
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
1 garlic clove
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Salt

1.) Saute garlic in olive oil 1 minute on low heat
2.) Add spices and cranberries
3.) Cook over medium heat until cranberries pop, about 20 minutes
4.) Add brown sugar