I wanted to try to lighten the meal up a little and so included a leafy green salad. The real star here was the Cider Vinaigrette, which I adapted from an Ina Garten recipe. I think it would also be good served with some roasted vegetables or on a variety of salad mixes. For my salad, I combined arugula, toasted walnuts, dried cranberries, roasted red onions and grated Parmesan cheese. It was a nice balance and a salad I will make for dinner again soon.
Cider Vinaigrette
- 3/4 cup apple cider
- 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons minced shallots
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup walnut oil
Combine the apple cider, vinegar, and shallots in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the cider is reduced to about 1/4 cup. Remove from the heat and whish in mustard, oil and salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm or at room temperature.
***It you don’t have walnut oil this is also good with olive oil. You could substitute 1/2 cup of good extra virgin olive oil if you prefer. Since the flavor of the walnut oil is stronger, I only used 1/4 cup.
:)Ibti says:
February 13th, 2009 at 10:06 am
This salad was AMAZING! My pal Tori made it as part of a dinner at my place last night. We devoured the salad. The rest of the meal was okay, too. (Actually, dessert was amazing, but I didn’t make that part, either.) After the dinner guests left, I feel some strange need (sheepishness? catholic guilt?) to admit that the dressing was so good I found myself scouring the kitchen for other things I could use to mop up the rest of the dressing out of the saucepan. Bread worked well. So did my fingers. I’m excited to try out some of your other recipes!