Margaret's Fancy Salad

This winning salad recipe came through my sister's friend Margaret. At my house I always have to make extra caramelized pecans because each person who comes through the kitchen manages to sneak a few while they are cooling.

INGREDIENTS

Dressing
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup salad oil
1 tablespoon snipped parsley
2 tablespoons white vinegar

Salad
1 small can Mandarin oranges
2 green onions, sliced
1 tablespoon minced parsley
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup caramelized pecans
Romaine lettuce leaves

METHOD

Caramelize pecans: place 2 tablespoons white sugar in skillet. Add nuts. Stir over low heat until sugar melts and turns light brown and collects on nuts. Cool on a piece of foil.

Whisk together all dressing ingredients.

Combine salad ingredients in bowl, add dressing, toss and serve.

Beets with Orange Vinaigrette

Beets are one of the 'super-foods'. They are very rich in antioxidants and other things that are good for you like folate and manganese and potassium and fiber and Vitamin C, among other things.

These can be served as prepared or set on a bed of mixed lettuces, letting the citrus vinaigrette on the beets serve as dressing.

This recipe serves 6-8.



INGREDIENTS

3 pounds fresh beets
2 tablespoons raspberry vinegar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
3 tablespoons good olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup small-diced red onion
Zest from two large navel oranges
Segments of 2 large navel oranges

METHOD

Trim tops from the beets, rinse and wrap in foil. Bake in the foil wrapped packets until fork tender. Allow to cool enough so that you can handle them.

Peel and dice the beets into 1/2 inch cubes. While the beets are still warm, place them in a mixing bowl and add the raspberry vinegar, orange juice, olive oil, sugar, salt, pepper, red onions, orange zest, and orange segments. Mix well, taste for salt and pepper, and serve cold or at room temperature.

Place in refrigerator for a few hours or overnight to allow the flavors to blend. If you are in a hurry you can try canned baby beets.

This recipe is from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook.