Winter fruit salad recipe

Although I’m not 100% strict about it, I do try my best to eat seasonally as well as locally.  This helps to keep our bodies in harmony with nature, and is more healthful for us as well as the planet.  I know, easy for me since I live in Southern California.  It’s true we do have access to such a bounty of wonderful fresh produce all year.  But not even in sunny Southern California do I find locally grown melons and stone fruits in the dead of winter.  You might find a few vendors at local farmer’s markets who sell berries grown in hot houses all year long.  But I haven’t seen any farms with cantaloupes and watermelons in their fields in December.   

Yet people love a good fruit salad for brunch or after dinner and for some reason I don’t see too many fruit salads without watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe and strawberries even at this time of year.  Sure these fruits look lovely together and are easy to cut up, but when was the last time you tasted a fabulous piece of watermelon on Christmas?  It’s time to think outside the fruit salad box and try a combination that is a more natural complement to gingerbread and pumpkin and everything else you’re serving for your holiday brunches.  I’ve been making this delicious fruit salad for several years and I am still obsessed with it. I use pears, apples, pomegranate seeds and dried fruit, but it’s the spiced-infused steeping liquid that takes it over the top.  If you’ve never used star anise, it is amazing.  It imparts a beautiful, floral, licorice flavor to the syrup.  If you can’t find it, just sub a cinnamon stick.

Technically I think this would be considered a fruit compote, but we don’t worry about semantics here.   Whatever you call it it’s easy peasy, and the best part — you guessed it — do ahead!   Which is why this fruit salad is really SO perfect for Christmas morning or any of your holiday brunches.  I have also made it for a more healthful after-dinner dessert option which is always so welcome during a season of cookies and pies and cookies and chocolate and… cookies.  But actually my favorite way to eat it is with yogurt and some sliced almonds — what a scrumptious breakfast or snack that is!

Here’s hoping your Christmas is merry and bright and that you can spend it with the ones you love!

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Winter Fruit Salad
Author: 
Serves: 4-6
 
Ingredients
  • ¾ cup maple sugar or cane sugar (I used maple sugar in these photos.)
  • 3 star anise or 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 2-inch piece of ginger, cut into slices
  • ½ of a vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
  • 4 2-inch long pieces of lemon rind (use a vegetable peeler)
  • 8 dried unsulphured apricots, thinly sliced
  • 4 dried unsulphured figs, thinly sliced
  • Juice of the zested lemon
  • 3 firm Bosc pears or Asian pears
  • 1 firm tart apple
  • Seeds from half a pomegranate
Instructions
  1. Fill a medium saucepan with 4 cups water. Add the sugar, star anise, ginger, vanilla bean and lemon rind. Bring to a boil, and simmer until all the sugar is dissolved. Let it cool for just a few minutes, but still hot and then add the dried figs and apricots. Set aside to cool completely.
  2. Peel and core the pears and apple, if desired. Slice thinly crosswise (1/4-inch slices) and place in a large bowl. Sprinkle with the lemon juice and toss to coat.
  3. Once the syrup with dried fruit has cooled, pour it over the apples and pears. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight.
  4. The next morning, remove the fruit with a slotted spoon and transfer it into a serving bowl. You can remove or leave the ginger, vanilla beans, star anise and lemon zest. Sprinkle with the pomegranate seeds and serve.
Notes
Syrup can be made up to two days in advance and kept refrigerated. Salad can be fully prepared and kept refrigerated up to two days. Other dried fruit that works well – dried cherries, raisins, peaches, persimmons

 

Raw Brussels Sprout Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing Recipe

Good gracious, I do believe Christmas is a mere seven days away.  I should probably get started on that box of holiday cards sitting next to my desk, what do you think?  I also have a couple of gifts to buy, but that hasn’t been occupying my thoughts as much as food.  Shocking, I know.  There is a lot of food planning that I have going on right now.  First off, United Airlines decided to cancel my 8:30 am flight (reasonable time) to NY and rebook us on a 6:14 am flight (unreasonable, horrible, why-bother-going-to-bed-at-all time.)  So I need to figure out breakfast and lunch for everyone and get that packed the night before.  Let me know if you have any suggestions otherwise I’m making kale salad with quinoa and a bunch of pumpkin muffins and that’s that.

I also need to plan 3 meals a day for the time we’re at my parents’ house.  My sisters come with their little ones and I turn into the culinary director for the week.  I adore my mother, but I don’t think I can handle hearing her ask me every day, “Now what do you want to do for lunch?” (or dinner)  And the last thing I want to do is head out to the market every day in chilly weather without a plan when I could be working on a puzzle and sipping hot tea while a huge pot of veggie chili simmers on the stove.  Ahhhhh……So my plan is to come up with the menu for the week and email my mother the grocery list and we’ll all be sitting pretty.

But the big decision before I leave is what should I bring for Christmas Eve dinner, the biggest potluck of the year?  It’s tricky since I arrive fairly close to the 24th and I don’t have too much prep time.  The other challenge is that I need to make enough to feed oh, about 80 people.  For years and years I brought dessert like cucidati, a Sicilian fig cookie, or gingerbread cake.  Easy enough.  But last year, I felt motivated to get some more veggies on the tables since 80% of the meal seems to revolve around fish of some sort.  So of course I decided to make Brussels Sprout Leaf Salad, one of my favorite salads ever.  Incredibly delicious, super healthful, so seasonal and really pretty.  BUT, probably the most ridiculous salad to make for EIGHTY PEOPLE.  Why?  Because you have to separate all the leaves, blanche them and spin them dry.  I’m not sure why I thought this was a good idea.  Oh, wait.  Now I remember.  I thought my darling sisters and my lovely daughters would help me.  Ha.  Ha.  Are you picturing me sitting at the kitchen table for hours on December 23rd all by myself?  Cranky face.

So this year is going to be different.  I’m going to make an equally tasty brussels sprout salad, one that my husband and my daughters are crazy about, but not have to be a slave to the sprouts.  This salad debuted just this year on my Thanksgiving class menu and it has made several appearances at our dinner table.   It’s crunchy and kind of tart-sweet and you have no idea you’re eating brussels sprouts (not that there’s anything wrong with them.)  In fact, they are beyond nutritious and super delicious raw.  This salad even tastes great the next day for lunch boxes.  If you are dairy-free or vegan, feel free to leave out the manchego cheese.  By the same token, do have fun with this salad and substitute feta instead or add pomegranate seeds or your favorite nut in place of the sliced almonds.

Here’s my plan for bringing this to dinner on Monday night:

  • Sunday:  make dressing and refrigerate
  • Sunday:  wash, dry, trim and thinly slice Brussels sprouts and refrigerate
  • Sunday:  shred manchego cheese (I do this on a box grater) and refrigerate
  • Monday afternoon:  cut apples and store in cold water
  • Just before serving:  drain apples and add to sprouts, cheese and almonds.  Dress with vinaigrette and serve.

Ooops.  Forgot one more thing.  Sunday:  Make tea and start 1000 piece puzzle.  Stay in pajamas as desired.

5.0 from 1 reviews
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Raw Brussels Sprout Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
Author: 
Serves: 6
 
Ingredients
  • 1 pound Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed, halved
  • 1 large crisp apple, cored and cut into julienne
  • ⅓ pound of Manchego cheese, shredded
  • ½ cup sliced almonds
  • Dressing:
  • 3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar, preferably unpasteurized
  • ½ small shallot, finely diced
  • 1 ½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 teaspoon raw honey or pure maple syrup
  • 1 Tablespoon poppy seeds
  • 6 Tablespoons unrefined, cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
  1. Slice the Brussels sprouts as thinly as possible with a sharp knife. If necessary, you can use the slicing disc on a food processor, but it won’t be super thin. Place in a serving bowl.
  2. Add the apple, Manchego and almonds to the shredded Brussels sprouts.
  3. In a small bowl or in a jar with a screw-top lid, combine all dressing ingredients until emulsified. Add drizzle enough dressing onto the sprouts mixture to coat lightly. Toss to combine well and taste for seasoning.

Perfect Apple Pie Recipe

I am teaching Apple Pie in my Thanksgiving classes this month and I thought I really should share the recipe with you too, my dear readers.  Perfect for Thanksgiving or if you’re hunkered down watching Election Day coverage tonight.  What is more American, classic and delicious in the fall than a homemade apple pie?  It just oozes love and hugs, don’t you think?  My boyfriend in college was so smitten when I made him an apple pie, I think it’s one of the reasons he asked me to marry him!  Still works!

In addition to pumpkin pie, apple has been on my Thanksgiving table every year since I’ve been married.  I make it the way I like it, not too sweet and not overly spiced, so you really taste the apples.  At this time of year, there are so many varieties of apples with different flavors and textures, and everyone has his or her favorite.  But I think the secret to the best apple pie is using a few different types of apples. When I make apple pie, I like to choose a sweet, a tart and a soft variety.  The flavors are more complex and texture is fabulous.

Do plan ahead when making any pie, especially if you are making the crust from scratch, which I definitely think you should!  Pies take a good hour to bake and I think they benefit from cooling a bit out of the oven.  The juices settle and thicken up and I think apple pie tastes better warm, rather than piping hot, but I know some of you will disagree.

If you are looking to do some of the work in advance, you can make your crust a few days ahead and refrigerate it or a few months ahead and freeze it.  You can also combine your dry ingredients for the pie filling ahead and keep the mixture in a covered container in the pantry.  Unfortunately, you will need to peel and slice your apples just before filling your pie, but it’s a fun activity to do at the kitchen table with your child or friends.  I bake two apple pies on Thanksgiving morning, but I make sure they are out of the oven before the turkey needs to go in.  When the girls were younger, they would always help peel and slice the apples while we watched the Macy’s parade on television.  It’s a lovely memory of time together in the kitchen, but it’s just a memory since the girls haven’t woken up before 11:00 am on Thanksgiving in a few years.  Although I’ll admit, the smiles on their sleepy faces as I pull those pies out of the oven is still just as precious.

PERFECT APPLE PIE

MAKES 1 9-INCH DOUBLE-CRUST PIE

 

3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour (this gets used in the filling) + more for dusting countertop

1 recipe for double pie crust 

1 large egg yolk

1 Tablespoon heavy cream, half-and-half, or whole milk

1 pound tart apples, such as Granny Smith

1 pound sweet apples, such as Fuji

1 pound soft apples, such as Golden Delicious

2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

¼ cup organic cane sugar + extra for optional sprinkling on crust

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

pinch ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon sea salt

1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

 

  1. Roll one disk of pie dough on a lightly floured countertop, regularly checking to make sure disk is not sticking to counter.  Roll into a 12-inch round.  Fit pastry into a 9-inch pie plate.  Roll second disk in the same manner.  Transfer to a baking sheet and refrigerate pie shell and 12-inch round until ready to fill pie.
  2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk and cream.
  3. Peel, core and slice apples crosswise into ¼-inch slices.  Transfer to a large bowl and mix in lemon juice, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.  Combine well.  Arrange apple mixture in pie shell and dot with butter.
  4. Place the rolled out disk on top of the apples and press down gently.  Press together the dough at the rim of the pie plate to seal.  Tuck top dough under bottom dough and crimp around the edge as you like.  Brush the top of the pie with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar, if desired.  Cut three slits into the top center of the pie crust to allow steam to escape.  If pie dough is feeling very soft, place pie in the freezer until firm.
  5. Place pie on a baking sheet.  Bake 20 minutes.  Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.  Continue baking until the crust is golden and the juices are bubbling and have thickened, about 40-50 minutes more.  Transfer to a cooling rack to cool.   Pie can be kept at room temperature for up to 2 days.

 

Harvest chopped salad

Halloween is tomorrow, but to tell you the truth, I don’t make much of an effort to show my “spirit” with cupcakes that look like spiders or swamp slime green Jell-o.     Do my kids really need marshmallow ghosts on top of the candy  I have not forbidden them to inhale as they trick-or-treat?  Silly question!  Actually, my only food strategy on Halloween is to make a very hearty , filling dinner, like vegetable chili with brown rice, so the kids aren’t starving while they carry around a sack o’chocolate.  Works for me!

If you checked out my post last Thursday, you probably guessed I have bypassed Halloween and gone straight into Thanksgiving mode.   Not only have I already taught two Thanksgiving classes, but I am starting to check tasks off my list.   Invites — out.  Menu — planned.  Turkeys — ordered.  So if you’re like me and you’re daydreaming about maple-glazed root vegetables instead of witch cakes,  let’s get down to business!

The vegetables are really the only part of the menu that I get to have any fun at all.  My family and guests would have a rebellion if I didn’t make roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and sweet potato casserole.  So every year I try some new salads and vegetables just to mix it up a bit.   This salad is one of my absolute favorites and not just for Thanksgiving.  I have made this for other holiday dinners and for friends, and I always save a little extra for me for the next day’s lunch.  This salad is the perfect complement to a Thanksgiving meal consisting of lots of cooked food,  much of it soft and beige.  Not only will all of these colors brighten up your holiday buffet table like little jewels, but you’ll be happy to have something juicy, crunchy and (is this a crime?) healthful to eat.  Even though there are apples, pomegranates and dates in the salad, it doesn’t feel too sweet.  It’s more like a tart-sweet, a perfect complement to roast turkey.

This salad is also ideal for Thanksgiving since you can prep almost all of it the day before.  Oh yeah!   No need to squeeze anything into your already monopolized oven or dirty any measuring spoons the day of.  You can blanche the beans the day before, roast the beets two days before, chop fennel the day before and cover with a damp paper towel, seed the pomegranate several days before, chop walnuts whenever you want, and make the salad dressing several days in advance.  The only last minute item is the apples which you can dice a few hours in advance and keep in ice water in the refrigerator.  Just drain and pat dry before adding to the salad.  How’s that for a plan!

 

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Harvest Chopped Salad
Author: 
Serves: 6
 
Ingredients
  • 6 ounces green beans, trimmed
  • 3 stalks celery or 1 bulb fennel, diced (I prefer fennel.)
  • 1 cup pomegranate seeds (about 1 medium pomegranate)
  • 1 large crisp apple (e.g. Fuji or Granny Smith), diced (peeled or unpeeled)
  • 1 cup walnuts, chopped
  • 3 dates, pitted and diced (easier to cut when they’re cold)
  • 1 cup diced roasted golden beets (can be done the day before)*
  • Vinaigrette: (can be prepared several days in advance)
  • 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 2 Tablespoons fresh orange juice
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • a few grinds of black pepper
  • 2 teaspoons minced shallot
  • 2 teaspoons 100% pure maple syrup
  • 3 Tablespoons unrefined, cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 Tablespoons walnut oil (or use all olive oil)
Instructions
  1. Prepare a large bowl with ice water. Blanche green beans for 2 minutes in boiling, salted water. Drain and submerge into ice water. Drain, pat dry and slice on the diagonal into bite sized pieces. (Can be done the day before.)
  2. In a large bowl combine beans, chopped celery, pomegranate, apple, walnuts, dates and beets.
  3. Prepare the vinaigrette: whisk all the ingredients in a small bowl. Pour enough vinaigrette over vegetables to coat lightly. Taste for salt and pepper.
Notes
*To roast 1-2 beets, wrap each one in parchment and then foil. Or follow the photos above to roast a pan of several beets. Roast in a 400 degree oven until tender when pierced with the tip of a knife. Large ones can take about 60 minutes. Allow to cool and then peel off the skins.

 

Cranberry Sauce with Apples and Raspberries

Cranberry Sauce with Apples and Raspberries | Pamela Salzman
Cranberry Sauce with Apples and Raspberries | Pamela Salzman
Photo by Carley Rudd

I use a cranberry sauce recipe for Thanksgiving that has been in my family longer than I have.  My aunt received the recipe over 40 years ago from a colleague in New Jersey, who received it from someone who lived in her apartment building in New York City.  I have loved this cranberry sauce for as long as I can remember.  It makes no sense to me why I ever tried other recipes since this one is everything a cranberry sauce should be — uncomplicated, tart, slightly sweet, chunky and fresh.  My kids eat it in a bowl with a spoon, on top of oatmeal, pancakes, or French toast, or swirled into plain yogurt.  And of course, it’s divine on turkey or a turkey sandwich.

The original recipe shows its age a bit since it calls for 1 pound of fresh cranberries, because Ocean Spray used to make their bags in 1-pound sizes.  Now they’re 12 ounces.  The recipe also calls for frozen raspberries instead of fresh because I don’t think you could possibly get fresh raspberries in November 40 years ago.  I have made my own small changes, but it still tastes just as delicious.  I couldn’t help trying to cut back on the sugar a bit by substituting apple juice for water and reducing the quantity of sugar.  And this year I used sucanat in place of granulated sugar and no one could tell the difference.  My aunt’s recipe originally called for “chopped pecans to taste” which I have never put in simply because when I first started making the cranberry sauce, pecans were out of my budget.  So I’ve left them out all these years and I can’t say I miss them.

One thing that has never changed is that I make the cranberry sauce every year the Sunday before Thanksgiving because my aunt does, too.  We call each other on Sunday morning.  In fact, I just got off the phone with her.  “Are you chopping apples?”  “I sure am!”  I make enough for our Thanksgiving dinner with a little for leftovers (two times the recipe.)  But my aunt makes vats of it and then drives around town delivering jars of cranberry sauce to all of her lucky friends.  Our conversation cracked me up this year as she informed me she found BPA-free plastic containers for her sauce and this year she went organic with all the fruit.  I think she’s been reading my blog.  Although when I mentioned the sucanat to her, she said “don’t push it.”

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

 

 
 
 
 
 
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5.0 from 2 reviews
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Cranberry Sauce with Apples and Raspberries
Author: 
Serves: makes about 5 cups
 
Ingredients
  • ½ cup granulated sugar, coconut sugar, maple sugar, or sucanat (you can add more if you like it sweeter)
  • 1 cup unsweetened apple juice
  • 1 pound fresh cranberries, washed and picked through for bruised ones
  • 1 10-ounce bag of unsweetened frozen raspberries or 10 ounces fresh raspberries
  • 2 apples* (any variety is fine), peeled and diced (same size as a cranberry)
  • chopped pecans to taste (optional)
Instructions
  1. In a large saucepan, combine the sugar or sucanat and apple juice and bring to a boil. Add cranberries, cover and boil until berries pop, about 5-8 minutes.
  2. Add raspberries and stir.
  3. Add apples and cook 1 minute.
  4. Add chopped nuts if desired.
  5. Cool to room temperature and refrigerate.
Notes
*This will thicken as it cools and the apples will turn red. The more tart the apples, the more pectin and the thicker the sauce will get.

Good idea to make this the Sunday before Thanksgiving!