Thanksgiving Salad & Stuffing

First of all, sorry for the delay on this blog. I have lots and lots of posts to write, but blogger appears to be worried about the amount of space I have for photos. It's sort of a losing battle. But, it let me do my thing this evening, so without further ado I take you back to...Thanksgiving.

For Thanksgiving J and I went to our friends' up in Estes Park. We had to work the next day but it was still a blast to do a big dinner and we knocked it out of the park.

My contribution was a Fall Spinach Salad with Cinnamon-Pear Vinaigrette. What made it an autumnal salad? Pear, red onion, pecans, and cranberries:

    •    1 cup thinly sliced red onion
    •    1/3 cup sweetened dried cranberries
    •    8 cups lightly packed fresh baby spinach leaves, stemmed if needed
    •    2 firm but ripe Bosc pears, unpeeled and cut into long, thin slices
    •    2/3 cup pecans, chopped

For the dressing we just used a combination of extra virgin olive oil and a cinnamon-pear infused balsamic vinegar that we purchased at a local specialty store. It was perfect as the dressing needed no added sugar, salt or pepper. It was perfect.

This is also the perfect segue into J's dish: the stuffing. Mushroom and rosemary stuffing to be exact. We bought a mushroom and sage infused olive oil at the same store and it was just wonderful.






J's recipe is adapted from this recipe at Real Simple.

• 3  tablespoons mushroom and sage infused olive oil (see above)
• 2  pounds baby portobello (cremini) mushrooms, quartered
• 6  tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the baking dish and foil
• 1  large loaf italian bread (about 1 pound), cut into 3⁄4-inch pieces (we used a store bought dried loaf already chopped)
• 2  medium onions, chopped
• 4  celery stalks, thinly sliced
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 3/4  cup dry sherry
• 2 1/2  cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 2  large eggs, beaten
• 1/2  cup  chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1  tablespoon  chopped fresh rosemary

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375° F. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, cook the mushrooms, tossing occassionally, until browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate and reserve the skillet.
2. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Divide the bread between 2 rimmed baking sheets and bake until dry and crisp, 10 to 12 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, wipe out the skillet and melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until very tender and beginning to brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the sherry and cook until evaporated, 2 to 4 minutes; transfer to a large bowl and let cool for 10 minutes.
4. Add the bread, broth, eggs, mushrooms, parsley, rosemary, and ½ teaspoon salt to the vegetables and toss to combine. Transfer to the prepared baking dish. Cover with buttered foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until browned, 20 to 30 minutes more. 
5. Top with a drizzle of the olive oil before serving. 

Adding the finishing touch...

The meal with everyone's contributions.