Tuesday, December 6, 2011

My Favorite Dish at Thanksgiving This Year

Does a green salad belong on the Thanksgiving table?  In my opinion, no.

But this year, my cousin Brad blew that opinion right out of the water with this salad.  I do not have a jaded palate - I adore food - I've had some amazing salads, but Brad's was the absolute best . . . I think.  Because I tried to recreate it at home and it was very good, but it wasn't moaning-good, third-helping good like it was at Thanksgiving. 


So I have to ask:  did I love it at Thanksgiving because it was such an anomaly?  Was I over-impressed because I didn't know my little cousin could handle food like that?  Have you ever had a tastebud-blowing experience with food, and then the next time with that food was underwhelming?  Food is far more psychological than I give it credit for.

But still, try this salad.  It's definitely in my top 10 food experiences.
(Recipe notes:  Don't skimp on the cayenne!  I used proscuitto, and did not brown it. I ignored the tarragon and chives.  I tossed the cut apples in some vinegar so they wouldn't brown.)

P.S.  See my sidebar for a link to a giveaway - you could win a pencil/pen roll from my etsy shop!

5 comments:

BLD in MT said...

Hmmmmm...in the interest of trying to like salad I have a question: Do you think it would still be tasty (even if not moaning-good) without the meat? I like apples, I like pecans. I like kale. Maybe they'd help me like salad. Or maybe the meat is too critical and I should go elsewhere for an apple-nut salad.

Margo said...

BLD, it was good and pleasant, but I think it's worth trying without. The kale was critical, the new thing to me, eating it raw in a salad like that.

Rebecca said...

Food pleasure is psychological as all get-out. We who cook day in and day out are especially susceptible, I believe, to the "Amazing! Someone else made it!" phenomenon. It still looks like a great salad. And much as it pains me to disagree with you, dear, T-giving is the PERFECT time for a green salad.

Beth said...

Yeah, that salad looks fabulous. Don't think I've ever had kale raw like that either, but it all sounds really good together.

I LOVE food - it is interesting to think about the psychological side of it all...

Polly said...

I LOVE having a green salad at thanksgiving, whatchoo talking about?!!!

I have seen so many raw kale recipes lately. It's like a food trend that keeps haunting me and I'm going to have to try it here soon. I may try this recipe--it looks wonderful. My husband and I love putting pecans on salads anyhow, so this just takes it to The Next Level.