Crunchy Almond Accents Harvest Salad Food

CRUNCHY CHINESE SALAD

Steps:

• First mix cabbage and onions in a large bowl, set aside.
• Melt butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Break noodles in small pieces and brown along with sesame seeds and almonds. Cool and drain on paper towels.
• To make dressing, mix together all ingredients and microwave to dissolve the sugar. Let cool (about 20 minutes) before serving. Dressing can be made a day ahead of time.
• Toss together all salad ingredients and add dressing, just before serving.

NORTH FORK HARVEST SALAD

Steps:

• To caramelize the pears: Cut each pear into 8 wedges. Melt the butter with the honey in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pears, reduce the heat to medium and cook until they are golden and caramelized on 1 side. Turn the pears and cook until browned and tender, about 5 minutes more. Transfer the pears to a platter to cool.
• To make the vinaigrette: Place the pumpkin in a saucepan. Add 2 inches of water. Cover and simmer over medium-high heat until the pumpkin is tender, about 12 minutes.
• Transfer the pumpkin to a blender. Add the ginger and shallots and puree, then add the Dijon and dried mustard. With the blender on, add the honey, then the lemon juice, oil, and orange juice. Season with the salt and pepper.
• To cook the duck: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Trim any excess fat from the duck breasts. Using a paring knife, score the skin in a diamond pattern being careful not to pierce the flesh. Rub the thyme leaves into the skin and flesh of the duck breasts, then season both sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil and then the duck breasts skin-side down. Cook, browning the skin and melting the under layer of fat for about 5 minutes. Drain the fat from the skillet then transfer the skillet to the oven. Roast for 18 to 22 minutes for medium rare. Remove the duck from the oven and rest it for 7 to 8 minutes before slicing. Turn the oven off.
• To prepare the goat cheese: Beat the eggs in a shallow bowl. Combine the bread crumbs, hazelnuts, red pepper, herbs, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl. Dip the cheese rounds in the egg then gently coat with the bread crumb mixture.
• Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Fry the cheese until golden, about 1 minute per side. Transfer the goat cheese to a baking sheet and hold in the oven (it will still be warm) until ready to serve.
• To assemble the salad: Dress the mustard greens with pumpkin vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper. Slice the duck. Put the greens on large plates. Arrange 4 pears on each plate. Top each salad with goat cheese and sliced duck. Season the salads with a bit more salt and pepper and serve accompanied by additional dressing, if desired.

AUTUMN HARVEST BURGER WITH CARAMELIZED ONION AND APPLE

Steps:

• Melt butter in skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions to hot pan and begin caramelizing, stirring occasionally. After 4 minutes or so, add apples to the onions and continue to cook until onions are golden brown, about 6 more minutes. Remove from heat when done.
• While onions and apples are cooking, blend together in a large bowl the ground beef, salt, pepper, thyme, Dijon, egg, and bread crumbs. Be sure ingredients are well incorporated, but don't over work. Form mixture into 4 good-sized patties. (hint: If you create a concave burger, with the center thinner than the edges, when it cooks the burger won't swell up to look like a meatball, but will remain flat and patty-like)
• Heat grill to medium-high heat.
• Place burgers on grill and cook about 10 minutes per side, or until cooked through. As burgers are finishing (after the first flip), spread mayonnaise on both cut sides of each split roll. Place rolls on grill, mayonnaise side down, to toast for about 1 minute, or until golden.
• Place each burger on the bottom half of a toasted roll. Top with about 1/4 cup of blue cheese, then with a generous scoop of the caramelized onion and apple mixture. Cover with the roll and serve.

CRUNCHY SALAD WITH COCOA VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Mix together the arugula, almonds, celery and cucumber. Set aside while you make the dressing.
• Whisk together the mustard, cocoa powder, balsamic and olive oil. Drizzle the salad with enough dressing to coat. Toss well together. Serve in individual bowls and garnish with shaved Parmesan.

BUTTERY ALMOND CRUNCH

Steps:

• Line an 8-in. square pan with foil; butter the foil with 1/2 tablespoon butter. Set aside., Spread the sides of a heavy saucepan with 1/2 tablespoon butter. Add 1/2 cup of butter, sugar and corn syrup. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Cook and stir until mixture is golden brown, about 3 minutes. Stir in almonds. Quickly pour into prepared pan. , Refrigerate until firm. Invert pan and remove foil. Break candy into pieces.

HARVEST SALAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, toss together the spinach, cranberries, blue cheese, tomatoes, avocado and red onion; set aside.
• In a small bowl, whisk together jam, vinegar, walnut oil, pepper and salt.
• Taste, and adjust amounts to suit your liking.
• Pour over the salad and toss to coat.

CRUNCHY TOSSED SALAD

Steps:

• In a small bowl, whisk the oil, sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper; shake well. Chill for 1 hour. , Just before serving, in a salad bowl, combine the lettuce, bacon, almonds, sesame seeds and onions in a large bowl. Whisk dressing and pour over salad; toss to coat. Top with chow mein noodles.

HARVEST SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Peel and seed the butternut squash; cut into 3/4 inch cubes.
• Toss together the squash, olive oil, honey, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. place in a single layer in a lightly greased aluminum foil lined jelly-roll pan.
• Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until the squash is tender and begins to brown, stirring once after 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, and let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
• Pulse the poppy-seed dressing and cranberries in a blender 3 to 4 times or until the cranberries are coarsely chopped.
• Toss together the squash, salad greens, feta cheese, pecans, and bacon on a large serving platter. Serve with the dressing mixture.