Cranberry Salad

No more cranberry sauce out of the can! Euphemia Haye’s Chef Ray shows us how to make his delicious recipe for a Cranberry Salad – the festive starter for a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner!  Watch the cooking demo video below.

Ingredients:

• A spring mix of greens (approximately 1 oz. per person)
• 1 recipe of Cranberry Sauce (see below)
• 1 recipe of Candied Walnuts (see below)
• 1 recipe of Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette (see below)
• Orange zest to garnish

Prepare a salad with your favorite spring mix. Arrange greens on a large plate or on individual plates. Use 1 to 1.2 ounces of spring mix as a base (per person). Top with 1 or 2 Tbsp. of cranberry sauce (per person), 2 Tbsp. candied walnuts (per person) and enough raspberry vinaigrette to moisten entire salad. Serve immediately.

Cranberry Sauce

• 1 lb. bag of fresh Cranberries
• 1 Orange
• 3/4 cup Sugar
• 1/4 cup Port Wine
• 1/4 cup Water
• 1/8 Tsp. Cinnamon
• 1/8 Tsp. Ground Clove
• 1 Tsp. Corn Starch

Zest the Orange and reserve the zest. Peel and section the orange, reserving the juice and sections. Discard the peel and pith. Mix the cornstarch with all of the reserved orange pieces and set aside. Heat the sugar, water and port wine until sugar dissolves. Add the cranberries and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 2 – 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the ground cinnamon and clove and stir. Add the orange/cornstarch mixture. Stir and simmar for one minute longer. Chill and reserve.

Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette

• 1/4 cup Raspberry vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. Water
• 2/3 cup Walnut Oil
• 1 dash Cayenne Pepper
• 1 pinch Salt

Place the raspberry vinegar and water in a non-reactive bowl. Add the salt and pepper. Whisk in the walnut oil, by hand.

Candied Walnuts

• 1 cup Walnut halves
• 1 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
• 1 Tsp. Butter
• 1 dash of Cayenne
• 1 pinch of Salt

Place all the ingredients in a small saute pan and heat over a medium flame. Saute while shaking the ingredients, back and forth, until the sugar and butter have melted and coated the walnuts evenly. Pour onto a dish and cool. (These also make a nice snack. If you like, add a few more dashes of cayenne for a spicy snack.)