waldorfsalad.pdf         

A waldorf salad is a traditional salad for Thanksgiving.  I’ve never had it for my celebration, but I do know there are a lot of people who do.  Well, all I needed to do was make it once, and now I’m hooked.  I’m still not sure I’ll have it at Thanksgiving since there is already so much food, but I certainly won’t shy away from it.  It is fresh, crisp and very tasty…almost sweet enough for dessert!  You can serve it on a flat salad plate on a piece of pretty lettuce, or in a small dessert bowl.  I almost bought a set of 6 acorn shaped bowls this year for the holiday but my economic common sense kicked in and I passed, much to my husband’s approval!  Hahaha.

Ingredients List:

• 4 medium apples
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ¾ cup chopped celery
• ¾ cup halved seedless grapes
• ¾ cup chopped walnuts
• ¾ cup raisins
• ½ cup mayonnaise, salad dressing or organic vegenaise
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon lemon juice
• Ground nutmeg

Instructions:

1. Cut the apples into diced pieces, removing the core.  For a more interesting flavor, I used 1 Red Delicious, 1 Fuji, 1 Braeburn and a Cortland apple.  The variety made the salad even more interesting.

2. Place diced apples in a large bowl and add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to keep apples from turning brown.  Stir in the lemon juice so all of the apple pieces are coated.

3. Add the chopped celery, halved grapes, chopped walnuts and raisins.

4. To make the dressing, combine the salad dressing or mayonnaise (or vegenaise) with the sugar and ½ teaspoon lemon juice.  Mix well.

5. Add the dressing to the salad and mix well.  (Hey, is that Matt’s face in my vegenaise?)

6. Transfer the salad to a serving bowl and lightly top with nutmeg.  Place in the refrigerator until serving.  Should make about 8-10 servings.

The initial reason I made the waldorf salad was for a potluck gathering of friends where I was to bring fruit.  Well, I just couldn’t stand to make an ordinary mixed fruit salad, so the waldorf seemed like an interesting alternative.  For the kids I took wooden skewers and skewered pineapple, cantaloupe, grapes and a maraschino cherry or two just to make it a little bit more fun.  They were both a hit and I may never go back to cut up fruit in a bowl!!

Shari

 
© 2009.  mattandshari.com, all rights reserved.

Comments (11)

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written by Sherry, November 13, 2009

One of my favorite salads, except I always leave out the raisins because we just aren't big raisin fans. Do you have any suggestions for something to replace them with?

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written by annsturm, November 14, 2009

Try chopped dates. We have a family recipe for Raisin Butter Tarts that my mother made almost every year. We have never tasted them with raisins, she always used chopped dates. Every now and then I try to imagine the "real" recipe, but decide not to mess around with what we already like; although we do like raisins...

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written by Marie, November 14, 2009

Shari --- How much have you done with vegenaise? Have you baked with it? A couple of my daughter's friends are vegans, and my most-popular cupcake recipe uses mayo instead of eggs. I would like to try the recipe with the vegenaise so they can have something when I bake. Do you think it will work?
Marie

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written by Shari, November 14, 2009

Hi Marie!

First let me say how nice it was to meet you in Providence and meet your daughter! You two really came a long way to see us and we thank you for that. the kids have enjoyed the maple cotton candy but don't want to bite into the chocolate or New Hampshire candies. And, I've been awake since last weekend because of eating the coffe infused beans! hahaha. Thank you for your thoughtfulness. I think you know how much we appreciate you.

As for the vegenaise, I just went to the kitchen and compared it's consistency with my yet unfinished regular mayonnaise. Vegenaise is a slight bit softer and tastes less sweet, a bit more salty to me. It doesn't say anything on the label about using it in baking, but I'll bet if we surfed the internet for a while we could find recipes that use it. I'll check out a couple sites and see if I can find an answer for you.

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written by Cathy 48315, November 14, 2009

I have never even heard of 'vegenaise'! Is must be lower in fat and no cholesterol and all that, huh? Is it a noticeably different flavor than real mayo or light mayo?
Marie, I'd like some maple cotton candy and chocolate coffee beans!

~Cathy

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written by Cathy 48315, November 14, 2009

*Is = It

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written by Marie, November 15, 2009

We had a great time at the home show in Providence. My daughter is still talking about it. She wants to go to the Connecticut show that you are supposed to be at in the spring, too.
(I love the chocolate coffee beans! This particular chocolate maker, by the way, was featured in the season opener of "The Office". Their chocolate was part of a bet between competing branches of the fictional company.)

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written by Shari, November 16, 2009

Oh my gosh, what a riot! My daughter has the different seasons of The Office on DVD and every now and then we sit in her room and watch a few. I'll have to check for that episode when they come out on DVD!

Yes, Hartford is still on the books for the 6th of March. Another long drive for you and the presentation will change a little but the material is still the same....tell her that!

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written by matt, November 16, 2009

I will be driving as well, what is the name of the company...we need more chocolate!

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written by Marie, November 16, 2009

I told my daughter that the presentation would most likely be the same that she saw. She said that she figured that it would be, but she is insistent on wanting to see you again. So, we will be there in March.

The chocolate is by "Swan's". They are really tastey, and the owners are extremely nice. They have a couple of locations, Merrimack and Nashua, NH. Luckily, I am close to both. I'll try to bring by some more when we come to Connecticut.

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written by Shari, November 16, 2009

Cathy,

I haven't had real mayonnaise in my house in quite some time. Before Vegenaise we used Smart Balance Omega Plus which in one Tablespoon has 50 calories and 40 from fat. The switch to Vegenaise is because my family has decided to go vegetarian and my husband is vegan so I'm trying to accomodate everyone. Vegenaise is both egg and dairy free so no cholesterol, however, 1 Talbespoon has 90 calories and 80 from fat. The balance is that when you are eating mostly vegetables, you aren't adding to your fat intake, so a few extra calories in the dressing is OK. It's a complicated balance that I'm just beginning to learn.

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