Winter Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing or one of Julie's favorite pot luck dishes

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This is one of my favorite pot luck dishes.  The dressing can be made a week in advance, the poppy seed can be substituted for either flax seeds or sesame seeds, the cashews can be successfully substituted with chickpeas, the pear and apple can be substituted for local seasonal fruit, which I am known for doing, and bagged ready to serve Romaine lettuce or mixed greens can be used in place of the large head of Romaine lettuce.

I happened upon this recipe at a Friend's Thanksgiving hosted by my friends, Bob and Michelle. Bob's mother brought this, and I instantly fell in love with it bringing it to countless pot lucks ever since.

While this recipe can be assembled the night before or at the pot luck, I do suggest some assembly of salad prior to heading out for the pot luck especially if you are unsure of what type of kitchen facility you'll have at your destination, which has happened to me during such gatherings. Some tips on partial pre-assembly:

• If using cubed apples, add them with the dressing to a freezer safe gallon size ziploc bag. This will keep them from turning brown and freezer safe bag's thick plastic will help guard against puncture and leaking. 
• If using cubed apples and chickpeas, add them both with the dressing to a freezer safe gallon size ziploc bag. This will keep the apples from turning brown and save you work during final assembly.
• If using cashews or swiss cheese, add these with the dried cranberries to a quart size ziploc bag. Once again, this will save you work during final assembly.
• The salad/serving bowl makes a great container to transport an unassembled or partially assembled salad, especially if you are taking public transportation to your destination.

Winter Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing (the recipe)

Dressing

½ cup sugar

1/3 cup lemon juice

2 tsp chopped onion or 1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp Dijon mustard or other spicy mustard such as Gulden's

½ tsp table salt or ¼ tsp kosher salt

2/3 cup oil, canola oil suggested

1 tbsp poppy seed, flax seed or sesame seed

If using a blender, combine sugar, lemon juice, onion, mustard and salt. Slowly add oil until it is thick and smooth. Add the poppy seed and process for a few minutes.

If mixing by hand, add lemon juice, oil and sugar to either a salad dressing shaker, salad dressing cruet or 2-cup pyrex measuring cup. Stir until blended. Add onion, salt, poppy seed, mustard. Mix until blended.

Salad

1 large head Romaine lettuce – torn into bite size pieces or 9 oz bag of ready to serve Romaine Lettuce

4 oz. Finely shredded swiss cheese (optional or serve on side if guest(s) have dairy allergy)

1 cup lightly salted cashews or 2 cups (1 – 19 oz can) of chickpeas, rinsed

¼ cup dried cranberries

1 apple, cubed

1 pear, cubed

(In summer, seasonal fruit can be substituted for interest and color variations.)

Add lettuce to large bowl followed by fruit, cranberries, chickpeas or cashews and swiss cheese. Add dressing. Toss. Serve.

Eggplant, meat and tomato with spices or Julie's version of Tongue of the Judge

While buying ground beef at a winter farmer's market yesterday, I was asked how I use the meat. In addition to the usual meatballs and sloppy joe's, I mentioned the following which is a variation of the recipe “Tongue of the Judge” from Gill Partington's The Axis of Evil Cookbook.

This is a traditional Middle Eastern dish I was first introduced to by my girlfriend, Louise, who brought it to a tea which a group of our friends have once every three to four months. Since then, both our friend, Sally, and myself have made this recipe for tea each with our own variations. So, here's my version.

Eggplant, meat and tomato with spices

I've found this to be a great make in advance recipe as it can sit in the refrigerator for 1 – 3 days prior to heating and serving. Additionally, the eggplant portion can be made in advance, refrigerated for up to 1 week or kept frozen for up to 3 months. I make the eggplant portion from local eggplant when it's in season and freeze it so it's ready for use.  If you've ever made a lasagna, you'll find the steps familiar.

1 - 2 pounds eggplant, diced

4 – 8 tablespoons olive oil, plus additional if needed.

1 - 2 teaspoons onion powder, plus additional, if needed.

1 - 2 teaspoons garlic powder, plus additional, if needed.

1 – 2 medium onions, chopped

1 pound ground beef, lamb or turkey

2 tomatoes diced or 1 - 15 oz can diced tomatoes

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 – 6 oz can tomato paste

To make the eggplant, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees farenheit. Put diced eggplant in either a large mixing bowl or gallon-size ziploc bag. Add olive oil, onion and garlic powder, adjusting amounts for taste and amount of eggplant. Mix if using bowl. Seal ziploc bag and shake until eggplant is covered. Place eggplant in either non-stick baking dish or baking dish sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. If you are not making this in advance, place eggplant in a covered casserole dish large enough to accommodate meat portion. Bake 30 minutes to 1 hour or until the largest pieces of eggplant are easily pierced with a fork. If making eggplant in advance, cool and then store in refrigerator in air tight container if using within a week. If freezing, put eggplant in a freezer safe container and freeze. This can remain frozen for up to 3 months.

If using previously cooked and frozen eggplant, thaw eggplant so it can be evenly spread in a covered casserole dish large enough to accommodate both the eggplant and meat portions. If making eggplant and meat portions simultaneously, wait until eggplant portion has cooked, been removed from oven and put on cooling rack prior to starting meat portion.

To make the meat portion, over medium to medium-high heat, saute the onions for 1 – 3 minutes, then add ground meat, continuing to stir and saute until meat is thoroughly cooked. Lower heat and add diced tomatoes and tumeric, stirring gently until thoroughly mixed. Add tomato paste, stirring gently again until thoroughly mixed. Layer meat portion evenly atop eggplant portion in covered casserole dish.

If making eggplant and meat portions simultaneously, serve, or cool completely prior to refrigerating. To heat prior to serving, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees farenheit and place covered casserole with meat and eggplant portions in pre-heated oven. Cook 25 – 45 minutes or until fork inserted in center is hot to touch when removed.