It's a Date!

My favorite cousin, Vickie, recently reached a major milestone birthday.  Her daughter, Laura, (who moved to my town a few months ago) planned a big family dinner/party.  My hat is off to her since she was still in the midst of unpacking her boxes from the move and had only a few days before given birth to her second child!  If I had done just ONE of those things, I would be giving myself the rest of the year off.  Laura did it with ease.  Okay, where was I? Oh yes, birthday dinner/party.  Several people came from out-of-town, so they were excused from the "would you bring ____ " part of the dinner/party preparations.

I was happy to be a contributing member to the event's menu.  I love being asked to bring something to a food fest.  I know this is WRONG - you're not supposed to try new recipes on company.  But, I figure it's my chance to experiment on unsuspecting and possibly normally unwilling victims - um, guinea pigs.

Since I already have a reputation in the family for bringing 'an interesting salad', that is exactly what I was asked to do.  It was late October and I wanted to bring a seasonal salad.  Only problem was, I had no idea what kind of salad would be considered a fall or autumn salad.  A spring salad is easy.  Baby greens, tiny radishes, anything that grows quick and early.  Even a summer salad easily brings to mind things like tomatoes, cucumbers - things that flourish in the heat of summer.  But, when I tried to imagine a fall or autumn salad, nothing came to me.

Back to my trusty favorite recipe idea locations.  Old cookbooks, new cookbooks, foodie-type magazines, newspaper clippings, Internet searches, my mom's recipe box, and two boxes full of recipes torn out of magazines.

I think the inspiration for this salad came mostly from a recipe I found while doing an Internet search.  As usual, I've personalized it to my taste and the occasion.  Truthfully, I wasn't sure if I was going to like it.  But, it has all the ingredients of autumn.  Large leafy greens, Satsuma mandarins, dates (now you get the title, right?), nuts...

It turned out to be one of the best salads I've tried in a very long time.  Unbeknownst to me, my dear cousin (the birthday girl) is NOT a date fan.  In fact, she told me later that she doesn't eat dates - doesn't like them and doesn't want to like them.  But, because I brought the salad and it looked 'real interesting' she decided to give it a try.  She sounded a little surprised as she spoke these words, "I haven't eaten a date in years.  I still don't like them and don't plan to eat them anytime soon.  But in this salad, WOW!"

 

The salad itself sounded seasonal enough, it was the salad dressing the was completely different from what I was expecting.  It was light and refreshing.  A wonderful contrast to the nuts and dates.  And, it was very easy to make.  Anything that starts with the jest of something is tops in my book!

 

So, here you have it.  My version of an autumnal salad with a light and refreshing dressing.  Easy to transport (prior to assembly).  So good, that I've made twice since then and had multiple requests for the recipe.  I share it now with you, too.  I hope you'll try it...whether it's autumn or spring or summer or winter...It's a Date!

Autumn Seasonal Salad

Ingredients

½	c hazelnuts (aka filberts) pieces
4-6	Satsuma mandarins (about 1½ lbs total)
6	Medjool dates (about ¼ lb total)
1	T lemon juice
2	T extra-virgin olive oil
8	c lightly packed 3-inch pieces rinsed and crisped butter lettuce
	salt
	pepper

Directions

1. If you can’t find packaged roasted & skinned hazelnut pieces at your grocery, put hazelnuts in an 8- or 9-inch pan. Bake in a 350° oven until golden beneath skins, 12 to 15 minutes. Pour onto a towel; let cool. Rub nuts in towel to remove loose skins. Lift nuts from towel and reserve; discard skins. Coarsely chop hazelnuts into pieces.

2. Grate ½ t peel from one Satsuma mandarin. Cut mandarin in half and ream ¼ c juice; you may need to use another mandarin. Put peel and juice in a small pint-size canning jar. Peel remaining Satsuma mandarins, carefully removing as much of the white strings as possible. Pull each mandarin apart into halves. Cut halves crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Set aside.

3. Pit dates and quarter lengthwise. Set aside.

4. Add lemon juice, olive oil, salt, & pepper to the peel and juice in the canning jar.  Shake well.

5. When ready to assemble salad, place lettuce in a large bowl or on a large platter.  Add Satsuma slices, sprinkle with dates & hazelnuts.  Drizzle salad dressing (give it another good shake first) over all.  Adjust seasonings as needed.