The 12 Weeks of Christmas: Week Three

The 12 Weeks of Christmas: Week Three

This week saw my first fail. Sadly there were too many issues with the recipe that I'd have to tweak to make it work to make it worth sharing it here, so I'm just going to focus on the recipe that did work out. This week's theme was Christmas lunch. Soup and salad. The soup, which took a lot of work, was the fail. The salad, which also took a bit of work, turned out well.

I used this recipe for Green Bean and Bacon Salad with Dijon Vinaigrette. I made a half recipe, which was very easy to do, since I didn't need a full recipe just for myself. This can be made ahead of time and eaten cold when you're ready for your meal.

Red onion is something I don't use a lot, but I really like it every time I do. It has a mellow flavor when you cook it. Green beans and onion, a very simple base for a salad.

Here it is after the roasting process. You add fresh cherry tomatoes and diced cooked bacon to round out the flavors and textures. The dressing is really easy to make, and I found it a bit sweet for my tastes, so I would probably cut the honey down even further. You can always add more to your liking, but you can't take it out once it's in there.

This dish looks like Christmas on a plate. The red and green. It's very festive. This salad would be good for a group meal, a potluck, maybe. You can just double or triple it depending on how many people you're feeding.

I was really happy with how this turned out. I am also curious to try it some time with sherry vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar and see how that changes the flavor profile. That's always a good sign that you're already thinking about making a recipe again!

I wish my soup had worked out. It was going to be my lunch tomorrow, and I had to make other plans. I will keep eating the salad leftovers with my dinners this week till it's used up. This is not something that would freeze well.

I highly recommend this recipe for any time of the year, but particularly at Christmas, because of the colors. I hope you enjoy it too!