By Thanksgiving 2020. Just the three of us, which is the right number for this year. I arrived Wednesday evening with the car packed: dressing already made, sweet potato casserole assembled and ready to bake, cranberry sauce in a jar, pecan pie on the seat, rolls rising in a bowl covered with a towel.
Thursday morning I was in Gloria kitchen at seven and I cooked all day. The turkey went in at eight. The dressing at noon. The casserole at one. The rolls at two. By three in the afternoon the kitchen smelled like Thanksgiving in its perfect form and the table was set and James was in a collared shirt and Gloria was at the kitchen table drinking coffee and watching me move through her kitchen like I had been doing it my whole life, which I have been doing for eight years, and which is the whole shape of my adult life mapped onto a kitchen.
James said grace. He said: we thank you for the hands that have fed us, for the love in this kitchen, and for every year we have gathered at this table. He said it and he looked at me and I looked back and there was nothing to say that the food and the table and eight years of Sunday dinners had not already said.
After dinner Gloria and I did the dishes together while James slept in his chair. She washed and I dried, which is not how we usually do it, and it was slow because her hands were not at their best and I did not say anything about it. We just did the dishes. She handed me each dish and I dried it and I put it away in the right place because I know where everything goes, I have always known, I learned it the same way I learned everything she taught me: by showing up and paying attention every Sunday until the knowledge lived in my hands.
That Thanksgiving table had everything it needed—the turkey, the dressing, the casserole, the rolls—but if I were to set it again, I’d add this Harvest Salad with Cherry Vinaigrette, because a meal that sacred deserves something bright and alive in the middle of all that warmth. The tart cherry dressing, the crisp apple, the candied pecans: it’s the kind of dish Gloria would have nodded at and said, that’s right, the way she did when something belonged. Some recipes don’t just feed you—they complete the table, and this is one of them.
Harvest Salad with Cherry Vinaigrette
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 15 minutes | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- Cherry Vinaigrette
- 1/3 cup tart cherry juice
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 small garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- Salad
- 8 cups mixed fall greens (baby spinach, arugula, and romaine)
- 1 large crisp apple (such as Honeycrisp or Fuji), thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup candied pecans
- 1/3 cup crumbled goat cheese
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
Instructions
- Make the vinaigrette. Combine cherry juice, red wine vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, garlic, salt, and pepper in a small bowl or jar. Whisk together, then slowly drizzle in olive oil while whisking continuously until emulsified. Taste and adjust seasoning. Set aside.
- Prepare the apple. Core and thinly slice the apple just before assembling to prevent browning. If making ahead, toss the slices in a little lemon juice to keep them bright.
- Assemble the salad. Spread the mixed greens across a large serving platter or in a wide salad bowl. Arrange apple slices, dried cranberries, red onion, and candied pecans over the top.
- Add the cheese. Scatter the crumbled goat cheese evenly over the salad.
- Dress and serve. Drizzle the cherry vinaigrette over the salad just before serving—start with about half the dressing and add more to taste. Toss gently or serve undressed with dressing on the side.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 290 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 22g | Carbs: 22g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 230mg