Christmas is my favorite holiday. It is fun fixing all of your traditional favorites that everybody looks forward to during the holidays. I like to try new recipes to add to our traditional favorites to make dinner a little different and exciting.

We eat a lot of salads and I am always trying new salads that combine the foods and flavors that we enjoy. Serving a green salad with red highlights is an elegant additional for your Christmas dinner table or buffet. Another advantage of having a salad is that you can make most of it ahead of time.

Be sure and read the tips on how to remove the seeds from the pomegranate because the seeds will stain. It is not hard to remove the seeds, and by using the tips it will not be as messy.

Greens and Pomegranate Salad

Ingredients
1 (10 ounce) bag baby spinach leaves or spring mix, rinsed and drained
1/4 red onion, sliced very thin
1/2 cup pecan pieces, toasted
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 pomegranate, peeled and seeds separated

Preparation
Place salad greens in a salad bowl. Separate the onion rings. On the top of the salad greens, add onions, toasted pecan pieces, and feta cheese. Sprinkle pomegranate seeds over the top and drizzle with the balsamic vinaigrette.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

Ingredients
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1-2 tablespoons of honey (to taste)
salt (if needed)
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Preparation
In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, garlic, mustard powder, honey, salt and pepper using an Oxo Good Grips 11-Inch Balloon Whisk. Add one tablespoon of honey and taste it, add more if you like the dressing sweeter.

Tips:
How to Toast Pecans
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Roughly chop pecans and place the pecans on a non-stick cookie sheet. Bake 5-10 minutes, turning once with a spatula. When the pecans are just beginning to turn a little darker. Look at the pecans every minute or so after you turn them so they do not get too dark. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and slide the pecans off of the cookie sheet to cool.

If you do not have a non-stick cookie sheet, line the cookie sheet with parchment paper or very lightly spray with oil.

Removing Pomegranate Seeds
Pomegranates are sweet, tasty, and bursting with flavor. Be very careful when you are seeding the pomegranate because the pomegranate will stain your clothing, counter tops, and floors.

The easiest way to remove the pomegranate seeds is to remove them underwater. Fill a large bowl or pan or pan with water.  Cut the pomegranate in half from the top to halfway to the bottom. With your thumbs pull the pomegranate into two pieces. Repeat the cut on the two halves. Take your fingers are remove the membrane from the fruit. The seeds will sink to the bottom. When all of the membranes have been separated from the seeds, place the pomegranate seeds in a bowl or bag.

Pomegranates freeze well. Dry the seeds and place them on a single layer on a wax paper lined baking sheet.  Put in freezer for two hours. When frozen, remove the pomegranate seeds and put them into freezer bags.  Label the freezer bags and return them to the freezer.

Some grocery chains now offer the fruit in a ready-to-eat state. Purchasing pomegranates this way costs more, but the convenience is well worth the extra money.