Orange and Olive Salad

Per Nana~

The recipe for this week was a simple salad made with sliced oranges, 

onions and olives. It is a combination of ingredients that I would never have

 thought to use together, but somehow it was refreshing. I only made a quarter 

of the recipe as I knew it would not go over well with Jim, and I was so right. 

I peeled and sliced the orange and drizzled oil on them, then I added the onions 

and topped with the olives. I used dried olives from the Italian deli, plus salt and 

pepper. I will admit, I was not overly excited. I do think the onions were too strong

 and perhaps if I had used a different olive oil, something more flavorful, it might

have been tastier. It certainly made a pretty presentation. 

Per Tricia~

Calling this a salad almost felt like a stretch, but one I was delighted to make. 

In the busy week before Christmas I was not looking for any challenging projects 

(Bûche de Noël, I am looking at you.....) and I can't tell you how happy I was

 to find out this recipe basically consisted of slicing an onion over some oranges. 

Never mind at all that we were then sprinkling on olives, olive oil, salt and 

pepper- this was EASY.  So easy in fact that the recipe could have asked me 

sprinkle just about anything on and I likely would have enjoyed it just for 

the simplicity alone. But guess what ? It was pretty darn fabulous. 

My husband kept saying that he couldn't believe how good the combo was. 

We like dishes that balance sweet and savory but this also balanced the

 crispy onion texture against the moist olives and oranges. It somehow just 

really, really worked. Once again, Mrs. Greenspan comes through.  

I used the Australian olive oil I splurged on at Williams Sonoma but 

unfortunately did not pick an adequate grocery store for my official "olive 

procurement"  trip and when they didn't have the Niçoise ones I just subbed 

out small black ones. Normally I enjoy the hunt for ingredients but I am

 a bit stingy in the "do over" category during holiday craziness. I know

 that the recipe will simply be that much better next time:)

 This is a very refreshing dish for the winter months and I plan 

on revisiting the recipe many times in the future.

I would just like to add that I have been enjoying the holiday card 

exchange with the Doristas (and Dorie !!) again this year and it has truly

 become a very special part of my holiday season. Each card has made

 me smile and the sentiment, not to mention any recipes shared, carried

with them bring exactly the joy that we hope to find during this season. 

Happy French Friday and Happy Holidays !