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My husband is eye-talian, so his mother has always made huge anti-pasta salads, so when we haven't been with his family for the holiday I've been making it myself for us

it's served on a large round tray and the overlapping layers are:

torn pieces of lettuce
thin strips of deli ham
thin strips of salami

then any order you want applied of:
roasted red peppers, sliced into strips (save any oil/juice)
marinated mushrooms (save any oil/juice)
marinated artichoke hearts (save any oil/juice)
mixed olives, usually black or pitted variety
sliced pepperoni (sometimes sliced sweet/dry sausage too)
cut/cubed sharp provolone
slices of hard boiled eggs
grape tomatoes scattered

(that's all I can think of, my mind went blank on other ingredients)

for the "dressing" it's a mixture of some of the oil/juices from the marinated vegetables and a red wine vinaigrette (just plain red wine/oil, no herbs) drizzled over everything.

I have a picture on my laptop at home of one I made last Thanksgiving, if I remember, when I get home, I'll post it, to show how purty and yummy it looks.

I was at a restaurant this past weekend and had a fennel and asparagus salad. It had some greens in it (frisee sticks in my head) along with cut up pieces of citrus (orange, lemon) and a very tasty dressing that I believe inlcuded fennel and perhaps apple cider...... Sorry not to be more specific but it was wonderful and paired well with the caribou we had for supper.

Oh, Maureen that salad sounds so refreshing and delicious. I might have to try that.

I like a mixed green salad with chopped apples, dried cranberries, gorgonzola, candied or plain pecans/walnuts with rasberry or balsalmic vinegarette. I've made the salad with and without the cheese and it's good either way. Maybe you could offer cheese on the side for those who would like it.

@LoCo - Thanks for the tips. Maybe crudites would be the way to go.

Oh, we ALWAYS have "the big salad" at our meal. Just your average green salad and for some reason it always taste so good being so cold with all of the warm dishes!

Here are 2 cold salad possibilities that I love with a meal and with the leftover sandwich.

Waldorf or modified waldorf with red and green apples, dried cranberries, nuts or candied nuts, crunch - like celery and/or red onions, carrots with a mayo or sour cream based dressing - can be sweetened.

Broccoli, crumbled bacon, raisins or dried cranberries, carrots in the same type of slightly sweetened dressing as above.

I'm in the don't-waste-your-space-on- salad camp myself, but years ago I learned that potato salad is a traditional part of holiday turkey dinners for my co-workers who were African-American. And that cool tangy thing works very well with it; it became a part of our meal for many years.

Well I guess I have a weird family, all the salad gets eaten! I have made one similar to Esmeralda's with great success, and am going to try one like Maggiano's Chopped Salad- bacon/pancetta crumbles over greens with red onions, tomato & avocado and a homemade viniagrette. There are several versions online and most include blue cheese but it could easily be left off- I have added some honey almonds in as well, and I bet crumbled hard boiled egg would be yummy too.

here's the one I made last year!

http://i35.tinypic.com/2s6oawg.jpg

I just started making this salad this past week and am addicted to it. The first time I made it I used bacon but found its presence to be annoying (if food can be annoying!) The dressing is delicious and so refreshing. And I use orange flavored Craisins - they go perfectly with the orange juice vinaigrette. You could serve it on mixed greens - doesn't have to be arugula.

Cape Cod Chopped Salad

8 oz thick cut bacon, such as Niman Ranch (I omit bacon now)
8 oz baby arugula
1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced
½ cup toasted walnut halves, coarsely chopped*
½ cup dried cranberries
6 oz blue cheese such as Roquefort, crumbled

For the dressing:

3 Tbsps good apple cider vinegar
1 tsp grated orange zest
2 Tbsps freshly squeezed orange juice
2-1/2 tsps Dijon mustard
2 Tbsps pure maple syrup
Kosher salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
2/3 cup good olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a baking rack on a sheet pan and lay the bacon slices on the rack. Roast the bacon for about 20 minutes, until nicely browned. Allow to cool.

In a large bowl, toss together the arugula, apple, walnuts, cranberries, and blue cheese.

For the dressing, whisk together the vinegar, orange zest, orange juice, mustard, maple syrup, 1-1/2 tsps salt, and the pepper in a bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil.

Chop the bacon in large pieces and add it to the salad. Toss the salad with just enough dressing to moisten. Sprinkle with ½ tsp salt and toss well. Serve immediately. Serves 4 or 5.

One of my all time favourites is from allrecipes.com. Every time I make it (which hasn't been in a long time) I do it for a crowd and someone requests the recipe:

Winter Fruit Salad with Lemon Poppyseed Dressing
(My notes at the end.)

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons diced onion
1 teaspoon Dijon-style prepared mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1 head romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
4 ounces shredded Swiss cheese
1 cup cashews
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 apple - peeled, cored and diced
1 pears - peeled, cored and diced

DIRECTIONS

1. In a blender or food processor, combine sugar, lemon juice, onion, mustard and salt. Process until well blended. With machine still running add oil in a slow steady stream until mixture is thick and smooth. Add poppy seeds and process just a few seconds more to mix.

2. In a large serving bow combine the romaine lettuce, shredded Swiss cheese, cashews, dried cranberries, cubed apple and cubed pear. Toss to mix then pour dressing over salad just before serving and toss to coat.

Modifications from my original notes:
-When I first made this in 2003 I doubled the recipe but instead of using 2 heads of romaine lettuce I used 1 head + 1 bag of spinach.
-I omitted the Swiss cheese.
-Replaced the cashews with toasted pecans.
-Added dried cherries with the cranberries.

I served the dressing on the side but a lot of it was left over, so I made a note to double the salad but not the dressing. I think it worked. I need to make it again.

Just a note of caution, be careful to tell people it has grapefruit. Many people take statins these days and they are counterindicated to have anything grapefruit. I never serve anything grapefruit anymore not even in mixed drinks. I just don't want to make anyone sick.