Tuesday, November 4, 2008

D'Amico & Sons Turkey with Dried Cherries Pasta Salad

Salad:
1 pound rotini
1 1/2-2 cups cooked, diced turkey breast
1 c dried cherries
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 diced celery stalks
1 c whole toasted almonds

Poppy-seed dressing:
1/4 c powdered sugar
2 tbls. champagne vinegar
2 c real mayonnaise
2 tbls. poppy seeds
2 tbls. cold water
2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp pepper

To make salad:
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse in cold water. Chill. Combine with turkey, cherries, onion, celery, and almonds.

To make dressing: Combine powdered sugar and vinegar. Add mayo, water, poppy seeds, salt and pepper. Whisk to combine. Add to pasta and toss to combine.

Servings: 6-8 (I'd say more. It was a pretty big salad with a full pound of pasta.)

SOURCE: I got this from Val Hix who got it from the Pioneer Press.

NOTES: I've eaten this recipe almost as written and it was excellent! I did make a few changes when I made it yesterday though:
  • I used a 12.5 ounce can of chicken instead of the turkey
  • I used 1/2 mayo and 1/2 miracle whip for the dressing. In addition, I didn't have champagne vinegar so I used balsamic vinegar instead. Val made it with a raspberry blush vinegar and it worked well.
  • I don't think whole almonds would be pleasant to bite into in a salad, so I would recommend slivered. Actually, I used pecans instead of the almonds and it was very good.
  • I didn't have more than 1/4 c dried cherries so I filled in with craisins. It was great!

1 comment:

Molly said...

My grandma always has my grandpa pick up this salad from D'Amico when I visit and I can never get enough! (She has decided take-out is one of the keys to a happy marriage after all her years of hard work in the kitchen!) You've absolutely made my day with this recipe!