Gobble Gobble

My mother's family has always been  known to interpret life and things in general a little differently than the "average joe".  With that being said, it is their/our family tradition to celebrate Thanksgiving the Sunday before the actual day.  Actually, this tradition makes planning and cooking for the holiday a lot easier because usually I have the Saturday before and the morning of to prepare.
As you can see in a previous post, I started the "celebrating" early with pumpkin pie.  It was REALLY good and.......I believe I ate the whole thing minus one piece over the last week.  
I WILL NOT be making a pumpkin pie for our family day.  As a matter of fact, I don't think I will be eating pumpkin pie until next year.  Too much of a good thing and all that.


To the fest I will be bringing Chocolate Chip Cookies, Broccoli Salad, and Romaine Salad with Asian Dressing (Recipe Below).  I probably will make something else as Southern girls always would rather have too much than not enough!   

Romaine Salad with Asian Dressing

Recipe from Cathy Clark

Dressing

2 Tbs sugar

2 Tbs Soy Sauce

1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar

3/4 cup vegetable/canola oil

Whisk the above ingredients together until well blended or put in a cruet and shake until blended.

Salad

6 Cups Romaine in bite size pieces

1 package Ramen noodles

Red onion cut into bite size strips (more or less as desired)

1 6oz can Mandarin Oranges

1/4 cup sliced almonds

2 Tbs sesame seeds

1 Tbs butter

Mix together the almonds and sesame seeds, drizzle the melted butter over the top and toast the nuts until golden brown.  Can be done in the oven or on top of the stove.  Allow the mixture to cool.

Place lettuce in bowl.  Add the red onion in the desired amount.  Crush the Ramen noodles and layer on top of the lettuce.  Drain the Mandarin oranges and layer over the lettuce and noodles.  Add the nut mixture on the top.  Can be tossed with dressing (we don't use the whole amount) or served with the dressing on the side.