One of my favorite salads to serve during the Christmas season is “Holiday Spinach Salad with Vinaigrette Dressing”. It is colorful–with green spinach and red cherry tomatoes–the fruit adds a nice flavor and the light dressing doesn’t overpower the salad. I always get many compliments when it is served.
After moving to Louisiana, I discovered that many restaurants in New Orleans served a French Vinaigrette Dressing on lettuce salads. It was really a vinegar and oil dressing. The dressing used in my recipe is one I’ve adapted over the years based on the vinegar and oil traditional “French Dressing”, and it is now one of my favorites. It’s much lower in oil than the original ones. I use pineapple or mandarin orange juice in the dressing, giving the salad a fruity flavor.