Do I need to serve salad with Christmas dinner?

[Anonymous]

Here's the dilemma: do I serve a salad or can I keep my haricot verts with butter as a lite vegetable?

I am having butternut squash soup as an appetizer. Then the dinner is prime rib, mashed potatoes, broccoli au gratin, and a cranberry apple casserole. I need something light to go with three heavy sides, but I'd rather have these green beans than the salad. But would salad be better? That way there would be something cold to balance all the hot foods. Plus the green beans have butter, which make them a little heavy. I should do salad, right?

[Anonymous]

I like the idea of something cold. Can you work the beans into the salad, like a Nicoise?

[Anonymous]

I haven't bought the green beans yet, so I don't need to do them. But you think salad sounds better, right? As I am writing, salad is sounding better to me.

[Anonymous]

I'd go with the salad. Can be prepped before hand, easy to throw togethor. And it does add a light element.

My BIL cooks wonderful delicious meals - which I dread - because everything is loaded with fat and I feel sick for hours after eating it. I need a light element to balance it all out.

[Anonymous]

Thanks!

I needed that guidance. Pre-holiday cooking panic!

[Anonymous]

I agree. Your dinner sounds wonderful, but since you asked--I would do a salad.

For dressing, do either a simple balsamic vinegarette or I love to make dressing with lemon juice, light olive oil, a touch of honey, finely chopped shallots, and salt and pepper. It's very light but the acidity is refreshing and is a nice balance for a heavy meal.

[Anonymous]

I'd go with the haricots verts rather than the salad. First, the butter vs salad dressing is probably a wash in terms of fat, and the green beans are probably healthier than lettuce. Second, salad will require a salad plate and it looks like you will have enough on your hands without having to add more plates to clean up.

[Anonymous]

blanch the beans and serve them chilled with a light vinaigrette. Salad-like, but a little different.

[Anonymous]

OP, I did a spinach salad with pomegranate seeds last week that was really special and not hard at all.

I chopped baby spinach up into pretty small pieces, and opened up a pomegranate and worked out the seeds. I added some toasted walnuts for more crunch and topped with a lemon dressing. It was really tasty and fresh and the colors seem very festive.

[Anonymous]

Following up on the PP's yummy sounding salad, you can buy pomegranate seeds in whole foods! (so you don't need to seed it yourself)