Ensalada De Nochebuena (Mexican Christmas Eve Salad)

Forgot the camera, so here's an iPhone pic of this yummy salad.

In many Latin American countries, the most festive Christmas celebrations occur on Nochebuena, or Christmas Eve (literally "Good Night").  Ensalada de Nochebuena is a traditional Mexican Christmas Eve salad.  It's a great mixture of colors, flavors, and textures for Christmas Eve or any festive meal.

For The Dressing:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup Mexican or Salvadorean crema (you can substitute sour cream if crema isn't available)
1/4 cup honey
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Juice of one lime
3 teaspoons chili powder
2 cloves of garlic, pressed
Pinch of salt

Mix well, taste, and adjust seasonings to your taste.  This recipe will yield enough dressing to dress a Nochebuena salad and have some left over to dress another fruit salad.

For The Salad:
1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (to taste)
1/4 cup roasted salted peanuts, chopped
Seeds of one pomegranate
Salad greens for presentation (optional)

And use any combination of the following ingredients, according to your taste:
2 tangerines or oranges, peeled, segmented, deseeded, and cut into bite-size pieces
1 medium jicama, peeled and julienned
20 oz. can of pineapple tidbits or chunks
2 bananas, sliced
2 medium-size cooked beets, peeled, cut in half, and sliced into "half moons"
2 small apples, cored and chopped
6-8 radishes, sliced thin

Toss together your choice of salad ingredients with the chopped cilantro.  Drizzle enough dressing onto salad to lightly coat and mix well.  If desired, line serving platter with salad greens.  Spoon salad onto platter.  Sprinkle with chopped peanuts and pomegranate seeds and serve.

Recipe For Homemade Buttermilk Blue Cheese Salad Dressing

I've read in more than one blog, "Never buy salad dressing.  Make your own."  I agree.  The benefits of making your own salad dressing are numerous.  It's easy to make, you can adjust the ingredients to your taste, and you know what goes into it.  It's often, though not always, cheaper to make your own dressing.   When it's more expensive it's only because you're using better quality ingredients than the bottled stuff.  This is the recipe I made after looking at several different recipes to decide on the combination of ingredients I wanted to use.

Buttermilk Blue Cheese Salad Dressing

2 1/2 ounces good quality blue cheese
3 tablespoons buttermilk
3 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons champagne vinegar (or white wine vinegar or tarragon vinegar)
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/3 teaspoon granulated toasted onion powder (available from Penzey's -- you can substitute garlic powder)
Tabasco sauce to taste (a couple shakes)
salt and freshly ground black pepper


In a small bowl, mix the blue cheese and buttermilk together with a fork until the mixture is semi-smooth.  Stir in sour cream, mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, onion powder, and Tabasco until well blended.  Add salt and pepper to taste.