Fall Apple Salad

I had a couple of people over for lunch during the week and tried two new recipes along with an old favorite.  I made Carrot Apple soup, Fall Apple Salad, Chicken Club Ring and Snickerdoodles.  It was a perfect amount for the four of us with the exception of eating cookies all week since but how bad can that be. 

My favorite new recipe which made it to my cookbook was the Fall Apple Salad.  I was given Arkansas Black apples but you can use any tart apple like a Granny Smith. The dressing was interesting, it jelled like a stiff pudding without the mayo. After adding the mayo it tasted a bit odd, mayo and apples, but good.  As the flavors blended the mayo taste lightened and it was great.  I made the dressing the night before but the salad that morning because I was afraid the apples would turn brown.  To my surprise two days later for lunch it was just as crisp, tasty and nothing turned brown.

Next time I may try half as much mayo to see if I can reduce the calories without compromising the flavor.  I may also need to reduce the apples or increase the other part of the dressing. The original recipe came from Taste of Home 2000 cookbook, pg. 196."

FALL APPLE SALAD
8 C. (8-9 med.) tart apples, peeled, cored and chopped
2 C. red grapes
¾ C. walnuts, chopped
Dressing:
1 C. (20 oz.) can unsweetened pineapple chunks
¼ C. unsalted butter
¼ C. sugar
1 T. lemon juice
2 T. cornstarch
2 T. cold water
1 C. light mayonnaise
2 t. poppy seeds

The night before or hours before make the dressing because it needs time to cool. Drain pineapple juice into a medium saucepan. Add pineapple and apples to a large bowl. To the sauce pot add butter, sugar and lemon juice. Bring to a boil. In a small bowl combine cornstarch and water until smooth. Add to the sauce pot, stirring constantly. Return to a boil and cook and stir for 2 minutes. Chill. Stir in mayonnaise and poppy seeds. Fill a large bowl half way with water and a tablespoon of lemon juice. As you peel and core the apples place into water so they don’t turn brown. When all apples are cleaned, remove from water, chop and add to bowl with pineapple, walnuts and dressing. Toss to combine. Makes 14 servings.

Note: You can leave the peel on if you like and if you do and your peel is red, use green grapes.

Per serving (14 servings total): Calories 220, Total Fat 12.3g , Sat. Fat 3g , Cholest. 8.7mg , Sodium 137.1mg, Carb. 29.2g, Fiber 3.7g , Sugars 22.3g , Protein 1.3g

Note: Nutritional information based on calculations from Lose It so depending on your individual brands counts may vary.


UPDATE:  I still have a small bowl of this salad in the fridge.  I won't eat it at this point but it never turned brown.