Roasted Butternut Squash and Warm Cider Vinaigrette Salad

Well, we survived another holiday season with cakes, cookies and crab fondue. Oh how I love the holidays and then come January I'm ready to clean out my system. It's lots of salads for us over the next few weeks. Doug and I actually eat salads quite often. After heading to the gym after work we are never really hungry for a large filling meal and yet a salad with enough hearty ingredients will do the trick. On my quest to find some good salad inspiration I ran across this recipe for a salad with roasted butternut squash. Have I ever mentioned how much I love butternut squash? Since it's my favorite fall vegetable and I'm still denying the fact that we're well into winter we're definitely getting as much out of butternut squash season as we can. So I looked over the recipe made some mental changes of ingredients and set out to create what was sure to be a satisfying treat of a salad. While whisking up the dressing last night I did get a little nervous at the smell of it but once it was all put together it was definitely a heavenly treat that we will be enjoying for, well for as long as I can make the butternut squash last!

Recipe (as adapted by me - oh and in case I haven't already made it clear, my family doesn't often use measurements in recipes so my apologies in advance)

Half of one large butternut squash cut into small cubes
olive oil
maple syrup
salt
pepper
dried cranberries
apple juice
apple cider vinegar
shallot
mustard
walnuts
goat cheese
arugula

Put the butternut squash in a bowl, toss the squash with olive oil, maple syrup, salt & pepper (you should only need a tablespoon or two of olive oil and no more than a tablespoon of syrup.) Spread out on a pan and put in the oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes take the squash out, stir it around on the pan add a handful of cranberries and put back in the oven for 5 more minutes.

In the meantime begin toasting a handful of walnuts (you can do this in the oven or on the stove top and just toast until you start to smell the flavor)

In a saucepan mix about 1/3 cup of apple juice, 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and a tablespoon of shallots. Bring to a boil and let the mixture reduce by about half and remove from the heat. Add about 1/4 cup of olive oil, some salt, pepper and a half a teaspoon of dijon mustard. Whisk well.

Take the arugula and put it in a bowl, mix in the butternut squash and toasted walnuts. Pour a bit of the dressing over the top and stir. You want the salad to be coated but no soaked in dressing. Sprinkle goat cheese over the top and mix well. Serve immediately.

(loosely adopted from a recipe from the barefoot contessa)