Spinach Salad with Butternut Squash and Sherry Maple Walnut Vinaigrette

Butternut squash is one of the best of fall. It's right up there with pumpkins and apples and pears (also in this salad!). I've got a spinach salad for every season now, and this is Autumn. Welcome, October. I hope to bring you dish after dish of comfy fall favorites.

When cooking is your life, you live each season and holiday through the food. It has brought new meaning and enjoyment to each holiday. Baking a Flag Cake for 4th of July or Pumpkin Pie in November is my celebration of that moment. The tastes, and the smells, the memory of the meals sticks with me a lot longer than what Santa stuffed in my stocking or how many eggs the Easter Bunny delivered. I'll be the first to acknowledge that great meals take a lot of effort. A lot of time and preparation and even sacrifice. But there's a reason everyone looks forward to Thanksgiving dinner and talks about it for days afterwards. While it would be impossible, and is unnecessary, to put that much into every meal, it shouldn't happen only once a year.

So it has become my resolve to make those moments happen more often- to celebrate life (and sometimes even loss) through food, surrounded by the people I love. To make memories linger a while longer in our senses. To not let life happen, without relishing it along the way.

INGREDIENTS
baby spinach
butternut squash, cubed
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
pomegranate arils (you could substitute dried cranberries)
walnuts, toasted
Bartlett pears, cubed or sliced

Sherry Maple Walnut Vinaigrette:
4 tsp. sherry vinegar
1 tsp. shallot, minced
1/4 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tsp. pure maple syrup
2 Tbsp. walnut oil
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS
1. To roast the butternut squash, preheat oven to 425 F. Cover baking sheet with aluminum foil. Toss squash in olive oil to coat and spread on baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for 15-20 minutes, until tender (time will very depending on the size of your cubes). Remove from the oven and set aside.

2. To make the vinaigrette, combine vinegar, shallot, Dijon, and maple syrup in a food processor. With the motor running, slowly stream in walnut and olive oils until emulsified. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. To assemble the salad, layer spinach, pomegranate arils, walnuts, pears, and roasted butternut squash. Drizzle with vinaigrette, toss, and serve.

Vinaigrette serves 2-4.

(Adapted from Fine Cooking)