Spinach Salad with Sweet Potato, Pecans, and Dried Cranberries

3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes

4 Tbs vegetable oil

2 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

½ tsp powdered ginger

2 cups coarsely chopped pecans

1 lb prewashed baby spinach

1 1/3 cups sweetened dried cranberries

5 ozs goat-cheese crumbled (optional)

Maple-Mustard Vinaigrette

1 Tbs maple syrup

2 Tbs red-wine vinegar

2 tsp Dijon mustard

Salt & pepper to taste

½ cup vegetable oil

Up to 3 days ahead: To prepare vinaigrette, mix maple syrup, vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper in a bowl. When salt is dissolved, stir in oil; do not over mix. Refrigerate.

1 day ahead: Peel and cube sweet potatoes. Toss potato cubes with oil, salt, pepper, and ginger. Divide potatoes between two-foil lined 9 x 13 inch roasting pans. (Do not crowd, or potatoes won’t roast properly.) Roast at 450F for 15 minutes, stir, then roast an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until they begin to turn golden. Leave in pans and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate overnight in sealed plastic container. Coarsely chop pecans and toast in skillet over medium heat until lightly browned, about 7 minutes. Cool and set aside at room temperature until ready to assemble salad.

Thanksgiving Day: Thirty minutes before serving, reheat sweet potato cubes in a 35oF oven ofr about 15 minutes. Cool slightly. For an attractive presentation, put spinach in a large salad bowl.. Remove cooled sweet potato cubes from pans and layer on top of spinach. Pour dried cranberries over potatoes, then pecans. Sprinkle with goat cheese. Serve dressing next to salad.

Yield: 12 to 16 servings.

This is really too much to fit into a salad bowl and it probably makes a lot more than the above servings so I would recommend halving the recipe.