Any Russian holiday table is considered incomplete without salad Olivier. This dish is named after a French chef Lucien Olivier back in the 19th century. Since then, it has become very famous and evolved into many different versions. An excellent way to use the leftover meat from last night’s dinner! Serve with traditional Russian bread pirozhki for fast weeknight meals.

Utilizing store-bought cheese tortellini, vegetables and some basic pantry staples you can make this amazing dish in just a few minutes. For a more substantial dish, add quartered and grilled Italian sausage links. This antipasti style salad, is a substantial first course, or a great light lunch. This salad also works great on a Itilian buffet.

This beet, arugula, olive, shallot, and feta salad is only dressed with olive oil to keep it light and to preserve the roasted beet flavors. If you prefer a more substantial dressing, this salad pairs very well with my tangy lemon poppy seed dressing.

This classic Irish salad is full of fresh vegetables, briny pickled beets and features a malty mustard dressing. This salad makes a great first course, and is an excellent accompaniment to Irish Shepard’s Pie, or a Guinness Beef Stew and plenty of crusty rolls and butter.