Cool Weather Citrus Salad with Sweet Sesame Dressing

This fresh citrus salad is divine in its simplicity. The winter months produce the sweetest oranges, tangelos and tangerines. Do what I do and ask your produce grocer, "What's best this week?" He'll be happy to tell you. The week I prepared this dish for the Every Day show, Mineola tangelos were superbly sweet. So that's what I used. Florida or California navels, Valencia or even those cute little Clementines would also work well. (Hey, if you're in a real pinch, open a can of mandarin orange segments..with this recipe, you'll have a new appreciation for canned fruit.)

4 cups orange segments (peeled with toughest membranes & seeds removed)
1 (4 oz) pkg. crumbled feta cheese
1 (3 oz) pkg. sliced or slivered almonds
2 T. butter
1 t. salt
1 recipe Sweet Sesame Dressing

Melt butter in microwave. Toss with almonds and spread on baking sheet. Broil in oven until golden and toasty, tossing once or twice for even browning. (Watch carefully) Sprinkle with salt. Set aside to cool.

This salad is best assembled right before eating. Arrange orange segments on platter, shallow bowl, or individual salad plates. Drizzle with a generous amount of Sweet Sesame Dressing. Sprinkle with the desired amount of feta cheese and toasted almonds. Serve and enjoy!

Sweet Sesame Dressing
This recipe produces about 2 cups of dressing which is more than needed for 4 servings. It will keep for up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator and is excellent on green salads and all kinds of fruit.

1/3 c. cider vinegar
3/4 c. sugar
1 t. dry mustard
1 t. onion powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. paprika
1 cup oil
3 T. sesame seeds (buy them on the Asian food aisle - much cheaper than the spice aisle!)

Mix vinegar and dry ingredients (except sesame seeds) in blender until smooth. Gradually add oil until fully incorporated. Transfer to bowl, serving jar, or storage container. Stir in sesame seeds by hand. Shake or stir before serving. Keeps up to 3 weeks in refrigerator.