Cold Turkey Salad

Thanksgiving is upon us and quite frankly, I'm not a fan of turkey.  I think its dry and boring.  Very rarely have I eaten turkey and gone back for more.  Last year I had some friends over for a small Thanksgiving dinner as we watched the MLS soccer finals.  I bought a small turkey breast to fix.  I rubbed it with butter, then a bag full of spices from an Alaskan farmers market.  I then placed it in a cooking bag and cooked in in the oven for several hours.  I'll admit- it was too good for only one trip and I had seconds of that.  But I blame that on the cooking bag and spices- not the turkey itself. haha

Anyway, I'm always on the look for some way to enjoy turkey.  Here's what I came up with.  Its been so long since I found this recipe, I'm not sure to tell you where to look for an original.  So we'll call it half me, half some other person.  Fair?

Cold Turkey Salad

Ingredients for salad:
1 cup cooked white rice, cooled
1 pound cooked turkey, chopped into bite size pieces*
1 medium green bell pepper, diced
2 celery ribs, diced
1/2 cup red, seedless grapes, halved
4 green onions, sliced thinly
4 sliced cooked bacon, crumbled
1/4 cup crumbled Bleu cheese

Ingredients for dressing:
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp Worchestershire sauce
1 tbs chopped fresh dill OR 1 tsp dried dill weed
1/4 tsp thyme leaves
2/3 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste, optional

Directions for salad:
In a large serving bowl, combine rice, turkey, peppers and celery.  Toss together lightly.  Add grapes, green onion and bacon.  Mix together with other ingredients. Set aside.

Directions for dressing:
In a small glass bowl, whisk together vinegar, spices and Worchestershire sauce.  Slowly add oil, continuing to whisk.  Add salt and pepper, if desired.

Pour dressing over the top of salad and mix well.  Place in fridge and chill for 2-3 hours.**  Garnish top with Bleu cheese.

*  I have also used smoked turkey from the deli counter and I actually like it best this way.  Just ask them to cut 2-3 slices, about 1/4 inch thick and then dice it for the salad.
** This salad really is best when its chilled, especially if you just got the rice out of the microwave. :)