Pilot: Waldorf Salad & Cranberry Relish

Welcome to ‘The Voice Kitchen’ podcast: where recipes and voice talent blend!

I’m your host, Cheryl Holling. Each week I’ll be chatting with a talented voice actor who’ll be sharing one of their favorite recipes, while delving into its origin and the meaning it holds for them and their families.

From savory soups to sweet desserts, this podcast has something for everyone. Whether you're a seasoned chef or just starting out in the kitchen, The Voice Kitchen will hopefully leave you feeling inspired to try some of these recipes for yourself and to experiment with some of your own creations.

I’m so excited to be launching this podcast, as several of the guests who will be joining me in future episodes, have been guests on my other podcast, 19 Stories: from fear to Hope, and yet this time we’ll get a peek into their gastronomic delights. They’ve also been very generous in contributing their voices to the intro and I’ll let you know who they are at the end of this episode.

Consider today’s episode a soft opening of sorts, as I’ll be sharing a couple of my favorite holiday recipes and then next week, I’ll have the vivacious Ann Lucente joining me to share one of her favorite family recipes. Until then, let’s begin shall we?

Waldorf Salad:

The version that I grew up eating, had the addition of a head chopped green cabbage instead of lettuce, where the “work” to this salad comes in. However, if you have a food processor it will definitely expedite the prep considerably. My mom also deviated from the recipe by using Macintosh apples instead of green and Flame seedless grapes as opposed to green grapes.

1 tablespoon lemon juice (to keep apples from browning after they’re cut)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt

Pinch freshly ground black pepper

2 McIntosh or your choice of apples, cored and chopped

1 cup seedless red grapes, halved, or 1/4 cup raisins

1 cup thinly sliced celery

1 cup chopped, slightly toasted walnuts, pepitas or roasted sunflower seeds

Lettuce cups if you desire to use for serving

Now, the traditional dressing of this salad calls for 6 tablespoons mayonnaise. However, if you have an aversion to mayonnaise you can always use plain, Greek yogurt. If you want to be dairy free altogether, mix some olive oil & apple cider vinegar together and dress to taste. This is the perfect side dish to compliment your holiday meal as cabbage Cabbage has 1 gram of fiber for every 10 calories. That helps fill you up, so you eat less. Cabbage also has nutrients that keep the lining of your stomach and intestines strong and if you dress it with apple cider vinegar you get an extra dose of gut healthy bacteria as well.

Cranberry Relish:

The following recipe is doubled so feel free to cut in half if you desire a smaller quantity:

Empty 2 Bags of Cranberries (preferably organic if available) into a stockpot

Add 1 Cup of Water and,

1 Cup of Orange juice with pulp

1 teaspoon of both orange and lemon zest (the lemon is for added color

1 Cup Sugar and Half a cup of Real Maple syrup (not the kind made with corn syrup

Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to allow the mixture to simmer. Stir occasionally and watch/listen for the cranberries to pop, which is in roughly 15 to 20 minutes. Turn off heat and allow the mixture to cool for 30 minutes prior to refrigerating if you are making it the night before your meal.

Here are some ways that I like to enjoy leftover cranberry relish:

Add a tablespoon to Greek yogurt for breakfast or to vanilla ice cream for a really refreshing and delicious dessert

Add a tablespoon (or more) to a slice of warmed apple pie

I’d love to know if you made either one of these recipes and hear how it went for you.

Feel free to email me at [email protected]

Follow me on Instagram @thevoicekitchen

I’d like to thank the following voice talent who so graciously contributed their voices to the opening of the kitchen:

Voices heard in the intro:

Jodi Krangle, Ann Lucente-Italian, Jen Keefe, Jim Edgar, Lorena Belcher, Rob Reider, Ann Lucente-English, Mark Holling, Anne Ganguzza, Jim Cooper, Rhonda Phillips, Bernie Sanders...not really, it’s Mark Holling.