Whenever I have people over for a sit-down holiday dinner, I like to set the tone with a hunger-inducing salad as the first course. For my most recent dinner, I foreshadowed the Fall meal to come with a peppery medley of in-season produce.

This salad, with its salty, spicy, tangy, and sweet components, turned out to be the perfect way to get guests psyched for supper while still leaving plenty of room for the main course.

Toasted on the stove, pepitas, or hulled pumpkin seeds, impart a nutty flavor to the olive oil, which plays a crucial part in the aromatic dressing. Make this your Thanksgiving salad when you keep reading.

Peking duck, pekin duck . . . goose! Only one letter separates a "Pekin duck" from a "Peking duck," so the terms are often used interchangeably. But one paltry letter can be a big poultry difference; these words are both descriptors of ducks, but they're definitely not the same!

A Pekin duck is a breed of duck. Also known as a Long Island duck, this domesticated descendant of the Mallard has a yellow bill, white plumage, and orange webs and is the most popular commercial duck breed in America, where they're raised primarily for egg and meat production.

Peking duck is a famous roast duck dish that comes from China. Arguably China's national food, this imperial dish is made by roasting a duck until the skin is deep brown and crisp, then carving the skin to serve alongside steamed pancakes, julienned scallions, and hoisin sauce. The dish hails from Beijing, the country's capital, which was formerly known as Peking.

Peking duck originated in Nanjing, and the first ducks used to prepare the dish were small birds with dark feathers. Incidentally, these days, most Peking ducks are prepared using Pekin duck. How's that for irony?

Source: Thinkstock and Flickr User FotoosVanRobin

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Want to get on the family's good side this turkey day? Then bake a pie! Sweet, buttery, and comforting, these pastries are a wonderful closing statement to an all-out meal. While it isn't too late to bake up your favorite recipe, pie can be a delicate balance of art and science. So to help you get started, we enlisted Tim Nugent, pastry whiz at San Francisco's Scala's Bistro and Top Chef: Just Desserts season one contestant. His tips for maximum pie finesse here.

This harvest salad of squash, lentils, and pomegranate seeds from Hayleysf would be perfect alongside a roast bird later this month.

Delicious and healthy fall salad!

For the recipe, check out her blog. Don't leave us in the dark on your next brilliant salad creation, either — share it with us in our Savory Sights group!