Wild rice, pecan, and cranberry salad recipe

I now present my favorite dish that I made for Thanksgiving #1.  The best part of this salad is that it's good warm, room temp, or cold, so you can make it whenever you feel like it.  I started cooking my rice about the time the turkey went in the oven, then prepared the rest whenever I had a few minutes to spare.  I loved the combination of rices, pecans, and cranberries, and the dressing was subtle enough to let the other flavors shine through.  Quality nuts do make a big difference - I used ones from the new crop of south Georgia pecans that my mom picked up a few weeks ago.  I love them so much that I put pecans in just about everything I made for both Thanksgivings (and quite a few sneaked into my mouth during preparation).

Wild rice, pecan, and cranberry salad (adapted from Simply Recipes)
(Printable version)

2 cups brown and wild rice mix (I used Lundberg Wild Blend)
4 cups water (or more, depending on rice directions or if you're using a lot of wild rice)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp butter or oil
1 cup dried cranberries (I prefer the ones sweetened only with fruit juice)
1 cup toasted pecans, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
juice of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp honey
zest of 1 orange
salt and pepper to taste

Combine rice, water, salt, and butter in a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and let simmer for 50 min.  Remove pan from heat and let sit an additional 10 min (or more, if you're not ready to assemble the salad).  Stir rice, cranberries, pecans, and green onions together.  In a small bowl, combine lemon juice, oil, honey, and orange zest, and season with salt and pepper.  Toss this dressing with the rice mixture.  Serves 8.