Yam with Ginger/Light Spinach Salad

For Easter this year we decided to stray ever so slightly from the traditional meal, and mix things up a bit with non-traditional flavors.  Of course, we kept the ham...there will never be a deviation from the ham, and though we are two, ham gets devoured in this house with no questions asked and there have never been problematic left-overs.  So the fun comes in at the thought of side dishes.  This year we paired the ham with gingered yam and a zesty citrus spinach salad.  It was phenomenal!

The gingered yam was very simple:
Microwave 2 #'s of yam until soft, drag a knife through the skins in quartering the yam, peel it back and toss it in a large bowl.
While the yams are cooking, peel and chop small a well rounded tablespoon worth of fresh ginger.
In a small skillet melt a tablespoon of margarine and add the ginger, cooking over med-low heat until softened, about 5 minutes from hot.
Add 3 tablespoons margarine to the yams, add the ginger, and add 1/4 cup loose brown sugar (do not pack in measuring cup).
Mash together and you are done!

The salad was simple as well, we made two individual bowls for this:
Spinach
Red onion
Chopped/sliced almonds
Mandarin oranges (drained, from the can)

Dressing I made the afternoon before, so the flavors could develop.  Combine the following:
2/3 C olive oil
1/4 C fresh squeezed orange juice
3 T rice vinegar
1 T honey
1 1/2 t finely chopped red onion
1 t dried tarragon
the fine zest from one orange


Whisk together and let sit covered, refrigerated, overnight.
I made this in a glass measuring cup for easy pouring.  It made more than enough for our bowl salads, and would be fine for the plate salad size too.  It was nice, light, a touch zesty but not overpowering at all, just a subtle hint.  Would be great on an oriental/Asian salad too.

No, there are no pictures.  We were hungry.
!