MY NEW FAVORITE SALAD!!!! This salad is so good, I decided to blog about it! Def. my new fav. food item! I have never been a fan of blue cheese, but in this salad it works great! I got this recipe from our catering dept. here at TCU, but I am not sure where it came from. Looks like a magazine of some sort. Anyways, I made it recently and Keeton and I both loved it! Here is the recipe - a def. must try!
Baby Blue Salad w/ Fresh Pears
2 (5 oz.) packages of gourmet mixed salad greens, thoroughly washed
2 large Bartlett pears, cut into thin slices
1 quart of strawberries, quartered
4 oz. of blue cheese, crumbled
Sweet and spicy pecans (recipe below)
Balsamic Vinaigrette (recipe below)
Sweet and Spicy Pecans
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup of warm water
1 cup of pecan halves
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 tablespoon of chili powder
1/8 teaspoon of ground red pepper
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together the 1/4 cup of sugar and warm water until sugar has dissolved. Add pecans and soak 10 minutes. Drain, discard water.
2. Combine 2 tablespoons of sugar, chili powder and red pepper. Add pecans and toss to coat. Place pecans on lightly greased baking sheet.
3. Bake pecans at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until golden brown, stirring once at 5 minutes.
Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons of Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons of honey
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 small shallots, minced
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
1 cup of olive oil
1. Whisk together first 7 ingredients until blended. Gradually add olive oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly until blended.
After all items are prepared, mix together and enjoy! This salad could also be presented in a very pretty way, if you arranged the fruit, etc. You should all seriously try this - SO SO GOOD!