honey-dijon fall berry salad

This salad recipe is literally the best salad I've ever tasted.  Unfortunately, it didn't have a great start.  It seems as though I have an ongoing battle with knifes in the kitchen on this blog.

Originally, I was going to put homemade apple chips on top of the salad.  I pulled out the mandolin for the first time.  I was really excited about making the apple chips because it seemed so easy.  Without a second thought, I began sliding the apple up and down the mandolin.  I realized I was good at slicing so picked up the pace.  The upbeat tempo cause a downhill, painful slice.

My pinky got caught in the blade.  I won't go into details, but it was not pretty.  The husband came flying out of his office and immediately helped fix the situation.  I was in a bad way.  This was also when I learned that mandolins have safety guards (you can only imagine my fury.)  I laid down for a bit, and he finished cutting the apple.  When the ibuprofen kicked in, I got back to work on my salad.  Note: You will notice that the apple chips did not make the recipe...they did not turn out. So my pain was for no gain :(

Above you will see a picture perfect salad.  I learned from the best (my mom), how to make salads look pretty before you toss it all together to serve.  The flavors just magically came together.  It was beautiful.  So beautiful, that we have eaten it three nights this week.

Honey-Dijon Fall Berry Salad

For dressing:

3 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp dijon mustard

1/2 cup EVOO

Salt

Pepper

For salad:

1 bag of romaine lettuce

Walnuts/Pecans (Cinnamon, Splenda, and butter)

Gorgonzola cheese

Dried berries (Aldi has a great triple berry!)

For dressing: Whisk all ingredients throughly.  Refrigerate until use.  Shake or whisk before pouring over salad.

For salad: Melt 1 tbsp of butter and pour over nuts.  Stir in equal parts cinnamon and Splenda (or sugar if you prefer).  Heat nut mixture in a skillet over medium heat, continually stirring for about 5-7 minutes.  If they start to blacken, they are burning.  Set aside to dry.

Add crumbled gorgonzola and dried berries to the lettuce.  Once the nuts dry, add them as well.  Toss salad in dressing and serve!