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!

gorgonzola, candied pecan, and bacon vinaigrette salad

A couple days ago during my government class, I reminded the students it was election day.  Then the following conversation occurred.  This is real life, all statements are true.

Me: Does anyone remember what type of elections are taking place in the state of Georgia today?

(Several hands go up, but I called on an extremely excited girl bouncing out of chair with hand in air.)

Student: The presidential election!  We get a new president!

(Class bursts into laughter and tears.)

Student: Oh wait, that's not right.  I think I'm confused, who is the president again?

In this little girl's defense, she has probably only been in my class a total of eight days all year.  She is frequently absent.  But still, really?

I've been scouring the internet the past few days for a fall salad.  I had a few flavors in mind and I searched for a recipe that would bring them all together.  Unfortunately, that was hard to come by.  So instead, I ended up piecing together the different flavors I wanted in my salad by pulling together different recipes I found.

The end result was amazing.  During dinner, David said he could eat it every day.  It definitely made me feel good about how this salad turned out!  We both devoured our dinners.

Gorgonzola, Candied Pecan, and Bacon Vinaigrette Salad
Serves 4

1 bag of hearts of romaine lettuce
5 oz gorgonzola cheese
1/4 cup pecans
1 tsp Splenda
3 tbsp EVOO
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp bacon (we used turkey bacon)
1/2 tsp minced onion
1/4 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp Splenda brown sugar (or regular)
Salt
Pepper
Optional: Cranberries, blackberries, or baked chicken strips

Heat up a skillet with a little butter in it.  Add the pecans and stir around.  Next add the Splenda and stir continuously for several minutes so that the sugar does not burn.  Once the pecans are a nice brown color, put them on a paper plate or towel and let them dry.

Put the lettuce in a bowl.  In a jar mix the remaining ingredients (EVOO, vinegar, bacon, onion, mustard, brown sugar, salt and pepper) together with a whisk or put on a lid and shake.  Once blended, pour over lettuce and stir.  Cover the lettuce well.  Then add pecans and gorgonzola cheese.  Toss the salad more and enjoy!