A number of years ago my cousin shared a delicious, stop-dead-in-your-tracks, party-in-my-mouth, salad recipe with me. This salad is the perfect blend of sweet, crunch, tang, and freshness. You've got cranberries, granny smith apples, goat cheese, spring mix, bacon (I mean, come on... BACON!), and a homemade balsamic dressing (trust me, it's worth the arm workout whisking your sugar and oil together!).
Another delightful part of this salad is the candied pecans you can toss on top. While these nutty beauties are baking in the oven, your house will be filled with the aroma of cinnamon. When you bite into these beauties your mouth will be on sensory overload... sweet brown sugar, velvety cinnamon, zesty cayenne... MMM MMM MMM!
I began bringing this salad to family dinners for holidays and special occasions and it quickly became known as "Alana's Salad." I don't even ask what I can bring to holiday dinners because I know exactly what the response will be! I hope it can become known as "________'s Salad," too! Bon Appetit!
Salad
Ingredients
1 bag spring salad mix
1 bag romaine
3 oz bag of Oscar Mayer real bacon (It’s best to make your own bacon – but I almost always cheat – applewood smoked bacon is awesome with this salad)
1/2 cup dried cherries or cranberries
1 large granny smith apple, chopped
1/2 cup toasted pecans or almonds
5 oz goat cheese
Directions Clean lettuce, place in large bowl and top with ingredients – toss.
Sweet Balsamic Dressings
Ingredients
1/2 cup vegetable oil or canola
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons good balsamic vinegar
1/8 teaspoon dry mustard (or a little squeeze of yellow or Grey Poupon mustard)
Few twists of fresh cracked pepper Or use 1/8 tsp of reg ground pepper
Directions Whisk all the ingredients together, until sugar and oil are blended. It takes a few minutes for the oil and sugar to blend. Keep whisking….it will blend. Tips You can substitute dried cherries with dried cranberries The dressing is easy to adapt by adjusting the amount of sugar. If you like less sweet, add a little sugar at a time until you reach desired sweetness. Some people have made the dressing with olive oil and enjoyed the results. I have not used olive oil so I am unable to tell you if it changes the taste of the salad. If you want to use olive oil, make a small batch to taste test. Chop the apple right before serving to prevent it from browning. Top with chicken (grilled is wonderful) for a meal.
Candied Pecans
Ingredients
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
4 cups (12 ounces) pecans halves, unsalted
1 egg white, whisked
Instructions
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and cayenne to a large bowl or ziplock bag. Toss or whisk until evenly combined. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, add pecans and egg whites, and gently toss until combined and the pecans are evenly coated. Add in the sugar mixture, and toss until combined.
Spread the mixture out in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. (If your baking sheet is not that large, you may need to split the batch onto two baking sheets.) Bake for about 40 minutes, removing the nuts and giving them a stir every 20 minutes, until the pecans are fragrant and the sugar coating is cooked. (The sugar will harden more once the pecans are out of the oven.)
Remove from the oven, and let the baking sheet cool on a cooling rack until the nuts reach room temperature. Transfer them to a sealed container and store until ready to use.
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