a SaLaD To QuieT THe MaSSeS :o)

I have been gently *cough* reminded by my RSF that it's been over a week since I blogged. She has been ill :o( and, in my extensive worry and overabundant concern for her wellbeing, I'm afraid I have let my blog slide. I hope she can forgive me. :o) (am super-glad that she is doing better, I might add) Let me also remind her of the NuMeRouS SCRaPBooK PaGeS I've completed :o) I realize she was on the 'brink' of a major health disaster and still managed to blog...I'd like to remind her that we can't ALL be perfect :o) I'm just thankful that I KNOW a perfect person ;o)

Tonight for dinner I have made a salad that quite frankly made me want to BLoG about it from the mountaintops :o) I found this particular recipe on one of my favorite recipe websites: allrecipes.com. This salad was quite spectacular, so much so that it CaTaPuLTeD Me into the 'blogosphere'. We've been trying to eat more veggies lately and it's turned me towards 'previously unexplored' territory.

This salad sounds a little different, but believe me (and the 102 reviews with an overall 5 star rating, no easy feat! Try getting 102 people to AGREE on ANYTHING. Congratulations Nora LaCroix! You did it! With a salad recipe! Amazing :o) Thanks for a great recipe!)

Without further ado...

Winter Fruit Salad with Lemon Poppyseed DressingSUBMITTED BY: Nora LaCroix

"Wonderful salad for the holiday seasons. Great to serve for dinner at home or to take to a family gathering during the holidays. Originally submitted to ThanksgivingRecipe.com."



INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons diced onion
1 teaspoon Dijon-style prepared mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon poppy seeds

1 head romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
4 ounces shredded Swiss cheese
1 cup cashews
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 apple - peeled, cored and diced
1 pears - peeled, cored and diced
DIRECTIONS
In a blender or food processor, combine sugar, lemon juice, onion, mustard and salt. Process until well blended. With machine still running add oil in a slow steady stream until mixture is thick and smooth. Add poppy seeds and process just a few seconds more to mix.
In a large serving bow combine the romaine lettuce, shredded Swiss cheese, cashews, dried cranberries, cubed apple and cubed pear. Toss to mix then pour dressing over salad just before serving and toss to coat.


Please read the reviews before you start, I get a lot of great suggestions just by doing so.

I did make some small changes. I used walnuts instead of cashews. I definitely think cashews would have been just as good but I love cranberries with walnuts. I halved the recipe for the dressing and I still had some left over. I left the full amount of onion in and increased the sugar by a tablespoon because I did use RealLemon. I felt that the recipe had enough other ingredients to offset the strength of the juice. Generally if a recipe only calls for a small amount of lemon juice, then I use fresh lemons, especially if it's a finishing touch. However, when you see this amount of sugar and onion and oil, it'll be okay. If you want to use fresh, you might be able to tell a little bit. I could tell, but I don't feel it compromises the recipe in this case to use the bottled juice. For my swiss, I used a nicely aged Emmentaler Swiss cheese, a heartier cheese which stood up just fine to the cranberries, walnuts and lemon flavoring. It sounds like a lot of changes. When you're cooking, don't be afraid to change ingredients, adding, changing or taking away as you desire. If you are looking for a VERY SPECIAL salad, give this one a try! It's definitely going into my 'absolutely must make again favorite' cookbook.




'Whew!' I am BLoGGeD out! Just kidding. I realize I have DAYS of blogging to make up for... :o)