Fall Salad

I LOVE this salad. I could eat it everyday right now. It has nuts, cheddar cheese, grapes and pear etc.. It's a nice fall to winter salad. In this picture I served it with grilled chicken for more of a main course salad.

Ingredients:
1 head romaine
1 head red leaf
1 pkg. baby spinach
3 cups walnuts (sauted in 2 T. butter and a sprinkle of sugar)
1 package Oscar Meyer turkey bacon- cooked and chopped up
3 cups red grapes- halved
1/2 red onion sliced into thin pieces
2 red Anjou pears (opt)
1 cup or more of English Coastal Cheddar shards (or your favorite cheese, Gorgonzola would be great)

Raspberry Vinaigrette
1 cup olive oil
1 cup raspberry vinegar
1/8-1/4 cup splenda or white sugar
4 t. Dijon mustard
1/2 t. ground black pepper
2 t. finely minced garlic
salt to taste
Grilled chicken (opt)

Put ingredients (except oil) into a container or large tall glass and blend with immersion stick blender . Add oil slowly to emulsify. The mustard acts as an emulsifier anyway, so if you don't have a blender, just put everything in a jar and shake. Add more of any of the above ingredients to taste. Sometimes it needs a bit more garlic or mustard or sugar according to your taste. Chill.

Mix washed salad greens together and place on individual plates or on a serving platter or in large bowl.

Top with red onion slices, (I slice the onion into quarters then turn on it's side and slice thin) grilled chicken if you choose, nuts, grapes, bacon and then the cheese shards.

Chill until ready to serve. If you want pear on it, slice them thin and top salad right before serving. Or- gently saute and warm slices in a pan with a little butter then top salad. Shake vinaigrette and serve.

I love love love English Coastal Cheddar. The only places I can find it are Costco or Trader Joe's. Costco has nice big packages. If you can't find it, you can use Dubliner Irish cheese or your favorite cheese. (One of my favorite lunches is a chunk of Coastal Cheddar, a handful of cashews and sliced apple, pear or grapes)