I made this salad for the first time last week for the tennis ladies and it seemed to be a hit, so I made it for the family a few days later. Mr. D. loved it so much he tried to make it for himself, candied pecans and all. It is kind of weird (in a good way) that a 13 year old would like a salad so much…….Anyways, I hope your kids like it as much as Mr. D. I based this recipe on one I found in the Seattle Junior League Simply Classic Cookbook. The original called for red delicious apples and I substituted bartlett pears for them. The first time I made it I used the original blue cheese that the recipe called for and the second time, out of blue cheese, I substituted goat cheese for magnificent results.
Candied Pecans (for Northwest Autumn Salad)
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups pecan halves
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 T. butter
- 1/4 t. salt
Cooking Directions:
- Stir together nuts, sugar, butter and salt in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, and cook, stirring constantly for 8 to 10 minutes or until sugar melts and turns golden brown.
- Spread mixture in a single layer on lightly greased waxed paper. Cool and break into pieces.
Northwest Autumn Salad
Adapted from Simply Classic- The Junior League of Seattle
Ingredients:
- 1 head red leaf lettuce, torn into bite sized pieces
- 1-2 heads bibb lettuce, torn into bite sized pieces
- 2 bartlett pears, thinly slices and cut up
- 3/4 cup glazed pecans, chopped -see recipe above
- 3/4 cup blue cheese (or goat cheese), crumbled
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar
- 2 T. shallot, minced
- 1 T. maple syrup
- 2 T. lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 1/4 t. pepper
- 1/4 t. salt
Cooking Directions:
- For dressing: Mix together oil, vinegar, shallot, syrup,lemon juice, salt and pepper until emulsified.
- Toss together lettuces, pears, pecans, cheese and dressing.
- Serve immediately.
Cool photo–looks like the bowl is floating in the clouds. Perhaps this salad will bring us to a state of nirvana.
It will- I think anything with candied pecans brings me to nirvana!
This is my all time go to favorite salad. It goes well with the Junior League Mount Rainier Chicken Chili. A perfect fall pairing and great for a crowd!
Oh, Molly, great minds think alike. Mount Rainier Chicken Chili has been made, eaten and photographed -it’s just waiting for me to post. This is a great salad!
Awesome, I just made a huge batch of white chili. Thanks, Molly for the suggestion!!!
PS Joan, I just made your Apple/Cran Crumble pie, but didn’t use a bottom crust. Put it in a pyrex 10 x 8 pan and covered it with a very generous amount of crumb topping–probably to Drake’s liking. Haven’t tried it yet, it’s still cooling, but I figure without a bottom crust, we can have more ice cream with it!
Interesting! It will be more like an apple crisp. Tell me how it is….
Well, it must have been good because when I went downstairs this morning it was all gone. Emma scolded me for making fattening food. She ate almost the whole thing!!!
I think next time I would make crumble bottom AND top. I’m with Drake, I like the crumble stuff.
Gorgeous picture, Joan. Maybe one of my favorites. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that this salad is a Christmas Dinner staple at the Ginder house or maybe it’s just a perfectly composed picture. Either way, I love what you’re doing. Keep up the great work. = )
Thanks, Bobbi!