Fall Salad in the Spring!

Bailey is home for Spring Break! We are enjoying our time together. I planned the meals for this week with many things in mind. Bailey is in the middle of her outdoor racing season, it would be a bad time to indulge in the decadent desserts, Mexican food and pasta that we enjoy at Thanksgiving, Christmas and other speicial occasions. Following my 30 days of consecutive running I fell into my typical winter pattern of running only two days a week (more on this at another time). I rededicated myself to a running plan this morning and would like to eat healthy this week. Below is our dinner for Day 1 of the healthy eating week (we had Mexican food last night!!) This recipe was first printed in the October 2010 issue of Cooking Light magazine:

 Dean, as always, is our executive chef. We all loved this salad! The dressing was just right and did not over power or compete with the prosciutto or the Stilton cheese. Parker and Dean had Perogies as their main course with the salad on the side:   

Fall Salad with Apples, Walnuts, and Stilton

1 T minced shallot

1 1/2 Ts. champagne or white wine vinegar

1 T. fresh lemon juice

1 T. honey

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 dried apricot, finely chopped

3 Ts. extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 cups torn green leaf lettuce leaves

2 cup thinly sliced Belgian endive (we substituted Butter head lettuce)

1/4  cup Stilton cheese, thinly sliced

1/4 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

1 (5 oz) package baby arugula

1 oz very thin sliced prosciutto, torn

1 Granny Smith apple, cored and thinly sliced

1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a blender. With blender on, slowly add oil; process until well combined. stir in salt and pepper.

2. Combine lettuce and remaining ingredients in a large bowl; add apricot mixture, tossing gently to coat. Yield: 4 servings. Calories: 294