Flavorful Salad With Homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette

I have been wanting to show you this salad for a couple weeks. I've made it probably 4 times in the past few weeks, and have forgotten to take pictures EVERY TIME until yesterday. This is mostly because as soon as it's put together I want to eat it.

I first ate this salad at a restaurant called the Sapphire Hotel (you can read about it in my post about our "Stay-cation"). It was love at first bite. As soon as we got home from our vacation, I ran to the store and bought everything we needed to make it. Jake loves it just as much as I do, and he doesn't even like olives.

Here's what you need:

Salad:

-Spring Mix Salad

-Focaccia bread (I used a cheesy focaccia which was super tasty. You can definitely use a different type of bread if you'd like)

-Whole Mozzarella Cheese  

-Grape Tomatoes

-Kalamata Olives

Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing: (From Emeril @ Food Network)

-1/4 c. Balsamic vinegar

-1 Tbs minced garlic

-Salt/Pepper

-3/4 c. Olive Oil

Here's what you do:

Salad:

-Dish salad onto individual plates

-Chop up focaccia bread into bite-sized pieces. Place them on a baking sheet and cook under broiler until pieces are slightly crispy, but still soft, and golden (roughly 1-2 min). Sprinkle a handful on top of each salad.

-Cut Mozzarella cheese into small bite-sized cubes. Sprinkle a handful on top of each salad.

-Slice grape tomatoes in half. Sprinkle a handful on top of each salad.

-Slice Kalamata olives in half. Sprinkle a handful on top of each salad.

Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing:

-Combine all ingredients in a container with a lid; salt and pepper to taste.

-Cover container and shake until all ingredients are mixed.

-Drizzle dressing on salad immediately*. 

*Note: The olive oil tends to separate from the rest of the dressing. When serving the dressing again, make sure to shake/mix it well so the dressing stays together.

This salad is a great side dish to almost any meal. I like to eat a big salad all by itself for dinner... it's that good.

Enjoy!

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Pear Salad with Citrus Poppy Seed Vinaigrette

Can you tell I'm ready for winter to come to a close? I'm pulling out some of my Spring/Summer meals. I know I should be making soup every night of the week to warm us up, but sometimes my brain is weird. I often crave hot soups in the Summer time, and fresh salads during the Winter months. Anybody with me?

This salad is very refreshing and fresh. It will put you in a state of denial and all of the sudden the dark clouds and rain that have been looming all month will turn into sunshine skies and hot days where flip flops are required.
Ok, maybe I'm just dreaming, but it's nice to pretend.

I had this salad at a tasty restaurant in my hometown called Nibbly's. I took one bite and knew I would be recreating it as soon as I got home.

Here's what you need:


For the Dresssing: (Recipe from Food and Wine)
-3 Tbs Fresh Lime juice
-3 Tbs Fresh Orange juice
-2 Tbs Fresh Grapefruit juice
-1 tsp Dijon
-1 tsp Mayo
-1 tsp Honey
-1/3 cup vegetable oil
-1 1/2 tsp Poppy seeds
- Salt/Pepper


For the Salad:
-Baby Spinach leaves
-1-2 Pears Sliced
-Feta Cheese
-Walnuts
-Dried Cranberries

Here's what you do:

Assemble Dressing:
-Whisk the juices, Dijon, mayo, and honey together until well combined.
-Continue to whisk while adding oil and poppy seeds.
-Add a little salt and pepper to taste

Assemble Salad:
-Place spinach on plates
-Sprinkle with desired amounts of walnuts, dried cranberries, and feta.
-Strategically place pears in a way that offers maximum presentation (I mean we all want to eat a salad that's not only fancy, but looks good, right? It's worth the two extra seconds...)
-Drizzle dressing on top.

Enjoy!

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