Pear & Blue Cheese Salad with Candied Pecans

From ourbestbites.com

Pear & Blue Cheese Salad with Candied Pecans
Recipe adapted by Our Best Bites from Allrecipes.com

Dressing:
3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. white sugar
1 1/2 tsp. coarse-grain mustard (like Creole mustard)
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 c. roughly chopped onion
1/3 c. olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients except for the olive oil in the jar of your blender and blend until smooth. Add the olive oil in a a steady stream until completely blended. Add black pepper to taste and refrigerate until you’re ready to drizzle onto the salad.

Salad:

1 head Romaine lettuce (2 two heads of Romaine hearts)
3 pears, seeded and diced
1 avocado, pitted and diced
1/4 c. white sugar
1/2 c. chopped pecans
4-5 ounces crumbled Roquefort or Gorgonzola cheese

Spray a sheet of aluminum foil or parchment with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. In a small non-stick skillet (if possible), stir the nuts and sugar constantly over medium heat until the sugar melts and the nuts are evenly coated in the sugar syrup. Spread the nuts over the prepared sheet of foil or parchment and let them cool completely.

While the nuts are cooling, toss together the chopped lettuce and diced pears and avocado. Add the crumbled cheese and candied nuts, then drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss gently to combine. If serving as a meal, you can add grilled chicken. Makes 4-6 main dish servings or 8-10 side dish servings.