Special salad tonight

This afternoon I prepared an organic spring salad with roasted grape tomatoes and Gorgonzola at work. This was a special salad for the residents as I usually prepare a tossed green salad each evening. With few exceptions, they enjoyed the sharp blue cheese, crisp greens and roasted tomatoes.

For 25 residents, I quickly sauteed 2-1/2 pounds sweet grape tomatoes in a large skillet until lightly colored. I placed the tomatoes in the refrigerator to cool. At mealtime, I tossed 12 ounces crumbled Gorgonzola cheese into 2 pounds organic spring lettuce mix in a large bowl, then dressed the salad with about 6 tablespoons sweet balsamic vinaigrette.

A bit of crunch would've complimented the salad. While traditional croutons will do in a pinch, anything with crunch will add interest to the salad. Try toasted pine nuts, candied pecans or walnuts or crisp vegetable like thinly sliced red onion rings.

SWEET BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE

Add more or less honey to suit your taste.

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1-1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Whisk the vinegar, honey, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl until dissolved. While whisking, stream oil in until dissolved, stirring constantly.

Lightly coat the salad leaves with vinaigrette. You'll need about 2 to 3 tablespoons dressing for each pound of lettuce greens. Use just enough dressing to coat the salad without the dressing pooling in the bowl.