Recipe: Center Stage Salad

recipelink.com Chat Room Recipe Swap - 2001-07-10
From: recipelink.com

Center Stage Salad
From: April Jones
Newsgroup: rec.food.cooking
Date: 2-4-2001
source: The Junior League Centennial Cookbook

I have made this many times but I usually use a bottled raspberry balsamic vinaigrette instead of the their version and the "field" type greens that you buy in the bag instead of the Boston lettuce along with some chopped red pear pieces. I guess essentially I just use the nut part of the recipe!

2 heads of Boston lettuce, rinsed and spun dry
6 oz. Roquefort cheese, crumbled
1/2 red onion, sliced thin
3 scallions, sliced thin
Cayenne nuts (below)
Vinaigrette (below)

Cayenne Nuts

1/3 cup sugar
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
1/4 cup orange juice
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. ground mace
1 pound of pecan halves

Center Stage Vinaigrette

1/2 cup olive oil
3 tsp. raspberry vinegar
1 Tbsp. minced shallots
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground white pepper

Move oven rack to center position and preheat to 250F. Line a jellyroll pan with foil. Combine sugar, butter, orange juice, salt, cinnamon, cayenne and mace in a heavy skillet and place over low heat until the butter melts and the sugar is dissolved. Increase the heat to medium. Add the nuts and toss until coated. Spread in a single layer on the prepared pan. Bake 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from the pan to a rack and separate the nuts with a fork. Cool completely. Store in an airtight container up to 5 days (they also freeze well). If they become sticky, heat on a foil lined pan at 250F until crisp, about 20 minutes.

Combine all ingredients and mix well.