PEAR AND BLUE CHEESE SALAD
Ingredients
• 3/4 cup walnuts
• 1 bag of mixed baby greens
• ½ bunch of romaine lettuce
• ¼ head of iceberg lettuce
• ¼ pound bean sprouts
• 2 ripe Bosc pears or any other pear available, such as Anjou, Bartlett, or Comice
• 4-5 ounces crumbled blue cheese - I used Stilton
• Briana’s blush wine Vinaigrette dressing
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the nuts on a sheet pan in a single layer. Bake, shaking the pan occasionally, until the nuts are toasted and fragrant, about 7 to 10 minutes. Let the nuts cool, and then coarsely chop.
Trim the stems of the lettuce. Wash and dry the leaves. Tear into pieces and add all the lettuces and the sprouts to the bowl. Quarter and core the unpeeled pears and thinly slice; add to the salad. Scatter the cheese and nuts over the salad, and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Just before serving, drizzle the vinaigrette dressing over the salad to your taste. Toss the salad gently to evenly dress all the greens. Divide among 8 plates and serve immediately.

Blue Cheese Bacon Dip
7 bacon slices
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 (8 oz.) packages of cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup half and half
4 ounces crumbled blue cheese
2 T chopped fresh chives
3 T chopped walnuts, toasted
Grape clusters
Assorted Crackers or flatbread

Cook chopped bacon in a skillet over mediium- high heat 10 minutes or until crisp. Drain bacon and set aside. Add minced garlic to skillet and saute 1 minute.

Beat cream cheese at medium speed until smooth.
Add 1/2 and 1/2, beating until combined. Stir in bacon, garlic, blue cheese and chives.

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Sprinkle evenly with chopped walnuts and serve with grapes and crackers.