Pear And Frisee Salad With Bacon And Blue Cheese Food

BACON, PEAR, AND BLUE CHEESE SALAD

Steps:

• Place cider in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 30 minutes. Cider should have a syrupy consistency. Remove from heat, and keep warm.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Make croutons: Place bread slices on a baking sheet, and brush with 4 tablespoons butter. Toast until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool completely.
• Cut pears in half; remove seeds with a small melon baller, and discard. Place pears in a medium bowl. Squeeze lemon juice over, and toss to combine. Add shallots to bowl. Drizzle with remaining 4 tablespoons melted butter; sprinkle with sugar, salt, and pepper; and toss to coat. Place in roasting pan, pears cut side down. Roast until golden brown and soft when pierced with a knife, 35 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally and gently with a wooden spoon.
• While pears are cooking, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add bacon, and saute until golden, about 3 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain; set aside. Remove pears and shallots from pan, and keep warm.
• Arrange watercress on six serving plates, top with warm pear mixture, and sprinkle with bacon. Place two croutons with a piece of blue cheese on each plate. Drizzle reduced cider over salad. Serve immediately.

FRISEE SALAD WITH BLUE CHEESE, BACON AND HAZELNUTS

Steps:

• Place 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large saute pan. Add the cut bacon and bring to a medium-high heat. Cook the bacon until it has become brown and crispy and a lot of fat has been rendered. This is a good thing!
• Place the bacon and the fat into a bowl large enough to fit all of the ingredients. Add the vinegar and the blue cheese and stir to combine. Season with salt. Add the frisee and gently toss to combine. If a little more oil or vinegar is needed do so in small increments and taste as you go. The salad should be well seasoned and dressed but not soggy. Divide the salad onto 4 individual serving plates. Sprinkle with the chopped hazelnuts.

PEAR, BLUE CHEESE, WALNUT AND BACON SALAD

Steps:

• Whisk together all vinaigrette ingredients until well blended; set aside.
• In a small frying pan set on a medium heat, melt the butter, stir in the maple syrup or honey and then stir in the walnuts. Continue to heat the walnuts, stirring continuously, for approximately 2-3 minutes or until they are fragrant, caramelized and lightly browned. Remove from the heat; set aside.
• Place the greens in a large salad bowl or, if individual servings are preferred, distribute them equally among 6 salad plates. Sprinkle over the pears, blue cheese and walnuts. Place over chicken then drizzle with dressing and toss.
• Note: I find having the chicken warmed is superior to cold chicken.

BLUE-CHEESE-PEAR-PECAN SALAD

Steps:

• Mix the pears, cheese, pecans and romaine in a medium-sized salad bowl.
• For the dressing; stir together the vinegar, garlic, basil, honey, salt, and pepper and then add oil slowly in a small bowl with wire whisk. Toss the dressing with the salad just before serving.

PEAR AND BLUE CHEESE SALAD

Steps:

• 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 watercress and arugula. Wash and dry the leaves.
• Meanwhile, whisk the vinegar and mustard together in a large salad bowl. Season with the 1/4 teaspoon salt and some pepper. Gradually whisk in the olive oil, starting with a few drops and then adding the rest in a steady stream, to make a smooth, slightly thick dressing.
• Halve the endive lengthwise, cut out core, then thinly slice crosswise and add all the lettuces 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. Toss the salad gently to evenly dress all the greens. Divide among 4 plates and serve immediately.

FRISEE SALAD WITH PEARS, BLUE CHEESE, AND PORT VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Simmer the Port in a small saucepan until reduced to 2 tablespoons. Let cool, then whisk in the red wine vinegar, shallot, salt and pepper, to taste. Gradually whisk in the olive oil.
• In a large bowl, toss the frisee, radicchio, and pear. Divide the salad among 4 plates. Drizzle with the dressing; you probably won't use it all. Using the medium holes of a box grater, shave the blue cheese in a fine snow-like shower over the salads. Scatter the walnuts on top and serve immediately.

GRIDDLED PEAR & BLUE CHEESE SALAD

Steps:

• Put the pears in a bowl and drizzle with 1 tsp of the oil. Heat a griddle pan, then cook the pears, in batches, for 1 min on each side. Set aside to cool.
• Mix the remaining oil, vinegar and honey. Toss the pears, leaves and cheese, divide between 4 plates and drizzle with the dressing. Serve with bread, if you like.