Fall Salad with Escarole, Apples and Blue Cheese

When the weather changes and we all want comfort food it's nice to know that we can still have a salad, only one that now incorporates the flavors of Fall. I recently made this salad for a dinner party and I was quite happy with it. 

It's made with Pink Lady apples which are so nice and light and crisp this time of year. And they look great in the salad, all green and pink. Find a blue cheese that you like, any variety will do. I like the Point Reyes but can't always find it so I get what I can.  I like a nice variety of greens, it makes the salad more interesting to get different flavors and textures. 

Ingredients: 
Various greens:  Escarole, curly endive, baby greens 
Pecans, Toasted and chopped 
Celery, sliced very thin 
Pink Lady Apples, sliced very thin 
Point Reyes Blue Cheese

Dressing:
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar 
1 tbsp shallot, minced 
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp sugar 
1/4 cup canola or grapeseed oil
2 tbsp olive oil 
Salt and Pepper 

To make the dressing:  in a small bowl combine the vinegar, shallot, mustard and sugar. Whisk and allow to sit for 10 miutes.  Whisk in the two oils and salt and pepper to taste. Done. 

Make sure your lettuces are well chilled and crisp. 

Toast the pecans.  Break up the blue cheese into small crumbles. Slice the celery and apple.  

Put greens into a large salad bowl, add the nuts, apple and celery.  Dress and toss.  Plate and then top each with some of the blue cheese.