Gourmet Green Salad with Homemade Red Wine Vinaigrette

This salad recipe, Gourmet Green Salad with Homemade Red Wine Vinaigrette, leans on mixed greens, white button mushrooms and ripe fresh pears. It makes 8 -10 servings and takes about 30 minutes.

• Yield 8 -10 servings
• Ready in 30 minutes
• Prep 20 minutes
• Cook 10 minutes

Ingredients

Salad

• 10-12 cups mixed greens , I use the large rectuangular box from Sam’s Club
• 1 pound white button mushrooms , sliced
• 2 ripe fresh pears , sliced thin (you can also use fresh strawberries, raspberries, or apples)
• ¼ cup thinly sliced Parmesan cheese , I grab my big block of Parmesan cheese and use my vegetable peeler to slice of thin peels of Parmesan
• 1 large carrot , or about 5-6 baby carrots, thinly sliced
• ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• ¼ to ½ cup thinly sliced red onion
• 5-7 slices of bacon , cooked and coarsely chopped
• 3 cups store bought or homemade croutons , (see below for a how-to)

Red Wine Vinaigrette

• ⅔ cup red wine vinegar
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• ¼ cup red onions , finely grated (about 1/4 of a large red onion)
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons salt
• Ground pepper to taste
• 2 cups canola oil

Instructions

1. For the salad, put mixed greens in a large salad bowl. Top with other ingredients and toss. Serve with red wine vinaigrette dressing below (or any other favorite salad dressing).
2. For the dressing, add all ingredients except oil in a blender. Blend well. While processing, slowly add the canola oil and blend well. Transfer dressing to a jar or cruet.
3. It keeps well in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks (although I’ve found it gets a little thick if it is too cold so I’ll pop it in the microwave for 5-10 seconds to help thin it out before I use it if it has been in the refrigerator for several days).

Dress it just before it goes to the table so the leaves stay crisp.