Have you ever participated in a progressive dinner? It is so much fun and can really make for a entertaining evening. All you need to do is get a group of people to host a course at their house. It is great for a neighborhood event because you can walk from one home to another. A traveling potluck. It is interesting also because each part of the meal has a different setting.
This progressive dinner is a virtual one. My friend Isabel, @familyfoodie on twitter, is a true believer in the joys of a family Sunday Supper. She has been generating quite the conversation each Sunday on twitter using the #SundaySupper hashtag. So many people are joining in and tweeting what they are having along with recipes and photos. It is a wonderful resource for inspiration and conversation about food and family meals.
My Pear and Stilton Salad is for the salad course of this virtual progressive #SundaySupper. Fresh pear, stilton cheese, toasted walnuts, onions, all tossed together with a homemade sherry vinaigrette. The surprise part is the onions – I use cocktail onions. Sounds strange right? Trust me, they are great in this salad. The tangy flavor balances with the sweetness of the pears. Give it a try and you might find yourself putting cocktail onions in other salads too.
Don’t forget the wine! Eileen, @WineEveryday on twitter, has recommended a nice Cotes du Rhone Blanc to pair with the salad. You can find a full review and details of the wine on her blog by clicking here -> Wine Everyday or by clicking on the link to her post below.
Thank you Isabel for inviting me to participate in this event. I am honored to be contributing to a special Sunday Supper with you and my fellow bloggers in our “Around the Family Table” virtual neighborhood.
- Perrin Reserve Côtes du Rhône Blanc 2010 by Wine Everyday
- Bayou Mary Oyster Shooters by Catholic Foodie
- Prosciutto Puffs and Hot Garlic Stuffed Mushrooms by Lifestyle Food Artistry
- Tuscan Chicken, Bean, and Spinach Soup by Sue’s Nutrition Buzz
- Pear and Stilton Salad by Magnolia Days
- Rustic Chicken by Family Foodie
- Brioche by Cookistry
- Lavender Cookies by Big Fat Baker
Pear and Stilton Salad
Ingredients
For the salad:
- Mixed baby greens
- Fresh pear peeled and sliced
- Stilton cheese cut into chunks
- Toasted walnuts coarsely chopped
- Cocktail onions quartered
For the vinaigrette:
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1/3 cup sherry vinegar
- Pinch of sea salt
- Pinch of fresh ground pepper
- 1/2 clove garlic chopped
- 1/2 small shallot chopped
- 1/2 to 2/3 cup good olive oil
Instructions
For the salad:
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Quantities vary depending on number of servings. Use your own judgement and preferences. I generally use equal quantities of the pear, stilton, and walnuts with a little less portion of the onions.
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Put the mixed baby greens, pear slices, stilton chunks, walnut pieces, and cocktail onions in a large bowl. Add some of the vinaigrette and toss to combine. You can always add more vinaigrette to your preference.
For the vinaigrette:
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Put mustard, honey, vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic, and shallot in a blender. Put the lid on and blend on high speed until ingredients are combined. Turn the blender on low speed, remove the lid (or the middle of the lid), and slowly pour 1/2 cup of olive oil in to the mixture. Turn blender off. Taste. If too vinegar-y add more oil with blender on low speed. Add in increments, stopping to taste, until it has the right oil/vinegar balance to you.
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Pour into salad dressing shaker/container. Use immediately. Store leftover in the refrigerator.
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If chilled, take it out of the refrigerator about an hour before using again to get to room temperature. Shake to re-combine as it will separate.
Recipe Notes
Pear and stilton salad is a delicious salad with fresh pear, stilton cheese, toasted walnuts, and a homemade sherry vinaigrette.
Eileen Gross WineEveryday says
January 8, 2012 at 10:11 amRenee, this salad is remarkably simple to toss together! The toasted walnuts add such a nice depth to the freshness of the greens & pear. I think the pairing with Perrin Reserve Cotes du Rhone Blanc is perfect, as it too has both freshness and depth.
PS, Left over toasted walnuts are great to noch on with manchago cheese after dinner!
Cheers!
Renee says
January 8, 2012 at 11:07 amThank you so much Eileen for the wine pairing! I am going to get the Perrin Reserve Cotes du Rhone Blanc and enjoy it with my salad.
BigFatBaker says
January 8, 2012 at 1:07 pmThis salad looks so good. I am a big fan of the salty, sweet and tangy combo. I’ve never thought of putting cocktail onions in a salad but I can’t see why it wouldn’t be delicious. I’ll keep an eye out for pears next time I go to the store, this is too delicious to pass by!
Renee says
January 8, 2012 at 2:00 pmThank you Erin. I was inspired to use the cocktail onions because I had a salad similar to this during one of my trips to Napa/Sonoma. Now I put them in a lot of salads.
Jeff Young says
January 8, 2012 at 4:12 pmRenee, this is an awesome salad! I love Stilton, and your Sherry Vinaigrette looks simply remarkable. Adding pears to salads always makes me happy. Thank you so much for this addition to our #SundaySupper progressive dinner!
Renee says
January 8, 2012 at 4:34 pmThanks Jeff! Once I started making my own salad dressings I can’t imagine a salad with store-bought dressing. I just vary the vinegar and will add fresh herbs sometimes also.
amy @ fearless homemaker says
January 8, 2012 at 4:29 pmthis salad looks great! i think the idea of the virtual progressive sunday supper is a wonderful one, although i think it might be even more fun to do one in person! thinking of asking some of our neighbors if they want to do one soon. thanks for the awesome idea! =)
Renee says
January 8, 2012 at 4:36 pmYou should do a progressive dinner. They are so much fun. I did one with some neighbors for New Year’s one time and hoping we can do another one soon.
sunithi says
January 9, 2012 at 7:06 pmHi Renee, That salad looks absalutely Delish ! I love pears and will definately try this out. The Dressing is fab too. Couls use that for alot of salads ! Thanks for sharing and was lovely participating in the Sunday Supper with you !
Renee says
January 9, 2012 at 7:53 pmThank you! I had such fun with the Sunday Supper and I’m already looking forward to the next one. Glad we had such a good team to make it a success.
Liz says
January 13, 2013 at 11:31 amOh, my…this is exactly the sort of salad I gravitate towards! Delish!
Renee says
January 14, 2013 at 2:46 pmThanks! Homemade dressings are really what puts salads over the top.