Preparation Time

20 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups pecans or walnuts, chopped into small pieces
• 1 clove crushed garlic
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette
• salt & pepper
• 1 cup olive oil
• romaine lettuce
• red leaf lettuce
• crumbled blue cheese

Directions

Sweetened Pecans (or walnuts) - prepare ahead of time

• melt butter and brown sugar in a pan
• saute the chopped nuts in the sweetened butter
• once coated, pour the sweetened mixture onto aluminum foil on a baking sheet and toast under the broiler for a few minutes
• cool toasted mixture at room temperature
• hand crumble the toasted mixture and place in a sealed bag
  
  Balsamic Vinaigrette
• whisk together garlic, dijon, balsamic vinaigrette, salt, pepper and olive oil.
  note, for less fat reduce olive oil by 1/3 cup and increase balsamic vinaigrette by 1/3 cup
  
  The Assembly
• pile plates with 50/50 mix of romaine and red leaf lettuce
• top with toasted pecan or walnut mixture
• top with crumbled blue cheese
• pour on balsamic vinaigrette dressing