Yummy Festive Salad

The Day Before:

Rinse and tear and spin romaine lettuce then place in large plastic storage bag.

Grate Swiss cheese w/fine grater and place in small plastic storage bag.

I usually put the whole pear, apple and cheese inside the big bag so all my ingredients are easily pulled out when time to serve. Refrigerate lettuce, cheese and fruit.

Dressing:

Combine all the remaining ingredients except the poppy seeds in a quart jar with a tight fitting lid and shake well. Place these in a cool part of the kitchen but not necessary to regrigerate. Add the poppy seeds right before serving.

When ready to serve I dump the lettuce and cheese into a large bowl then chop the pear and apple and pour on the dressing. Dressing will wilt the lettuce eventually and the salad does not keep well. Sprinkle the cashews on at the last minute so they remain crunchy.

I find that doubling the recipe is enough for holiday crowds – barely and the original recipe is enough when just the usual crowd of family is around because most of the dudes don’t care for it, but the dudettes sure do gobble it up!