Fall Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette

This was a great holiday salad. However, I took the suggestion from other reviews and modified the recipe somewhat. I decreased the vinegar to 2 Tbsp and increased the sugar to 2 Tbsp. I used bagged mixed baby green and spinach and radicchio. Also my local market didn't have gongorzola cheese so I used feta. I tossed some dressing on greens then arranged on plate. I sprinkled nuts, cheese, and fanned pear slices on top. Finally I drizzled additional dressing on top. It got rave reviews from my luncheon guests!

I completely agree with those who (when using dried cranberries) eliminated the sugar. I also highly recommend using rice wine vinegar - I've made it twice, and the second (with the aforementioned vinegar) was far superior.

This recipe is a good starting point. The cider vinegar is too strong so I switched and put rice vinegar in place of cider vinegar and then added 2 tablespoons of cider vinegar. I increased the sugar to 2 tablespoons and added 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice for zip. I increased the pears so each person got one half a pear. Asian pears also work if you can't find red anjou pears. I added red food coloring for a deeper color red salad dressing. For garnish I used halved cranberries and golden raisins.

This was a really delicious salad. I prepared it for a dinner party I was throwing for my sister-in-law and everyone at the table raved about how great it taste and how nice it looked. I highly recommend it to anyone.

Excellent dressing - I used half cider vinegar and half rice wine vinegar and used 2 Tbsp. of white sugar. I also added a couple drops of red food coloring to give the dressing more of that rich red cranberry look. I used a bagged spring mix, thin sliced red delicious apples, thin sliced red onions, dried cranberies and the toasted walnuts (350 for ten minutes).

Most excellent! Although I left out the endive, and substituted Asian pears for Anjous, this salad was perfect. Second time I made it, I tossed in some left over turkey. MMMMM good!

I made this salad for Thanksgiving dinner. The salad was delicious and presented well. I didn't think that Belgian endive was anything special and other cheaper greens could be used in its place without jeopardizing the taste. However, I found that the dressing was overwhelmed by the vinegar. I did a lot of adjusting to get the right flavor. I would make the salad again but I would need to find an alternative dressing using the cranberries. The pink/red color of the dressing was very nice.

The vinegar completely overwhelmed all the other tastes (way too much vinegar!). The concept of a cranberry dressing is nice, but you would probably need much less vinegar and more sugar. Also, it would probably be better to cut the pear in wedges instead of dicing - gives it a more gourmet texture to it.

I was looking for something fresh to put on the table for Thanksgiving and this salad was simple and delicious. To serve, I fanned sliced pears in on the bed of greens and sprinkled with nuts and cheese, making a nice presentation as well.

Used baby spinach instead of the lettuce mixture. I have also used this with bagged spring mix. I like the spinach better and will be serving this next week for a party. I did cut back a tad on the vinegar.

I scribbled down the recipe a few days ago and started making today then went back to read reviews. We like tart but I do have to agree that it's too much vinegar so I played with it. I added 1/4 cup more cranberries then a half cup water. Ended up with 3 T of sugar. Was still tart and tangy but good for us. I peeled my pear as the skin was rather tough, used romaine, red leaf, and a little spinach. Added some crasins. Will def make again with these changes.

I only got as far as making the cranberry vinaigrette. There is far too much vinegar in this, that is all you can smell and taste. I started over with another recipe.

Good salad. Definitely don't use cider vinegar

This is a very festive salad, but I agree with other reviewers who felt that the vinegar was overwhelming. Using the same amount of vinegar, but a less pungent variety (rice wine vinegar, for example) makes the taste a bit more forgiving.

I made this recipe for a family lunch gathering and everyone enjoyed it a lot. I took advice of others and used rice vinegar in place of cider vinegar. It was still a little to tart so I added 1 tsp of honey and that did the trick. I will surely make this again.

very tasty vinaigrette which is why I pulled this recipe off in the first place. lots of compliments from our dinner guests. thanks for the share!

Excellent! I served at Thanksgiving dinner and it was perfect! I prepared the dressing the day before and let it chill overnight. The gorgonzola really gives this salad a nice kick!

Num num num num num! I'm a definite fan of this combination. I was unable to find cranberries so on a whim at the grocery store I picked up frozen whole blackberries instead--I used the same process for the dressing with only two additions: 1) as I heated the vinegar and berries I smashed the berries with a large plastic spoon, and 2) I added 2 more tsps of sugar for added sweetness. Thank you for this great combo of flavors!

This dressing is way way tart, as it is written. I added agave nectar AND sugar and it was still too tart for me. I quickly made the cranberry vinaigrette in the Green Sald with Cranberry Vinaigrette recipe and it's very nice Great salad with the other dressing.

Very good! The vinegar was a little too strong. I omitted the Gorgonzola cheese and added dried cranberries instead of pears. Instead of toasted walnuts I added glazed sugar almonds. Everyone enjoyed it on Thanksgiving.

I did not do it exactly as directed. I read the reviews and used rice vinegar. Also, I used just an organic mix of lettuces. I unfortunately bought four bad red pears so I had to use the green pears that I had on hand. I candied the walnuts and had to use feta cheese. However, it was absolutely delicious, and I don't eat feta and I loved it. It got wonderful reviews when I served it on Thanksgiving and I am making it again today for another gathering.

This was great. Although I substituted the Endive with Green Leaf lettuce, and when prepared I thought it needed a little more dressing. Since I hadn't made extra of the cranberry vinaigrette, I used a little bit of store bought raspberry pecan dressing. I also used some pecans in the salad along with the walnuts. Everyone raved about it.

the cranberry vinaigreet was extremely vinegar-y. will reduce the amount of vinegar the next time.

Great salad recipe, but I agree with the others that a milder vinegar is needed. I used 3 TBS of vinegar to a 1/2 cup of fresh cranberries. I added the rest of the ingredients and, wow, it was overpowerlying tart. So, I added an additional 3 TBS of sugar and some honey. I can always add a little more vinegar if it settles into being too sweet. I did use EVO, but I would use a milder oil next time. EVO was kind of strong.

This is now the traditional salad we have every year in our home for Thanksgiving. Wonderful!

Salad both looked and tasted good (the dressing looks pink rather than red), although the dressing was a bit tangy. I served the dressing on the side, leaving the salad too dry; you may want to toss before serving.

Not a fan. I love cranberries and vinagrettes, but the dressing came out the color and consistancy of pepto bismal and was extremely tart. I ended up throwing it away.

I made this for a dinner party and everyone enjoyed it. Despite being a salad it is very hearty and delicious! Like others mentioned, it called for a bit too much vinegar so I think next time I'll cut it in half. I didn't think the endives were necessary either (especially since they're such a specialty item) so if you can't find them at the grocery store, don't sweat it.

I did without the endives, because they were not any at the store. On the other hand I made a dobble portion Cranberry Vinaigrette, so I have some in the days to come. This is an easy recipe that looks and tastes magnificant. I like the tastes of bluecheese, pear, and cranberry vinaigrette together. Excellent! Louise.

Loved it!! It is excellent with pork; it seems a bit rich for turkey, and a bit complex to serve alongside traditional Thanksgiving dishes. I followed the recipe pretty closely, but couldn't find fresh cranberries, so used canned whole gelled berries, and it seemed to work. I cooked the vinegar and berries a while to try to reduce the vinegar, as it did seem like a lot of vinegar. My husband and I thought all of the flavors melded well. I did reduce the amount of lettuce.

Maybe I did something wrong, but it was nothing special and the fruit was overwhelmed by the other tastes.

it was tangy and sweet and so delish!! used it for my thanksgiving dinner. it was a big hit!

Not fond of this

VERY VERY GOOD! My husband just kept raving how this salad was the best part of the meal! I'll be making again at Christmas later this year!

I used canned cranberries and omitted the sugar. I substituted lime juice for the vinegar. It was delicious!

Love this salad with fall foods!

This salad was awesome - the dressing totally makes it. I used pine nuts because I'm allergic to walnuts, and I could only find dried cranberries. If you use dried, ELIMINATE THE SUGAR in the recipe. The dried ones already have plenty - I happened to notice the sugar content so left the white sugar out figuring I could add it if I needed, but it was plenty sweet and just tart enough.

very good! i loved the strong flavor of the cheese in it. however i would probably do 1/2 cup of cranberries.

Everyone loved this salad. I think I will try blue cheese crumbles next time to give a little extra flavor. Cashews were interesting but other nuts will work also. Dressing was wonderful!

We loved this! The only thing I would've changed was to add carmelized walnuts instead. Yum, Yum, Yum!

We had this salad with our Thanksgiving dinner. It is very delicious! The combination of the two types of lettuce along with walnuts, pears and gorgonzola cheese is very good. The dressing is quite tasty. This salad provided a nice change of texture considering all of the casserole type dishes that are usually prepared for a Thanksgiving meal. Everyone enjoyed this a lot!

I followed previous advice and decreased the vinegar & sugar to 2 TBSP and thought the dressing was perfect - a little goes a long way. I served it on the side and the people who attempted the salad, thought it was delicious. We had it again last night leftover and it was still good. The dressing is a little strong - but compliments the pears well.

Wonderful! I used rice vinegar as other reviewers suggested it was milder. I used Mariani brand sweetened dried cranberries and increased the amount some, I also added a some syrup from canned lite pears, although I was sure to use fresh pears for the salad. I used a mix of spring greens, romaine and spinach. This got rave reviews!

The dressing was too tart for me. I drizzled just a little on the salad and it overpowered everything. The salad itself was good.

After reading the previous reviews...I knew that I needed to tweak this. I was asked to bring a salad for Thanksgiving (early). I had made a similar salad with a cranberry gorgonzola vinagrette that I was asked to bring again...that recipe is long gone. I used 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar, 2 T apple cider Vinegar. I substituted 1/4 cup plus 1 Tbls. Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce for the sugar & cranberries...I know...sugar+cranberries= cranberry sauce...it was fabulous...I liked the color and texture of the dressing better. Used dried cranberries in the salad itself. Fabulous!

Absolutely incredible!!!

LOVED IT!! I made this salad for a lunch with friends and they RAVED about it! I didn't use the Anjou pears, but opted for some fresh Bartlet pears from my backyard. The dressing really made it - tart, yet sweet...orignal and very festive with it's bright red color. GREAT submission - thanks!

We love the combination of flavors.

This salad is easy with plenty of WOW factor. Really a fresh addition to any menu. The dried cherries were expensive, but an important part of the recipe. We had it for Thanksgiving. I used Gerard's Champagne dressing and it was a perfect match.

Great salad, I doubled up the dressing. Everyone loved it.

Made this for a baby shower - got rave reviews. The vinaigrette is pink so it worked well for a "baby girl" baby shower. Don't use too much vinegar.

This one didn't quite hit the mark for me. The dressing is quite sweet, and I found that the combo of that with the pears was just too much. I used rice vinegar as others suggested. Dressing was good, but next time I'll omit the pears and add more savory ingredients.

This was awesome! I made this and served it at my daughter-in-law to be's bridal shower. It was an absolute hit!!!! I had so many ladies asking for the recipe I finally just made a general announcement to the whole group of 35 where they could find it themselves. Just FYI... the shower theme was a "Perfect Pear" meaning that my son and his bride to be were a "perfect pair". And the are! ;-) So this recipe with it's use of pears was "perfect"!

Flavors go so well together and even though I just used regular pears this salad was very tasty and refreshing.