Pear & Gorgonzola Salad

I am not a huge fan of salads.  This probably stems from my dislike of lettuce.  How can I dislike lettuce?  The same way I can also dislike celery, raspberries, cantaloupe, and other generally well liked foods;  I do what I want.  Or rather I dislike what I dislike.  Anyway, I had it in my head growing up that salads were gross and tasted like dirty water.  That and I thought ranch was the only salad dressing ever created, and although I would put ranch on juuuuust about anything, I hate it on my salads.

Then one day I discovered a real game changer, and it was called spinach.  I love spinach salads, but am still pretty particular about what I allow on one.  Last year at our neighborhood's Labor Day party, the pastor's wife brought the most incredible spinach salad, and I'm here to share it with you today.

Through pictures.

Spinach.  Wash, trim, dry.  Put in a fancy bowl.

Pears.  Slice thin.  Arrange in a pretty manner.

Pecans.  (Or walnuts.)  Crack 'em.

Gorgonzola.  Sprinkle it.

Balsamic vinaigrette.  Drizzle.  Admire your beautiful salad.

Now put the actual amount of toppings you wish to consume on there.  Don't be shy, there's certainly not any judgement here.

Toss and enjoy!

If you've never had gorgonzola cheese before, it's kind of like a mild blue cheese.  Don't be afraid though.  I hate blue cheese and Hubs loves it.  To the point that I felt bold text was the only way to explain the extent of our respective emotions.  Anyway the gorgonzola is a happy medium for both of us.  Combined with the pear, it makes for a hearty salad also.  Be forewarned though, we ended up fighting over the above salad, and could easily have eaten twice as much.

Pro tip:  If you end up having to buy a five dollar tub of gorgonzola for one salad, toss the leftovers in the freezer (we leave ours right in the container) and it will be there whenever you need it!  We do this with feta, goat cheese, fancy parmesan, etc.