Recipe Exchange: Regional Recipe

It's recipe exchange time again and each participant was asked to select a recipe that in some way was a reflection of their local cuisine. What a great idea, thanks for hosting Melissa! The recipe I received for Romaine and Gorgonzola Salad with Roasted Garlic Dressing hails from Southern California, where the salad-eating is a plenty! The only change I made to the original recipe(found below) was substituting dried cranberries for candied pecans...I am not a huge fan of nuts in my salad, and I love the flavor combination of Gorgonzola and cranberry. Overall, this was a great salad. The dressing was light and the roasted garlic compliments the sweetness of the apple cider and honey really nicely...I will absolutely be making this again. Thanks to whomever submitted the recipe!
Ingredients:

6 tablespoons olive oil

10 large garlic cloves, unpeeled

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons apple cider

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

8 cups bite-size pieces romaine lettuce (1 large head)

1 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese

Candied pecans (see recipe below – or buy them)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Toss oil with garlic in small baking dish (I use a pyrex measuring cup so that the oil completely covers the garlic). Cover dish tightly with foil. Bake until garlic is golden and tender, about 45 minutes. Cool. Squeeze garlic from skins. Reserve oil. Transfer roasted garlic to processor or blender. Add honey, vinegar, cider and mustard and blend well. With processor running, slowly add reserved garlic oil. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper. Toss lettuce with 1/2 cup Gorgonzola cheese and enough dressing to coat. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese and pecans and serve.

Candied Pecans

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons honey pecans

Melt butter and honey together over low heat. Mix in enough pecans so that there isn't a lot of leftover butter/honey mixture. Place in single layer on parchment covered baking sheet. Bake at 300 degrees for 20 minutes.