recipe reviews for:

Apple Walnut Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette

“This salad contains lots of greens and sliced Red Delicious apples with a sprinkling of toasted almonds. But the dressing is a bit fancier. Cranberries, onions, sugar, and mustard are pureed in the blender with balsamic vinegar and oil, then added to the salad so that it perfectly coats every leaf of lettuce and slice of apple.”

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Reviewed: Sep. 18, 2009

This has become an all time favorite of mine. I am a big time salad eater where my meal consists of a huge bowl of salad. The dressing for this salad is wonderful. I double the cranberries and keep everything else the same. Yummy! Yummy! I got the idea from seeing other salads to try this recipe with candied walnuts. So far, I've tried this recipe with cinnamon candied walnuts, regular candied walnuts, and store bought candied walnuts (Diamond brand, from Sam's Club) and all are excellent! I also add cucumber, carrots, red bell pepper, sliced onion, apples, (grapes if I have some on hand), lots of spinach and some salty feta cheese to finish on the top with the walnuts. Remember, this is my meal! I absolutely love this salad and all the fruits/veggies I add to this salad all compliment one another. The only thing I have found that doesn't fit are olives and tomatoes! Excellent recipe! Thank you!

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Crystal

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Reviewed: Sep. 18, 2009

I love the combination of fruit and nuts in a salad and wanted to use some apples up. Our neighbors invited us over for dinner aand said they were having pork so I thought this would be a perfect combination. It was a big hit. I forgot the onion though! Added dried cherries. Would add blue or gorgonzola cheese next time.

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DianeO

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Jackson, Michigan, USA

Living In: Lansing, Michigan, USA

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Reviewed: Aug. 26, 2009

Amazing salad with a few modifications. I candied the walnuts in a pan with some brown sugar instead of toasting them in the oven. I also put half the onion in the dressing and the other half directly in the salad. Threw some craisins in the salad as well. Also, I used craisins in the dressing, not fresh cranberries as some reviewers were saying. It was deeeeelish! Everyone was talking about it at a dinner party I brought it to. :) Oh, one more thing! I added goat cheese to the salad and it was SO yum with the apples and cranberry flavor.

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PRETTYAMYS

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Reviewed: Jul. 21, 2009

The salad was very good and the dressing is out of this world. This was my first attempt at a salad dressing and went so well that I can't wait to try another. Just a note, I used shaved almonds because that is what I had and it was still good. Also, per recommendation of previous reviewers, did not add the onion to the dressing but directly to the salad. Perfection.

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LPROC

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Reviewed: Jun. 22, 2009

This was excellent, though next time I'll use a little less of the onion. To compensate for how strong it was, I just added more cranberries.

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Reviewer:

RyannaS

Cooking Level: Beginning

Home Town: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

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Reviewed: Jan. 24, 2009

An excellent seasonal recipe!

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Jan

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Reviewed: Jan. 7, 2009

Yumm - I made this salad for Christmas dinner and it was a big hit with my guests. I got lots of compliments on the dressing. I followed the advice of other reviewers and cut way back on the onion and also glazed the walnuts prior to toasting. I also sprinkled Craisins on the individually plated salads prior to serving. This one is definitely a keeper.

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adk255

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Reviewed: Dec. 28, 2008

I made this recipe on Christmas eve and it got rave reviews from all our guests! I added a few extra dried cranberry to make it a little more festive, as well as some toasted pine nuts. Great recipe!

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BUNNY78

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Reviewed: Dec. 25, 2008

Excellent salad! I made this at our xmas eve party and even the men asked who made the salad?? It was gobbled up very quickly. Thanks for the post!

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Shellies78

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Reviewed: Dec. 21, 2008

The dressing was a little thick, easy to fix with a little more vinegar. Used red d'anjou pears, bleu cheese, and sliced the onions. Perfect holiday salad.

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tlthompson

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Dec. 5, 2008

I thought this vinaigrette recipe was great! I used it for my Thanksgiving salad of field greens, walnuts, dried cranberries goat cheese and pomegranate seeds. Here's a hint to cut down on that biting "raw" onion flavor. Slice the onion before chopping and place in a strainer over the sink (try to arrange the slices so most are exposed). Pour very hot water (just off a boil) over the onions. The quick blanching will cut down on the raw bitterness and really helps balance the flavors. I also sub agave syrup for the white sugar for better texture.

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myabsurdlife

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Reviewed: Dec. 1, 2008

Wow was this good! I read through the reviews before attempting this and I'm glad I did. I used 1/2 cup of red onion and that was definitely enough. I added a little more cranberries and more sugar. I also added a little apple cider vinegar. I like my salad dressing a bit thicker and don't like all the fat, so I used half the amount of oil. I chopped the apple instead of sliced and drizzled the dressing over the greens in individual salad bowls.

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Jillian

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA

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Reviewed: Nov. 30, 2008

Excellent salad and easy to make. Even though it's simple, it's special enough to make for company or a potluck. I eyeballed the ingredients, and I probably used extra craisins and a little less onion. You could do other things with this recipe as a base, as others have noted, like add cinnamon sugar or spice to the walnuts, add cheese, or add extra cranberries on top.

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DiablosMom

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Living In: Missoula, Montana, USA

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Reviewed: Nov. 15, 2008

I used less onion in the dressing and had to use dried cranberries because I couldn't find fresh. Still fantastic!

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Becca

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Oct. 18, 2008

Delicious recipe! Be sure to add the dressing gradually to the greens; I had way more dressing that I needed and it would have been overpowering if I used it all at once. The walnuts finish it off beautifully.

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Karen M.

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

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Reviewed: Sep. 12, 2008

I made this last night for my Junior Woman's Club and it was gone gone gone! A few changes - I used Craisins because that is what I had on-hand, I added some cranberry juice (concentrate, from trader joe's) and, following the advice of some other reviewers, I chopped the red onions and tossed them with the salad rather than adding them to the vinaigrette. Delicious!!!

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MMWALTON

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Reviewed: Jun. 28, 2008

OH MY GOODNESS, love it. I renamed it "Michigan Symphony Salad" because the flavors blend like a lovely piece of music! Thanks for this amazing salad, I'll be serving it all summer.

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emilyjane928

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Sterling Heights, Michigan, USA

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Reviewed: Feb. 20, 2008

This was excellent. A refreshing change from regular salad. I can never make dressing turn out, but this one worked very well. I took the advice of others and cut the red onion to less than 1/2 cup. It was still a very strong flavor in the dressing. I also only used 1/2 c. olive oil. Thanks for a great way to change up salad!

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TMD

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Reviewed: Jan. 27, 2008

Great salad! Many positive comments when I brought it to a large group dinner. I definitely cut back on the onion- as many suggested. I also carmelized my walnuts, and used gala apples since I'm not a big red delicious fan. By using a firmer flesh apple, it was able to hold up longer.

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SWEETPCAROLINE

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Reviewed: Dec. 4, 2007

I thought this salad was delicious. I read some reviews that said the dressing was too thick but I completely disagree; even using less oil than the recipe calls for. I did however, blend this with an imulsion blender instead of in the food processor. I have already made this salad again and prefer it with sliced pears instead of apples.

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