The salad is wonderful! A former reviewer mentioned that the pecans didn't work. What was wrong with the original recipe was you must NOT stir the sugar while it is melting in the pan. If you do, it will "sugar" instead of making a clear coating for the nuts. Watch it carefully (it doesn't take 3-4 minutes and keep the heat on low-med. The sugar usually will not melt evenly so tilt the pan around to help it melt. Then proceed as the recipe instructs. You really do only leave the nuts in a few seconds then plop them out on the foil to cool and break into pieces to add to the salad. They are beautiful and glossy and oh so yummy in this salad!

great idea! but for the pecans..this didn't work and I tried twice! So I solved the problem by throwing the pecans in my non-stick pan alone just on med heat and stirfry quick until you smell them THEN turn heat down! THEN add the granulated sugar. Stir constantly until sugar melts and hardens on the nuts - cool. Tip - only make enough for one day as they don't keep. I also added some red grapes and exchanged the cheese to goat cheese. Thanks for the base!