This is a fairly quick and easy salad that will impress even the most high maintenance dates. Most of the ingredients can be store bought and assembled at the last minute. Field greens, mandarin oranges, spicy candied walnuts, and a balsamic vinagarette make this a salad anyone will love.At the store pick up the following:

1 package of field greens in the produce section

1 can of mandarin orange sections

1 package of walnut pieces

Dressing: balsamic vinegar, brown mustard (deli, or spicy), lemon or lime juice, dill weed, olive oil

To get started on the candied walnuts get out a sauce pan and put a half stick of butter in the pan along with enough sugar (brown or regular) on top to cover the butter and give a good layer on the bottom of the pan…just eye ball it. Add some cayenne pepper to the mix as well, maybe 1/2 teaspoon or so depending on how much you like spice. Melt the butter and sugar until it starts to simmer or “caramelize”. Put all your walnuts in a bowl and then pour the caramelized sauce over the nuts. Now stir the nuts to coat them with the sauce…you’ll need to work pretty quickly here because it will start to harden pretty quickly.

Next, pour the nuts out on a baking sheet or a sheet for your toaster oven. Make sure you spray the sheet or aluminum foil with non-stick spray before you pour them out. Now bake them in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or so…just keep an eye on them until they start to toast up. When they are nice and toasty take them out and break them up and set them aside.

Now for the dressing. You can buy your own balsamic vinegarette at the store or you can make it yourself (which is always better). To make it yourself you’ll need a hand blender (best) or a regular blender. Take some balsamic vinegar and pour it in either a bowl for a hand blender or into the blender itself for a regular blender. Next, add some of the brown mustard…you can just eyeball it…you’ll be tasting it afterwards and can add anything as you go. Squirt a little lemon or lime juice in there as well as a few dashes of dill weed. Go ahead and add a little salt and pepper to season and start the blender up. Add extra virgin olive oil to the blender by slowly drizzling it in. This is called “emulsifying” and you’ll start to see the dressing get a little thicker and take a different consistency while it blends. When this happens shut it down and taste it. At this point you can see if it needs any more of anything.

Thats it! Now, just open up your can of mandarin oranges and put your field greens in a bowl and top it with the walnuts, orange pieces, and dressing! You will definitely get some smiles from your date that night!!