Grilled Peach Salad

One of my favorite salads to prepare (and to eat... what good is a meal if you can't eat it?) is a simple strawberry/feta/walnut/spinach salad with a balsamic vinaigrette drizzled on top.  I think it's such a crowd-pleaser due to its simplicity, and the sweetness of the strawberries with the tang of the feta and the crunch of the walnuts and the salt in the vinaigrette.  Yum.

Recently, I was invited to a potluck dinner and volunteered to bring a salad.  I wanted to make something a little different than my fail-safe option above, and I found this delicious recipe on the Food Network website.  I can't wait to try out the recipe for myself; a properly-raised Southern gal like me loves Paula Deen, exaggerated Savannah accent and all!

Ingredients

Dressing:

3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt

Salad:

3 peaches, pits removed and cut into wedges
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
5 cups mesclun greens mix
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions

Preheat a grill pan to medium-high heat.

Dressing:

Combine the rice wine vinegar and Dijon in a small bowl. Slowly pour the olive into the bowl, whisking constantly to emulsify. Season with salt.

Salad:

Place the peaches in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and toss well. Place on the grill and cook for 1 to 2 minutes on each side.

Place the mesclun mix in a large bowl. Add chopped pecans, feta, and cooked peaches. Drizzle salad with dressing and toss to coat.

Enjoy!