Recipe: 54th Street Grill Summer Salad and Balsamic Dressing (scaled, not quantity, recipes)

54TH STREET GRILL SUMMER SALAD

2 ounces (about 2 cups) spring mix lettuce
1 tablespoon diced celery
1 tablespoon diced red onion
1 tablespoon Balsamic Vinaigrette (recipe follows)
1 tablespoon diced apple
1 tablespoon candied pecans
1 tablespoon crumbled blue cheese

In a bowl, toss spring mix, celery and red onion with Balsamic Vinaigrette. Arrange salad on a serving plate, moving celery and red onion to the top. Scatter apple, pecans and blue cheese on top.

NOTE:
This recipe can be multiplied; however, it's best to toss each individual salad separately.

VARIATION:
For a main-dish salad, double the salad ingredients and add a grilled chicken breast cut into thin strips.

54TH STREET GRILL BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE

5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/8 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon Frank's Original RedHot Cayenne Pepper Sauce
10 tablespoons olive oil

Combine vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper and hot sauce in a blender. Blend on medium speed until smooth. With the blender running, drizzle olive oil into blender slowly. (This should take about 2 minutes to properly emulsify the dressing.) Blend for an additional 3 minutes. Dressing can be made ahead and refrigerated; return to room temperature before serving.