Apple, Grape and Pecan Salad

Recipe adapted from Great Food Fast  
Husband-Tested in Alice's Kitchen
Serves 6

We had our good friends, Bob, Debbie, Vance and Myra, over for dinner last night. I served this salad as a first course. All three husbands, including mine, loved this and asked for seconds. The original recipe called for endive (pronounced ahn-deeve) but none was available, so I used a spring mix of lettuces (or spinach ) which is always in the produce section. The original recipe also called for Fuji apples, but I really love the Honey Crisp apples that Lost River Market & Deli has right now, so I used one of those instead. I had some buttermilk left over from making Me Me's Hoe Cakes (recipe on this blog) and I usually have sour cream in the fridge. I served this with Chicken Pot Pie. This salad is not only delicious, but also very quick and easy to make. Be sure to use crisp sweet apples (or pears.)  The sweetness of the apples and grapes goes nicely with the sour-tartness of the dressing. The toasted pecans add a great crunch. This recipe is a keeper and will be a regular at our table! Make the dressing and halve the grapes in advance. Try this for Meatless Monday!

Dressing:
¼ cup sour cream or plain yogurt
¼ cup buttermilk
2 Tablespoons cider vinegar
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Salad:
2 Fuji apples or 1 Honey Crisp apple or 2 pears, cored and thinly sliced
Package of Spring mix or baby lettuce mix (baby spinach would make a good substitute in a pinch)
2 cups seedless grapes (green or red) halved
1/2 cup toasted pecans, broken or cut into pieces (I toast pecans in a dry skillet)

Place dressing ingredients in a jar with a lid. Shake vigorously until well blended. Keep chilled until ready to serve the salad.
Place salad ingredients in a large bowl. (Cut the apple(s) at the last minute so they don’t darken.) Pour salad dressing over and toss the salad well.