Slug Salad

The slug in this recipe refers to the texture of the mandarin oranges. This is from the Firehouse Food: Cooking with San Francisco's Firefighters cookbook. They suggest only to use Girard's Champagne Dressing- but I'll leave that up to you.

• Ready In: 25 mins
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• Caramelized Almonds

• 2  teaspoons butter
• 1⁄3 cup  slivered almonds
• 2  tablespoons brown sugar

• Salad

• 2  heads butter lettuce, washed and torn into bite-sized pieces
• 1⁄2 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 4  ounces blue cheese, crumbled
• 2 (11 ounce) cans mandarin oranges, drained
•  champagne dressing

Directions

1. To caramelize the almonds: Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the almonds and saute until golden, about 2 minutes.
2. Add the brown sugar and stir to combine. Spread the almonds on a baking sheet, separating them. Set aside to cool. When completely cooled, the almonds will have a hard, candied coating.
3. To assemble the salad: In a large bowl, toss the lettuce with the red onion, blue cheese, mandarin oranges, and dressing to taste.
4. Sprinkle the almonds over the salad and serve immediately.