Recipe | Grain Salad with Arugula, Pecans, Blue Cheese and Apricot Vinaigrette

I'm ready for a little holiday food detox, how about you? (at least until NYE...;))  I had these gorgeous pears left over from out Christmas place setting and used them to recreate an amazing salad I had a couple months ago at a local restaurant.  It's perfect for this time of year, hearty with the warm quinoa and complex enough with the blue cheese, pecans and spicy arugula.

Recipe | Grain Salad with Arugula, Blue Cheese, Pecans and Apricot Vinaigrette

Quinoa (cooked and still warm, if you make it ahead of time, just reheat it.  I used about 1/4-1/2 cup per person)

Arugula

Dried Cranberries

Blue Cheese Crumbles

Pecans, chopped

Pears, thinly sliced

*you can use as much as you want for the above ingredients, completely up to your preference!

Dressing

2 TBS white balsamic vinegar (white white or champagne vinegar would work well too)

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup apricot preserves

salt and pepper

Whisk all these ingredients together and toss with salad