Roasted Butternut Squash And Apple Salad

This turned out to be a nice light colorful salad that definitely suits the menu suggested and easy to make but a little difficult to eat the way it’s assembled.  Next time I’ll chop up the endive and use it as a bed for the other ingredients.  I thought it was delicious and one that would be good year round not just for the holidays.  Here’s the link to the original recipe but I also posted it below using ½ quantities from the original.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Roasted-Butternut-Squash-and-Apple-Salad-350748

Ingredients

Serves 5

Dressing:

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Salad:

Olive oil

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

1/8 cup balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon (packed) dark brown sugar

1 2-pound butternut squash, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded

Coarse kosher salt

2 heads of Belgian endive, root ends trimmed, leaves separated into individual leaves

1 unpeeled Fuji apples, halved, cored, cut into matchstick-size strips

4 ounces blue cheese (such as Maytag), coarsely crumbled

¼  cup dried cranberries

For dressing:
Whisk vinegar and lemon juice in small bowl; gradually whisk in oil. Season with salt and pepper.

For salad: 
Preheat oven to 400°F. Brush 2 large rimmed baking sheets with oil; spray with nonstick spray. Whisk vinegar and sugar in small bowl; set aside. Cut squash halves crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange squash in single layer on prepared sheets; brush with oil and sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper. Roast 5 minutes; brush with sugar-vinegar mixture. Turn squash over and brush with sugar-vinegar mixture; roast 5 minutes. Roast until squash is tender when pierced with small knife, about 15 minutes longer. Cool on sheets. DO AHEAD: Can be made 4 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Arrange 5 to 6 endive leaves on each plate. Place butternut squash slices in center of each plate. Scatter apples, cheese, and cranberries over squash. Drizzle dressing over and serve.