Blackberry & Pear Salad with Red Wine Poppyseed Vinaigrette

This salad is so yummy!  The dressing called for 1 cup of sugar, but I think it could be reduced to 3/4 cup and still be delicious so I think I'll give that a try next time.  I also forgot to add bacon, but I'm sure that would be tasty as well.  This is slightly adapted (and halved) from ourbestbites.com).  I'm trying to do a salad once a week as our main dish so I served this with bread and it was great.



Blackberry & Pear Salad with Red Wine Poppyseed Vinaigrette
Recipe from Bekah Byron
Ingredients:
1 head romaine lettuce, washed and chopped or torn into bite-sized pieces
1 package mixed greens
½ cup chopped walnuts (or pecans), roasted
¼ cup cooked and crumbled bacon
½ cup crumbled feta cheese
1 red or green pears, sliced (or apples)
1 small package blackberries, washed and sliced in half
Dressing:
¾ cup sugar
1 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoons dry mustard
1/3 small onion
½ cup red wine vinegar
¾ cup oil
1 teaspoons poppy seeds
Instructions:
In the jar of a blender, combine all the dressing ingredients except the oil and the poppy seeds. Blend until smooth. With the blender running, add the oil in a steady stream. Transfer the dressing to a storage or serving container and whisk in the poppy seeds. Refrigerate until ready to use.