Caribbean Salad with Sweet Orange Vinaigrette

We have a lot of lettuce growing in our garden right now so tonight I went looking for a new salad recipe.  And I found one at Our Best Bites!  This salad was seriously good.  I used a rotisserie chicken from Costco instead of grilling chicken and it worked great.  The dressing is sweet orange-y goodness.  Yum!

Caribbean Salad with Sweet Orange Vinaigrette

Salad:

1 large bunch Romaine Lettuce
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, grilled (or a rotisserie chicken cut into pieces)
8 ounce can mandarin oranges, drained
1 red bell pepper, diced or sliced
4-5 green onions, sliced
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
6-8 tablespoons dried cherries or cranberries
Black or regular sesame seeds (I omitted.)
optional: diced fresh pineapple

Dressing:

1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar (I used red wine vinegar.)
1 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil (I omitted.)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup canola oil

To prepare dressing, combine orange juice, vinegar, dry mustard, sugar, sesame oil, and salt in blender.  Blend until sugar is dissolved.  With blender running on low either remove stopper in blender lid, or crack the corner and slowly drizzle in oil, mixing until just combined.  Store dressing in fridge until ready to use, can prepare a day or two ahead of time.

To prepare salads, divide lettuce between 4 plates, top with grilled chicken, mandarin oranges, bell pepper, green onions, cilantro, and dried cherries or cranberries.   Drizzle with dressing and sprinkle with sesame seeds.  Serves 4 main dish, or 6-8 sides.