Cherrie Brie Tossed Salad

This salad is very crisp and fresh tasting.  It is one of those recipes that I like to make when I have company over. 

I have made the recipe with the dried cherries, once, but I have replaced them with dried cranberries because the cranberries taste just as good and are a lot less expensive.
The original recipe can be found here .

Ingredients

Dressing:

         1 cup cider vinegar

         1/2 cup sugar

         1/4 cup olive oil

         1 teaspoon ground mustard

         1-1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds

        

Salad:

         2 tablespoons butter

         3/4 cup sliced almonds

         3 tablespoons sugar

         8 cups torn romaine

         1 round (8 ounces) Brie cheese, rind removed and cubed

         1 package (6 ounces) dried cherries

Directions

         In a small bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients; set aside.

        

         For salad, in a heavy skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add

         almonds and cook and stir until nuts are toasted, about 4 minutes.

        

            Sprinkle with sugar; cook and stir until sugar is melted, about 3

         minutes. Spread on foil to cool; break apart.

        

         In a large salad bowl, combine the romaine, cheese and cherries.

Whisk dressing; drizzle over salad. Sprinkle with sugared almonds and toss to coat.