Recipes - Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing - fun family recipes, decorating ideas and tips, kitchen fun

is a proud sponsor of

Use White Towels for Microwave and Food Preparation.

Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing
Serves 4 to 6

Although most bagged spinach is supposedly washed before bagging, we have often found that some leaves remain gritty. Give the leaves a quick rinse and then dry them in a salad spinner before preparing the recipe.

Directions
1. Fry bacon in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crisp, about 7 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper-towel-lined plate and pour off all but 1/4 cup bacon fat. Place spinach in large bowl next to stove.

2. Return pot to medium-high heat and cook onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and sugar until onion is softened, about 3 minutes. Working quickly, add vinegar and mustard and scrape bottom of pot with wooden spoon to loosen browned bits. Remove pot from heat, add spinach, and cover, allowing spinach to steam until just beginning to wilt, about 15 seconds.

3. Transfer steamed spinach and hot dressing to empty bowl and toss lightly with tongs. Divide salad among individual plates and garnish with reserved bacon and eggs (if using). Serve.

Ingredients

8 slices thick-cut bacon, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces

1 (10-ounce) bag curly spinach, stemmed and torn into bite- sized pieces

1/2 red onion, sliced thin

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoons sugar

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

3 hard–cooked eggs, peeled and quartered (optional)

Reprinted with permission of Cook's Illustrated.

Messes are part of life. Soak em' up wiht VIVA® towels - soft & strong like cloth

We find that Hass avocados (the variety with dark, pebbly skin) are creamier and more flavorful than large, smooth-skinned varieties. Squeeze the avocado to judge ripeness. The flesh should yield to moderate pressure. A soft avocado is sometimes bruised rather than truly ripe. To be sure, flick the small steam of the avocado. If it comes off easily and you can see the green underneath it, the avocado is ripe. If the stem does not come off or you see brown underneath it, the avocado is not ripe.