Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing

I'm a huge fan of Alton Brown's Good Eats!  Although I watch alot of the Food Network's chefs, he is one of my all time favorites.  Most chefs walk you through the recipe while they make it, but Alton gives you the science and the history behind the dish....and he's funny!

Last week I happened to tune in to one of his older segments about classic recipes that aren't as prevalent anymore.  This one was a spinach salad with warm bacon dressing.  I haven't had one of those in years!  Dennis watched it with me and said it was also one of his old favorites, so we decided to make it over the "snowed in" weekend.

I started by boiling my eggs.....Alton used an electric coffee pot, which keeps the water under a boil and doesn't overcook the egg.  I don't HAVE an electric coffee pot....and I sure wasn't going to buy one just to make boiled eggs.  So, I used my old standby way of boiling eggs.

I start by putting my eggs in cold water, then I bring it just to a boil....turn it off, take it off the burner and cover the pan.....

....then let it sit for 15 minutes.

While the eggs were "not boiling", I prepared my spinach....

I listened to Alton on this one and bought the bunched spinach.....I usually buy either the loose or the bagged.  I wasn't so happy with my spinach.  That's a huge bunch, and I barely got enough for two salads...either it was yellowing or it was gooey.  I cleaned what I managed to salvage by putting it in a colander and tossing is under water....

....then I laid it out on a clean dish towel.....

Since I don't have a salad spinner (is that a foodie sin?), I pulled up the four corners and did the "airplane" with my arm (aren't you glad I don't do video?) so they would be nice and dry.  It worked....a little....I still had to pat them a bit to make sure they were good and dry.

Meanwhile, I had four slices of bacon baking in my "baby oven" at 400 degrees until they were crispy. 

Then I crumbled them and hid them....otherwise someone I know would have scoffed them up before I could finish the salad!

Now that all of the components were ready (eggs peeled and sliced, too), I started my dressing.  Alton says to use 3 tablespoons of the bacon grease....what?  I don't have that much....I used center cut bacon!  Sooooo, I scraped what I had out of the pan and into a saucepan on low heat.  I had about 1 tablespoon.....then I added 3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar and whisked that in, followed by 1 teaspoon of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of Dijon mustard (Maille, of course)...whisked all of that together.  Hmm....I really needed the other two tablespoons of bacon fat.  Oh well....I just added 2 tablespoons of olive oil and whisked it in...tasted.....yes!  Crisis averted.....even when I try to follow a recipe, I can't!

While the dressing is still warm, I poured it over the spinach leaves and tossed.  Then I put them in the salad bowls, added the eggs, bacon and sliced red onion...salt and pepper and VOILA!

It tasted just like I remembered...delicious.

Of course, now that I'm writing this post and reviewing Alton's recipe, I realized I forgot the mushrooms....yes, he sliced and added mushrooms.  Oh well....we didn't miss it, so I'll just add them the next time, which I'm sure will be soon!

French Potato Salad - My Re-creation

If you follow my other blog here, then you will recall the French potato salad that Dennis had while we were in Paris:

It truly was one of my favorite things that I ate in Paris....so different from any potato salad I'd ever eaten (what, no mayonnaise?).

So, after blogging about it, I decided it was time to do some research.  As usual, I searched the internet for "French Potato Salad" and I search through my cookbooks......the one that sounded like it would taste most like what I tasted was the one from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Pommes de Terre A L'Huile or sliced potatoes in oil and vinegar dressing.

Of course, I changed it up a little....that's just how I roll.  Instead of cooking the potatoes whole, as she calls for, I peeled them and cut them into slices. 

I did this because I felt that I would get mmore evenly cooked slices.  Then I put them in boiling salted water and cooked them at just below a boil until they were just barely fork tender.  Once they are done, put them in a bowl and add 1/4 cup of chicken broth and 1/4 cup of vermouth (white wine is fine!) and gently toss them to cover.  Let them sit while you make your dressing.

For my dressing, I used 2 tablepoons of red wine vinegar...then added 1 tablespoon of Maille Old Style Whole Grain Dijon Mustard.

...Julia's recipe calls for prepared mustard...yuck!  Besides, it's clear from the picture of what we had in Paris that it's a whole grain mustard...and I just like the Maille brand the best. 

Once I whisked those together, I added a little salt, then whisked in 4 tablespoons of olive oil (I used extra virgin, but I think the light olive oil or even vegetable oil might work a little better). 

 I then added chopped chives and peppercorns, drained my potatoes and prepared my plate!

It looks close enough and it tasted great....but we both agreed that it wasn't quite right!  After we ate our dinner, I put the rest of the potatoes in with the rest of the dressing and left them on the counter.  The longer they sat, the better they tasted!  So, if you try this recipe, make them in advance and allow them to marinate.....it was as close as I could get to what we had in Paris.  I'd also like to try adding more chives and pink peppercorns, instead of the red.

I'd love to hop a plane and go back and taste them again....but since I can't even remember where we ate, that's useless.  I'll just stick with this recipe!

A Simple Pleasure......

When Melinda and I were deciding what foods we would make on our last trip to the cabin, I suggested a salad with grilled romaine....her response? What in the world would make you think of grilling romaine? Well, I didn't think of it....have no idea which Food Network show I saw it on, but I'm pretty sure that's the first place I ever saw it. Now I think that a salad is boring if the lettuce isn't grilled!

My absolutely favorite salad has always been a Caesar's Salad....with home made Caesar's dressing only....no store bought, creamy type stuff for me! But until you've had a Caesar's salad with grilled romaine, you just haven't lived.

I grilled some romaine the other night...so simple that it seems silly to post it here, but I will anyway. (THEN I'm going to give you my recipe for Caesar dressing). First of all, don't cut the bottom part from the head of romaine. Slice the head down the middle and drizzle olive oil over it (I also make sure to rub it over all of the leaves). Then I sprinkle with salt and pepper......let sit for about 30 minutes (really softens the leaves), then throw it on the grill. Now don't leave that grill....it only takes a few minutes to get a good crisp on each side!

I do this is at the very last minute, because the warm lettuce is so delicious! Once it's grilled, place it on the salad plate, drizzle with Caesar's dressing (below) and sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and croutons.....enjoy!

Now for the Caesar's dressing!

2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped or crushed (crushed is best)

3 anchovies or 1½ tablespoons anchovy paste

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoons black or white pepper

Salt to taste

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan, optional

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

It's important for me to tell you that when I make this dressing, I measure nothing! I just put the ingredients together, taste and adjust. The measurements provided here are approximate, so be prepared to "adjust"....

The first thing I do is to mix all of the ingredients except for the Parmesan and the olive oil. It's easier to combine the ingredients with the acid (lemon juice) first....then using a fork, stir the ingredients as you add the olive oil. Don't forget to taste and "adjust"! Sometimes I mix the Parmesan into the dressing AND sprinkle the remaining over the salad.

Also, because I'm on a lower carb diet, I don't add croutons. I grate LOTS of Parmesan and make Parmesan crisps. You just take about 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese and put them on a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper...form them into circles about 3 inches in diameter and bake at 350 degrees for about 5 minutes. They are delicious!