Wednesday, November 18, 2009

SPINACH SALAD WITH CRANBERRIES, PECANS, BACON AND BLUE CHEESE

We have had a cranberry hors d'oeurve so we move on to the table and sit down for our salad course, also using cranberries. This salad is courtesy of The Neeleys on the Food Network. I have made this several times and it is a party in your mouth. There are so many flavors and textures going on in this. And of course, what doesn't go good with bacon? But, this really is a beautiful looking salad, pretty colors for the holidays and had a lot of good stuff in it! Toast your pecans, make your bacon and slice your onion and put it in a zip lok bag the day before. All you have to do the next day is toss everything in the bowl and whisk your dressing.
Spinach Salad with Cranberries, Pecans, Bacon and Blue Cheese
1/2 pound hickory smoked bacon slices, roughly chopped
1/2 cup pecans, toasted and roughly chopped
2 (6-ounce) containers baby spinach
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup dried cranberries
Dressing:
1/2 cup Danish blue cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 teaspoon sugar
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Fry chopped bacon in a medium skillet over medium-high heat until brown and crisp. Using slotted spoon, transfer to a paper towel-lined 1/4-sheet tray to drain.
Toast pecans in the oven on a 1/4-sheet tray until lightly golden and fragrant, about 6 minutes.
In a medium bowl mash the blue cheese with a fork. Mix in the buttermilk, sour cream, sugar, salt and pepper, to taste.
Combine baby spinach, red onion, pecans, dried cranberries and bacon in large bowl. Toss with the dressing immediately before serving.

7 comments:

  1. Linda, this is truly a salad filled with great flavors. Love your blue cheese dressing, too. I will definitely be fixing this soon. Thanks

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  2. That salad should play music in your mouth with all the wonderful flavors and textures. Absolutely a dazzling salad.

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  3. It absolutely must be doing a dance in your mouth, so many great additions, looks so pretty too!

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  4. This salad has such wonderful flavors packed into it. We'll have this very soon.

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  5. Linda, this is more than salad. It's sophisticated!

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  6. You have put together so many goodly ingredients that go so well in the salad. I will definitely try this.

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