Spinach and Goat Cheese Salad with Bacon Maple Dressing

Cook bacon ahead of time and lay on paper towels to drain excess fat. Crumble into small pieces.

Trim spinach ends, if needed. Baby spinach is usually fine the way it is. Wash and dry spinach. Set aside.

Pour maple syrup and crumbled bacon into a small saucepan. Heat on low to let bacon flavor infuse into the syrup. Stir when needed; do not burn.

While heating syrup, you can toast your walnuts under the broiler on a piece of tinfoil or baking sheet. Just check on them every couple of minutes, because they burn easily. You can also broil them on low, or toast in a 350ºF oven for about 10 minutes. Once toasted, crush into pieces. I do this right in my hand, but be careful—they’re hot!

Now for the fun part. Cut the chevre log into 1/4-1/2″ thick medallions over a piece of tinfoil. Cutting with a knife might cause the cheese to crumble, so I use a piece of fishing line (monofilament) pulled taught by wrapping around two fingers. It will slice right through the soft cheese. Lay the medallions side by side on the tinfoil. Place under the broiler until tops are golden brown (about 5-10 minutes). While these are broiling, I usually quickly assemble my salad. Toss the spinach with the walnuts. Drizzle the maple with bacon pieces over the spinach.

When the medallions come out from the broiler, let them stand for about 5 minutes. They might be bubbly and give off a little moisture. Once they are set, you can slide them right off the tinfoil with a small spatula, onto the salad. Give the salad a shot or two of a creamy dressing to give it a little lube, such as bacon ranch (preferred), ranch or Caesar. Gently toss.

I try to orchestrate the warm walnuts with the warm goat cheese while trying to keep the maple/bacon dressing warm till just ready to serve. It’s heavenly served warm. You will hear the spinach making a slight “crackling” noise when it makes contact with the other warm ingredients. Yum.

I also gave some general rules of thumb for ingredient proportions, but I usually just do it by sight. It depends on what I have available, a small goat cheese log or a large one. You can use less or more walnuts or more or less bacon slices, as well as maple syrup. Play around and enjoy!