Nate's Favorite Bacon Egg Salad

I know. I go from blogging about cookies with a pound of chocolate in the batter, and I follow it up with... salad? Seriously? A Salad? Um, yeah. I do. There's no way I can top those cookies. I mean, anything I blog about after that is bound to be a disappointment. So instead of even trying, I bring you something completely different: Nate's bacon egg salad.

Have you noticed bacon as a theme here yet? Does it seem like I put bacon into everything? Well, I do. Nate loves bacon. No, wait. I don't think you understand. He LOVES bacon. He loves bacon with a passion I don't even pretend to understand. I honestly don't get it, because to me, bacon is just another ingredient, and it's not even one I like especially. But Nate just, you know, LIVES for bacon, and isn't happy if we don't have a pound of it in the house AT ALL TIMES.



And this salad? I have to admit, it's pretty awesome. I'm not much of a bacon lover myself, but this this salad really elevates bacon above the level of salty smoky meat into the realm of the beatific. There's something about the interplay between the crispy bacon, the soft eggs, and the tang of the dressing that is really something. It's definitely a favorite in our house, and makes a very filling lunch. I feed it to Nate all the time: it's man-pleasin'. So. Got a man who likes bacon? Give this one a whirl. Even if he's not much of a salad guy, he'll probably love this!




Nate's Favorite Bacon Egg Salad

This salad is SO EASY. It's very simple, but very good. Good ingredients really shine through here. What makes this salad (apart from the bacon, obviously) is the vinaigrette. I mean, without this vinaigrette, this salad is not "Nate's Favorite Bacon Egg Salad." Maybe it's somebody else's salad, but it's not this one. For this salad, a good balsamic vinegar is the key (and so is a decent virgin olive oil, but no need to be TOO fancy about it). This is my favorite balsamic vinegar. I can't even remember where it came from, but it's like nectar from the gods. When it runs out, I am totally going to cry because I've never seen it again.



Actually, this vinegar came from Modena, like many great vinegars (I know that much). And speaking of Medina, I just sent a renaissance doublet there! I fact, I sent this one:



I told you I was domestic. This is what I do for my day-job. It's fun.

Ok! recipe:

Ingredients
3 strips of bacon
2 hard boiled eggs
baby spinach (about 1 lb? I just use 3/4 of a bag. I am ashamed to admit, but I don't even know how much that is!)
2 tbs balsamic vinegar
kosher salt
cracked pepper
6 tbs olive oil
1 tbs Dijon mustard
thyme


Fry your bacon up in a heavy skillet, then drain on a paper towel. Transfer to a cutting board, and dice. Peel eggs and dice as well. Combine eggs, bacon, and spinach in a medium bowl.

In a small bowl, measure 2 tbs of vinegar. Add a pinch of salt, and some cracked pepper. Whisk to dissolve salt. Add olive oil 1 tbs at a time, whisking, until all is incorporated. Do a little taste test and add more oil or vinegar until it tastes divine and is well blended. Add mustard and thyme, and whisk to combine.



Pour dressing over bacon/egg/spinach mixture. NOTE! There may be more dressing than you like. Sometimes if I have a little extra I store it in the fridge for next time. Toss until the dressing has coated all the spinach.

enjoy!