Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing

One of my favorite salads is a spinach salad with bacon, hard-boiled egg, mushrooms and a warm dressing made from the bacon drippings. I mean, what's not to love??? Normally, this would have thinly sliced red onion in it, but I was out, so today, no onion. This is another Alton Brown recipe, and it was easy peasy to make.

Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing via Alton Brown
Ingredients:
8 ounces young spinach
2 large eggs
8 pieces thick-sliced bacon, chopped
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 large white mushrooms, sliced

1. Remove the stems from the spinach (I don't remove my stems - I kinda like them) and wash, drain and pat dry thoroughly. Place into a large mixing bowl and set aside.

2. Hard boil your eggs. Fill a pot with water, bring to a boil on the stove. Add 1 tbs of salt. Gently add the eggs into the water, without cracking them (I use a spider to do this). Cook for 10-12 minutes. Immediately remove from the boiling water and add to a bowl of ice water. When cool, remove the eggs and peel off the shell. Slice each egg into 8 pieces and set aside.

3. While the eggs are cooking, fry the bacon and remove to a paper towel to drain, reserving 3 tablespoons of the rendered fat. Crumble the bacon and set aside.

4. Transfer the fat to a small saucepan set over low heat and whisk in the red wine vinegar, sugar and Dijon mustard. Season with a small pinch each of kosher salt and black pepper.

5. Add the mushrooms and the sliced onion to the spinach and toss. Add the dressing and bacon and toss to combine. Divide the spinach between 4 plates or bowls and evenly divide the egg among them. Season with pepper, as desired. Serve immediately.