Ingredients

• Spinach Salad
• 2 1/2 lbs. fresh spinach leaves
• 2 small sweet red bell peppers, seeded and cut into thin strips
• 1 cup thinly sliced fresh mushrooms
• 3 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
• 1 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
• Hot Bacon and Brandy Dressing (recipe follows)


• Hot Bacon Apple Dressing
• 1/4 lb. bacon, diced
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and thinly sliced

Directions

• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup apple cider (or 1/4 cup apple cider and 1/4 cup fruit
•     brandy)
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• salt and pepper

To toast pine nuts: Place pine nuts on a baking sheet and bake in a 350° F oven for about 5 minutes or until golden. Set aside while preparing rest of salad.

Remove the stems from the spinach. Rinse spinach under running water, then pat dry between paper towels (alternatively, a salad spinner may be used). Combine spinach, red pepper strips, mushrooms, eggs and pine nuts in a large bowl. Add hot dressing to taste and toss to coat mixture lightly.

Cook bacon in a skillet until crisp. Drain off fat. Add onion and apple slices to the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples are tender. Stir in the red wine vinegar (and brandy, if using) and heat until mixture begins to simmer. Dissolve the cornstarch in the apple cider and add to the skillet, stirring until mixture thickens slightly. add garlic and season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat but keep warm.