Roasted Potato, Bacon, and Spinach Salad

Happy Friday! You've made it to the end of "Week of Salads". Congratulations, you've earned a pat on the back and a big glass wine! 

I've saved a truly comforting salad for last. That's right, I called this comfort food. Crisp-on-the-outside/ creamy-on-the-inside potatoes, salty bacon, toasty pine nuts, savory parmesan cheese... and some spinach. Honestly, once you've dressed the salad in the bacon vinaigrette, just about anyone is going to want to eat this salad. It's perfect for a cold winter's day, much like the last 500 days of this winter have been. Seriously, we are looking at 0.35 of an inch of ice on Sunday night, and possibly 10-12 inches of snow on Monday. Argh. It's the winter that feels like it's never going to end. I'm going to have to do a "Week of Soups" at this rate. That's actually not a bad idea...

The hubby and I are off on a mini-vacay this weekend. We are leaving our troubles (and dogs!) at home and tossing our hair to the wind. To the very cold, very arctic, polar vortex wind. So, we'll be riding into the sunset with the windows rolled up and earmuffs on, no biggie. I still plan on having a great time, no matter Mother Nature's attempts to derail my plans. I'm not feeling too worried at this point about this latest storm, the hubby and I plan on being back long before it starts. 

Gizmo, on the other hand, has already confessed he's having doggy nightmares of cold, snowy paws :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Ingredients (serves 4):

1 lb baking potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges

1 tsp olive oil

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp rosemary

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

4 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped

1/8 cup red wine vinegar

2 tbsp olive oil

3 tsp sugar

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 (10 oz) package of fresh baby spinach

4 tbsp pine nuts, toasted

4 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400º. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine potatoes through black pepper. Toss to thoroughly coat. Distribute potatoes in a single layer on baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven 45-50 minutes, or until browned and crispy. Keep warm.

3. In a large skillet, render bacon. Cook until bacon is browned and crisped. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain on a paper towel. Set aside.

4. Whisk vinegar through garlic into the skillet. Cook 3-4 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

5. Combine spinach and dressing. Toss salad to coat spinach. Distribute spinach among plates. Top salads with potatoes, reserved bacon, pine nuts, and parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

Recipe adapted from Southern Living.