The Foodie Girls Cook Together

and Make Peach-Spinach Salad

with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette

Wednesday was supposed to be Girls' Night.

As in no men allowed.

Alas it was not meant to be.

The husband emailed and said his plans had changed

and he would be coming home for dinner.

So we would just have to make another serving for dinner.

Men.

What are you gonna do?

I found a recipe in the March issue of Southern Living

that piqued my interest.

It was the Mango-Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find mangoes at my local grocery

store, so I substituted peaches.

I also forgot to get the queso fresco cheese,

so I used the fresh mozzarella I had on hand.

And since I didn't have limes, I subbed lemons.

As we intended for this to be a main course salad,

we added shrimp to the dish,

as well as Romaine lettuce (not shown).

Heh, it's not rocket science here.

So, our mise en place consists of:

spinach

4 bacon slices

1/4 medium-size red onion, thinly sliced

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons sourwood honey

2 peaches, peeled and diced

18 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

salt and pepper to taste

After allowing the shrimp to thaw in water in the fridge,

I used a paring knife to slice down the back of the shrimp,

sharp side facing out.

(Photos courtesy Foodie Daughter)

Then I peeled off the shell and pinched off the tail.

If the digestive tract was present, (i. e. filled with grit)

I pulled that out and disposed of it under cool running water.



Easy, peasy.





Meanwhile, the Foodie Daughter was busy

dicing the bacon and frying it up in a pan.

After removing it to drain on a paper towel,

she quickly cooked the shrimp in the bacon grease.

This only took a couple of minutes.


Then the onion was added to the pan and allowed to cook

for a couple of minutes.

The vinegar, lemon juice and honey were added to the pan

and this cooked for another two minutes,

while she stirred to loosen any bits from the bottom of the pan.

Then I plated the salads:

the spinach and Romaine and the diced peach

along with the shrimp went down first.

I then grated some mozzarella on top before

the Foodie daughter arranged some onion on top and

drizzled the warm vinaigrette over the salads.

Finally, the bacon pieces were sprinkled over the top.

This was a delightful and filling salad.

The Foodie Daughter and I both agreed that the only

thing that could have made this salad better

would have been the addition of sliced hard boiled eggs.

Great minds think alike.