ISO: Dressing for spinach salad

[Laura B]

I need a yummy dressing for spinach salad. And suggestions for what to put in a spinach salad, for that matter. My plan now is to put mushrooms, red onions, and maybe some hard boiled eggs, but I am open to alternates. I have never made a spinach salad before.

It will be a side salad for filet mignon with port-wine mushroom sauce and balsamic roasted new potatoes and red onions. Just realized that that makes red onions in two dishes. Is that overkill?

Thanks in advance for your help. This is for sunday night dinner. We're having another couple over for dinner.

[gabbyh]

Laura,
My husband and I ate at our favorite hangout in town, the "Bethlehem Brew Works" and I had the best spinach salad ever:
fresh leaf spinach, homestyle croutons, tomato, raisins, toastd almonds, mandarin oranges, and roasted red peppers,
with the fat free raspberry viniagrette dressing
It was delicious...and so very simple!

Here's their menu if you want to take a peek
http://www.thebrewworks.com/menu.htm

[kwormann]

I have to say a mustard based dressing would be perfect with that. I also recommend spinach slalad with sliced strawberries, toasted almonds and crumbled goat cheese with a dressing of balsamic vinegar and honey. I get rave reviews everytime I make it and its a good company dish because its so pretty!

[Laura B]

Hmmm. Any suggestions then for a mustard based dressing that is simple to make? I have to go to the store in the next few hours to get my ingredients, and I'm having a hard time concentrating on finding a dressing. I'm going to check some cookbooks, but any suggestions from y'all are so very appreciated!

[Irene Bartlett]

I made a salad this weekend from CL complete (if somebody has mastercook and could put it here). It's a spinach salad with cantaloupes, strawberries and blackberries (I put some blueberries because I couldn't find blackberries). The dressing is : honey, raspberry vinaigrette, olive oil and raspberry preserves. The salad was delicious although very sweet.

[kwormann]

I wonder about GOOD dijon mustard with olive oil as a dressing. I mix the mustard with sour cream frequently to make a dressing, so that is another idea.

[Laura B]

Thanks, y'all. I think I have decided on a dressing recipe. It has some dijon mustard and balsamic vinegar in it, along with a few other things. I think it will work nicely. I actually made it for my dinner party last week. I guess having made it so recently, I wasn't even considering making the same one again. But, I think it should be yummy.

[Robyncz]

We almost always have a bag of baby spinach on hand to throw together a spinach salad. I generally use a bit of chopped red onion, a sliced fruit (I've had success with strawberries, peaches, green apples, or canned mandarin oranges when I have nothing fresh in the house), and a toasted nut (almonds, walnuts, pecans). I'll toss mushrooms in if I have them. To dress it up for company I'll add a crumbled goat cheese or blue cheese.

Here's the dressing I usually use:
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup vinegar
1 T mustard
1 t sugar

I often double the dressing recipe and keep it in a jar in the fridge since we eat spinach salad so frequently.