Spinach, Portabella, Bacon & Blue Cheese In Walnut Dressing - cooking recipe

Ingredients

For Walnut Dressing
1/4 cup walnuts (chopped)
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1/4 cup red wine vinegar (See Note #3)
1 teaspoon garlic (minced)
1 teaspoon shallot (minced)
For Salad
1/4 cup walnuts (chopped)
1 teaspoon powdered sugar
4 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
2 cups portabella mushrooms (sliced)
6 slices bacon (cooked crisp & crumbled)
1/2 cup blue cheese (crumbled, may use the other British variety of Stilton)

Preparation

For Dressing: Whisk together all ingredients. Season w/salt + pepper as desired & set aside.
For Salads:
Preheat oven to 375\u00b0F Toss 1/4 cup walnuts w/1 tsp powd sugar. Place on baking sheet & bake 6-8 min, stirring occ. Watch carefully to avoid burning. Set aside to cool.
Combine spinach, sliced mushrooms & crumbled bacon in a lrg bowl. Add dressing & toss to coat.
Divide mixture onto 6 salad plates & sprinkle w/toasted walnuts + crumbled blue cheese. Serve immediately.
NOTE #1: I frankly did not notice that much of a distinction between the plain walnuts mixed w/the dressing & the toasted & slightly sweetened walnuts atop the salad. For that reason, I will likely just combine the 1/2 cup walnuts w/the dressing, add the tsp of powd sugar for a hint of sweetness & eliminate the toasting step.
Note #2: As an option, feel free to sub pecans in this recipe or even use pine nuts which I think work very well w/spinach salads.
Note #3: For those of you (like me) who do not keep red wine vinegar in your pantry, make your own using a 1:3 ratio. For this recipe using 1/4 cup, that would be 1 tbsp red wine mixed w/3 tbsp white vinegar. Too easy, huh?