Cheddar & Apple Salad from the Butcher & the Baker

A couple months ago, Brendan invited me to a dinner at his friends Silka & Jake’s apt. Authors of the blog The Butcher and the Baker, they put out an unbelievable spread. Always using farm fresh ingredients– with gorgeous photos to boot– I have been an admirer of their blog since. On Saturday, I decided to make their Spinach Salad w. Apples and Cheddar… and I have eaten it every day following. This dressing is likely to become a new staple at my place (and Sam’s as well).

Make fun of me if you will for my BK-overuse of mason jars… but it is super convenient to make dressing in, just measure ingredients on the side of the jar– and shake up– instead of bothering with the whole whisking, bowl etc thing. Storage and measure in one fell swoop.

Dressing
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp vinegar – reccomend apple cider vinegar
2 tsp dijon mustard2 cloves of garlic, minced

Salad
1 generous handful of raw almonds [i subbed pine nuts & sunflower seeds]
1 tsp bacon fat (or a little butter, if you’d like to keep it vegetarian)
1 1/2 lbs spinach – b&b add that they like regular, but baby would work fine as well [do note though that the regular organic/farm fresh bunch is quite unlike that old dark stuff you buy in big bags. It is lighter, fresher, and less coarse. i used a combo of watercress, spinach & arugula- also shocking how much more peppery and delicious a fresh bunch of arugula is to the boxed stuff]
2/3 cup sharp cheddar cheese, cut or broken into chunks
1 medium apple, cored and thinly sliced [or chopped]- Fujis are great for this!
[optional add-ins: crispy bacon, avocado, radish]

Throw all dressing contents in a jar. Shake and enjoy.