Christmas Eve Dinner

This year was one of the first we had to spend without hosting any family. I guess they choose to spend the evening with themselves. Well, they missed out big time. Since it was just the two of us, we splurged and got a couple of 1 pound lobster tails. We paired them with twice baked potatoes and a fresh spinach salad with hot bacon dressing made with Alaskan Winter Ale. Yum!!

I grilled the lobsters on the Smokey Joe using real hardwood. The twice baked potatoes were simply baked, cut in half, scooped out and mixed with some sour cream and cheddar cheese. Then baked again until heated through. The recipe for the spinach salad is below. I used Alaskan Winter Ale in the hot bacon dressing. I did e-mail it to the brewery. We'll see if they post it on their website.

Fresh Spinach Salad with Alaskan Winter Ale Hot Bacon Dressing

• ½ pound bacon
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 teaspoons cornstarch
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup Alaskan Winter Ale Beer
• ½ cup white vinegar
• 1 bag of Fresh Spinach (9 oz.)
• 2-3 hard cooked eggs, peeled and sliced
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
• 
  

In a deep skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until brown. Remove from heat, drain, and crumble bacon. Set aside. Reserve drippings.

To the same skillet, combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Whisk in beer and vinegar. Pour remaining beer into a frosted glass and drink while cooking. Continue to cook mixture over medium heat until thickened.

Place spinach in a large salad bowl; add onion, egg, and crumbled bacon. Then pour warm dressing over greens and gently toss to coat. Season with a pinch a kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.