Needs some work

We love to try new things, and that obviously means we will sometimes run across a concoction that doesn't make the grade.  I can honestly say there has only been one dinner in all our years together that saw the inside of the disposal and was usurped by the pizza delivery guy - and that was many years ago - but there are lots of other recipes that have made their way into our never-again pile (aka the recycling bin), or our needs-some-work pile.  Today's recipe was of the latter category.  Why do I share it, then?  Because it's all a matter of taste, and because maybe you can do a better job!  If you have any ideas for alterations, let me know.

Spinach, beet, and goat cheese salad

First, scrub four medium beets and then boil them until tender (about 20-30 minutes), then drain, cool, and cut into bite sized pieces.  The hardest part is done.  Now heat about 1/2 cup EVOO and 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar in a pan.  Add spinach (eyeball it - however much you want to serve is good) and stir to coat with oil mixture until wilted.  Transfer to a serving dish and toss with beets, goat cheese, and candied walnuts (make these by toasting them in a hot pan, then adding maple syrup and stirring to coat, then allowing to cool on wax paper).  Serve warm.

Now, what didn't I like?  First, next time I'm going to skip the wilting step and serve this cold - I've seen it mentioned both ways.  Then, beets are sweet, and to me they were a little over-powering in this mixture (could be because they were in a very high ratio to the spinach), so I might tone it down a bit.  Also, I think next time I would try feta instead of goat cheese - the bitterness of the goat cheese was just a bit too much of a contrast for me.  The nuts are a good crunch, but an additional thought for next time might be crunchy pear.  We'll let you know if our second try is at all more successful.

Oh, and a good heads up would be "never make this while wearing white".  Just a thought.