Kale and date salad with crispy sausage bread crumbs

This spicy-sweet kale salad has gusto - enough to be a complete meal. The star is the sausage breadcrumbs, made by crumbling and crisping hot sausage in a pan, then toasting bread crumbs in the sausages' flavorful rendered fat. Add them to the kale, along with chewy-sweet dates, a shower of salty Parmesan and crunchy celery.

That's what's great about a kale salad: The leaves are sturdy enough to handle hefty additions, even after a soak in vinegar tenderizes and brightens them. Feel free to add white beans or chopped almonds, too.