Tasty Tuesday: Wedge Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing
Tasty Tuesday: Wedge Salad with Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing
Ingredients
Iceberg Lettuce cut into quarters
½ C Chopped Tomatoes
¼ C Thinly Slipped Red or Purple Onion
2-4 Strips Thick Cut Bacon, cooked and chopped
Blue Cheese Dressing (see recipe for ingrediants)
Balsamic Vinegar (optional)
Blue Cheese Dressing
¼- ½ C Crumbled Blue Chese
½ C Mayonnaise (light or regular)
¼ C Half and Half
1 Tbsp Sour Cream (light or regular)
½ Tbsp Lemon Juice, fresh squeezed
¼ Tsp Worcestershire Sauce
Fresh ground black pepper
Pinch of salt
A wedge salad is not only delicious but also pleasing to the eye. It is the perfect salad when hosting dinner or eating alone. It can be a meal or a side dish. It can be whole or chopped. A wedge salad has so many benefits and is easy to make so why not impress your guest with creamy, homemade blue cheese dressing resting on bright green lettuce and topped with colorful red onions, tomatoes, and chopped bacon! Can you tell I am enthusiastic about the fabulous wedge salad?
First let’s make the dressing so the flavors have time to blend together before serving. You can make this in advance and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 2 days or make and serve as you are preparing the meal. Place the mayonnaise, half and half, sour cream, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and a pinch of salt into a bowl and mix until smooth. Once smooth fold in the blue cheese crumbles and fresh cracker pepper. A few cranks of the pepper mill is good but you might like a little more or little less. Perfect! You have the dressing ready! How easy was that?
Now to assemble, start with a head of iceberg lettuce. Cut the core out and rinse the lettuce. Let it drain completely so you do not end up with water in your salad! Cut the lettuce into quarters and place one quarter onto a plate. Such an easy first step. Spoon approximately 2 Tbsp of dressing onto the wedge but more if you would like. A little goes a long way with this dressing.
Chop the tomatoes, but not too small. Place the tomatoes on top of the dressing. A few on the plate is a good idea too!
Slice the red or purple onion in thin strips approximately ½ -1 inch long and very thin. Sprinkle the onion on the wedge over the dressing and tomato. I like to also sprinkle a few on the plate for looks and so when the salad is cut there is plenty of everything for each bit!
Now for the bacon, this is completely optional however it is ideal for this salad, unless you or member or your dinner party is a vegetarian. Good thing it is a quick fix to alter the salad to fit their needs! I like to use thick cut bacon, cook it in the oven, and then chop it into ½ inch pieces. You can also use precooked bacon pieces but a disclaimer, it does take away from the salad a bit! Again, sprinkle the bacon on top of the lettuce, dressing, tomato, and onion. And once again, a little on the plate is a nice touch.
Right before serving you can drizzle a little high quality balsamic vinegar over the salad. If you are really adventurous you can make a balsamic reduction and use that but it is not necessary. You don’t even have to use the balsamic but it adds a little something special to round out all the flavors. A few bites of this yummy salad and you will have a new favorite!
Variations
Plain Greek Yogurt can be substituted for the sour cream.
You can chop everything, including the lettuce, mix it all together except the balsamic vinegar, and serve in a large bowl or in individual bowls. Drizzle the balsamic on right before serving. If making a chopped wedge salad you should not mix it until right before serving in order to keep the lettuce crispy and fresh!
Leave off the bacon and make this a vegetarian friendly dish.
Sprinkle some blue cheese crumbles on the very top or on the plate for additional flavor and garnish.
Top with a crank of fresh cracked pepper.
