During a recent road-trip towards the east coast I stopped somewhere in Ohio for lunch at a Big Boy restaurant. I recall there was one near my childhood home but don't have any memory of having gone there. More familiar to me was the Big Boy Bleu Cheese dressing my dad and I liked and that ma always kept in the door of the refrigerator at home. Later on, when the Big Boy had given way to a Blockbuster and we could no longer find the dressing in our local market, we graduated to Marie's bleu cheese dressing with the blue top. As a young adult I worked in a restaurant where I made literally buckets of dressings. The smooth, earthy aroma of bleu cheese dressing reminds me of my dad's go-to salad: iceberg lettuce with tomato and radishes in its own bowl mixed with just the right amount of dressing. And to this day bleu cheese dressing is my favourite, though now I enjoy the chunks and the complexity of the cheese itself instead of feeling the need to smash it into unrecognizable bits among the creamy white dressing. There's something fresh and bright about iceberg lettuce. Pair that green saline juiciness with a rich bleu cheese dressing and you've got an old school treat.
This recipe is from The Quick Recipe by Cook's Illustrated. It's not difficult to make your own bleu cheese dressing and I encourage you to do just that. It doesn't take long and you can keep a container of bleu cheese for a good long time in the freezer. Besides, remember what our collective foodie guru, Alton Brown, says: "We don't buy what we can make."
1 medium head iceberg lettuce, cored and cute into 6 wedges
3 oz. blue cheese, crumbled (about 1/4 cup)
5 tbsp buttermilk
5 tbsp sour cream
3 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1/4 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cute into 1/4-inch slices
3 medium ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into 8 wedges each
1. Gently rinse the lettuce wedges under cold water. Place them on a cloth towel to dry.
2. Using a fork, mash the blue cheese and buttermilk together in a small bowl until the mixture resembles cottage cheese with small curds. Stir in the sour cream, mayo, vinegar, sugar, garlic, salt and pepper.
3. Place 1 lettuce wedge on each salad plate. Arrange the cucumber slices and tomato wedges around the lettuce. Spoon dressing over each wedge of lettuce. Serve immediately.
It's not figure friendly, and it's not packed full of nutrition so all I can do it advise you to take an extra lap around the block, pop an extra multivitamin and just ENJOY this classic, tasty dish.
5 comments:
Wise words, dear lady, wise words!! I didn't care for bleu cheese when I was young (though, I don't ever remember trying it), but it IS my favorite now! I love the memory of you and your dad and the Big Boy dressing...that's the stuff, baby. I do love the sound of this salad...and want to rush out immediately to get some bleu cheese! Awesome. Thank you for sharing it with the hearth and soul hop this week!!sc
I am with heather here. I was tearing up thinking of you and your dad sharing simple salads with creamy dressing! These food memories, they are what life is all about, and why I will be sharing this on the hearth and soul hop highlights on thoughts on friday at a moderate life, so please stop by and say Hi! Thanks so much for sharing on the hearth and soul hop this week! Alex@amoderatelife
Thank you for sharing this recipe with the Hearth and Soul hop. I will always have a soft spot for blue cheese because of my mom.
I love blue cheese dressing, so I'm definitely going to try this recipe. Thanks for sharing it.
Sue
My dad loved blue cheese dressing - funny, it must be a dad thing. I am not overly fond of it, but this salad is very popular now in my area and I always order it - something about the iceburg and the dressing just works! Thanks for linking up with us at the hearth and soul hop!
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