by guest writer Patty Joy
My husband and I were recently invited to an upscale steak house for dinner. An evening with wonderful friends & delicious cuisine sounded like a dream. We indulged in rich & impeccably cooked food. As we finished the meal & reminisced over all the exquisite flavors, it was the simple and crisp wedge salad that we kept thinking about and drooling over.
Now, some of you carnivores might think that’s crazy talk considering the venue, but it made perfect sense to us considering we are a vegetarian household (although I am a flexitarian, meaning I occasionally eat meat products).
The appetizing wedge salad that left us wishing for more is now a permanent staple in our house. It has a short list of ingredients, which is so convenient, but it was that decadent dressing I wanted to perfect. Homemade dressing is actually not complicated; it’s getting the right combination of ingredients that requires a little patience. But hey, I did it for you!!! Its always a bonus when you make your own dressing because you forego all the additives, preservatives, genetically engineered ingredients, high fructose corn syrup & so much other stuff that is harmful to our bodies.
Ingredients…
1 Iceberg lettuce quartered
Dressing (recipe below)
3 large tomatoes
3 scallions (green parts only) chopped
1 red onion (diced small or thinly sliced)
¼ c blue cheese to garnish
Freshly cracked pepper
OPTIONAL: good quality bacon and/or finely chopped hardboiled egg can be added as a topping.
NOTE: All ingredients I use are organic, but I wanted to specify on the oil… Top quality oils and vinegars are just as important in cooking as buying organic fruits & veggies.
Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing…
1 cup Vegenaise (mayo’s vegan counterpart, but mayonnaise is fine)
¼ cup *organic vegetable oil
¼ cup Fage 0% plain Greek yogurt (you can use sour cream, I just always use Greek yogurt as a substitute to sour cream)
¼ cup lowfat buttermilk
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
¼ tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp salt
1/8 tsp fresh cracked pepper
6 ounces Blue cheese
* In a large bowl, mix vegenaise and vegetable oil.
* Add the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT for the blue cheese. Whisk together.
* Fold blue cheese gently into your mixture
Store the dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. I recommend making the dressing the night before you plan on serving so that all the flavors blend together.
Assembly…
Arrange your quartered lettuce on a chilled platter & spoon your dressing generously over the lettuce. Add the onions, tomatoes, fresh blue cheese & sprinkle with the green scallions & freshly cracked pepper.
Enjoy immediately after serving.
Eat Well. Be Well!
