Garden Fresh

I was lucky again this weekend to get more vegetables from Fran's garden and her tomatoes are out of this world FRESH. I decided to incorporate them into an old fashioned salad that back in the day was a staple at every steakhouse in the country- The Iceberg Wedge. I used to make this type of salad many years ago before we had the availability of all the lettuces we have now. Anyway, this is a blast from the past for me and I decided a blue cheese dressing jazzed up with turkey bacon chunks might put this salad right where I wanted it- over the top.

Iceberg Wedge Salad (serves two)

1/2 Iceberg lettuce cut in half
2 medium garden fresh tomatoes sliced
2 hard boiled eggs sliced

Blue Cheese Dressing
4 slices turkey bacon
1/2 cup Lite Mayonnaise- I like Hellmann's
1/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 tsp minced garlic- optional
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

To make the dressing: Cook the turkey bacon. I bake mine in a 385 degree oven until crisp, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. When cool, chop into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces. Combine all ingredients except cheese and bacon in a medium-large bowl and whisk until combined. Fold in cheese and bacon and refrigerate for 1 hour to let the flavors meld.

To prepare the salad: Place lettuce wedge, tomato slices and sliced egg (plus any other vegetables you might like- scallions and carrot slices are nice) on serving dish. Spoon blue cheese dressing liberally over vegetables and dig in and enjoy the crunch.

Re-mix: My mom used to make this salad with a homemade Russian dressing and it's equally as good. She'd mix mayo, ketchup, chopped egg and sweet relish. I don't remember the proportions exactly but will be happy to figure them out if anyone is interested.