Fancy Wedge with Buttermilk Creme Fraîche Bleu Cheese Dressing

I'm not what you would call a salad person. Once in a great while I'll suffer through some sort of identity crisis and think that I could be a salad person, but without fail, I am always dead wrong. When people wax poetic about the large beautiful (they always refer to it as beautiful, for some reason) salad they had for lunch, I can't help but think that they are totally bullshitting me. I mean, yeah, I enjoy a well crafted salad as much as the next guy, but to have it be your entire meal just seems completely absurd to me. Maybe my appetite is off the charts, but if I were to eat a salad for lunch and only a salad, I'd be heading for some cheese and crackers within the hour. And it's not that I don't take pleasure in greens and a plethora of vegetables. Oh, I do! We eat LOTS of greens and LOTS of vegetables in this house, but I think I simply prefer them more in a supporting role.

This is not all to say that I will not be posting salads here. I will occasionally make a salad that I devour and am particularly proud of, and I'd love to share those recipes with you. Like this wedge, for example. We invited some friends over for dinner and we wanted to keep the menu from getting too complex, which can actually be challenging for us. I felt like serving a wedge salad, but also wanted something with a little more zest (after all, you have to impress folk who are coming for dinner at least a little bit), so I figured I'd take the traditional wedge just a few steps further. The result was glorious, and although I'm not convinced I would want to pull it off as a meal on its own, I will be making and serving it again, and again, and again.

Let's be honest. A wedge salad is not unlike a wolf in sheep's clothing. At some point in time, someone threw a whole bunch of really great, but possibly not great for you, ingredients on top of some iceberg lettuce and had the bravado to call it a salad. And good for that guy. Whatever you decide to add to your wedge salad, I think the key is always going to be a healthy slathering of creamy bleu cheese dressing. For supreme creaminess, you're going to want to let this dressing sit in your fridge for at least two hours, but overnight is best.

Buttermilk Creme Fraîche Bleu Cheese Dressing

1/2 c. of buttermilk

1/2 c. of creme fraîche

2 tbsp. of mayonnaise

1 tbsp. of balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp. of chopped chives

1 cup of crumbled bleu cheese

salt + pepper

Combine all of the above ingredients into a jar with a tight fitting lid, and shake the daylights out of it. Let it chill before using. Will last a good 4-5 days in your fridge if you have any extra, but I doubt you will.

Fancy Wedge

(serves 6-8)

2 heads of iceberg lettuce, quartered

2 8-minute eggs, peeled and chopped

6 slices of thick-cut bacon, fried and chopped

1 c. of halved cherry or grape tomatoes

1 tbsp. of chopped chives.

bleu cheese dressing

salt + pepper

Arrange your iceberg wedges on a platter. Top with your bleu cheese dressing. Sprinkle remaining ingredients on top of dressing and finish off with some salt and pepper.

Roasted Whole Grain Mustard Potato Salad

I'm rolling my eyes at myself as I type this, but we've become a [mostly] gluten-free household. Joe and I have both suspected for a while that he might have some sort of gluten intolerance, so he decided to bite the bullet and give it up completely a couple weeks ago. The difference has been so astonishing, that even I noticed it in him the very next day. He's clear headed, bursting with energy, and his mood has improved drastically. Obviously, as a result, mine has improved drastically as well. This has not been an easy transition seeing as we ate more pizza than any family I've ever known, but the pros are far outweighing the cons, so it would be worth our while to stick this one out. And if I'm being completely candid here, Cheech and I will occasionally sneak a morning bun into our day while he's at work so as not to torture his poor bread-less heart. 

Needless to say, our diet has been turned inside out and upside down. We did a market run the day after he made the switch while Cheech was at school, and it was nice to really pay attention to what we were buying without having a toddler screaming at us for more blackberries. This is a whole new way of cooking for me, which I'm taking on as a welcome challenge (please, I'd love to hear any and all suggestions/ideas/links/blogs/etc). Like I mentioned, the kid and I are still on the gluten train, so this is NOT a gluten-free blog. But, there will be lots of gluten-free business going on for sure. 

Cooking gluten-free food for a man who is not fond of rice, polenta, and most legumes has been a touch daunting. I still make those things from time to time in hopes that he'll come around, and also because I refuse to become a short order cook in this house. As far as I'm concerned, my family has three options when it comes to our meals: 1. They eat the dish I've prepared for them. 2. They make their own food. 3. They don't eat at all. Still, I do make more of an effort to make meals that I'm fairly confident we'll all enjoy. And man, if you don't enjoy potatoes, there's something seriously wrong with you. 

This potato salad is a slightly altered version of a French-style potato salad I used to make when I ran my own mini catering business out of my tiny apartment in LA (remember those days, K?). With the old version, I would simply boil the potatoes. I discovered though, that roasting them and throwing in some caramelized onions and garlic is such a lovely compliment to a good mustard's bite. I'm pretty sure I'll be making this version from here on out.

Roasted Whole Grain Mustard Potato Salad

2 lb. of fingerling potatoes (use any variety you'd like), chopped into 1/4 in. thick rounds

1 large shallot, sliced

1 large garlic clove, sliced

olive oil

1 tbsp. of good quality whole grain mustard (more if you really like mustard)

2 tbsp. of fresh chopped herbs (use whatever you have available/I used oregano, rosemary, and chives)

salt + pepper

Season your potato rounds and roast them until they turn golden and their skins become crispy. I put mine in the oven at 400º for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, slowly caramelize your sliced shallot and garlic in a little bit of oil on medium-low heat. Once the potatoes and shallot mixture are done, toss them together with the mustard, half of the chopped herbs, and salt & pepper to taste. Garnish with remaining chopped herbs and serve warm, or at room temperature. Serves 4-6.