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Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Grilled Romaine Salad

Last month, I hosted the May meeting of the Atlanta Chapter of USPCA (US Personal Chef Association). We cooked on the Big Green Egg and one of our chefs made a grilled romaine salad. I had never had it before and it was delicious! And now I can't get enough of it.

Admittedly, I had never prepared this myself, it always just sounded a little odd to me. Lesson learned: don't knock something until you try it. Sometimes now I crave it!

Here's how to do it: Get your grill hot, slice an entire romaine lettuce lengthwise, brush lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill until slightly charred.

Add homemade bleu cheese dressing (recipe follows), crumbled bacon, and tomato. I found Maytag Bleu Cheese at the Buford Highway Farmer's Market....look for it!


Dinner this night was grilled pork chops and assorted vegetables. Simple and delicious.  Here's the recipe for the dressing:

Homemade Bleu Cheese Dressing
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
1/8 cup milk, more as needed
2-3 ounces Bleu Cheese, crumbled
3/4 tbsp shallot, finely grated
1 garlic clove, finely grated
1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Combine all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Thin with milk if needed.

Enjoy!




Friday, June 1, 2012

Great Week!

I've had a busy week, cooking for clients and also knit night Wednesday and Book Club on Thursday. And all were filled with trying to use up all the fresh and wonderful vegetables coming my way.

I picked up my CSA box on Thursday and I can't tell you how thrilled I am with this CSA!
This week's box from Dillwood Farms included blueberries, fennel, cucumbers, zucchini, green beans, carrots, basil, kale and radishes. Everything is so lovely and I can't wait to cook up some great food this weekend.

From our own garden, I've picked a lot of tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and green beans. I planted the small French style green beans from seed. Just when I thought they were done, the plants are blooming again and it looks like I'll have another round of green beans.


I'll probably include a stop by the Brookhaven Farmer's Market on Saturday morning, just to see what's new....enjoy your weekend!