Wow, 2011 already. We are back on-line after a whirlwind December. As usual we all make New Year's resolutions revolving around dietary improvements. I always have the best intentions but somehow I'm not good with adhering to said intentions. This year I resolve to not make resolutions, this way I can't be disappointed. Okay, this is the lazy approach, but I am a realist.
I discovered something exciting to try for the new year. Grilled romaine lettuce. I've never tried this before but am always willing to experiment. The Galley Slave actually saw this recipe in "Bon Appetit" magazine so we gave it a whirl for New Year's Day dinner. Excellent choice.
Here's a real shocker. It was so good I didn't make any embellishments or adjustments to the recipe. The pickled onions are slightly sweet but when you pour the dijon/blue cheese vinaigrette over them they mellow to a tangy flavor. When you grill the romaine it picks up a slightly sweet flavor and the blue cheese just melts it all together.
Here's the link to the recipe. Grilled Romaine
Well, I did make a little adjustment. I only used about 1/4 cup blue cheese in the dressing mixture and then put just a couple extra pieces on top for garnish. I thought this was quite enough and I adore blue cheese, but that's still personal preference. I also used a Champagne wine vinegar because that's all I had. I think you could use any kind of vinegar and am thinking Red wine vinegar might be an interesting twist. Other than that, the recipe is perfect. I did only fix 1 romaine heart quartered for 2 people and I cut the pickled onion recipe in half using 1 medium size red onion. I made the entire vinaigrette recipe as written and had plenty leftover for another time.
I served this on New Year's with a calamari pasta and it was good, then I served it again with flank steak and chimichurri and it was better. This is more of a side dish than a salad and was excellent served with the meal. What a great way to start 2011!
