Creamy Yogurt Blue Cheese Dressing

And the perfect salad on the side

I could drink blue cheese dressing. I make it in various forms, sometimes it’s thick as a paste, and other times it drizzles like ranch. I have recently fallen for a version with yogurt in place of buttermilk. I love the tang of the yogurt as a base as it cuts through the richness of the blue cheese.

Since it’s also buffalo wing season, I figured this would be the perfect time to post the recipe. Why not switch up the wing sauce a bit? If you don’t want it on your wings; this “wedge” salad recipe is also a great weeknight dinner. It includes a quick pickled onions recipe, the perfect peppered bacon, and some extra crunch from toasted pistachio.

Enjoy!

As always, if you have any questions, email me: andrewgruel@gmail.com

A note about cooking bacon:

I love to bake my bacon. My go-to is - 400F, 10 strips on a sheet pan, cook for 8 minutes, then turn the pan and cook for another 7 minutes. I find this is a perfect time and cook for “thick cut store-bought bacon”. I also pepper the bacon before cooking for that extra pop.

A note about quick pickled onions:

For these onions, I thinly slice the onions, then salt and allow them to sit for about 10 minutes. Squeee them dry and top with your favorite vinegar. This is a quick way to mellow out your onions and add another layer to your salad.

A note about crunch:

When making a salad, texture is so important. Not just the crunch of fresh lettuce, but something playful like croutons, crispy bacon, or nuts. My pick in this dish is toasted pistachio. I typically buy pre-roasted pistachios and give them a quick chop.

For the dressing: Ideally, you can make this ahead of time, as the flavor develops the longer it sits, but an on-the-fly mix is fine as well. The nutritional yeast is a must-have as it add another memorable level of flavor.

FOR THE DRESSING:

6 OZ Blue cheese (leave 1 oz for garnish)

1/2 cup may0

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1 lemon juiced and zested

1 cup whole milk (less if you want it thicker)

2 tablespoon nutritional yeast

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon fresh chives

1 teaspoon onion powder

salt and pepper to taste

FOR THE SALAD:

1 Head butter lettuce (or iceburg if you prefer)

1 cup sliced multi color baby tomatoes

1/2 cup toasted pistachio - roughly chopped

1 oz blue cheese for garnish

10 slices of bacon cooked and diced

1/2 red onion thinly sliced (salted, rested and topped with Cider vinegar)

1/2 avocado diced

INSTRUCTIONS:

Combine the ingredinets for the dressing

Build the salad as you like