Amy's Wedge Salad

I can never get enough of this salad and neither can my husband.  He requests this quite often and ALWAYS orders it when we go out to eat.  Yes the picture has a lot of dressing and a lot of balsamic reduction, but once you taste it, you will understand why.  YUM!

Wedge Salad

1 quarter wedge iceberg lettuce
2 slices Applewood smoked bacon, cooked
4-5 cherry tomatoes, halved
bleu cheese dressing (see recipe below)
balsamic reduction (see recipe below)

Assemble salad by placing wedge of lettuce on plate, topping with bleu cheese dressing, criss-crossing the bacon over the top and scattering tomatoes around plate.  Drizzle the balsamic reduction around plate.

Bleu Cheese Dressing


6 ounces bleu cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup mayonaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper

Mash softened cheese with fork in a bowl. Whisk in the cream, mayo and sour cream into cheese, the consistency should be smooth with an occasional small bit of blue. Mix in remaining ingredients and season with salt and pepper.

Balsamic Reduction

1 1/2 cups balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar

Add balsamic vinegar to small saucepan and simmer until reduced by half.  Add in brown sugar and cook until it slightly thickens and lightly coats the back of a spoon.  Reduction will continue to thicken a bit once it has cooled.