I know.
The title. Lame. I try.
But my Maytag bleu cheese salad is flavorful, colorful and with nice contrasting textures. To die for if I have to say so myself. Call me James Bond.
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In the early 1990’s, there was a fabulous restaurant called “Stepps” in Downtown LA. It was a great stop for business meals.
One of the most stellar dishes they had was their “Maytag bleu cheese salad”. The bleu cheese exploded with its distinct flavor and the crunch from the toasted almond slivers was an excellent contrast. Indeed, the presentation was like Disney’s “Wonderful World of Color”.
I had to figure out how to make it…even back then. Not being educated in the culinary arts (OK…cooking – I just wanted to be fancy), it was one failure after another.
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But in the years leading up to today, it is perfected. At least I think so. Nobody complains except for my oldest daughter who doesn’t like bleu cheese…or mushrooms.
The key, I feel, is the bleu cheese. There is a specific variety called “Maytag” bleu cheese. You will be rewarded. It is worth the trouble.
The ingredients are simple; no quantities are shown as you pros can figure it out. Besides, everyone’s palates differ:
For the dressing:
- Heavy cream
- Crushed garlic
- Vinegar (or lemon juice) to thicken
- Mayo
- Salt and black pepper (I use the Japanese version as it is such a fine powder and has a slight citrus-y taste to it)
- Dash of Worcheshire (Is that spelled right?)
- A dribble of olive oil
After whisking the above, toss romaine lettuce with the dressing and plate.
Throw on:
- Toasted almond slivers
- Chopped (perfectly) hard-boiled eggs
- Maytag bleu cheese
Enjoy
Masako and Spam Musubi 
I was never familiar with Stepps, but I will definitely make friends with this salad! It does sound divine. I kinda liked your title. LOL!
Thanks, Three Well Beings, for the nice compliment… but it is pretty lame. 🙂
There are those dishes you eat that you really want to recreate. Well done for persevering! Looks lovely and sounds divine. As it’s relatively local to us, we can say that the sauce is spelled Worcestershire 😉
Haha! I can’t even pronounce it correctly. Thanks!
Like this – woos ta shir (or) woos, as is ‘you’re a woos’ t sheer, accent on the first syllable.
And your title isn’t lame at all, it’s fabulous. Keep doing that! 😀
LOL!! I still can’t pronounce it! J/K… 🙂
Being a native of Massachusetts, I’ve got all those pronunciations down to a science. Try this one = Worcester. It’s pronounced, as in Boston accent, WOOS TA. WOOSTA. So add on SHEER, as in a shir or sheer, as in see through… When in doubt, ask a kid. 😀
….I think a good cup of coffee would be great after this Salad! I’m just sayin 🙂
You have a point there… You needn’t add any more cream!
My mom LOVES bleu cheese, I could never enjoy it. But that salad does look goooooood. 🙂 And I like the title!
LOL about not liking Boru cheese. I’ll just have to sneak some in to your personal batch of truffles. Enjoy your time away…riding shotgun.
you had me up until garlic…allergic to garlic 😦 looks lovely though!
The garlic’s an option!
well now you got me back and we are talkin! when are you coming over to make this for us??!!
I fly Delta. I’m a sucker for the finger-waggin’ redhead, Deltalina. 🙂
Or tomatos
Picky… lol
FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD! 😀
LOL!…but right on!
I’m honoured to nominate you for THE READER APPRECIATION AWARD.
http://s1ngal.wordpress.com/2012/08/13/the-reader-appreciation-award/
As Popeye would say, “Diss isk embarasinks”. 🙂 Thank you so much. I know I need to figure out how to properly acknowledge these undeserved accolades but I still can’t even figure out how to arrange/amend the “blog roll”. 🙂
trust me when I say where you’re coming from… but here’s really really hoping you’ll find your way through it. congratulations!! get some spinach, maybe 😉
That looks like a perfect salad . . . I could make a meal of that, but tell me your secret for perfect hard-boiled eggs first.
Hey, Twister Knitter? How are you? Your studies?
With simplicity in mind:
1. Put eggs in pot and cover with water. Add pinch of salt.
2. Using med-high heat, bring to boil. Let boil for a minute or so.
3. Turn off heat and move off burner. Cover with lid.
4. I leave lid on 13-14 minutes.
5. Cool immediately with running water. I also throw them into an ice bath to arrest cooking.
People have said older eggs peel better. Don’t know about that… but the egg yolks turn out a beautiful yellow-orange each and every time.
I love your title! Ha…ha.. but then, I’m a sucker for “lame”! And I know I’d love this salad. I can tell by your great list of delicious ingredients. I love blue cheese but I’ve never tried “Maytag”. I see it’s an artisanal, cave-aged cheese. Sounds truly divine. And I see they ship to Canada. I may have to order some. Great bit of food writing, Koji. I enjoyed it tremendously. :))