Thank you for the great movies and the great parlor game, Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. (By the way, today is also Anjelica Huston’s birthday. In Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, Huston has a Bacon number of 2. She was in Addams Family Values with Chris Ellis who was in Apollo 13 with Kevin Bacon.)
I’ve been enjoying grilled Caesar Salad this summer — split heads of romaine are grilled outside and drizzled with dressing. Here the grilled lettuce is topped with a rich mustardy Roasted Garlic-Bacon Vinaigrette.
Grilled Romaine with Roasted Garlic-Bacon Vinaigrette
1 head roasted garlic, chopped
4 bacon slices, chopped
1/4 cup Sherry wine vinegar
2 T. minced shallots
1 T. dijon mustard
2 tsp. honey
1 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh tarragon or 3/4 tsp. dried
1/4 c. olive oil
6 heads of Romaine
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cut off the top 1/4” of the garlic head. Set the garlic, cut side up, in the center of a piece of foil large enough to wrap around the garlic head. Drizzle the exposed cloves with olive oil. Pull the corners of the foil in to the center, make a pouch around the garlic, and twist the top to secure the pouch closed. Place the foil pouch in a small baking dish or pan. Roast the garlic until the cloves are soft and any juices are brown, about 45 minutes. When cool enough to touch, chop garlic and transfer to medium bowl.
Cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels. Pour drippings into medium bowl. Roughly chop bacon. Add vinegar, shallot, mustard, honey, molasses and tarragon. Whisk to blend. Add roasted garlic, bacon and olive oil and whisk to blend. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.
Cut head of romaine in half. Remove loose outer leaves. Drizzle cut side with olive oil. Grill cut side down over medium heat until lightly wilted, about two minutes. Serve lettuce on a platter drizzled with roasted garlic-bacon vinaigrette.
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