Adventures in Bacon....

Even though it's like five billion degrees outside, I was really craving my favorite salad ever: BLAT Salad (Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado & Tomato) with creamy basil dressing and garlic bacon croutons!  When I got home from work, I entertained the idea of cooking the bacon on the BBQ but decided it was too messy/potentially fire-startery.  So I plunked the area fan in the kitchen and got to sizzling on the good old stove top.  Hope you enjoy because it's delicious!!

BLAT Salad with Creamy Basil Dressing & Garlic Bacon Croutons
Ingredients for Salad:
2 heads of romaine lettuce, washed and chopped into bite size pieces
2 roma tomatoes, sliced length-wise
1/4 red onion, diced
1 avocado, diced
8 slices of bacon, fried till crisp, let to rest on paper towels, then crumbled - KEEP THE FAT...

Ingredients for Garlic Bacon Croutons:
2 stale panini buns or slices of bread, cubed
4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
reserved bacon fat (no more than about 1/4 cup)
2 tbsp butter
salt & pepper

Method:

Cube bread or buns.  In a small bowl, combine the garlic, bacon fat, salt & pepper.  Place bread cubes in a plastic bag and pour the bacon garlic mixture over top.  Shake that bag!  In a frying pan, melt butter over medium high heat.  When it's bubbling, add the croutons and cook until bread cubes are golden on all sides.

Ingredients for Creamy Basil Dressing:
1/2 cup chopped basil
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1/4 cup Hellman's Real Mayonnaise
3 tsp white wine vinegar
salt & pepper to taste

Method:
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.

SALAD ASSEMBLY!
First, set up up your salad - I like to do it pretty and then we get to destroy it as we eat!  Arrange the lettuce, tomatoes, onion, avocado cubes, bread crumbs and drizzle your dressing all over.  Then sprinkle with the bacon bits and enjoy a yummy meal.  To make it healthier you could totally ditch the croutons!

Dinner was topped off with a nice cool glass of Church and State Gerwurtztraminer.