Garlic Gorgonzola Dressing

This recipe is my best attempt at “reverse engineering” a recipe used by a Virginia restaurateur who I knew only as Ben.  He used to run Ben & Mary’s Steak House in Warrenton, VA. He sold that place and bought Dean’s Steak House in Front Royal, VA.  Based on recent reviews of Dean’s I gather he’s either retired, passed away, or otherwise moved on from there as well since it sounds like it’s gone downhill.  He had an interesting innovation in that he did not add the cheese directly to the dressing.  Instead, he’d pour what was essentially a garlic dressing over the salad and added crumbled Gorgonzola on top of that: a nice presentation, as they say in the chef biz.

I once asked him for his recipe – I promised that I would never share it – but  he very politely refused. Fine, Ben: if you won’t share yours, I’m happy to share mine

Ingredients:

¾ C mayonnaise

½ C sour cream

2 large or 3 small garlic cloves, pressed

1 T parsley

1 T apple cider vinegar

½ T lemon juice

¼ t sea salt

4 or 5 oz package Gorgonzola crumbles

Mix all the ingredients thoroughly with a whisk except the cheese.  Gently fold in the cheese and store in the fridge for at least an hour before using. It tends to get thicker the longer it's kept, and it becomes the consistency of a dip after a day or so. If you prefer it pourable, it can be thinned with buttermilk.

I prefer Gorgonzola over regular bleu cheese (which I find rather harsh), but only because it’s available locally and is a bit less expensive. The absolute best bleu cheese for salad dressing is Roquefort. That requires a trip into KC and costs about $25-30/lb but it is absolutely exquisite. For some reason, unlike the Gorgonzola, when used in this recipe it tends to get thinner the longer its kept rather than thicker.

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Garlic Mashed Cauliflower

Another oldie but goodie...
Garlic Mashed Cauliflower

If you’re watching your carbs, give this a try instead of potatoes!

cauliflower, originally uploaded by Cathy (Kate) Johnson.

Yes, I know this is normally garlic mashed potatoes...but for those who are trying to cut down on carbs and also up your intake of cole-family vegetables, this is LUSCIOUS! Looks pretty much like the old standby, too...

We get a fresh head of cauliflower and cut it up into small florets–what you don’t eat raw, that is. (I can’t keep my hands off of it--you may hear me crunching away right now--but there’s always plenty left...) Steam until tender with just a bit of water, then drain off the excess liquid. (Yes, of course you save that for soup stock!)

Mash with a potato masher–we’ve got the old-fashioned hand-operated kind, but you can use an electric mixer or food processor, if you prefer. I just like quiet in the kitchen!

My good old masher! (One of several--I like antique kitchen tools...)

Add at least a tablespoon of minced garlic (lots more if you're garlic nuts!), sea salt*, fresh ground pepper and a tablespoon full or two of butter. Yes, real butter--organic if you can find it!

We use about 3/4 to a cup of cheese, sometimes freshly grated reduced-fat (part skim, that is) sharp cheddar, sometimes a bag of pre-shredded Italian cheeses with herbs, if we catch them on sale. You can skip the cheese altogether, of course, or add a non-dairy substitute if necessary--I hear they melt better now. Mix that in while the cauliflower is still hot, and if you like, return it to the burner to continue melting the cheese.

Note:  Ooops, I forgot to mention that this is also quite good WITHOUT cheese, for those who are watching their fat intake closely...I edited the entry!

For a really delicious treat–if you can wait that long!–plop it in a greased casserole dish, then tuck it into the oven set at 325 degrees till it’s brown on top.

Oh. My. You won’t miss potatoes...and your family will be requesting this for special occasions, mine does!



Notes:



☛ We’ve switched from regular salt to sea salt, for health reasons, and use a fraction of what we used to--I still love it, but J. needs to watch his blood pressure. If you want to give sea salt a try, good old McCormick http://mccormick.com/ makes a sea salt grinder you can buy in the grocery store–or even from Amazon! You can’t refill it, though.

Roland Sea Salt is romantic as the dickens...”collected from the warm waters of the Mediterranean,” tra la. (I couldn’t taste the Italian flavor in the cauliflower, though!) You can read more about the company, which advertises that they bring the world to you, at http://rolandfood.com. Use this crystalline stuff in the coarse form in dishes where it will dissolve on its own, like soups or stews, or grind it fresh, for best flavor...

If you can't find it in your local grocery store, you can find IT on Amazon, too...
Roland Sea Salt Coarse Crystals from the Mediterranean Sea - 26.4 oz


And a good grinder’s a necessity, if you use this type of sea salt! I found a couple of likely ones on Amazon–isn’t it amazing what you can find there now? Not just books any more! This one looks like a pretty decent one: Kyocera Ceramic Fine Mill, White Top

J. found an old pepper mill at a thrift store that worked just fine, like my masher, though, so look around...shopping in antiques malls and thrift stores is a great way to find tools that do exactly what you need, without the bells and whistles--which means without the noise or the electrical use, either.

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Let us know what you think of this, if you try it! We love feedback

And by the way, I used the Uni-ball Signo white gel pen and inexpensive Pelikan gouache for the cauliflower--it's on Canson Mi-Tientes paper.