American Steakhouses are not only known for their decadent steaks, desserts and side dishes. They are also wildly popular for their homemade dressings and sauces. How else could Ruth’s Chris get away with charging $14 for a half of a head of iceberg lettuce, were it not for the AMAZING Blue Cheese dressing?!
Am I right?
But in their defense, they DO make the best Blue Cheese Dressing on the planet. I credit the nutmeg, lemon juice & zest, white pepper and touch of Tabasco. Ingredients not, typically, found in a regular, old, run-of-the-mill blue cheese dressing. Don’t let the Tabasco put you off if you don’t like spicy, however. It really just adds a dimension to the dressing, without adding spice. But feel free to cut back on the amount (or eliminate it altogether), if you’re sensitive to spice.
It should be no secret, at this point, that I have a fondness for American Steakhouses. And with Ruth’s Chris, specifically. It is a company that I know and love well. I had the distinct pleasure of working at Ruth’s Chris Steak House corporation, for 10 years, when the Founder, Ruth Fertel was still largely involved with the company. This gave me the opportunity to work for her and she became one of my largest inspirations in the hospitality industry. I also socialized and dined with her, several times, and she was one of the most charming and funniest people I have met. Man, did she have the stories and she told them with as much passion as she ran her restaurants. All while smoking her cigarettes and drinking her whiskey.
At the restaurant, they serve the Wedge Salad simply. The quartered iceberg is set on a bed of mixed greens, topped with the dressing and sprinkled with crispy bacon and extra blue cheese crumbles. While the Main Event is definitely “The Dressing”, I do like to add a few more items to the salad.
Some great topping suggestions are: hardboiled egg, hearts of palm, cherry tomatoes, slivered red onion, homemade croutons, fresh avocado slices and candied pecans.
Make the salad the way that makes you happy! It’s your house, your rules!
Throw a Filet on the grill, open a bottle of Red and enjoy this salad with the Ruth’s Chris Barbequed Shrimp. That’s what I call a proper New Orleans steakhouse meal. For an added bonus, invite your friends to join and “impress” them with the frequent use of the word “Lagniappe”.
Ingredients
- DRESSING:
- 6 oz. premium crumbled blue cheese
- 1 cup mayonnaise (pref. Duke’s)
- 1 cup sour cream (full fat)
- ½ cup whole, cultured buttermilk
- ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1 med-sized clove of garlic, grated
- 1 lemon, zested
- ½ lemon, juiced
- 2 tsp. Tabasco hot sauce
- 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ tsp. + 2 dashes ground white pepper
- ½ tsp. kosher salt
- 6 cranks ground pepper
- WEDGE SALAD:
- 1 head of iceberg lettuce, cleaned and quartered
- 2 cups of mixed greens
- 4 strips thick-cut bacon, cooked crispy
- 2 oz. blue cheese crumbles
- Optional:
- 8 Cherry tomatoes
- 1 ripe avocado, sliced
- 2 hardboiled eggs, diced
- ½ cup hearts of palm, sliced
- ¼ cup red onion, slivered
- ¼ cup candied pecans
- Homemade croutons
Instructions
In a large mixing bowl, whisk all dressing ingredients until thoroughly mixed. Refrigerate 20-30 minutes before serving.
To plate the salad, build a bed of field greens on 4 salad plates. Top the greens with 1 quarter (wedge) of the iceberg lettuce per plate. Drizzle ample scoops of dressing over the iceberg. Top the salad with preferred toppings and Enjoy!
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