For this week, we wanted to go in a different direction…sort of. Our initial plan was forged on Saturday morning- we were laying on the couch wishing we had gotten tickets for the Charleston Wine + Food festival (we’ll be there next year). Since we didn’t have tickets, and most everything was sold out,
we wanted to do the next best thing- cook up some Chef Vivian! The plan was to make a three-course dinner and invite some people over. As the day went on, the idea of being lazy and watching Oscar movies started sounding more and more attractive, so cooking went out the window. We ended up going out for dinner at one of the close spots and watching Lady Bird & I, Tonya.
We do have plans to do the rest of the meal we had mapped out, but part of it did come to fruition this past weekend. Our friends had asked us over (they got a new dog they wanted our four-legged friend to meet) and we wanted to bring something- enter the BLT Dip (page: 276). You can get really excited over this one because it’s available on the Chef’s Life website here! This one a great one because we had taken the dog to the beach to tire her out before the big meet-up, and so we ended up not having a great deal of time, and this recipe was perfect for that.
Our first step was to cook the bacon- I always bake it in the oven, 
which made the rest of preparation a lot easier, since it was passively cooking. The mister did the chopping, and I made the dressing in the Vitamix. Once the dressing was made, the mister mixed up the first layer and we divided it into two glass bowls (Chef Vivian suggested glass so the people could see the lovely layers)- it was providential since we were visiting people’s houses on
Sunday and Monday night and this one recipe made enough to take it both nights. We both agreed that the dressing really makes this experience. It’s so full of flavor and has such a deep, delicious flavor.
The mister really loved the layers and the different textures (especially the crispy bacon and romaine lettuce), until the layers started mixing together when people would spoon the mixture onto their bread. He really wanted the layers to stay a bit more divided. He pointed out that it really did taste like a BLT- which was a definite plus. Our friend Christopher thought it was tasty, but he wondered if it might work better with everything mixed together.
I was thinking the same thing- although I wondered what might happen with the lettuce (would it be soggy? Likely). Fast forward to Monday night (Bachelor finale): This was a crowd-pleaser for sure. It also seemed to benefit from setting up in the fridge overnight, too…although if you’re going to do that, keep the lettuce and the scallions separately until right before you plan to serve it.
We would have definitely paid for this (full disclosure: I ate a couple of bites around the bacon). The flavors were really good! The mister also found a hidden use for leftovers (if there are any): he spread it on some sliced bread
and made it a sandwich. He was over the moon about it. I think we’ll definitely be making this one again for parties (or lunch).
What might you make BLT Dip for?
A Crunchy Peach 