BLT-Salad Skewers

It’s not always practical to serve a salad. For instance, at a cocktail party or any occasion where guests will be standing. These colorful and flavor-packed little salad skewers come to the rescue! They are a nice alternative to the standard crudités platter.

You’ll be using a knife to cut iceberg lettuce. There is an old wives’ tale that warns that using a knife on lettuce will cause the cut edges to quickly turn brown. This is not true. Not if you are using the lettuce within a day or so. All torn or cut lettuce leaves will eventually turn brown, under the same scientific theory that causes an apple or avocado to turn brown after cutting.

Even though you cut the lettuce well ahead of time for this recipe there is no fear of the edges turning brown because the cut pieces are held in ice water to keep them crisp and free of any browning.*

Even so, you’ll see that I do use a hard plastic knife especially made for lettuce. It’s one of the many tools crowding my kitchen drawers and cupboards that former students have given me. I have it, so I use it, but it is in no way a necessity.

*It is important to cut and assemble the lettuce portion of the skewers well ahead of time, not only to crisp the lettuce but because this step of the recipe, although extremely simple, is time-consuming and it is the last thing you’ll want to do at the last minute.

BLT-Salad Skewers

• 1 head iceberg lettuce
• 1 pound thick-cut bacon
• 1 container grape or cherry tomatoes
• 8-ounces blue cheese, cut into small chunks, about half the size of the tomatoes
• 1/4 cup blue cheese salad dressing
• 2 tablespoons minced Italian parsley
• Bamboo picks

Remove the soft outer leaves from the head of lettuce and either discard or set them aside for a salad.

Cut the head of lettuce into quarters, through the root end.

Next, cut each wedge into bite-size wedges, one bite-size wedge at a time. Thread each piece, as you cut it, onto a bamboo pick. Once you have one-quarter of the head cut, fill a bowl or container half full with cold water and place the lettuce picks in the water, covering the lettuce to crisp and slow the browning process. Top the bowl with a layer of ice cubes and refrigerate.

Continue with the remaining 3 wedge quarters and either add to the bowl you have in the fridge or fill as many bowls as needed.

You will find that you have a small pile of lettuce scraps, either discard or add the outer leaves you initially pulled off and make yourself a simple salad for all your effort!

Cut the bacon slices into quarters and fry, in batches, in a large skillet over medium-low heat, turning as needed to crisp and brown. It is important to cook at a lower temperature to help keep the pieces flat and prevent them from curling and shrinking too much. Drain on paper towels. Place in a storage container and set aside at room temperature if you plan on assembling within 4 hours. If assembling later, refrigerate and bring to room temperature before using.

About 1 hour before serving, remove the lettuce picks from the water and drain on a clean kitchen towel or a triple layer of paper towels.

Add two pieces of bacon, one tomato, and a small chunk of blue cheese to each pick. As they are assembled, arrange them on a serving platter. If there is any remaining blue cheese, crumble it and sprinkle with over the platter. Drizzle the salad dressing over the top, sprinkle with the minced parsley and serve.

Makes 40 to 45 skewers