Creamy blue cheese and bacon dressing

I am trying to eat healthier. I really, really am. I've promised myself I won't be frying anything anytime soon, I'm making sure we have a lot of vegetables in every meal, and I'm trying to eat more seafood. But then we had this blue cheese. It was so lonely. And then there was some bacon, that needed to be used up. Immediately. I really don't know how it had been in the fridge for so long, I really love bacon. So much. 

I could have just added the bacon and the blue cheese to a salad. I know. I could have made a nice healthy vinaigrette, maybe with some of the Pom juice that is so rapidly disappearing from the fridge, like Kate. But nope. I couldn't do it. I needed something creamy. And fatty. All this being healthy is hard! I really like fried food! And butter! So I caved. I couldn't help it!

If I was going to do something this unhealthy, I was at least going to do it in good company. Like a spinach salad with onion, tomato, and avocado. Maybe a grated carrot, if I remember. Last time I made this it had a grated carrot, this time I forgot. Those healthy vegetables will balance out this monstrosity of a salad dressing...right?

Homemade Mayonnaise

First things first. You can't make a heart-stoppingly good blue cheese and bacon dressing without some good mayo. While good with Hellmann's, this is better with homemade mayo. 

Recipe from the Joy of Cooking.

1 egg

1 t dry mustard

1 t salt

pepper

1 t garlic powder (optional but delicious)

1 t sugar

1/2 t hot paprika

1/4 c olive oil

1 c vegetable oil

3 T cider vinegar, rice vinegar, lemon juice, or the acidic thing of your choice

Combine egg, mustard, salt, pepper, garlic powder, sugar, hot paprika, and olive oil in the blender. Blend on high until completely combined, then add 1/2 c of the vegetable oil, in a thin stream, while the blender is running. Then add in the vinegar, then the rest of the vegetable oil in the same way as before. Scrape down the sides a few times, blend again, and voila! Delicious homemade mayo. 

Creamy blue cheese and bacon dressing

From the Joy of Cooking, with some changes. This makes about 2 c of dressing. You can halve the recipe. 

1 c homemade mayonnaise, see above

1/2 c sour cream

2 T lemon juice or vinegar of your choice

3 cloves finely minced garlic

1-2 t Worcestershire sauce (say it with me - wooster sheer)

salt and pepper

1/2 t paprika

1/2-2 t hot sauce (optional)

1 t horseradish

4 oz blue cheese (I use Rosenborg - all their cheeses are gluten-free)

1/4 c crumbled cooked bacon

Combine mayo, sour cream, lemon juice, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, paprika, hot sauce, and horseradish in the blender. Process until smooth, then add the blue cheese (crumble it up with your hands first) and bacon. Blend a bit, leaving some chunks. Keep in the fridge, it should keep for a week or so.