Late September is a strange time of year for me. The calendar says fall, but it’s still 90 degrees here in Florida. So while I am looking forward to more soups and stews and roasts and the fall vegetable season, we still have beautiful tomatoes. It was so humid here on this day, that I decided that salad for dinner was the way to go and this one’s a doozy. Think bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich in a bowl with a spicy dressing drizzled over it. Yum.

I scoured the internet for a sriracha mayo, but nothing was exactly what I was looking for. They seemed to have more of an Asian feel using soy sauce and rice wine vinegar – I was looking for a decidedly American taste, and it struck me that I was sort of trying to get a Bloody Mary taste…

BLT Salad with Sriracha Dressing

Name: BLT Salad with Sriracha Dressing
Cuisine: Salad
Ingredients: For the Salad; One pound of bacon cooked crispy; 1 head of romaine lettuce; 4 tomatoes; 2 cucumbers; 1/2 red onion sliced thin; For the Dressing; 1 cup good mayonnaise; 1 cup sour cream; 1/3 cup sriracha; 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce; 1/3 cup chopped sweet pickles, or sweet relish (this is one time I used the Splenda sweetened pickles – I figure that’s better than HFCS – technically it’s still low carb – but if you’ve found a brand that uses real ingredients, please let me know)

Ingredients

For the Salad
One pound of bacon cooked crispy
1 head of romaine lettuce
4 tomatoes
2 cucumbers
1/2 red onion sliced thin
For the Dressing
1 cup good mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup sriracha
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup chopped sweet pickles, or sweet relish (this is one time I used the Splenda sweetened pickles – I figure that’s better than HFCS – technically it’s still low carb – but if you’ve found a brand that uses real ingredients, please let me know)

Instructions

Combine the dressing ingredients in a container with a lid. Whisk to combine completely. Cover and refrigerate.
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Line two sheet pans with foil and lay out the bacon so that nothing overlaps.
Put into the oven and rotate the pans 180 degrees every 6 minutes until they’re done to your liking. (mine took 18)
Using tongs transfer to a plate lined with paper towel (This is no drama, crispy bacon without grease all over your kitchen. It’s the best.)
Chop the lettuce and put in a bowl, slice the tomatoes into thin wedges and add to the salad
Peel the cucumber and slice.
Add the thinly sliced onion and toss to combine.
I used bowls for this one. Add some salad to each bowl, drizzled very lightly with extra virgin olive oil – and then drizzled with the spicy dressing. Crumble the bacon on top. Salt and pepper to taste.