Copykat Outback Steakhouse Wedge Salad

I hadn't been to Outback in years, and when I did I always ordered the same thing.  We had some gift cards to use, so a few weeks ago we headed on over.  I ordered this salad (hot BBQ/steak did not sound so good on a super hot humid day).  It was so good, I've thought about it frequently since we've been.  I went on a hunt for a copycat recipe and found  this.  It was a dead ringer...FABULOUS!  It's funny, because up until recently I could swear up and down that I did not like blue cheese, but the more and more things I have tried recently that it is in, I love it!  The balsamic glaze sets this one apart, gives it something special :)

This is hearty enough to be a main dish, but we served it with some grilled steak and chicken....oh how I love summer!

Outback Wedge Salad

For the Blue Cheese dressing

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
6 ounces crumbled blue cheese

For the salad

1 head iceberg lettuce, cut into 4 equal wedges
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved (blah, yuck...left these out :)
1/2 cup chopped red onion
8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
6 ounces crumbled blue cheese
Black pepper to taste

For the Blue Cheese dressing

In a large bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, and buttermilk. Mix well.

Next, thoroughly mix in the remainder of the ingredients.
Afterwards, refrigerate the dressing for up to 24 hours before serving for best flavor.

For the Salad

First, you need to cook the balsamic vinegar into a glaze. Heat the balsamic vinegar in a saucepan on medium heat. Cook until reduced by half, then remove from heat and allow to cool.

Meanwhile, place the iceberg lettuce wedge on a serving dish. Then liberally pour blue cheese dressing over top of wedge. Next, top with halved tomatoes, chopped onion, crumbled blue cheese, and crumbled bacon.

Drizzle a little of the balsamic glaze on top of the wedge, and sprinkle with black pepper. Eat immediately or it will go soggy!

Recipe Source: Feature Dish

If you are new to eating wedge salads, there are 2 ways to go about eating them. You grab a steak knife and a fork and can cut off bite by bite OR I like to cut up the whole thing, mix all the ingredients together and eat it like that :)