Once again, a recipe using up buttermilk from a recipe I never posted. It’s just that the more I eat the cornbread I originally bought the buttermilk for, the less I am enchanted with it. So I think I might not post it. It was an adaptation of this cornbread on Smitten Kitchen. It sounded awesome, but I think the whole was less than the sum of its parts.

One of my favorite meal salads is this kit:

The poppyseed dressing that comes with that kit needs doctoring, though. It is way too sweet and gloppy. I thin it out and tone it down with some fish sauce, rice wine vinegar, and lemon juice. And then I dice up a bit of chicken breast to add some extra protein.

When I can’t make it out to Costco to pick up a giant pack of the Eat Smart salad, I go to Trader Joe’s for a runner-up: the Cruciferous Crunch.

This is just a bag of salad, no dressing or other crunchy accouterments like the Eat Smart. So I pulled together some ideas on how to make a good blue cheese dressing.

1/4 cup crumbled Gorgonzola
1/4 cup buttermilk*
2 Tbsp white wine vinegar*
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp Worcestershire
heavy dash Tabasco sauce or sriracha
Salt and pepper to taste

* If you don’t have buttermilk, make clabbered milk by whisking together the vinegar with 1/4 cup regular milk. Let sit for 15 minutes before making the dressing.

Whisk everything together in a bowl (or combine in a jar and shake the dickens out of it). Season to taste with salt and pepper. It’s best if you can refrigerate it overnight before using so the flavors can meld together, but I’ve only been able to manage that feat once. (I can’t wait for my salad cravings.)