roasted corn salad with bacon-chipotle dressing

How To Make roasted corn salad with bacon-chipotle dressing

• 1

  Cook the bacon until crispy, reserving one tablespoon of the drippings. Set aside two slices for the salad.
• 2

  To the bowl of a food processor, add the buttermilk, Neufchatel or cream cheese, mayonnaise, and the reserved bacon drippings. Process until fully mixed.
• 3

  Chipotle peppers are smoked jalapenos, which come canned in a red adobo sauce (which itself is also pretty hot.) Depending on your heat tolerance, you can add one or two peppers to the dressing, or just some of the adobo sauce. If you don't want any heat, omit the chipotles altogether, and simply replace with a half teaspoon of Liquid Smoke. Add these to the food processor along with the green onions, garlic, seasonings, and TWO slices of the cooked bacon. Pulse until the dressing is mixed (don't overdo it; a little texture is nice.) Test and adjust the heat level and/or seasonings to your taste, then cover and refrigerate an hour or so to let the flavors meld.
• 4

  Roast the shucked ears of corn on a grill until lightly charred. Slice the kernels from the cob (standing the ears on their ends in a bundt pan makes this much easier.) You can cut pretty deeply; it's OK if the kernels do not all separate from each other. Toss the corn with the halved cherry tomatoes and sliced onion.
• 5

  Thinly slice the Romaine hearts and place in a large wide serving bowl. Top with the corn and tomato mixture. Slice the cheese into matchsticks (which keeps it from falling to the bottom of the bowl) and sprinkle over the top. Chill the salad until time to serve
• 6

  To serve, spoon the dressing over the salad, and crumble the two reserved bacon slices over the top. Enjoy!
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