Mike, Author at Life's A Tomato

Blue Cheese Vinaigrette

Wedge and Cobb salads are always my favorites. I can throw either one together in no time at all with a variety of ingredient. Whatever I have on hand. If I’m in a hurry I might grab a simple oil-and-vinegar dressing out of the pantry. But if I have a spare minute or two I like to make my own. Like this blue cheese vinaigrette. Easy to make using ingredients I almost always have on hand. It packs that nice blue cheese tang, along with a little hit of mustard. It was perfect on my simple wedge salad.

I often shy away from mustardy dressings. They can be a bit too mustardy for me sometimes. I find myself cutting back on the amount of mustard at the least. Or I just go on to the next dressing instead. But this one intrigued me. The combination of mustard and blue cheese was not something I had tried before. So I dove in. And I made it exactly as written, without cutting back on the mustard. And I loved it! Yeah, it had that mustard hit for sure, but it was right where I needed it to be mustard-wise. I was happy!

Add A Little Smokiness

I like to use smoked pepper and salt when making this blue cheese vinaigrette. It adds a nice unexpected flavor. Subtle but definitely different than ‘normal’ salt and pepper. You don’t have to use smoked anything in yours. Regular ole salt and pepper work just fine. But if you happen to have the smoked stuff, use it. In fact, use it often. You’ll find that they can make a nice little change to any recipe.

I serve my dressings in squeeze bottles or sometimes dipping sauce bowls.

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Also try my bacon buttermilk dressing or roasted red pepper vinaigrettes on a wedge salad. For something different, make my balsamic smoked honey vinaigrette.

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5 from 1 vote

Blue Cheese Vinaigrette

If I’m in a hurry I might grab a simple oil-and-vinegar dressing out of the pantry, but if I have a spare minute or two I like to make my own. Like this blue cheese vinaigrette.

Course Dressing

Cuisine American

Keyword homemade salad dressing, vinaigrette

Prep Time 5

Total Time 5

Servings servings

Calories 192kcal

Author Inspired by a recipe from Kelsey Nixon

Equipment

Ingredients

½ cup blue cheese grated or finely chopped
⅓ cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
⅔ cup extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Whisk together the cheese, vinegar, and mustard.
While still whisking add the olive oil.
Season with salt and pepper.

Notes

Stir before serving.

Nutrition

Nutritional values are approximate.

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How to Stir-Fry on the Char-Broil Big Easy

Note: This recipe was developed using the Char-Broil Big Easy Oil-Less Fryer. If you are cooking using the Char-Broil Smoker-Roaster Grill you should cook with the lid open and the temperature set to High. You might also need to adjust the cooking time.

I don’t know when the idea of how to stir-fry on the Char-Broil Big Easy first occurred to me. Probably late at night. Probably around the same time I came up with the idea of cooking bacon in the Big Easy. I wasn’t optimistic when I started, but boy was I ever happy when I tasted the final product.

Note: I doubt that using a wok on the Big Easy was something the original designers thought of. Doing so might violate your warranty.

Get a wok…

So obviously you’ll need a wok (otherwise how could you stir-fry on the Char-Broil Big Easy!). A wok big enough so it doesn’t fall into the Big Easy. In my case, I used one with a nice long handle and a good sturdy short handle. No fear of it falling in or sliding off. I took a paper towel and wiped down the inside of the wok with a little vegetable oil as I lit the Big Easy. It took no time at all for the wok to get super-crazy hot.

Start simple…

This being my first time trying this I decided to go the simple route. I wanted to prove the concept, and I did that and then some. A few tablespoons of oil into the bottom of the wok along with a head of cut broccoli and two sliced shallots was all I used. I gave it a good stir and let it cook. It was easy and oh what an aroma.

In no time at all…

In about 6 minutes or so the broccoli was crisp-tender. I sprinkled a little red pepper flake over the top and served it up. A great side in under 10 minutes!

Sizzling hot…

My only concern during my cook was that the Big Easy seemed to get pretty hot. My suspicion is that the wok is trapping most of the heat inside the unit (and hence my disclaimer at the top of this post). That’s great for cooking, but only time will tell if it’s a negative for the lifespan of my Big Easy.

I couldn’t have been happier with my first attempt at stir-fry on the Big Easy. You’ll be seeing me cooking this way a lot more in the future. If you try it, please let us Big Easy fans know your thoughts in the comments below.

Love your Big Easy as much I love mine? Check out my Big Easy Add-Ons page and all 3 of my huge free Big Easy eCookbooks!

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Church’s Fried Chicken Using the Vortex (Copycat Recipe)

I could make (and eat) fried chicken using my Vortex BBQ all day long. It has never let me down. It has never been anything but easy. This copycat recipe of Church’s fried chicken using the Vortex was no exception. Incredibly crunchy skin. Unbelievably moist and flavorful meat. And as easy as coating it, grilling it, eating it. Done.

You won’t believe this chicken isn’t hot out of a deep-fryer when you take that first bite. You get that same taste and crunch sensation. With a little added smokiness. It’s really like fried chicken elevated. And making fried chicken this way is so crazy easy. Without all that oil. The deep-fryer. Or the cleanup. It’s an all-around winning situation!

Church's Fried Chicken Using the Vortex (Copycat Recipe)

Easy. And Fantastic.

There are no tricks or special handshakes that you need to know to get fried chicken right using the Vortex. And although a lot of sites say to rotate the lid every 15 minutes while cooking, I’ve not found that it makes a difference. I don’t over-crowd my grill and I make sure I have a super-hot fire. If you’ve found that rotating the lid is a requirement, let me know but so far, I’ve not had anything but success just keeping the lid right where it is. I also do not flip my chicken while it is cooking. Doing so will result in ‘batter loss’, a bad thing. Just keep it right where it is. This copycat recipe for Church’s fried chicken using the Vortex is easy, and there’s no reason to make it complicated!

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Also try my insanely-awesome proper pub fried chicken, another fantastic recipe for deliciously crispy tasty chicken cooked using the Vortex. You can also use off-the-shelf fried chicken coating to make spectacular chicken on the Vortex. Check out my Kentucky Kernel chicken too!

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3.67 from 3 votes

Church’s Fried Chicken Using the Vortex (Copycat Recipe)

This copycat of Church’s fried chicken was no exception. Incredibly crunchy skin. Unbelievably moist and flavorful meat. And as easy as coating it, grilling it, eating it. Done.

Course Main

Cuisine American

Keyword fried chicken, Vortex

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 45

Total Time 1

Servings servings

Calories 373kcal

Author Inspired by a recipe from Just A Pinch