Oh, Man..... the PERFECT Summer Grilling Salad! Grilled Romaine, with Tomato and Corn Tumble.

So I died and went to heaven tonight.  Some of the women with whom my wife works out had been talking about grilling Romaine lettuce during exercise class last week.  She said to me - I think I pulled a recipe for that somewhere...... and lo and behold, in our massive recipe files - she found it!  Its from Better Homes and Gardens, June 2013 ( yeah I know - we save a ton of stuff!!  But in this case it was worth it!)  We did this salad ....... almost....... exactly to the recipe.   It called for grilling corn on the cob, but we were hungry, so I had a bag of frozen sweet white corn, and sauteed it in butter till slightly caramelized.  The finished product was crunchy and nicely charred, the dressing was amazing.  We gave it a 10 out of 10.  In fact, we are going to an outdoor cookout tomorrow night - I think I will bring it - it is the PERFECT company dish.  Especially one to bring and really wow your host.  Make the tumble and the dressing ahead of time - grill the lettuce for a couple of minutes and serve it at the party - guarantee it will be a hit! This will make 4 servings.  We served it with a grilled Rib Eye that we split, and it was plenty!  The flavor of the grilled Romaine really complimented the steak!

Here we go:

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen, or one ear's worth of grilled fresh corn
5 tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 tbs red wine vinegar
1 tbs Dijon mustard
1 tbs snipped green chives ( these grow like weeds in our garden)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 hearts of Romaine lettuce halved
1 cup grape and yellow grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup feta cheese

Sautee corn in butter till slightly caramelized if using frozen, grill fresh till slightly charred. Cut kernels from cob, and set aside.

While grilling corn, combine 3 tbs olive oil ( reserve the rest), the vinegar, mustard and chopped chives, and garlic.  Whisk well until emulsified.  ( One of those salad dressing makers with the internal mixer works really well here)

Combine cheese, corn and tomatoes in a small bowl.  Drizzle with some vinaigrette to coat.  Set aside.

Brush both sides of Romaine halves with remaining olive oil ( you might need a little more - don't be stingy here.)  Lightly sprinkle cut half with salt and fresh ground pepper.  Place heads on hot grill cut side up for about 1 minute to soften.  Flip and grill cut side down for about 2 - 3 minutes until lightly charred.  Tip:  DONT walk away, these cook really fast, depending on your grill.  Keep an eye on them, as they will go from perfect to burnt in about a nanosecond!

Place heads cut side up, and drizzle with remaining vinaigrette to tase.  Spoon corn , tomato and cheese mixture over the top - enjoy!!

Bon Apetit!