Blue Cheese Dressing

This is a truly superior dressing. It is simple to make but requires time--time to make the garlic oil (p. 266) which you need, cooled, to make the garlic aioli (p. 333) which you need to make the dressing. But like other Keller recipes I've made, once you have all the parts, you assemble them to make a greater whole. The garlic mayo/buttermilk combo is excellent and the herb combo is just right. We used Maytag Blue and it was fine---a wonderful dressing for the Iceberg Lettuce Salad (p. 150) and for lots of other salads as well.

I made this to use on the Iceberg Lettuce Slices. So much effort goes into making this dressing that as I was making it I was convinced that I would never be making it again. You use the recipe for the Buttermilk Dressing but first you have to make garlic confit (which takes at least 40 minutes plus cooling time) to get the oil that then gets used in aioli. Then you have to make the aioli which gets added to the dressing. Ugh. My aioli never emulsified- I tried four times. Finally I just went out and bought it. The Point Reyes cheese is so good (and reminds me of my vacations to that area of California.) When all was said and done, this is really good but very rich (buttermilk, aioli, creme fraiche). If...if...I make it again, I would go straight to the purchased aioli and not even bother making it. That would cut down considerably on the time it takes to make the dressing and I bet the flavor isn't really affected.