Summer in a Bowl

So I completely forgot to take any pictures of my cookery on Saturday for y'all.  Luckily I made the same chopped salad Sunday night for a family Father's Day dinner, and took pictures then.  As evidenced by the fact I made it two days in a row, this salad is super delicious. The recipe comes from Scott Peacock, out of June's Better Homes and Gardens.

First, take 2-3 cloves of garlic, peel and split them.  Then remove the green sprout from the center of the clove- Scott says that if you leave that little guy in there your dressing might be bitter.

Sprinkle a generous amount of kosher salt on your garlic, and get chopping.  Then mash the garlic and salt together with your knife to form a paste.

Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the garlic paste, and let sit for about 10-15 minutes so the lemon can tame the garlic.  Then add an 8 ounce carton of creme fraiche, salt and pepper to taste and let sit for at least an hour to allow the flavors to meld.

Perfect opportunity for Brother and I to take our parents for a little Dad's Day cruise before dinner.

Post lake, Hubs put on the steaks (he rested in the AC while we swam and cruised- he had the cocktail flu I suspect, he had a tummy ache), and I chopped the veggies.

One cucumber, 2 ears of corn barely cooked- cut the kernels off the cub and nuke 'em for about 2 minutes), about a quarter of a pound of blanched haricots verts, and a carton of cherry tomatoes.

Add half a cup of chopped chives.

Oh y'all, just those veggies are making my  mouth water.  Add a couple of spoonfuls of your dressing to the veggies, coating them evenly.  Then add a head of romaine lettuce, washed, well-dried, and torn into bite size pieces.  Toss everything, to coat the lettuce with the dressing.  Add a couple more spoonfuls of dressing, salt and fresh ground pepper, as well as the remaining chives.

Then add a chopped avocado (we used 2), and chopped bacon (I think four slices?).  I left the bacon out (gasp!), because I had a BL(EA)T for lunch, bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin for dinner the night before, and a bbq pork sandwich for lunch the day before.  I have a pig problem.

Anyway, toss it all together, and try to get it to the table before picking it all away.  I meant to take a picture of the finished product, but by the time I remembered, this is what was left-

Which I promptly scooped up and finished off.  Yum.

Oh, in case y'all were worried, the dinner party went famously, and I will spend probably all week giving y'all the run-down and recipes.