Bacon Blue Cheese Dressing
Backstory:
Bleu Cheese Dressing is my favorite dressing! Decided to make my own version with some extra flavors that I love such as bacon and thyme.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 good quality naturally smoked bacon 
- 1/2 cup creme fraiche or sour cream 
- 1/2 cup buttermilk 
- 1/2 cup mayo 
- 4 ounces of good blue cheese crumbled 
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves 
- 2 tablespoons of fresh squeezed lemon juice 
- 1 large garlic clove grated 
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 
- 1/4 tsp MSG 
- Black pepper, Fresh cracked, to taste 
Method:
- Cut bacon into matchstick thin strips (lardons). Starting in a cold pan add your bacon and place over medium heat. Slowly render the bacon until very crisp. Remove from pan and place on a paper towel lined plate to drain. Reserve bacon fat for a later cook. 
- Once cooled, mince bacon as fine as you'd like it in the final sauce. 
- Pick enough fresh thyme leaves to fill a teaspoon once minced. You will need probably 1.5 teaspoons pre mince. Mince and measure your thyme. 
- In a large mixing bowl combine creme fraiche/sour cream, buttermilk, mayo, thyme, lemon juice, salt, msg, black pepper, bacon bits, and grate in 1 clove of garlic. Mix well to fully combine. 
- Crumble in blue cheese. Whisk well. You want to break up some of the blue cheese to combine into the sauce while leaving some whole chunks. 
- You can serve immediately as a dressing or dip but the sauce will thicken and improve in flavor as it sits. Best served the next day. 
