It came to my attention earlier this year that I fly a lot these days. I was chatting with someone about whether TSA Pre is worth it (spoiler alert: YES), and I started doing the math of how often I go to the airport, and well, it’s a lot these days! Between work, family and friends we are on the books for at least 12 plane trips in 2018 by my count, and half of them are to the East Coast. That’s getting up there!

No matter what I’m doing at the other end of your plane trip, when I get home I always want the same thing: a wedge salad. Crispy lettuce, salty bacon and rich blue cheese: I think it’s the overall feeling of freshness that is completely absent when you are on the inside of an airplane.

I’m curious if y’all also have favorite post-plane meals. If I’m not eating a wedge salad, it’s definitely going to be *some* kind of salad.

This time of year, though, a little fresh take on my favorite classic is in order. July through September, charred corn should be on almost everything. That’s my professional opinion. Plus, saying no to tomatoes when in-season is frankly a sin. And since I was making all these big changes, I decided to change the dressing too – to buttermilk ranch! Ranch always sounds good, but even more so in the summer with sweet tomatoes and corn, in my opinion.

So what I’m left with here is definitely still shaped like a wedge. But I’ve changed a lot of other things, and I have no regrets. The Summer Wedge, and not the shoe kind, is here to stay. You heard it here first.

Ingredients

• 1/2 head iceberg lettuce, cut again in half
• 2 slices bacon, roughly chopped and cooked until crispy
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 ear of corn
• 1 cup croutons (homemade is best!)
• 2 Tbsp. fresh chives, minced
• For the dressing:
• ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt
• ? cup buttermilk
• 3 Tbsp. mayo
• 1 Tbsp. minced chives
• 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, finely grated
• ¼ tsp. dried oregano
• ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• Kosher salt

Instructions

1. Stir all dressing ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Char an ear of corn by grilling it outside or on a grill pan. When cool, slice off the kernels.
3. Plate 1 wedge of lettuce on each plate and top with bacon, cherry tomatoes, charred corn kernels, croutons, generous ranch dressing and fresh chives.