Tonight I had the unexpected freedom of a cancelled meeting, paired with an unlikely breezy and crisp July evening {The Man was out at the Cubs game}.  My grill was beckoning, but I didn’t feel like a heavy meal {still recovering from the non-stop indulgence of my weekend away!}.

I decided to try something new…

I chopped a colorful red onion and got it started in my le creuset on a medium flame.

Meanwhile, I reduced a bit of aged balsamic vinegar so that it intensified the sweetness and cut the sour, a touch.

After the onions were on their way to being nice and caramelized, I added the syrupy balsamic along with a couple of {pre-cooked, lower-in-fat} crumbled pieces of bacon.  {I imagine legit bacon, given the opportunity, would render nicely before the onions for even more deliciousness…}

I added just a bit more balsamic vinegar to deglaze the pan, then removed the pot from the flame.

Next I had a pre-washed head of romaine lettuce.  I sliced it straight down the middle and drizzled just a bit of extra virgin olive oil to the sliced edges before adding loads of fresh cracked pepper and a generous amount of sea salt.  I threw the romaine halves face down on the eager grill and let them cook freely for just a bit.

When there seemed to be gorgeous action on the grill, I removed the decently charred lettuce heads and brought them back inside where I topped them with the balsamic onion/bacon mixture and salty salty English stilton bits.

A glass of wine, a back-issue of House Beautiful and a remarkable hearty salad on the balcony was just what the doctor ordered.