In the meantime, for the last few months, I’ve been messing around in my kitchen with Castello’s Saga blue brie. It’s a decadent creamy brie, spiked with all the bite and earthiness of a really great blue cheese. Basically, Castello Saga blue brie is the genius creation of someone out there in the Castello universe who thought, “How can I make two really amazing cheeses taste even better? By MASHING THEM TOGETHER.” I’m not a fan of genetically modified superfruits, but when it comes to hybrid cheeses, I’m all in. In celebration of all things blue cheese, Castello is sponsoring a “summer of blue” with the Castello Bluesday Tuesday campaign this summer that I’m proud to be a part of. My post today will be one in a series of bloggers’ posts featuring Castello blue cheese products on Honest Cooking.

Today’s recipe is an easy grilled romaine salad garnished with summer ripe nectarines, crispy bacon and slightly-melted dabs of Castello Saga blue brie. The blue brie melts very easily, creating a rich “dressing” for the grilled romaine that needs nothing but a little heat from the grill.

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Earlier this summer, a friend showed me how lightly-oiled romaine lettuce hearts, when charred on the grill, can turn an otherwise humdrum salad into a spectacular showpiece. He threw his romaine hearts on the grill, letting them char a bit on each side, before tossing some hearty chunks of blue cheese on top of them and letting the heat from the just-grilled romaine hearts soften the cheese a bit. The result was a smoky, creamy, crispy mouthful.

Back at home, I wondered how I could punch up the grilled romaine hearts to make a filling weekday side. We’ve been buying a lot of nectarines this summer, and so the other day, with a dozen rolling around in our fruit bowl, I sliced up a bunch of fresh, juicy nectarines as an accompaniment. To further bring out the smokey goodness, I added some crispy bacon, too. The result was a filling, hearty salad that needed no dressing. The blue brie melted into a creamy sauce, and my favorite part about eating this summery, satisfying concoction was swirling slightly charred leaves in pools of saucy blue brie. Basically, this salad is summer on a plate —  smoky, steamy, sweet and just a little bit heartbreaking.

In other words, magic.

For your own Castello Bluesday Tuesday, be sure to check out Castello USA’s many ideas for using their products here, and also check out Honest Cooking’s other recipes featuring Castello cheeses here.

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