Lettuce is kind of boring, right? It is generally thought of as a base for a salad, eaten raw, with the tastier, prettier, more colorful things on top to give it pizazz.

I grew up eating iceburg lettuce. As a kid my favorite “salad” was chunks of iceburg lettuce with French dressing. Talk about boring. Iceburg has gotten a bad rap over the years, with all the other darker green, more nutritious lettuces taking front row. But though it may be less nutritious than others it does provide some essential nutrients, and it’s only 20 calories per serving. Plus it’s crunchy. And cheap.

French dressing has gotten a bad rap over the years, too. But who knows? Lots of worse things have made comebacks. Next week it may be the new best thing. I doubt it though.

My mother has always loved adding “crunch” to foods. Her biggie used to be green peppers. She’d add green peppers to everything. “Don’t you love the crunch,” she’d say. It wasn’t a question. I was supposed to just say yes, and depending on my mood, sometimes I did. But I really don’t. I do like orange peppers though.

I love shredded lettuce on sandwiches. Shredding it makes it crunchier. I often get BLTs from the Vietnamese Bakery in Boothbay Harbor. It’s next door to work, the sandwiches are great, and they’re cheap. Hang used to use big leaves of iceburg. One day I asked her to shred the lettuce. She did, and the sandwich was twice as good. The next time I asked her to shred the lettuce, and she didn’t.

But my favorite way to eat lettuce these days is in a “hot salad.” It consists of a big bowlful of different types of lettuces (romaine, Boston, or butter, arugula, red leaf — whatever is in the fridge); then I arrange halved grape tomatoes and chunks of avocado around the edge, leaving the lettuce bare in the center. Torn pieces of fresh mozzerella are scattered all over, then a light drizzle of my favorite dressing. (I’m a little embarrassed to admit that it is Good Seasons Italian. It comes dry, in a package, and you add vinegar and oil, and shake. I don’t want to know what the ingredients are, and I don’t care that purists frown upon it. I use it sparingly ok?) Next quickly pan fry thin slices of steak, or floured chunks of chicken or haddock, and scoop them, hot, over the lettuce in the middle, thus wilting it.

Sometimes I throw grilled asparagus on top, sometimes pecan pieces, and sometimes I substitute blue cheese for mozzerella. I have a hot salad for dinner at least a couple times a week, and I never get tired of it. I never get tired of the glass or two of wine with it either.

Around ten years ago when my friends Mary Ellen Pecci and Maryellen Hunt had a restaurant in Bath, aptly called Maryellenz, they introduced me to sauteed raddiccio and endive. Cut in half and sizzle, slowly, in olive oil.

My friend Nancy Allen does something similar with arugula. She wilts it by sautéing it and tosses with pasta. That and some fresh shaved Parmesan? Yeah!

Then there’s roasted or grilled romaine. Cooking lettuce changes the flavor and texture of plain lettuce and makes it surprisingly sweet and oh! so delicious!

I had it for the first time when I went to dinner at Adele Bielli and Jeff Savastano’s house a few years ago. Adele cut heads of romaine in half, lengthwise, brushed them with olive oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper and broiled till golden brown on top, then dressed them with a dill dressing made with lemon juice and low-fat mayo. There was no shortage of wine there either.

I do it similarly, but grill it on my Jenn-Air and use some Greek yogurt mixed with high-fat mayo. I’m going to switch to the low-fat. You can hardly tell the difference, and have you seen Adele’s waist lately?

Grilled lettuce is becoming more common on menus. Kelly Farrin spoke of the Caesar salad he’ll be serving in his soon-to-open Carriage House Restaurant in East Boothbay. The house made dressing, white anchovies and other special touches will be jazzed up by the lettuce–grilled romaine.

The thing is, once the romaine is grilled, broiled or roasted with some olive oil, and in my case, pink salt, you can top it with anything your heart desires. A favorite dressing (preferably not French), crumbled blue cheese, a creamy lemony dressing made with some mayo and/or Greek yogurt, or just plain naked, with some grilled salmon or, again, anything your heart desires, lying beside it. It looks gorgeous on a pretty plate.

The more I think about it, why not cook ANY lettuce? Any way you darn well please. I’m going to shred up some iceberg tonight and sauté it quickly in a hot cast iron pan with some garlic and olive oil. And pink salt. Seriously. How bad could it be?