Caesar Salad

Caesar Salad.  It sounds so basic and boring.  But man, is it consistently good.  It is so consistent that it has become THE salad I always make for other people because I swear, it is fail proof.  And everyone loves it because it's simple.  I love it too because it's fancy enough to serve with filet mignon and casual enough to serve with grilled chicken.  Here's how I make it:

Ingredients:  garlic, anchovies (yes, anchovies), kosher salt, pepper, fresh lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, egg yolk (if you are squeamish about raw eggs you can substitute mayonnaise), olive oil, romaine lettuce and Parmesan cheese.

Mince the garlic and add it to a bowl.

Add some anchovies and kosher salt.

Mash it all up with a couple of forks until it makes a paste.  The salt will help with the mashing.

Next, add pepper, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and Dijon.

Then plop in a raw egg yolk (substitute a tablespoon of mayonnaise if you are worried about the raw egg).

Whisk it together with a fork.  Don't use a whisk or the garlic/anchovy paste will get stuck in it.

Then whisk in some olive oil and your dressing is done.  If you are making your salad ahead of time, like I usually do, you can refrigerate the dressing at this point.

Chop up some romaine lettuce.

And add it to your serving bowl.

And grate some Parmesan cheese.

Now, if you want to be extra fancy you can make your own croutons.  I've made this salad before with store bought croutons and it was still wonderful.  But I attempted to make my own bread yesterday and failed miserably so I had plenty of remains for this recipe.  Start by cutting up some day-old or stale (or failed bread recipe) bread into large cubes and add to a mixing bowl.

Melt some butter and mix it with equal parts olive oil.

Pour over the bread cubes.  Season with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper.

Toss well and spread out in one layer on a baking sheet.  Bake for about 10 minutes until they are nice and toasted.  Sorry I forgot to get a picture of the finished product : /

When you are ready to serve the salad, add the cheese, croutons and dressing to the bowl with the romaine.

And toss it all together.

Yum, yummmm, yum yum yum yum YUMMMMMMM!!  Just as good as any restaurant.  Seriously, this salad is GOOOOOOOD!

Copy the recipe below into Word for a printable version:

Caesar Salad

Serves 4-6

For the croutons:

2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
2 tbsp. olive oil
8-10 oz. bread, cubed
kosher salt, pepper and cayenne pepper to taste

For the salad:

2 garlic cloves
4 anchovy fillets
kosher salt and pepper
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 egg yolk
1/3 c. olive oil
romaine lettuce (about 3 hearts)
1/2-1 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Combine the butter and olive oil in a large bowl.  Add the bread and toss until coated.  Sprinkle with salt, cayenne pepper and black pepper; toss until evenly coated.  Spread the bread in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Bake until the croutons are golden, about 10 minutes.

Place the garlic, anchovy fillets, and salt in a salad bowl.  Using two dinner forks, mash the garlic and anchovies into a paste.  Using one fork, whisk in the pepper, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and egg yolk.  Whisk in the olive oil.

Chop the romaine leaves into small pieces.  Add the croutons, romaine and cheese to the bowl and toss well.

Source:  Martha Stewart