Caesar Salad with Homemade Croutons

about to be roasted!

This is one of my all time favorite salads. In fact it is one of my all time favorite things to eat. It is tangy, hearty, full of flavor and a healthy salad! What could be better?  I promise,  you will never buy caesar dressing again.

I first learned about this recipe from the Carmolas, close family friends of mine.  I was stunned by how delicious it was. I just could not believe what real caesar dressing was suppose to taste like, it is completely different than the thick flavorless muck you buy in the supermarket.

Caesar is much closer to a vinegrette, and less like ranch which many people don't know.

This recipe does not keep, so make it for a big group because leftovers are out of the question. The dressing itself keeps for a day or two, but that is it. This recipe is a good sized meal for 6 people, perhaps with extra bread on the side, just in case.

This is another recipe that you can follow exactly and still not get the perfect flavor. After you make this a few times you will be able to taste the dressing and know it needs more lemon juice, or worcestershire, it tastes a bit different every time.

Making your own croutons is so easy and WORTH IT. Again the croutons you buy in the supermarket taste like dog biscuits, once you have made your own. With 10-15 minutes of work, you will have the best croutons of your life!

I hope that everyone makes this at some point, its just out of this world. Once I've made it for people, they crave it constantly. Im telling you, with salad its ALL about a good, made from scratch dressing. It will make the non-salad eaters.....well salad eaters.

There are several notes below for this recipe, it is not hard to make, but there a few crucial steps that must be followed to make a banging salad.

This recipe is based on the one first taught to me by the Carmolas and also from Barefoot Contessa Caesar dressing from her book, "Barefoot Parties".

Parmesan Note: Grate the parmesan in a a food processor. You want it corsely grated like you buy in the store, not thinly shredded. In fact, this is one time when the store bought parm works just as well. The texture is just better.

Bread Note: Any good crusty bread will do, a french baguette or hard sourdough, you want a bread with a nice hard top that is soft inside. Do not use sandwich bread, or a soft bread, it will not work well.

Salad Note: Using a clean pillow case works as a great salad spinner in a pinch. Simply place the washed salad in a pillow case and hang it. The water will drip out of the pillow case leaving you with drier lettuce! Another trick I learned from the Carmolas, love them!

Egg Note: If you are nervous about using raw egg, you can use 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise or buttermilk. I have never had a problem, but I always buy local or cage free organic eggs.

 Caesar Salad with Homemade Croutons

seriously, this is like eating heaven. 

The Goods: Serves 6-8

The Salad: 
3 large heads romaine lettuce
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese(see note)
1 pint of cherry tomatoes
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons butter or earth balance
1 tablespoon olive oil
2-3 cups sourdough bread cut into 1/2 cubes
2 cloves of garlic, minced

The Dressing:
1 extra large egg yolk at room temperature(see note)
2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice(2-3 lemons)
1 cup mild olive oil
1/2 freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon anchovy paste(optional)

The Deal: 
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Place the tomatoes on a baking sheet and coat with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 15-20 minutes or until soft.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and butter in a large saute pan on medium low heat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant about 1 minutes. Add bread cubes and mix into the butter oil mixture. Heat bread, stirring occasionally until lightly browned, and slightly crispy, about 10-15 minutes.

cooking croutons, yum!

4. Wash the lettuce leaves and spin dry in a salad spinner(see note). Once dry cut the lettuce crosswise into 1 1/2 inch thick slices. Place them in a large mixing bowl.

5. Once your tomatoes and croutons are ready, make your dressing. Place the egg yolk, mustard, garlic, worcestershire, lemon juice, anchovy paste(if using), salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor with a steel blade. Process until smooth. With the food processor running, slowly pour the olive oil through the feed tube and process until thick. Then add 1/2 cup of parmesan and pulse 3-5 times, until just blended.

6. Toss your lettuce with the dressing, then add your tomatoes and croutons and toss again, just until all ingredients are lightly coated. Add parmesan at the end and put any leftover parmesan on the table for people to add onto their salad.

ENJOY a delicious homemade Caesar salad! Hail Caesar....Salad!

Egg Salad Sandwich

Its the incredible, edible, Egg Salad Sandwich! This weekend while looking in the fridge I noticed I had a lot of eggs and needed to use them.

They are very good for you in moderation. I wouldn't recommend eating them every day, unless you are very active. I always think of Gaston in "Beauty in the Beast" eating all those eggs and singing. If you look like Gaston, then you can eat lots of eggs. :) They are famous because they have lots of protein for their size.

Egg Salad was something I didn't like until I had a REALLY good one. Egg Salad and Tuna Salad are similar in the sense that they can be ruined very easily. So often they are weighed down with mayonnaise and whipped too smooth. A good egg salad should be nice and chunky and have enough mayo to hold it together, but mayo shouldn't be the predominate flavor.

The most important thing is making sure you dont OVER boil the egg. You have to boil the egg enough that the center sets, but you still want it creamy. Timing the cooking of the eggs is very important. Also you MUST toast your bread. If you dont, the egg salad makes the bread mushy, and its yuck-o.

There are many ingredients you can add to egg salad, I like chives and capers. Other options are celery, onion, dill, and mustard. When I have an egg salad thats particularly tasty I always try to get the recipe. Knowing the slight variations is great so you can mix it up for yourself and those you feed.


Splish, Splash, Eggs takin a ice bath:

Note: I read that the fresher the egg the harder it is to get the shell off. I happen to have some eggs from the store(white) and some from a local farm(brown). I did find the fresher local eggs where much harder to peel than the store bought kind. All that goes to say is older eggs are great for this dish!

Egg Salad Sandwich

The Goods: Makes 2 cups, or four sandwiches

6 Large Eggs

1/4 Mayo, add more or less depending on your preference

1/2 bunch of chives, chopped (about 1/4 cup)

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1-2 tablespoons capers (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Whole Wheat Bread, toasted

Baby Spinach(optional)

The Deal:

1. Place the eggs in a pot and cover with cold water by a 1/2-inch or so. Bring to a gentle boil. Now remove from heat, cover, and let sit for exactly seven minutes. Have a big bowl of ice water ready and when the eggs are done cooking, gently place them in the ice bath for three minutes or so - long enough to stop the cooking.

2. Crack and peel each egg, and place in a medium mixing bowl. Add the mayonnaise, and a couple generous pinches of salt and pepper. Mash the eggs with a fork. Be careful here, you want the egg mixture to have some texture, think chunky. If you want to add a bit more mayo to moisten up the mixture a bit, add it slowly.

3. Add chives, capers, lemon juice, and more salt and pepper to taste. Stir just enough to mix. 

4. Place egg salad on toast with spinach(or lettuce) and enjoy!

This recipe is based on a few recipes, but predominately from the egg salad from 101 cookbooks website. Im becoming more and more obsessed with this website by the day.