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caesar dressing


hollis

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By the way, I tried Marlene's recipe this weekend and I think it's a keeper. My wife was in charge of salad, and I think we both agreed that you want not just a "squeeze" of anchovy paste, but a "big squeeze". I had made the croutons the night before and sauteed them in garlic oil. I might not bother with this step the next time (doing the garlic in the oil) as the dressing was plenty garlicky on its own.

:wub: Aw shucks. I use just a dab of anchovy paste because neither my hubby nor I are particularly fond of anchovies. I always make garlic croutons the day before, but I bake them in the oven a la Cabingirl's Garlic Crouton Recipe. I always make enough so that I have extra to snack on by themselves. :smile:

I also find that I get the best results using a hand mixer or a stick blender rather than a food processor or a regular blender. Hand mixer is the best.

I'm glad you liked it!

Marlene

Practice. Do it over. Get it right.

Mostly, I want people to be as happy eating my food as I am cooking it.

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This is my best-- fast and easy! Use a food processor- in the blender it just doesn't turn out as well.

3 large cloves garlic

1 can anchovy fillet, drained

1/4 cup FRESH lemon juice (this is the part that makes it so good)

1 Tbsp dijon mustard

1 Tsp worcestershire

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup grated parmesean cheese

First chop galic in food processor, then add anchovies and chop again. Add lemon juice, mustard and worcestershire and blend again. Add oil in thin stream with processor running. Then blend in cheese. This is enough for a large salad.

I get rave reviews every time we serve it!

So no egg? I like your Garlic quantity :cool:

Never trust a skinny chef

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I worked at a restaurant chain that used powdered chicken base in the recipe. It was a big dose of salt really with a lot of yellow colouring involved. I would skip that.

I own a restaurant and make big batches of caesar dressing all of the time. One thing you might try and find is frozen liquid egg yolk. It is a pasturized product and allows you to take most of the bacterial worry out of your dressing as well as salmonella. It also allows a longer shelf life in the fridge.

Neil Wyles

Hamilton Street Grill

Neil Wyles

Hamilton Street Grill

www.hamiltonstreetgrill.com

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Hollis,

This is my version. Hope you like it.

First make the croutons:

The key is to get a good bread from a bakery, not the supermarket. Get a dense country bread, or a ciabatta, or whatever artisinal type bread you like. Cut off the crust (a little left on is OK) and cut in about 1 inch cubes. Precision is not important. Each person won't have more than 4 or 5 croutons, so you won't use the whole loaf. Melt a pat or two of butter and place in an oven dish with some extra virgin olive oil. I've never measured, but I think it's about two tablespoon of butter and two tablespoons of oil for every 20 croutons or so. You want enough just to lightly coat the croutons, so it's best to start with less and add more if you like. I like my croutons spicy, so I add some Italian crushed red peppers (a pinch should do; cayenne also works) to the olive oil and butter mix. And a pinch of sea salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Once that's mixed together, throw in the croutons and toss them to coat. Put the pan in a 450 degree oven and cook them until they are golden brown and sizzling (10-15 minutes?). Turn them over (with some tongs) if you like and put them in a few minutes more, until the other side is toasty and sizzling. Take them out an let them cool in the pan until you're ready to use them.

Not only should you use good bakery (or homemade) bread, but also a good European (or European style) butter. It’s more expensive but well worth it for flavor. There are a few kinds readily available, which I think are better than the standard organic. Taste them and use the one you like. The same is true for the sea salt and the extra virgin olive oil. You may be new to the kitchen, but great pantry ingredients will do wonders to set you apart from the rest.

For the dressing, here's my recipe for two or three people. It's easily doubled or tripled.

In your salad bowl toss in one egg yolk (others have provided warnings so I won’t, anyway I don’t heed them). Make sure it's fresh and organic, or from a local farm. To that add one or two finely minced anchovy fillets, one minced garlic clove a pinch of sea salt, a few dashes (a teaspoon?) of Worcestershire sauce, a teaspoon or so of Dijon mustard, a squeeze of about an eigth to a quarter of a lemon, and a few grinds of black pepper. Whisk these together and (while continuing to whisk) slowly stream in some good extra virgin olive oil until you've got a mayonnaisey thing going on. It should only take a 10 seconds or so. Add some grated Parmigiano Reggiano (a quarter cup?) then add a head (or less) of cleaned, well dried and torn up romaine and toss it all together, adding more grated (or shaved) Parmigiano to your liking, probably up to another quarter cup. Taste a piece of lettuce to see if you need more cheese, salt or pepper. If it's good to go, throw the croutons on top and, if you feel like it, shave (with a carrot/potato peeler) or grate some more parm on top. Serve immediately and don't toss in the croutons or they'll get soggy.

Again, use the best ingredients: Only real Italian Parmigiano Reggiano will do. Grate it yourself when you are ready to use it. If you can, get some that's been aged two or three years and see how you like that. Try using salt-packed anchovies (you have to rinse and debone them first) or really good oil-packed ones from Agostino Recca. I think there are some good Spanish ones out there too. Find the ones you like. Same goes for the mustard, olive oil, salt and even the pepper.

I haven’t given precise measurements, because I don’t use them. When you have the mayonnaisey mixture in your bowl, taste a tiny dab. You might want more Worcestershire, or anchovies. Or if you’re not big on raw garlic, just use half a clove. After all, it’s your Caesar salad now, so make it how you like it.

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You are correct and most observant, Mrbigjas. It is based on one of her magazine recipes of several years ago. I should have given her the credit she deserves.

Since reading your reply, I have found what I believe to be the one from the magazine on her website. I guess I could have saved quite a bit a typing by looking it up and cutting and pasting this link: http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?ty...true&resultNo=1

It differs from the Food Network recipe insofar as it contains Worcestershire sauce, which I'm a huge fan of.

All hail Caesar,

Jadrool

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