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It all started back
in the 1920's. Caesar Cardini was enjoying success as a restaurant
owner and chef in Tijuana Mexico. As the story goes, Mr. Cardini was
exhausted due to a high volume weekend at his restaurant and to make
matters worse, he was low on inventory. Of course, this is exactly
when a group of hungry, partied-out, Hollywood movie stars descended on
the restaurant. Cardini, always one to impress, was horrified at the
predicament he found himself in. He scrambled to the kitchen and
gathered what meager ingredients he could scrounge. He quickly
grabbed the romaine, an egg, some olive oil, salt, pepper, cheese,
croutons, and lemons. The rest, as they say, is history...
Everyone loves a good caesar
salad; at least everyone I know. For me, a caesar salad can make or
break an evening out at a restaurant or dinner at home with friends.
A good caesar salad is not hard to find, but a great one is a an entirely
different thing. I have found that the caesar salad is a good
indicator of a restaurant's overall quality. It is fairly easy to
discern a pre-fabricated dressing from a hand made dressing.
Usually, the pre-fabricated variety is a lot creamier and you rarely get
that good quality olive oil flavor. Not to say that they are all
bad, but they usually fail to exceed mediocrity. If a
restaurant is daring enough to venture into the world of hand-made caesar
dressing, they do so at the risk of inconsistency which is why they can
occasionally come off a little 'fishy', 'salty', etc... A restaurant
that can consistently hand make a quality caesar dressing gets high marks
in my book. Quality ingredients are key. This is when good
olive oil, cheese, and lettuce really count. Other traditional
ingredients include anchovies, dijon mustard, and a large wooden salad
bowl; all of which lend to the overall experience of the salad. For
the ultimate salad, it is important to make your own croutons; it only
takes a couple of minutes and very little effort so don't skimp! If
you are uneasy about the raw egg yolk... coddle! Although, I have to
tell you that I have consumed countless caesar salads made with the raw
yolk and salmonella has never reared it's ugly head. Come to think
of it, I've never even heard of anyone getting it, much less any one I
know. Below is my basic caesar recipe. Follow the instructions
and make any slight tweaks you feel necessary. After a few tries,
you will come to appreciate the fine nuances of a good caesar.
enjoy! |
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| Instructions: |
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice baguette in half
and square off the remaining half for the croutons. Toss cubes into
your wooden salad bowl along with approximately 2 tablespoons olive oil
and salt & pepper to lightly coat bread cubes. Place cubes on a
baking sheet and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes or until lightly
browned.
Mince garlic and place in the bowl with a little salt &
pepper. Mash the garlic against the side of the bowl using the salt
and pepper as sand paper to release the oils in the garlic. Add 1/2
cup olive oil, juice from one lemon, anchovy paste, dijon mustard, egg
yolk, worcestershire, and a touch of salt & pepper to the bowl. Whisk all ingredients until combined and you can no
longer see any transparent oil. Add 1 cup parmesan cheese.
Rinse, dry, and slice the bottom core off of the lettuce. Slice
the lettuce into bite-size pieces and throw into the bowl. Add
croutons into the bowl with the lettuce. It is important to add the
croutons before tossing with the dressing. Toss to combine.
Serve on chilled salad plates, sprinkle with remaining parmesan and ask
guests if they would like fresh milled pepper.
Serves 4 |
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