• Blog
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Tips & Tools
  • International LOVE
  • Love Notes
  • Shop
  • Powered by MSI Media Group

Engaging stories of love, joy, comfort and friendship with proven scrumptious, healthy recipes, we celebrate LOVE as the secret ingredient for wonderful food!

Caesar salad

August 18, 2013 by Mary Frances 16 Comments

 

Caesar salad with croutons on a white Wedgewood plate.

I LOVE a good Caesar salad. The very best one I ever had was at Zuni Café in San Francisco. Judy Rodgers, the owner and chef there is also from my hometown of St. Louis. Her recipe from the Zuni Café cookbook is terrific, but a bit time consuming. She wants you to only use salt-packed anchovies, which are better. They are cleaner tasting, but, you have to rinse them quite a bit to get all the salt off and then fillet the little suckers. Because my husband absolutely adores Caesar salad and asks me to make it often, I have been working on a quicker version for the dressing. I believe that I am now satisfied with this one and I’m ready to share with you!

But once again, it is always about the ingredients. You must use high quality extra virgin olive oil, only Parmigiano-Reggiano for cheese, super fresh lemons, farm fresh eggs (I only use eggs from our farmers, Ethel and Tom), and as Judy Rodgers says, taste it on your lettuce, and hopefully your organic romaine is sweet. Homemade croutons are a must in my book. (What else are you gonna do with all that old bread in the fridge?) Make a double amount of croutons and store them at room temperature in an airtight plastic container. They will still taste fresh for a week, so you can make another salad the following week. Your washed lettuce must be cold and dry and do not tear the leaves. Leave them whole as you can see in the photo. This is because when you tear them, they just release their water, watering down your very tasty dressing and you really don’t want that. And it’s best use your hands to toss the leaves with the dressing in order to properly coat them.
Caesar salad topped with croutons and grated cheese on a brown plate.

CAESAR SALAD – serves 4 – 6

3/4 cup homemade croutons (see directions below) from 4 – 5 oz. of bread
2 – 3 large cloves of minced garlic (remove inner green germ as the sprouts can add an unpleasant bitterness)
4 – 5 anchovy fillets packed in oil, blot and pat dry on paper towels, and finely chop and mash
Pinch of coarse salt
2 tbs. or more of freshly-squeezed lemon juice (I usually add about 3 tbs – taste to your liking)
3 drops Worcestershire sauce
1 large cold egg
6 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) freshly-grated Parmesan cheese (Parmigiano-Reggiano), plus more for serving
2 to 3 heads romaine lettuce, hearts and tender leaves only
Freshly cracked black pepper

Make the croutons:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Dice day-old bread (Italian, French or even whole wheat) into 3/4-inch cubes.

Toss with about 2 tbs. of olive oil. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper and spread out on a rimmed baking sheet.

Bake approximately 10 to 15 minutes or until just golden brown. Halfway through the baking time, give the pan a shake to make sure the croutons toast evenly. Remove from oven and completely cool croutons. Store in an airtight container.

Make the Caesar salad dressing:

In a bowl, whisk together the garlic, anchovies, and salt until blended.

Whisk in the lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce.

Whisk in the raw egg until the mixture is thick, approximately 1 minute.

Slowly drizzle in the olive oil with one hand while vigorously whisking the mixture with the other.

When the dressing is well combined, whisk in 1/4 cup of the grated Parmesan cheese. Grind fresh pepper to taste. Taste your dressing on a small piece of romaine. It may need more salt, lemon juice or cheese, but remember you will grate more cheese on top before serving. I usually add more lemon juice.

Use whole leaves of romaine hearts that have been washed, dried and chilled. Blot dry with a paper towel again before dressing. Place them in a wide bowl. Fold and toss with dressing, (using your hands is best) making sure each leaf is properly coated. Add the croutons and toss again.

Arrange the leave in a single direction on the plate, scrape the last drizzle of dressing on to the salads, distribute the croutons evenly and grate more Parmesan on top. Pass the black pepper. Enjoy!!
Caesar salad made with grilled Romaine lettuce, topped with croutons and grated cheese on a brown plate.

Now recently, when we’re upstate and have the outdoor grill, I have been splitting a whole head of romaine lengthwise and grilling it before drizzling on the dressing. Warm and cool, crunchy and different, even sweeter, it’s delicious!! Try it! Just brush both sides with a little olive oil before putting them on the grill. Grill the romaine 2 – 3 minutes per side at about 400 degrees on a gas grill.

When done, place on a plate, cut side up and drizzle on dressing. Top with fresh grated cheese and croutons. Amazing!

 

Filed Under: Dinner, First Course, Salads Tagged With: Caesar salad, classic Caesar salad, croutons, grilled Caesar salad, grilled romaine lettuce, Judy Rodgers, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, Zuni Café

House guests

August 15, 2013 by Mary Frances 18 Comments

House or apartment guests — I love them.

Several weeks ago, my nephew and godson, David, and his lovely wife, Jen, and their two kids, David Patrick and Lauren, came to visit and stayed with us in the city for several days. (I was, like, 13 years old when David was born! My family is so big that it gets complicated. His father, my brother, who is ten years older than me, got married at 21 and started having kids right away. David is number two out of seven, and therefore we are not that far apart in age.)

This family, they were the perfect guests! Really. They didn’t mind if dinner started a little late (I think I was a little bit ambitious with the meal planning considering it was on weeknights), they were easy going, helped slice garlic, cut potatoes, clean up and brought plenty of wine. What more could one ask for? When they left, we truly missed them. They were so much fun to have around and I was delighted to have a chance to get to know their kids a little better. They live in my hometown of St. Louis.

David Patrick is 14, about to enter high school in September and is really interested in cooking. I wouldn’t be surprised if he becomes a chef. He was so exuberant about my food. I loved it! The second night, my dinner consisted of homemade Caesar salad, roast pork tenderloin with sage, mint and caramelized onions, roasted potatoes and ginger honey carrots. He sort of danced on the seat of his chair and said, “Aunt Mary, I want all of these recipes,” as he circled his plate!Roast pork tenderloin dinner with roasted potatoes, and honey ginger carrots on a burgundy rimmed plate.

 

Caesar salad with croutons on a white Wedgewood plate.

Lauren is 12. Not a fish lover, she was digging the Caesar salad until she figured out that there were anchovies in it. Here we are at the table. Jen is taking the picture and too bad you can’t see my husband.House guests  with a family toasting at the dinner table.

Now this is the best part. Right after dinner on the first night, Lauren jumps up from the table and asks if she can please clean up the dishes and wash the wine glasses!! Yeahhhh!! Here she is with her mom.Mother and daughter at the sink in a Manhattan apartment washing dishes.

As I said, wonderful house guests!!

 

Filed Under: Dinner, First Course, Meat, Salads Tagged With: Caesar salad, caramelized onions, family toasting, ginger honey carrots, house guests, roast pork loin with sage and mint

Join 32k+ followers!


Never miss out on a recipe!

Subscribe to receive new posts via email:

Mary Frances

Mary Frances

Spread love through cooking.

Summer Favorites

Easy Cheesy Sautéed Squash The Best Potato Salad Super Quick Chicken and Summer Vegetables Stir-fry Chimichurri-ed Wilted Endives with Walnuts Chilled Curried Zucchini Soup with Apple Garnish Best Strawberry and Rhubarb Crisp to make now!

Categories

  • Appetizers
  • Breakfast
  • Brunch
  • Cocktails
  • Contest
  • Cookies
  • Cookware and tools
  • Desserts
  • Dinner
  • Events
  • First Course
  • Fish
  • Food Responsibility
  • Guest Post
  • Lunch
  • Meat
  • Pasta
  • Poultry
  • Products for sale
  • Salads
  • Sauces
  • Sides
  • Soups
  • Tea time
  • Travel
  • Vegetables

Pages

Blog
About
Recipes
Tips and Tools
International Love
Love Notes
Shop
Mary's secret ingredients

Blogs We Love

  • 1840 Farm
  • A Pug in the Kitchen
  • Cottage Grove House
  • Food, Photography & France
  • Food52
  • From the Bartolini Kitchens
  • Go Bake Yourself
  • Hotly Spiced
  • Jovina Cooks Italian
  • Lavender and Lime
  • Orgasmic Chef
  • Smitten Kitchen
  • Sophie's Foodie Files
  • Steven’s Wine and Food Pairings
  • That Skinny Chick Can Bake
  • The Pioneer Woman
  • The Squishy Monster
  • Tips on Food and Drinks
  • Yummy Chunklet
  • LOVE - the secret ingredient


  • GET IN TOUCH
  • E mary@lovethesecretingredient.com

· All Rights Reserved ·© 2016 Love- the secret ingredient. All rights reserved. Disclaimer | Privacy Policy Disclosure Policy Terms & Conditions