Well, I know I can- in theory. I’ve lamented to you all on plenty of occasions that I am a creature that lacks cooking ability. Actually, it’s not that I can’t cook, it’s just that no one ever taught me.
Anywho, I love a good caesar salad. The fresher the better, really. There’s nothing better than a big, fancy restaurant where they make the dressing fresh at your table. Yum. Yet, good caesar can never be replicated in a jar, tub, or squeezy tube.
So can I do this? Or is caesar making an artform that I need to just give up on?
Also, are there are any particularly good recipes?
Actually, I’m more than happy to take any of your homemade dressing recipes, as I’m all about salads during the summer.
Thanks!
(funny enough, the only time I ever eat anything from the sea is when I eat smashed up anchovies in my caeser salads).
Real simple, Belissima…
Mash some salt, pepper, 2 fresh mashed cloves of garlic, 3-4 anchovy filets packed in oil from a tin (along with a tiny drizzle of the anchovy oil) in the bottom of a large salad bowl. Add the yolk of one raw egg, Poke the yolk and make a homogenous mixture with the juice of one small, fresh, lemon. Then slowly, very slowly, trickle in a half cup of olive oil while whisking. It should be thick, but not too thick. You’re making a mayonaise of a sort, but it should have a lower viscosity than Hellman’s and still like behave like a salad dressing
… Add a head of romaine, toss, throw in some croutons and a sprinkle of Parmesan for a classic Caesar.
The original caeser salad lacked the anchovies. Alton Brown gave out the recipe on Good Eats and it can be found here. That doesn’t mean the anchovy variants are wrong, of course, they’re just weren’t used in Caeser’s recipe.
Also, FWIW, salmonella has just about been wiped out in the egg supply in the US but if you don’t want to play the odds you can boil the eggs for about one minute and then immediately transfer them to a bowl of ice water. This will kill any bacteria that happens to be there.
Actually, I believe there is some dispute about the legitimacy of croutons in the Original Cesar. The First probably didn’t have croutons.
The recipe I gave is the basis… some variations add vinegar, some add dijon, some more oil. Consistency and taste are up to you.
This is how I made it on occasion as a server. The flavors are simple and clean.
Tips for whisking and presentation:
We used big walnut salad bowls tableside on a linen bedecked serving tray upon a tray stand. Two forks, for whisk and toss…and that’s it.
Hold the two forks together but splayed between your index and thumb as the makeshift whisk… 'tis a brisk whisk as well… like beating eggs.
Ummm… I forgot, we also used a dash of worcestershire sauce (Lea & Perrins) in the mix.
…been a long time.
Are you sure? I know it is a lot less common than it was 20 years ago (in eggs), but I didn’t know it was anywhere close to being wiped out. I’m not saying you’re wrong, I just don’t know.
Anyway, the easiest way to be sure is to just pick up a dozen pasteurized eggs.
The rate these days is roughly 1 in 20000. Not absolutely spectacular given the number of eggs in the system but if someone offered me food with raw egg as an ingredient I wouldn’t be extremely concerned about contamination.
BTW, I should emphasize that is the rate in the US. While I was confirming the number I remembered I found something that said that the contamination rate in certain other countries is several orders of magnitude higher. The rate is over 50% in Poland, Portugal, and the Czech Republic for example.
I make mayo weekly, so I’m really not all that worried. I’ve heard that none of the reported cases in the past 20 years or so have come from household use. I think Alton Brown may have said that on an episode.
The raw egg law in your home state was repealed, Belissima. As of '98 you can take the plunge and actually serve a legal Caesar in California. Eats yourself some raw eggs and play some ovarian roulette, salmonella is the least of your worries.