My Mother's Cooking - How to Make a Classic Caesar Salad
Classic Caesar Salad
My Mother's Cooking
Learn More About Olive Oil
- What is Extra Virgin Olive Oil?
Learn what "extra virgin" olive oil really means and why it's so important, from the world's most trusted olive oil publication. - Olive oil - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Parmigiano Reggiano
- The Difference between Parmesan and Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese - Parmigiano-Reggiano and Parmesan Ch
The Difference between Parmesan and Parmigiano-Reggiano Chees - Parmigiano-Reggiano - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
===================
CLASSIC CAESAR SALAD
===================
Many restaurants feature Caesar salad on their menus, but very few of them make the classic version. They add anchovies, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, chicken and even mayonnaise, none of which appear in a classic Caesar salad. I learned how to make Caesar salad from a recipe in the New York Times food section almost fifty years ago and I have been making it ever since.
-------------------------------
My good friend, Don Herman, who passed away several years ago, always asked me to make a Caesar salad for his annual wine tasting dinner. It was his favorite salad and it worked out well because it contains lemon juice instead of vinegar and it contains a lot of garlic which goes exceptionally well with almost all red wines. I prepared as much as I could in advance, but I always finished it just before dinner was served.
-------------------------------
The key to a good Caesar salad is to make it fresh and to use good quality extra virgin olive oil and freshly grated parmigiano–reggiano. Both of those ingredients are best purchased in an Italian market where they will generally be cheaper and better quality. The other ingredients include romaine lettuce, garlic, freshly squeezed lemon juice and one-minute boiled egg yolks.
------------------------------
All other ingredients except homemade croutons, salt and freshly ground black pepper are superfluous. You will also need a large salad bowl and a salad fork and spoon for mixing. (You can also use some large tongs instead)
==================
Difficulty:
Easy
Preparation Time:
60 Minutes
Cooking Time:
10 Minutes
==================
Ingredients:
3 Heads of Romaine Lettuce
1 Cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
½ Cup of Grated Parmigiano-reggiano
3 Eggs at room temperature
6 Garlic Cloves peeled and crushed or sliced
2 Cups of fresh Bread Cubes (French or Italian bread)\
Freshly squeezed Lemon Juice from 3 Lemons
1 Teaspoon Salt
Pepper to taste
====================
Preparation:
- The night before, add the sliced garlic cloves to the olive oil and let them sit overnight in a small jar or covered container.
- Trim the crusts off of the bread and cut the slices into ½ inch cubes. Spread them out on a plate and let them dry overnight.
- An hour before the meal, wash and dry the lettuce leaves, tear them into bite-sized pieces, place them in the salad bowl and store them covered in the refrigerator.
- Next, pour about 1/3 of the oil (minus the garlic) into a frying pan and lightly brown the bread cubes, turning them often to keep them from burning.
- Place the room temperature eggs in warm water and bring them to a boil for one minute. Immediately place them in cold water to stop them from cooking farther. The egg whites should be set, but the yolks should be soft enough to pour out when the eggs are broken open.
- Squeeze the lemon juice into a cup and remove any seeds.
- At the table, pour the remaining olive oil (minus the garlic) over the lettuce and toss thoroughly. Add the salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Next add the egg yolks, lemon juice and parmesan cheese and toss well. Taste for seasoning, add the croutons, toss lightly and serve the salad.
=====================================
Once you have made this classic recipe, I believe that you will not want to add a lot of other ingredients, but that is up to you. Before you play jazz you should learn how to play classical music.
.=====================================
How Many Restaurants Make Caesar Salad
How to make Extra Virgin Olive Oil
More of my mother's recipes
- My Mother's Cooking - Pierogi Filled With Cottage Ch...
There are many ingredients that you can use as filling for home made pierogi. Mashed potatoes with cheese or onions is frequently used. Other fillings include sauerkraut, mushrooms, fried cabbage or even meat and fruit. My mother always used a mixtur - My Mother's Cooking - Chicken Stew with Mushrooms, P...
Sometimes, when my mother cooked chicken, she would add her home canned tomatoes and peppers from the garden to make a tasty stew that could be served with rice, noodles or potatoes. We only grew green bell peppers in our garden, but now I like to us - My Mother's Cooking - Baked Beans and Pork Chops
One of my fondest memories is visiting my aunt Anna and smelling the baked beans that simmered all day while our parents sat around and talked. This is my mother's recipe for homemade baked beans which is similar. If you add some pork chops while coo - My Mother's Cooking - Spaghetti with Meatballs
My mother made her spaghetti using ground beef and her home canned tomatoes. Later,when she stopped canning, she began using tomato sauce or paste. I take it one step farther and start with inexpensive commercial spaghetti sauce and I prefer making m - My Mother's Cooking - Tuna Noodle Casserole
My mother's tuna noodle casserole recipe is both easy to make and delicious. Mushrooms, tuna, cream-style corn and shell noodles all in a tasty casserole with a parmesan cheese crust on top will make your mouth water. This one-dish meal is also inexp - My Mother's Cooking - Baked Ham and Scalloped Potato...
Around the holidays, my mother would bake a half a ham and she frequently served it with scalloped potatoes. Here are the easy, tempting recipes. Both can be cooked in the same oven if you have room. Remember to save the bone and ham remnants to make - My Mother's Cooking - Potato Dumplings with Bacon an...
How to make my mother's homemade potato dumplings with bacon and onions (we just called them kluski). You literaly can't stop eating them. Grated potatoes are mixed with flour and a little salt and dropped with a spoon into boiling water. Then they a - My Mother's Cooking - Potato Pancakes
When my mother made potato pancakes, they were often served as our evening meal. This was particularly true back when Catholics didn't eat meat on Fridays. I would grate the potatoes and my mother would keep frying them until everyone had enough. We - My Mother's Cooking - Homemade Egg Noodles and Dumpl...
My mother hardly ever made homemade egg noodles except for two occasions - when she made chicken soup and when she made beet soup. My mother didn't follow any written recipe but I have tried to quantify how my mother made her soup noodles. I have als - My Mother's Cooking - Pasta Salad with Salmon
Another of my mother's meatless meals consisted of shell noodles or elbow macaroni with canned salmon and green peas bound together with mayonnaise or salad dressing. To add even more color and complexity, you can add cherry tomatoes and sliced black
