# Classic Caesar Salad



## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

CAESAR SALAD 
4 to 6 appetizer portions, or 1 - 2 meal portions

Ingredients:
1 medium or large head Romaine lettuce
2 cloves garlic, minced and divided
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp anchovy paste (or, two anchovy fillets, minced)
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
3 or 4 slices (preferably) sourdough (or French) bread
2 lemon halves
1 fresh egg (room temp or coddled)
1/2 cup grated good Parmesan cheese, divided
Fresh, coarsely ground black pepper – to taste.
(Optional) 2 or 3 Parmesan curls (cut with a vegetable peeler) per guest
(Optional) 1 can of anchovy fillets in (preferably olive) oil, or a few salted anchovies, (boned if necessary) and soaked in extra virgin olive oil


Technique:
Note that the dressing will be finished and the salad tossed and served at the table. Do whatever is necessary to make it easy for yourself and to make a good show.

Grab the head of lettuce around the middle with one hand, and with the other grab the first, top inch of soft, dark green leaves. Twist and tear the top off. It neither tastes nor looks good. Discard. Break the romaine leafs off from the base. Tear the leaves, by hand only, into large bite size pieces. Wash and dry them thoroughly. When they are dry, place them in a salad bowl. The lettuce should not be chilled.

Mince the garlic cloves very fine, and place 1-1/2 (about) in a small mixing bowl. Reserve the minced half clove. Add the mustard, the anchovy paste (or minced anchovies), the Worcestershire and the olive oil. Do not mix. Allow to stand for at least five minutes and up to an hour. 

Remove the remaining anchovy fillets (if using), and arrange them on a plate in such a way that guests may easily help themselves when the plate is passed.

Meanwhile, prepare the croutons by tearing the bread into bite size croutons. Heat 1/3 cup olive oil to frying temperature in a large skillet or saute pan over medium-high heat. Put the bread in the oil, and start tossing immediately so the pieces are evenly coated in the oil. Continue tossing the bread as it toasts/fries in the pan. So it toasts evenly. When the bread is a light gold, add the reserved garlic and continue tossing. Continue tossing until the bread is GBD, but do not, under any circumstances, allow the garlic to burn. Remove from the pan, and drain briefly on a paper towel. Taste. They’re wonderful. You earned it. Some croutons will be crisp all the way through, while some will still be a bit chewy. Add the croutons to the lettuce while still warm. 

Bring the lettuce to the table along with the remaining ingredients. 

At the table, mix the dressing with a fork until the mustard is well blended. Scatter a few tablespoons of cheese on the lettuce. Add 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese to the dressing, and reserve the remaining cheese to pass among the guests later. Squeeze the lemon juice from half a lemon into the mixing bowl, then break the egg into the mixing bowl. Mix very well with the fork. Dip the top of the handle of the fork into dressing, and taste. Adjust for lemon (should be very lemony). 

Pour the dressing over the lettuce and croutons and toss. Grind black pepper over the salad in an amount consistent with the guest who least likes pepper. Plate the salad, and garnish with Parmesan curls if using. Pass the plates to the guests. Allow the guests to pass the black pepper, the extra cheese, and the anchovies. 

Note 1: 
Wherever Caesar Salad originated, this is not the “original Caesar Salad as made at Caesar Cardini’s.” This is a “classic” Caesar Salad as became popular in Southern California in the early fifties and then through the U.S. This particular version is an homage and fairly faithful to the salad as it was made at Nickodell’s Restaurant on the corner of Melrose and Gower, next to Paramount and a few other studios. Nickodell’s was very popular with a lot of Hollywood from the mid fifties and into the eighties when it was sold for real estate to Paramount. This version is much better than anything Cardini dreamed. Chop me no teakettles from “original.” I mean it. The fresh croutons as specified here make the salad even better than Nickodell’s. 

Note 2:
Caesar Salad dressing is not white, it is not light. It is lemony, cheesy, salty, tan and rich. If it is not lemony, cheesy, salty, tan and rich it is not Caesar Salad dressing. 

Note 3:
In this version, cheese is added to the dressing and forms part of the emulsion. This dressing will cling to the leaves better than any other dressing you’ve tried. Guaranteed. 

Note 4:
Caesar Salad is not made with whole romaine leaves so the diner is forced to use her knife. That is a Ramsay perversion, I have no idea why he does it. Caesar Salad contains romaine lettuce only. If other lettuce is used, the salad is not a Caesar Salad, but something else with Caesar Salad dressing. You may call it what you will. “Great Caesar’s Ghost” is fine by me. 

Note 5: 
Anchovies are always a concern. People who, under no circumstances, eat anchovies will not have any problem with the anchovy paste in the dressing – as long as you don’t tell them until they ask for the recipe. However, you may substitute a tsp of kosher salt for the anchovies at the loss of some flavor.

Note 6: 
Whether coddled or just plain raw, the egg for this salad dressing is substantially raw. Reasonably fresh eggs are not a danger to people outside of the “four ‘very’ categories.” The four “verys” are: The very young, the very old, the very sick, and the otherwise very susceptible (allergies, for instance). The egg may be omitted, but the salad is much poorer for it. There is no substitute.


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## teamfat (Nov 5, 2007)

What?? A Ceasar salad without sundried tomatoes, slow-roasted goat cheese curds and balsamic braised chicken? Blasphemy!

Thanks for the recipe, it reminded me how simple this salad can be, it has been a while since I've made it true to style. RealSoonNow. We may be having guests over sunday night...


A couple of notes from my perspective. When BDL says 'tear the bread' that is exactly what he means. Cutting it with a knife will leave you with flat, uniform, boring edges on the croutons. After bouncing the bread bits around in your fry pan, you want them to be like fingerprints and snowflakes - no two alike.

There have been times I've used a teaspoon or so of mashed capers instead of anchovies. Hard to believe, but there are times when there are no anchovies to be found in my pantry. Life happens. And in my opinion, capers are just vegetarian anchovies, nothing but carriers for the salt and oil 

And a request for clarification. At one point the recipe as written says:

Scatter a few tablespoons of cheese on the lettuce. Add 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

I'm assuming you meant to add the 1/4 cup to the dressing, and not put some cheese on the lettuce, then put some more cheese on it. Not that there's anything wrong with that, mind you!

mjb.


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

Team,

Edited and corrected the dangling Parmesan. Nice catch. Thanks. I've never thought of using capers. Great idea. Thanks again.

BDL


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## teamfat (Nov 5, 2007)

Capers are not one of the classic caesar ingredients, so I never thought of using them. Until that one time a few years back we were counting down the minutes before the guests were due to arrive, and I swore I had some anchovies on hand. But capers do play well with lemon, so in they went as a last minute substitute. It worked out well.

I'm still wanting to find a recipe in one of my old magazines for shrimp with a sauce of capers, anchovies, lemon and butter, can't remember the herbs. I made it once, my wife didn't care for it all, I thought it was great. It was a sweet, pungent, tangy concoction, sort of an Italian curry.

I'll be quiet now, don't want to sidetrack another discussion.

mjb.


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## siduri (Aug 13, 2006)

looks really good, bdl. No grilled chicken. Phew. 

I wanted to know a detail. In most of the american cookbooks (but no doubt reflecting the french mentality?) lettuce is always torn by hand rather than cut. Heaven forfend if you cut it with a knife. When i came to italy, it was ALWAYS cut, at home and in restaurants. I always felt that tearing lettuce bruises the leaves, and that cutting it, provided you eat it right away, ruins the leaves less. 
Curious what your position on this is. Why is it torn. I can see the knife, esp a non stainless knife, might (maybe?) makew the leaves brown at the edge - though not sure of this - but not if you're eating it in a half an hour.

oh, and a french guy i knew, not a snob but grew up in a very snobby and intellectual world, was sent to study in england and had to learn to "roll the lettuce" on his fork because the leaves were whole and it was anathema to cut them. Not sure what relevance this has, but it does seem to be a bit fetishistic.


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

FWIW, the way I was taught is similar to BDL's, but with several differences. Only two of them are significant:

The most important, I think, is that Ceasar is always made in a wooden bowl, and the garlic is rubbed over the surface of the bowl, rather than chopped in. 

My feeling is that was part of the show, and I rarely bother with it. 

The other significant difference is in the egg. I was taught to use only the yolk. Does it make a difference? Probably not, and I no longer bother separating them. 

Implied by BDL, but not stated implicitly, is the fact that anchovies as a condiment are used as a salt element in foods, not as a fish element.


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## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

I learned to make Caeser salad by using a wooden bowl and rubbing the garlic over the surface. The garlic flavor is then quite a bit more subtle, something that I often prefer. However, there are a few other ways to make the garlic flavor more subtle, and using the garlic rubbed wooden bowl is probably as much showmanship as true culinary technique. Many a good Caeser has been ruined by too much garlic, IMO.

I also learned to use only the yolk, but many a great Caesar has been made using the whole egg, and over the last dozen or so years I've been using whole eggs. I prefer a raw egg, but coddled is also acceptable, especially when the salad is being made for guests.

Worcestershire sauce contains anchovies, and some may say that using both the sauce and anchovies is a bit of overkill, but that's a personal taste. I prefer some Worcestershire sauce and either no anchovies or maybe only one or a half of one, but lately I've not been using the Worcestershire sauce, and just using anchovies. If using oil cured anchovies, removing the excess oil from the filets seems to reduce the anchovy influence in the salad. Salt packed anchovies work very well in this salad.

Generally I prefer to use whole, inside leaves of the romaine (the hearts), providing that they are not bitter, as sometimes can be the case. Cutting the larger leaves is my preference, and removing the tops of the outer leaves, if used, is also a preference.

scb


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

Have you ever noticed that you can cut a lot more onions with a very sharp knife without crying, then with a dull one? All but the sharpest knives, crush rather than cut cleanly through the fibers. You're crushing the fibers and spreading the volatile oils into the atmosphere, rather than keeping them with the food, where they belong. Same thing with lettuce. Torn lettuce tastes (and looks) better. The discoloration (oxidation) results from crushing, and is not a function of carbon vs. stainless knives. 

BDL


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## dc sunshine (Feb 26, 2007)

What about Ceramic blades - will they have the same effect on the lettuce?

Love the recipe - love the salad. I prefer my egg raw, and love the anchovy & parmesan combination. Haven't had a good one in a long time, last one I had was obviously not freshly made and on its last legs - blecch. Not going back there.


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

Yes, unless incredibly sharp. 

Don't blame you. It's hard to get a real Caesar Salad anymore, too "old timey." Everyone's done variations. At best they replace the beauty of the original with something almost as good; but, not to put too fine a point on it, usually they suck. At least now you can do your own. 

BDL


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

It was a way of using garlic without using it. The aromatic oils left on the bowl, scented the salad but added none of the sharpness of raw garlic. At the time the salad first became popular a significant portion of Americans were very reticent about garlic. Fortunately, we're past that because garlic. The charm of this salad is it's powerful and elemental nature. Nothing subtle about it. 

Yes, yes, yes and yes. 

You can use salt instead of minced anchovies or anchovy paste -- but it will lack the depth. As I wrote in the recipe, people who don't like anchovies won't notice them in the dressing if you don't tell them. However, you'll note their absence. 

Perhaps the thing that makes this particular recipe so special is mixing part of the parmesan in with the dressing. The dressing clings like nobody's business and its texture is special. 

BDL


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## teamfat (Nov 5, 2007)

For the most part, yes. The lettuce leaf is composed of a mesh or matrix of individual lettuce leaf cells, so to speak. Tearing the leaf tends to seperate it along the cell boundries, leaving them intact. Using a knife ignores the cell boundries and cuts or crushes with reckless abandon along whatever path the cook steers the edge. A duller knife will crush a wider swath, lots of collateral damage to neighboring cells, a sharper knife will limit cell wall ruptures.

If you are making a salad to be eaten right away, the oxidation and subsequent brown discoloration of the broken cell edges will not be evident, tear or cut, whatever you prefer. As I may have mentioned once or twice, maybe 30 years or so ago I was a sandwich and salad guy at a restaurant here in Salt Lake. If I carefully hand tore each and every lettuce leaf into bite sized pieces, it would have taken me 36 hours to prepare 24 hours worth of salad. Not a profitable choice. I cut, I cut a lot. I used a knife with a **good** edge. Wish I still had that blade, drat. A spray bottle of water with a few teaspoons or so of lemon juice mixed in, then spritzed over the lettuce goes a long way to keep the brown edges of knife-hacked lettuce at bay.

mjb.


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## dc sunshine (Feb 26, 2007)

Teamfat,
Thank you for that info. As I don't cook as a profession, I do tend to make salads at last minute at home, especially those with lettuce - that gets added to whatever other ingredients, tossed, dressed, on the table.

Tearing, apart from anything else, is lots more fun. But in a professional kitchen I can see that cutting would be more time productive.

I sharpen my knives once a week, as I use lots of onion and garlic, which for whatever reason seem to blunt the edge. They're not the world's best knives, but they do the job - if they are sharp.


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## teamfat (Nov 5, 2007)

Speaking on a basic, universal type level, the cell structure of lettuce is really not much different than the structure of anything that has ever lived. The same sort of things come into play when slicing an onion, for example. The duller the knife, the more you'll cry due to more onion cells getting bludgeoned and releasing their sulfuric defense aromas. If you keep poking that steak on the grill with a fork, or cutting a wee slit to check for doneness, you're going to lose some flavor and moisture by rupturing some of the cellular structure.

Gee, kind of straying off the original topic here. I'm planning on smoking some spares and a beef chuck sunday, maybe I'll fix a real caesar salad to go with it. Not exactly a traditional barbecue side, but ....

mjb.


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

DC, 

What kind of knife (knives)? How do you sharpen? A home cook shouldn't need to sharpen once a week -- unless by sharpening you mean steeling -- which probably is "honing" and "roughing up," more than sharpening. From your description, I'm guessing your knives are very dull, but the steel or pull through sharpener you use puts just enough tooth on them to do the job for a few onions. Before committing myself to the conclusion, I'd like to hear more from you about your knives.

Look at it this way: I'm a home cook now, enough of a knife guy to prefer my knives incredibly sharp, cook often, and only sharpen my primary knives every four to six weeks. While I own good knives, they don't 'hold an edge" for a particularly long time by today's standards. You should not have to sharpen four times as frequently. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

BDL


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## dc sunshine (Feb 26, 2007)

BDL,

Thanks for your reply.

My knives are nothing very special, but I like them to have a good edge on them. It's safer and much more efficient. They're just supermarket ones, st. steel. I just use a pull thru sharpener for a couple of minutes. Sometimes I use my electric sharpener which has a grinding disc in it, this tends to make the sharp edge last quite a bit longer. I just use the pull thru one as a relaxer - for me, not the knife 

The fact that they're not high quality is most likley the problem. One day (when it's do-able) I'll get me some good ones, but for now, back to the grindstone!

Cheers  and thanks for all the great advice and recipes


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

Not criticizing your practice, and at risk of being a boor or a nudge; but just preaching the gospel of good edges for home cooks:

Yes, there are problems with getting super-market stainless knives sharp and keeping them that way. However your sharpening methods, although probably the most common in the Western world, are less than the most effective. All but a few electric sharpeners are more harmful than good -- and the edges they provide are of very short duration. 

It's likely your "pull-thru" is so clogged that it's not doing you any good anymore if it ever did. For whatever reason a very high proportion of new pull-thru sharpeners do not work properly; and they clog (the pores of the abrasive surfaces fill up with metal filings) very quickly. Almost all knife sharpening need frequent cleaning to work properly -- and pull-thrus do not clean easily. . 

There are a couple of inexpensive systems I can recommend below $30 USD which would work far better than yours. A "Mini-Chantry" is one. As they're made in the UK they might be more available to you than me. It's simple, foolproof, easy to store, attractive enough to leave out. The are two downsides. First, your knives, though sharp, will have a "toothy" sort of feeling as they cut. However, you bet that from your electric sharpener now. The other, is that the Chantry system is a little rough on the knives. But not as much as the grinder -- and you don't care anyway.

Another is an inexpensive "crock stick" system. These are simple to use, and are good. They respect your knives, don't take long to set up, and work reasonably quickly for a hand sharpener. They respect your knives. On the other hand, they don't get knives incredibly sharp 

The least expensive and most effective method is free hand sharpening on man made silicon carbide and aluminum oxide sharpening stones. The right stone for you -- a Norton Coarse India/Fine India combination, or its antipodean equivalent -- costs less than $20 USD. With a little practice you'll have those cheap knives sharp enough to take hair. However hand sharpening is a skill which, presently, you may not care to learn.

If you decide to seek a more effective way to sharpen those super-market swords of yours, I'll be happy to help you find a good system at a comfortable price. And there are many others who know as much and are as willing.

BDL


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## dc sunshine (Feb 26, 2007)

Good advice - thanks BDL.

We've got a very good catering/kitchen hardware supplier close by, I'll take your suggestions on board and see what they have/can source. (Will also take a peek at some better knives....). I do care about the edge on the knife, because I care for my fingers  and the food.

BTW - I think the phrase "super-market swords" sums it up pretty well 

Oh dear - I have gone way off topic here. Never mind

DC


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

Glad to hear you're thinking about new knives. Friends don't let friends buy Furi, not even Ozzies. (The handles are great, but the knife steel is very soft and needs a lot of maintenance.) See if you can afford one of the lower priced MAC lines like "Original" or "Chef." Ugly but easy to keep sharp. In other words, they work. Forschner Fibrox and Forschner Rosewood also good, reasonably priced knives -- but not as good as MAC. If you do get good knives, you'll want something kinder to them than a Chantry. PM me and we'll talk.

Do me a favor and try the Caesar Salad and let me know what you think. I'm betting on love.

BDL


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## rpmcmurphy (Jan 8, 2008)

Here we go....I substituted the anchovy paste.....didn't have any sorry  still hope this helps.


















(I just like mincing garlic so I did 3 cloves....)









































































Again, sorry, I just put a pinch of salt in...









Don't let the knife fool ya, I didn't use it for the bread....



























(I know I know...we do a real, look ma, no tongs toss later...)


















































































(I know, the egg was in in the last pic!  )






































> Dip the top of the handle of the fork into dressing, and taste. Adjust for lemon (should be very lemony).
> 
> 
> > (needed another squeeze of lemon)
> ...


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

Wonderful photographs. You're hired to do the book. Fiancee looks lovely, as always. Few could make scrubs look that good. Speaking of few ... Few could make the salad making process look that good either. I'm blown away. 

So? Did you like it?

BDL


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## rpmcmurphy (Jan 8, 2008)

It was great! We're learning taste pretty good now, at first taste, the dressing was ...just not right...another squeeze of lemon, and it felt like everything just fell into place taste wise....

As for the photos, as with cooking, I also recently took up photography....just purchased a pretty nice setup 

Nikon D300 with an 18-200lense and a nice 50mm fast lense...and a few other goodies....glad you like. 

going to do the roasted chicken recipe this weekend. Concert tomorrow night, wed night we have reservations at jerseys #2 restaurant...


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## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

This morning, while reorganizing my salad recipes, I came back to your Caesar. Just want to tell you it's one of the nicer Caesar recipes in my collection - and that means it's good :lips:

That said, may I humbly suggest you modify slightly your anchovy selection to include that the anchovies used be packed in olive oil (rather than just "oil" as it is now. Many oil packed anchovies [especially those in tins] use soybean or other oil. Olive oil is so much more in keeping with this salad.

shel


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

You're right. That little difference is a big difference. Ingredients certainly count -- not only in this recipes but in the style of cooking which means really good food to me. 

When writing these things, I wrestle with how specific I should be about ingredients. Many things aren't universally available or are very highly priced, and I don't want to set barriers that deter people from trying to expand their culinary horizons -- especially with the simpler recipes. 

It's a tough nut,
BDL


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## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

I understand your concern, however, by not being specific and mentioning even hard-to-find or expensive ingredients, you may actually be doing the reader a disservice. Many people may be completely unfamiliar with the options precisely because they are unavailable in their area, but by making them aware of such ingredients their awareness is increased and they may be inclined to look for the ingredients, find them, and incorporate them into their cooking. Many items can be purchased on line, or can be had just by asking a local purveyor to order them.

Sometimes when mentioning a hard-to-find or unusual ingredient, it can be helpful to include a link to a source, or to some information about the item. When people have done that, or have provided enough information to find additional information, I've been most grateful - there's a lot to know and a lot to learn out there. I am _not_ criticizing you, so please don't take my comments in that way.

shel


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## gonefishin (Nov 6, 2004)

Wow...what a great looking Ceasar salad. This post has inspired me to give the recipe a try next week. Thanks to everyone who participated!

dan


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## gonefishin (Nov 6, 2004)

(Shel and BDL)


I know when I'm reading a recipe I always appreciate the distinction of a specific (recommended) ingredient.



This is a perfect example and gets right to the point. I understand both what's needed in the recipe and what's preferred. I'll get two anchovy fillets and they'll be packed in olive oil, if possible.

I've read some recipes that get too specific and long winded within the recipe itself. I always thought this detracted away from what I was trying to cook. I appreciate side notes and extra information along side of the recipe or below. But I do like when the recipe itself is very clean.


dan


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## rpmcmurphy (Jan 8, 2008)

I prefer specific ingredients as possible HOWEVER....I also prefer little asterisks with footnotes for substitutes, and what is going to lack due to substitutes. gives me the option to compromise. 

let's face it, we all don't live where we can get some ingredients, and nothing worse than a recipe that calls for something we can't get and aren't smart enough to figure out a substitute or the "criticality" of the special ingredient...if its "super" critical....it should state it....if its a "will make it better than just great" then it may save a hour drive to the store in a pinch.


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

Point taken fellas. I'm still learning here, and always looking for the middle path.

I don't take honest feedback or advice badly. It's (a) editorial; (b) helpful; and (c) free. It's a lot of the reason I spend so much time here. So keep it up. 

But next time soak it in best rum, 
BDL


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## eloki (Apr 3, 2006)

RPMcMurphy, you didn't happen to burn the garlic when frying the croutons, did you? .

Very nice pics though.

It's funny, down here, australians expect to have bacon in their caesar salad...


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## gonefishin (Nov 6, 2004)

Thanks BDL. I've eaten and ordered Caesar salad many times before while dining out, but I haven't made it before this. Cooking the recipe went well enough. I had a few things going on and I kept looking, reading and double checking that I wasn't forgetting anything. But it really was a simple process...or should I say processes.

I loved the triple dose of reggiano. I also added a bit more lemon to the dressing but thought everything was nice and in balance. My wife thought the salad was a bit overdressed for her preferences. But that was my doing...not yours 


thanks!

dan


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## doodle (Aug 30, 2008)

BDL your recipe uses exactly the same ingredients as mine with two exceptions - I have always used dijon mustard and not dry mustard (powder?) and up here in my neck of the woods I always serve with (real) crisp bacon bits just like eloki.

I remember the first time I ever saw an authentic Caesar being made table side at a little Italian restaurant here in town. The floor was carpeted with orange shag and the walls were dark (fake) wooden paneling but they sure could make a Caesar salad. I watched very carefully and with in a short time & some quantity experimentation I had my own recipe that we have been enjoying for almost 40 years.  ( the orange shag gave it away - right?)

Also, don't you just hate it when the menu reads - house made authentic Caesar salad - and it is simply mayo with black pepper, lemon juice and cheese? 

RPM your pictures are fantastic & I also have / use Wusthof knives. (mine are the classic series) How do you like them?

doodle


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