Hey! I said No!

My Husband’s birthday was at the beginning of the month and when I asked him what he wanted for his lunch/dinner, all he asked for was Steak and a Caesar Salad… homemade.

That sounded so daunting, but I was up for the challenge and thought “What a perfect way to get back into blogging?!”

So here we go!!!

Here’s What you Need:

6 Anchovy Fillets (get the can that’s packed in oil), drained
1 Small Garlic Clove
Kosher Salt
2 Large Egg Yolks
2 TBLS of Fresh Lemon Juice, more if needed
3/4 TSP of Dijon Mustard
5 TBLS of Olive Oil (2 TBLS for Dressing, 3 for Croutons)
1/2 Cup of Vegetable Oil
3 TBLS of Grated Parmesan
Fresh Ground Pepper
3 Cups of 1″ Pieces of Country Bread (we used a baguette, but if I do this again I’ll use a different kind)
3 Romaine Hearts
Shaved Parmesan

First things first, lets make our dressing. So taking the anchovy fillets and the garlic clove, sprinkle them both with some kosher salt. Not too much, just enough to get the juices flowing from the garlic.

Dice them up finely. Need to get them small enough for the next step!!!

Once you get them small (mine probably needed to be smaller, but it still worked, so don’t stress) start to drag your knife over top of them to make a paste. You’ll be dragging and gathering with your knife for awhile. This is normal!!

Again, mine probably needed a little more time in the dragging department, but the dressing was phenomenal! So… AGAIN… don’t stress. This was the part that scared me when I started thinking about making this salad, and it wasn’t hard. Just time consuming and I didn’t get the spiritual gift of patience.

Add your paste to a bowl with your egg yolks, lemon juice, and your dijon mustard. Mix that bad boy up!!! Whisk it rrreeeaaallll good.

Really slowly, like drop by drop, add in your olive oil. Wisk it like you mean it!!!

Then do it again with the vegetable oil. Again, add it in slowly. You want it to incorporate beautifully. This is probably why it didn’t matter that my paste wasn’t so smooth. You beat it smooth.

And we’re done with the dressing!!! Set it aside and move on to the croutons.

This is really easy. My husband did this part while I was making the dressing, so that’s why the bread pieces look rough. You want to tear your bread so that it creates nooks and crannies to help catch the dressing. Once they’re torn, toss them with olive oil and then spread them out on a lined baking sheet. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on them. Through them in a preheated 375 degree oven for 10-15 minutes. You’ll want to toss them occasionally.

So now the hard part is done. Take a deep breath and smile… you’re making an authentic Caesar salad!!

For the lettuce, I just cut the hearts into big chunks after I washed them. Let them dry while I made the dressing. I don’t have a picture for this because its really personal preference but I will say that the chunks make it a better vesal for the dressing… which is why we’re here, clearly.

Now we assemble. Drizzle the dressing over the lettuce and the croutons. I’ll be honest, I did just the lettuce first because my bowl wasn’t big enough. But it was fine!

You want to massage the dressing into the lettuce, so don’t toss with tongs or salad forks. Use your hands, people!!! Once I got to massaging the lettuce with the dressing it created more room for me to add most of the croutons. I’m pretty sure we made more than we were supposed to but who’s really counting.

Top with your shaved parmesan and you’re done! How pretty?!

**Just a Note: Using shaved parmesan is ideal to top your salad as to not muddle the dressing and make it clumpy. You can use grated, but it’s not recommended**

Don’t judge my paper plates, mama has enough dishes to do. My husband made us some phenomenal steaks to go with our Caesar salad. I’m so glad he asked for this for his birthday!!

What fun recipes would you like to see on my blog? I’ll be doing a few fun ones, a few dairy free ones but I want to know what you’d like to see. Leave me a comment below!!

I hope you try this recipe… it’s well worth it. Let me know what you think!!

With Light and Love,

Eli Morr