Blue Cheese Caesar Salad Michael Chiarello Food

CAESAR SALAD

Steps:

• Put the whole romaine leaves in a work bowl. Add enough of the dressing to coat the leaves and toss well. Arrange the leaves in a serving bowl with their tips up, and intersperse the pizzetta's, if desired. Sprinkle the Parmesan over all.
• Place the egg yolk, mustard, anchovies, garlic, vinegar, lemon juice, and a dash of Worcestershire sauce into a salad bowl. Blend with whisk and then add the olive oil in a slow, steady stream until it is fully incorporated. If the dressing stops gets too thick, add the warm water and then continue until all the oil is added. Add the cheese and continue to blend.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Stir the garlic into the tapenade. Separate the ready made/store bought pizza dough into 1 1/2-ounce pieces and roll them out to 1/8-inch (if possible, roll out to desired thickness by using a pasta machine). Cover the top of the rolled out dough with olive paste and garlic mixture. Sprinkle the thyme on top. Lay the pecorino on top of pizzetta. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Bake the pizza for 15 minutes or until light brown (a cracker like thinness and texture). Let cool for about 10 minutes, and serve.

PIADINE WITH CAESAR SALAD AND ROASTED GARLIC PASTE

Steps:

• Preheat a grill to high.
• Put the lettuce in a bowl. Pour the dressing over and toss well.
• Divide the dough into 4 equal balls. On a floured board, stretch and roll the dough into thin discs with a rolling pin. The dough may also be stretched by hand, but rolling will give you a thinner crust.
• Coat the rolled out dough with olive oil and place, oiled side down, on a very hot grill. This can be done indoors on a cast-iron stovetop grill pan that has been preheated over medium-medium high. When you start to see bubbles on the surface of the dough, turn it over. It should be slightly browned on the bottom. Brush each round with a generous tablespoon of the garlic paste and sprinkle with the thyme. Remove from the grill with tongs and top with the Caesar salad. Grate parmesan cheese on top, fold in half, and eat.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Peel the outermost layers of skin off the heads of garlic. Cut off the top 1/3 of the heads to open the cloves. Save the small pieces of garlic for another use (see Chef's Note). Put the heads, cut sides up, in a small baking dish and pour the olive oil over them. Season with salt and pepper.
• Cover tightly, place in the oven, and roast until about 3/4 cooked, about 45 minutes. Uncover and return to the oven until the cloves begin to pop out of their skins and brown, about 15 minutes. Let cool.
• When cool enough to handle easily, squeeze the roasted garlic into a small bowl. Press against the skins very well to get out all the sweet roasted garlic you can. Add the oil from the baking dish and mix well until a paste forms. Store, tightly covered, in the refrigerator, for up to 1 week.
• Chef's Note:
• It is hard to have too much roasted garlic around. You can roast the little bits from the tips of the garlic heads. Put them in a separate small baking container, such as an individual custard cup. Season with salt and pepper, douse with olive oil, cover, and place in the oven to bake along with the whole garlic heads. Depending on their size, they will be soft and browned in about 1/2 the time needed for the whole heads. The little pieces make a good "cook's snack" while preparing dinner, or can be squeezed into tomato sauce or onto pasta.

BLUE CHEESE CAESAR SALAD - MICHAEL CHIARELLO

Steps:

• Put the vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, egg yolk, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, anchovies, and pepper in a blender and blend until well mixed.
• With the machine running, add the olive oil, at first by drops and then, as the mixture emulsifies, in a thin, steady stream until all the oil is incorporated.
• Pulse in 3/4 of the Gorgonzola and the Parmesan. Scrape into a bowl. Fold in the remaining Gorgonzola. Cover, and refrigerate until needed. You should have about 1 1/3 cups. (The dressing keeps, refrigerated, for 2 to 3 days.)
• Place the shredded romaine and iceberg in a large bowl and toss with the dressing. Lay the romaine leaves on a platter. Place a few tablespoons of the salad onto the leaves and garnish with additional cheese.

BLUE CHEESE CAESAR SALAD

Steps:

• Toss the bread with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bread and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden on all sides, about 7 minutes. Set aside and let cool slightly.
• Whisk the dressing, parmesan, anchovies, lemon juice and mustard in a large bowl. Add the romaine and croutons; toss to coat and season with pepper. Top with blue cheese.
• Puree 1/2 cup each crumbled blue cheese and sour cream, 1/3 cup buttermilk, 1 small garlic clove (smashed) and 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar in a blender. Transfer to a bowl and stir in 1/4 cup more blue cheese, 2 to 3 dashes Worcestershire sauce and/or hot sauce, and 1 tablespoon chopped parsley. Season with salt and pepper. (Makes about 2 cups.)

TRI-COLORE SALAD WITH FRICO CRACKERS AND CAESAR "VINAIGRETTE"

Steps:

• To make the dressing: Chop and smear the garlic with the anchovies and salt until you create a smooth paste. Add the paste to a small bowl. Add the vinegar, mustard, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and lots of pepper. Mix well. Whisk in the olive oil gradually. Add the cheese and whisk again. Set the dressing aside for 1 hour or longer (if overnight, refrigerate the dressing and bring it to room temperature about 1 hour before serving). Makes about 1 cup. (You can put all of the ingredients into a jar, cover tightly with a lid and shake to blend. This is a great way to store the dressing.)
• To make the crackers: Heat an 8-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle 6 tablespoons of the cheese into the pan so it forms a lace-thin layer that fills the bottom of the skillet. The cheese will bubble in the pan. When the top side of the cheese has reached a pale gold color, after 3 to 4 minutes, remove the pan from the heat and allow the cheese to firm up for 1 minute. Carefully turn the cheese over with a spatula, return to heat, and cook until cheese is golden on both sides, about 1 more minute. Remove the cracker and drain it on paper towels to absorb any excess fat. Wipe the skillet clean with paper towels and repeat the process 5 more times with the remaining cheese.
• In a large bowl combine the endive, radicchio, and arugula. Drizzle enough dressing over the top to lightly coat the leaves (you may not need all the dressing). Toss to coat the leaves evenly. Arrange the leaves on serving plates. Sprinkle a bit of Parmesan over each salad. Split each cracker into 2 or 3 pieces and garnish the salads with them. Serve immediately.

WHOLE LEAF CAESAR SALAD

Steps:

• For the dressing: Place the egg yolk, mustard, anchovies, garlic, vinegar, lemon juice, and a dash of Worcestershire sauce in a blender. Blend until pureed. With the motor running, add the olive oil in a slow, steady stream until it is fully incorporated. If the dressing stops moving in the blender, stop the machine, add the warm water and then continue until all the oil is added. To finish, add the cheese and blend on low speed to incorporate. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.
• For the croutons: In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter until it begins to foam. Add the chopped garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the bread slices and mix to coat. Toss bread occasionally so that both sides get toasted. When the bread is golden brown, add the Parmesan and toss to coat. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
• For the salad: Put the whole romaine leaves in a work bowl. Add enough of the dressing to coat the leaves and toss well. Add the croutons and toss again to combine. Sprinkle the Parmesan over all and serve.

BLUE CHEESE CAESAR SALAD

Steps:

• Whisk garlic, anchovies, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, mayonnaise, and half the blue cheese in a medium bowl until blended.
• Continue whisking while adding oil in thin stream until thickened.
• Cover and chill for several hours if desired; reblend if necessary.
• Toss crisp letuec in very large salad bowl with dressing until thoroughly coated.
• Add croutons and remaining blue cheese and toss again.
• Serve with Parmesan cheese.

BLUE CHEESE CAESAR SALAD

Steps:

• In a jelly-roll pan toss the bread cubes with 1 tablespoon of the oil and salt to taste, bake them in the middle of a preheated 350°F. oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until they are golden, and let the croutons cool. In a small bowl stir together well the garlic paste, the anchovy, and half the blue cheese, whisk in the lemon juice and the Worcestershire sauce, whisking until the mixture is smooth, and whisk in the remaining oil and salt and pepper to taste, whisking until the dressing is combined well. In a saucepan of boiling water boil the egg in the shell for 30 seconds and drain it. In a salad bowl toss the romaine with the dressing. Break the egg into the greens, add the Parmesan, the remaining blue cheese, and the croutons, and toss the salad until it is combined well.

BALSAMIC GLAZED FRUIT (MICHAEL CHIARELLO)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
• Peel and core apples and pears, cut each into 8 wedges. Place in large bowl and toss with 2 T. lemon juice.
• Melt butter over medium heat in skillet until it stops foaming and is slightly brown.
• Add rosemary, bay leaves, remaining 3 T. lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, and brown sugar.
• Heat to boiling and reduce slightly.
• Pour over fruit and toss to coat.
• Pour into roasting pan or onto a cookie sheet WITH SIDES.
• Bake for 3-8 hours, turning each hour.
• Fruit should be slightly dried, but not dried to the extent of fruit leather.
• Store tightly covered in refrigerator for up to one week.