Caesar Salad With Homemade Croutons And Balsamic Dressing Food

CAESAR SALAD WITH HOMEMADE CROUTONS AND BALSAMIC DRESSING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk 1/4 cup oil, 2 garlic cloves, and coarse salt in large bowl to blend. Add bread cubes and toss to coat. Transfer croutons to baking sheet. Bake croutons until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Cool completely. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.)
• Combine cheese, mayonnaise, anchovies, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, remaining 1/4 cup oil, and 1 garlic clove in blender; puree until smooth. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.
• Place lettuce and croutons in large bowl. Toss with enough dressing to coat. Serve with any remaining dressing.

CAESAR SALAD WITH BALSAMIC DRESSING AND PARMESAN CROUTONS

Steps:

• Combine vinegar, olive oil, dijon mustard, worcestershire sauce, basil and garlic in a jar with a tight fitting lid. Shake until mixed well.
• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Place the bread cubes in a bowl, add 2 tablespoons of the Balsamic dressing and Parmesan cheese; toss to coat.
• Spread the bread cubes in a single layer on a shallow baking pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir occasionally while baking.
• In a large bowl, combine all the lettuce, onion, olives and eggs. Add about ½ cup of the balsamic dressing (or to taste), salt and pepper and toss to coat. Add the Parmesan cheese and croutons and toss gently.

CAESAR SALAD

Steps:

• For the dressing: Place the anchovies into a blender or food processor. Throw in the Dijon mustard, vinegar, Worcestershire, garlic and lemon juice. Pulse the processor or blend on low speed for several seconds. Scrape down the sides.
• With the food processor or blender on, drizzle the olive oil into the mixture in a small stream. Scrape down the sides. Add the Parmesan, salt and a generous grind of black pepper. Pulse the whole thing together and mix until thoroughly combined. Refrigerate the dressing for a few hours (it just gets better!) before using it on the salad.
• For the croutons: Slice the bread into thick slices and cut them into 1-inch cubes. Throw them onto a baking sheet.
• Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan or skillet over low heat.
• Crush-but don't chop-the garlic and add them to the oil. Use a spoon to move the garlic around in the pan. After 3 to 5 minutes, turn off the heat and remove the garlic from the pan.
• Slowly drizzle the olive oil over the bread cubes. Mix together with your hands, and then sprinkle lightly with salt. Toss and cook in the pan until golden brown and crisp. (Add a little butter for more flavor!)
• For the salad: Wash and dry the hearts of romaine lettuce. Leave them whole. Use a vegetable peeler and shave off large, thin slices of Parmesan.
• Drizzle about half of the dressing over the top of the hearts. Throw in a good handful of the Parmesan shavings. Give it a good initial toss, just so you can evaluate how much more dressing you need.
• Add more dressing and Parmesan to taste. Add the cooled croutons. Toss gently.

CAESAR SALAD WITH CRUNCHY CROUTONS

Steps:

• Make the croutons:
• Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Hand-tear the bread into small pieces and put them into a bowl. Add the olive oil, Parmesan, and thyme leaves; season with salt and pepper. Mix this well to combine all the flavors. Spread the cubes out onto a baking sheet and bake until they are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Let them cool before tossing them onto the salad.
• Make the dressing: Put the anchovies, garlic, lemon juice, and water into a blender and process for 30 seconds until the mixture is smooth. With the blender running, pour the olive oil in slowly for the dressing to emulsify. Stir in the Parmesan and a couple of grinds of black pepper. Season, to taste, with salt and set aside. (Refrigerate the dressing if you will not be using it right away.)
• Assemble the salad: Tear the lettuce into a large bowl. Add enough dressing to coat the salad to your liking. Add the croutons and some extra Parmesan and toss the salad well. Serve immediately.

BALSAMIC CAESAR SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Whisk together half of the oil (1/4 cup), 2 of the garlic cloves, and salt together in large bowl. Add bread and toss to coat with oil mixture. Transfer to foiled-lined baking sheet. Bake until browned, about 12 minutes, stiring once. Cool completely.
• Combine cheese, mayonnaise, anchovies, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, remaining oil, and remaining garlic in blender or food processor. Puree until smooth. Season with salt and peper.
• Toss lettuce and croutons with dressing to coat. Serve immediately.

CAESAR SALAD CROUTONS

Steps:

• Combine garlic and oil in a small saucepan. Simmer until cloves are a light gold color, about 15 minutes. Pour oil through a fine sieve, squeeze all juice from cloves, and then discard the solids. Set garlic oil aside.
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Lightly oil a baking sheet.
• Arrange bread cubes in a single layer on baking sheet. Bake, turning bread cubes periodically, until lightly browned, about 20 minutes.
• In a large, non-stick skillet, melt 1/3 cup ghee with 1/3 cup garlic oil over medium heat. Cook toasted bread cubes in batches until light to medium golden brown, turning frequently. Add more ghee and garlic oil as needed. Turn out into basket lined with paper towels, and drain for about 20 minutes.

CAESAR SALAD DRESSING

Steps:

• In a large wooden bowl, using a wooden spoon, mash chopped garlic cloves to a fine paste with salt.
• Stir in egg yolks and Dijon mustard.
• Add anchovies, and grind to a paste.
• Add lemon juice, Worcestershire, hot sauce and season with pepper.
• Slowly whisk in olive/canola oil until dressing is creamy.
• Add lettuce to bowl, and toss to coat leaves thoroughly with dressing and grated Parmesan.
• Sprinkle croutons over salad.