Month of Macro: Caesar Salad

I love Caesar salads- they're so tasty: that perfect combination of crunchy croutons, salty cheese, leafy lettuce and delicious dressing totally hits the spot sometimes! So the other day, when I was craving a salad for lunch, I decided to try my hand at homemade Caesar salad dressing.

Unfortunately, anchovies gross me out, so I tried to find a recipe that didn't include them (though I realize that a real Caesar salad dressing would include a few of those slimy little things). Here's what I ended up using:

I started with a bulb of garlic (taking photos of a recipe with my macro lens sure was an interesting experience, btw).

Then I peeled 6 cloves...

And plopped them in my mini-food processor to mince them.

Once the garlic was minced, I added some grainy mustard...

White vinegar...

And mayonnaise.

Once everything was blended together...

I added olive oil (a bit at a time) and pulsed the processor until everything was mixed.

Finally, I added some salt and pepper to taste...

Before pouring it onto my salad and topping with croutons, Parmesan cheese shavings and more pepper!

This dressing was pretty good; however, it uses a lot of garlic! (If you're a wimp like me, you may want to cut back on the number of cloves that the recipe calls for below.) If you're up for an anchovy free dressing recipe, here it is:

Caesar Salad Dressing

Ingredients:
6 cloves garlic, mashed and minced
1 tablespoon mustard
1 tablespoon white Vinegar
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Directions:
Combine garlic, mustard, vinegar and two pinches of salt in a food processor and mix thoroughly. Add mayonnaise and blend together to form a thick base. In a small amounts, add olive oil through hole in lid, blending thoroughly throughout. Scrape dressing with spatula into a bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour dressing on top of romaine lettuce, topping with shaved Parmesan cheese and croutons. Finish with a dash of freshly-ground pepper.

So while I still have a bit of work to do to find the perfect Caesar salad dressing to fit my tastes (and no-anchovy preference), this option was a tasty experiment!

Thanks for stopping by- I hope you have a great day!

CHOPPED!

I must admit: in the summer I tend to get spoiled with the variety of fresh, local vegetables available at the grocery store and I don't take advantage of the produce while it's available and cheap!

So this weekend, I rectified that by making a big bowl of Chopped Salad!

When I lived outside of Chicago, there was a local restaurant that made the best chopped salad. (My mom will vouch for me on this, because she loved going to Gullivers when she visited me and she almost always ordered the chopped salad!) And ever since that amazing place, I've loved chopped salads.

I think the chopped salad is a pretty incredible invention. Not only can it combine a huge variety of ingredients, but the small pieces ensure that every bite is delicious! And with all the incredible veggies available this time of year, I couldn't resist making one! So for my chopped salad, I grabbed some of my favorite vegetables from my fridge (along with the non-veggies: bacon and cheese).

After everything was washed (and the bacon was cooking) I got to chopping. This isn't necessarily the fastest meal to make, since it requires a lot of knife skills (which I don't posses), but the extra time spent at the cutting board is totally worth it!

After I was done peeling/chopping my various veggies, I had a bowl full of tasty 'bits.'

And with a quick stir, everything was incorporated!

So I served up a small bowl of veggies...

And topped it with bits of bacon and tiny cubes of cheese. (I know- a real chopped salad would have the bacon and cheese mixed into the salad... but since I wanted to veggies to keep in the fridge for another meal, I decided to add these 'extras' later.)

After the salad was ready to go, I turned my attention to the dressing. I've recently stumbled upon a great ration for my balsamic/honey vinaigrette (see photo below), and while it may not suit everyone's taste, I just love it! (I could also just be in love with the AWESOME fig balsamic vinegar I have... it's to die for!)

Since I'm old-school, I added all the vinaigrette ingredients to a canning jar and shook it until it was combined...

Before spooning it on top of my chopped salad.

And that my friends...

Is how you make the most delicious chopped salad!

(Looks good, right? I love that every bit can include so many different things!)

The only bad thing about chopped salads? They're gone way too quickly!

Thanks for stopping by- I hope you have a great day!

Picture-perfect picnic!

While I spent the other weekend in Duluth, Minnesota...

I got to travel through my favorite state to get there...

Yes, Michigan!

As we drove along Lake Superior, we wouldn't help but appreciate the beauty of the area.

Lucky for me, we even stopped at one point so I could get out to take a few pictures of the whitecaps, beach grass, sand, etc...

It was just lovely!

We even stopped to enjoy a picnic along the water at one point (and yes, it was the UP so it was a bit brisk).

It was my first picnic of the season...

And with a huge fountain soda...

And freshly roasted turkey breast...

It was a feast fit for... me!

And while I thoroughly enjoyed myself, I'm pretty sure my dad...

And brother had a good time, too!

Even though we had to get right back on the road...

Our stop along the lake was a picture-perfect picnic!

Thanks for stopping by- I hope you have a great day!

Greek Pita Wraps

When I first moved to NYC, I had no idea that I was moving to a predominantly Greek neighborhood. So if I had known back then how much I would come to love Greek food, I would have been very surprised. You see, now that I have lived amidst souvlaki, saganaki, tzatziki and lemon potatoes for the past 5 years, I have totally fallen in love!

While getting Greek take-out in my 'hood is pretty easy, every now and then I want to make it for myself! So after a quick trip to my local grocer over the weekend, I was able to whip up this recipe for Greek Pita Wraps!

First, I started with a plate full of fresh veggies: lettuce, cucumber, tomato and red onion.

To that I added Kalamata Olives. (My grocer has a self-serve olive bar, and actually offers Kalamatas with or without pits. For the purpose of this recipe, I went pit-less!)

Once I'd washed and dried the veggies, I diced them up.

(I ended up using a whole tomato, half a cucumber, half of a (small) red onion, and about 8 olives.)

While at the grocer, I also picked up a slab of feta cheese. My grocer's deli sells over 10 different kinds of feta, but the guy behind the counter assured me that this was a good choice (and then he only charged me for half of the slab... gotta love my neighborhood!).

So I broke off a chunk and crumbled it up... (please ignore my pruney fingers- I had just finished doing my dishes!)...

And added it into a bowl with the rest of my veggies.

So while I had most of the wrap ready, I still hadn't tackled the Greek dressing. I wanted to make some from scratch, so I headed to my cupboards and came up with the following recipe:

1/4 cup olive oil and 1/8 cup red wine vinegar...

Plus a scant 1/8 teaspoon of garlic powder...

And a heaping 1/8 teaspoon of basil...

Along with a dash of dill...

Once the dressing was sufficiently mixed, I poured it over the veggies and cheese...

And stirred it until it was combined!

Meanwhile I placed a pita on a plate, with a leaf of lettuce on top. Then I spooned some of the veggie and cheese mixture onto the lettuce...

(Tell me that doesn't look amazing!)

Before wrapping it up to enjoy!

I've got to tell you- this was a very delicious sandwich and was a quick and easy way to enjoy some summer veggies!

So even if you don't have the good fortune to live in a neighborhood with tasty Greek food like me...

With this simple recipe, you can pretend that you do!

Thanks for stopping by- I hope you have a great day!