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!

A quick and easy lunch...

The other day I opened my refrigerator, and was horrified at how full of stuff it had become. (I took a picture to share, and realized that it was way too embarrassing to post... ever!) So I told myself that I couldn't buy anymore groceries until I emptied out the ones already in my refrigerator! So I looked around, dug through the crisper drawer, and came up with this: Tuna-filled tomato salad!

I pretty much cleared out the vegetable drawer with this meal- I used celery, a tomato, and a mini head of some tender lettuce that looked too adorable at the grocer's (I'm a total sucker for cute vegetables!).

I also used tuna fish, which I happen to keep in my 'fridge. I realize that's not a normal thing to do, but I like my tuna fish extra cold so I keep it in the 'fridge...judge if you will!

For this lunch I drained the water from the tuna can...

And dumped the tuna into my mini food processor. Again, this is probably a little weird, but I've lived in NYC long enough to love the deli-style tuna salad that is well- blended- they serve it in every bodega and deli throughout the city, and I love it.

(Also, since I'm a Midwesterner, I use Miracle Whip in my tuna... it adds that extra bit of zing!)

So with a dollop of dressing added to the food processor...

I pulsed a few times...

And was rewarded with well-blended tuna!

But I didn't stop there- I grabbed a stalk of celery...

And chopped it into very fine pieces...

Before adding it to my tuna.

And while I could have stopped there... I didn't! So I grabbed the tomato, sliced off the top, grabbed a melon baller...

And scooped out the tomato innards before placing on a plate of baby lettuce!

Then I spooned the finished tuna into the tomato, and sat down to a tasty lunch!

Lovely, right? And now, thanks to this quick and easy lunch, my refrigerator is a little less full... what a relief!

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

Shake it up...

I have been a Martha Stewart Living subscriber for years. I love checking out all of her ideas and techniques each month, and I look for an excuse to try her suggestions when I can. So when I saw this simple article on shaken salad dressings, I headed to my kitchen and got to work.

I decided to try the first dressing listed in the article. However, since I didn't have all of the ingredients at hand (my local bodega doesn't carry cider), I modified the recipe... so here's my version of Apple Dijon!

I started with an old canning jar. Into I added a half a shallot...

Apple juice...

Cider vinegar...

Dijon mustard (this is the good, Bavarian style stuff)...

Salt...

Pepper (freshly ground)...

And a splash of lemon juice!

Once everything was combined...

I screwed a cap on the jar, gave it a couple of good shakes, and was ready to enjoy my dressing!

I poured it over a simple salad, and boy was it tasty! Simple, flavorful, and cheap... my favorite kind of meal!

If you'd like to try this at home, here's the recipe I modified from Martha's:

Apple Dijon

Shake together:
1/4 apple juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon dijon (or grainy) mustard
1/2 shallot, chopped fine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Thanks for visiting- I hope you have a great weekend!!