Food52 Genius Recipe #3 Romaine Hearts with Caesar Salad Dressing

I was planning on making a completely different dish for dinner this week, but the preserved lemon I need is nowhere to be found in my area supermarkets. That's a story for that recipe's blog post. This salad recipe was going to be my lunches for the week, but I thought it would be a nice side to go with pizza since I was making the dough anyway. Everything about this recipe breaks the rules of a traditional Caesar salad. Sure, the romaine hearts are there, as are the anchovy, garlic, and Worcestershire sauce. However, that's when things take a turn towards the bizarre. Lemon gets replaced by red wine vinegar and hot sauce. The Parmesan cheese gets swapped out for Pecorino Romano. Egg and olive oil are replaced with Hellman's mayonnaise. That last one isn't so crazy and actually allows you to keep in longer in the fridge.

Like most dressings, it's incredibly easy to make. All you do is add the ingredients to a blender and then puree until it's smooth. Then you toss the cleaned and cut (or not cut) romaine leaves until well dressed. Serve with remaining grated cheese and a couple generous turns of black pepper. I decided to add a few croutons because I just like my Caesar salads to have them. Side note: croutons last literally forever, so don't throw them out just by the date on the bag.

While I liked the flavor of this, I thought it was a little thin for my taste. I'm used to a creamier version that really sticks to the romaine. Christine doesn't use much dressing, if any, when she has a salad and thought it had the perfect consistency for her. If I make this again, I'll cut back on the water by about half or maybe all together. Because we were the only two eating it, I only used one bunch of romaine hearts and had two left so I've been eating a salad as part of my lunch this week. The dressing recipe makes enough to dress 3 romaine hearts, which is equal to approximately 6 side salads. While the recipes doesn't call for the rest of the anchovies in the can to be added to the salad, there were some in the picture. Christine had the better idea of adding them as our pizza topping. It was the first time I've had anchovy pizza and I though it tasted pretty good.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Social Media Break

Image
I'm struggling right now. I'm searching for direction, trying figure out what I want to do in my life. I'm working on being a better person and want to get more fulfillment out of the work that I do. Instead of focusing and creating a plan, I spend way too much time on social media. It's easy to get lost in the lives of others, hilarious memes, constant "breaking news" updates, and the seemingly non-stop political coverage that is this time period's blood sport. So for at least the month of February, I'll be taking a break from Twitter and Facebook (they're the only platforms I use). I've already deleted the apps off of my phone in an effort to help break the chains, so to speak. The hope is that I better use the time that I used to spend just mindlessly scanning through those feeds. Other than using that time towards working out whatever it is that I'm going through right now, there are a bunch of other things that will easily fill
Read more

An Apology

Image
I don't want you to think that I stopped caring. Loss is an incredibly hard thing for all of us, but I especially struggle accepting the end of anything. When we think of loss, our minds immediately go to death because that's loss in its most permanent form but the end of anything can cause similar feelings. It could be the end of some sort of relationship (family, friend, work, romantic, etc.) or even a form of media like a television show or podcast. Obviously the latter examples aren't nearly as serious because they are designed to end, but one could argue that so are nearly all relationships.  We have this idea that once we know somebody and have any sort of connection to them beyond waving at a neighbor whose name you don't know, that there's an obligation to keep that relationship going forever. It's not realistic for this to be true for a long list of reasons. When the thing that brings two people together ends in some fashion, it's natural for that b
Read more

July Wrap-Up

Image
  July was full of travel and family time. Time just flew by because I was only home about half of the days of the month. We went back home to Syracuse around the fourth, spent a few days at Great Wolf Lodge, and I also attended my first work travel for my new role. I had a very enjoyable time meeting my counterparts from all over the country. August will start to bring in back our normal schedule towards the end of the month, but we also still have one last big trip left before that happens.  Blah Blog Log June 2024 Wrap-Up  - A lot of gaming, one of my favorite TV shows of all time, and a strange chip flavor. Table For One  - An uncomfortable experience while on a work trip. Bored  Board Games It was another BGA heavy month, but some of those play were with friends which was nice. I also got in two in person sessions and played a couple of solo games while on a work trip. In person gaming should ramp up back to normal levels as we head into the school year. For July, I logged 48 play
Read more