Caesar Salad

My favorite salad is a Caesar Salad.  I never knew it originated in Mexico.  Caesar Cardini invented the recipe at his restaurant in 1924 when a 4th of July rush depleted his kitchen supply.  He made do with what he had and came up the Caesar Salad.  The recipe below is from a restaurant in Tijuana, Caesar's Restaurant Bar, however, not from the restaurant where it was originally invented. 

2 large eggs
2 TBS mayonnaise
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp steak sauce (I omitted)
1 tsp bottled hot sauce
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1/2 cup corn oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Romaine lettuce, leave separated
1/4 cup grated cotija or Parmesan cheese

Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil over medium-high heat.  Add the eggs and boil for 5 minutes (no longer than 5 minutes).  Remove the eggs from the water and set aside until cool enough to handle, about 7 minutes. 

Peel the eggs and cut in half.  Spoon the yolks, which will still be very soft, into a blender; reserve the whites for another use.  Add the mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, steak sauce, hot sauce and vinegar.  Pulse until blended.  With the machine running, drizzle in the oil and process until smooth.  Season with salt and pepper.  The dressing will be thick but will thin out once mixed with the salad.

Put the lettuce and cheese in a large salad bowl.  Add the dressing and gently toss to coat.  Serve immediately.  I prefer to serve in individual bowls and serve the dressing on the side.  May serve with croutons (recipe below).

I'm not fond of purchased salad croutons so I came up with this recipe..

Croutons

5 slices stale bread, remove the crusts 
3 TBS butter
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp dried parsley

Place bread in oven for a couple minutes to slightly dry out if your bread is too fresh.
Melt the butter.  Add garlic powder, garlic salt and parsley. Brush lightly onto both sides of bread.

Place into a 350 degree oven for 6-10 minutes until lightly browned and toasted.  Watch carefully as these burn rather quickly.  Cut bread into cubes.  Let cool.

Serves 4

Source: Mexican Made Easy - Marcela Valladolid

Janice