Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing with Garlic Croutons

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Brief History On The Caesar Salad

The caesar salad dressing was first invented around July 1924 in Tijuana Mexico by an Italian-American restaurateur named Caesar Cardini.

Mexico of all places! Who would have thought. The story is that Caesar, spelled Cesare Cardini, emigrated from Italy to America. He and his brother landed in Mexico opening a restaurant.

I am not sure how true this is but the story goes; one night the restaurant was extremely busy. Caesar threw together a salad that he served to the patrons. Much to his surprise the salad was a “hit” and that is how the Caesar Salad came about.

Wow! Wouldn’t it be cool if everything we threw together one day became a major hit all over the world! Yeah, I don’t think that is going to happen. At least not anytime soon. Ha Ha Ha!

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The Classic Caesar Salad

If you have ever had a Caesar Salad at one of your favorite restaurants do you know if the dressing was the classic version or rather the authentic type?

The true classic caesar salad’s secret ingredient is anchovies. Yep! It’s true! And, if anchovies are not available then anchovy past will do.

The very first time I encountered the true classic caesar dressing my exact words were, “ANCHOVIES! Ewe!”.

Other versions of caesar salad are made with mayonnaise in place of eggs and without anchovies.

I remember my first experience of homemade caesar dressing. We were at The Savoy Grill in Kansas City located inside the Hotel Savoy.

The Savoy Grill

The Savoy Grill, known for its awesome authentic ambiance, was the oldest restaurant in Kansas City, Missouri. Dating back to the early 1900’s the Savoy was a luxury destination for travelers arriving by train in Kansas City. The story is President Harry S. Truman frequented the restaurant so often that they even assigned a table called “The President’s Booth”.

A fire in October 2014 closed the iconic restaurant. The restaurant gained new ownership, was redeveloped and reopened its doors mid-late 2018.

The rebirth of the Savoy Grill has a new name which is The Savoy at 21c. I have not been there in person but I have heard it is more of a contemporary restaurant.

Anyway, back to the Caesar Salad preparation at the Savoy. The headwaiter would roll up a food cart with all the ingredients and prepare a homemade caesar dressing right at the table.

Only the finest restaurants prepare homemade caesar dressing at the table. In fact, that is how the Caesar salad came about in Jett’s Kitchen. No more having to go to the finest restaurants to pay an arm and a leg to get that classic creamy caesar salad when it can be made right at home!

What Goes With A Caesar Salad?

Every caesar salad comes with croutons. Now mind you, when I have ever gone out to restaurants and had croutons with my salads they were so hard I did not even eat them.

Therefore, since croutons actually go with a caesar salad I am including a easy recipe that literally takes less than 20 minutes to make. They are so easy to make you may never buy the store bought version again.

Another ingredient that goes well with caesar salad is the addition of grilled chicken.

Crouton Ingredients:

• 1/2 loaf ciabatta bread cut into 1/2-inch pieces or smaller if desired
• 4 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Crouton Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
2. Using a bread knife cut bread into 1/2 pieces or smaller if desired.
3. Place bread on a foil lined cookie sheet. Bake bread for 5 minutes.
4. Combine oil, salt and pepper.
5. Run garlic through a garlic press and add to oil mixture.
6. Remove bread from oven and drizzle oil mixture over chopped bread. Toss croutons until well coated.
7. Bake 5 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and toss croutons. Return to oven and bake 5 more minutes.

Salad Dressing Ingredients:

• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 6 fillets of anchovies (Packed in salt is best but hard to find. I used Anchovies in olive oil)
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese (a microplane is perfect for doing this)
• Romaine lettuce
• Grilled chicken (optional)
• Garnish with shaved parmesan cheese.

Salad Dressing Instructions:

Open the can of Anchovies. Carefully remove 6 fillets and place them on a paper towel to remove excess oil. If you were able to find anchovies packed in salt remove salt. Place anchovies in a large bowl.

Chop garlic and place in a large bowl with anchovies and salt. Using a fork smash all three ingredients together.

Add egg yolk and stir until a paste is formed. Add the juice from 1 lemon, Dijon mustard, pepper and Worcestershire sauce stirring until well combined.

Using a whisk slowly drizzle in olive oil and finally add freshly grated parmesan cheese. Voila!

Prepare Romaine lettuce by pulling leaves from the stalk, rinse well under cool water. Remove excess water by using a paper towel to blot dry or use a salad spinner. Stack 4-5 leaves on top of each other, gently roll loose leaves to the center and cut lettuce in 1/2 inch widths. Place cut lettuce in large bowl and toss with Caesar dressing. Add croutons and toss. Using a microplane garnish with either freshly grated parmesan cheese or make parmesan strips using a vegetable peeler. Serve immediately.

TIP: To keep salad fresh for several days DO NOT add salad dressing until ready to serve.

I AM EXCITED YOU ARE VIEWING JETT’S CAESAR SALAD DRESSING WITH CROUTON RECIPE AND WOULD LOVE TO SEE HOW IT TURNS OUT SHOULD YOU DECIDE TO MAKE IT! BE SURE TO USE THE HASHTAG ON SOCIAL MEDIA!

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