What a lovely gift from my neighbors!! Three gorgeous bundles of romaine lettuce from their garden!! I mistakenly thought that two people could not possibly go through such a large amount we were graciously given before it started to go bad. I now only have a few leaves left. I was SO wrong.

Of course, it helps to enjoy them topped with homemade Caesar salad dressing, fresh shaved parmesan cheese and lightly toasted croutons! 😉  

Purely, a simple but elegant taste of summer!! I have enjoyed this salad for several days now and will be very sad to see it gone! Who would ever think that such a simple salad with so few ingredients could be so darned good?!! 

I even admit to using the inner small leaves for dipping straight into the jar! Because I’m naughty like that. That’s how I roll. 😉  

Hat’s off to Cesare Cardini who first quickly thought of this incredibly delicious “Caesar Salad” due to rough times and preparing his simpler version right at the table for his guests as a fun and showy presentation! Like I always say, there’s elegance in simplicity. 😉  And this salad remains a classic because it truly is that, simply elegant. 

This is one of those dressings though, that I reeeeaally prefer to make myself and enjoy at home rather than in a restaurant. I’m greedy. I like a lot of salad dressing. I mean…like a LOT of salad dressing. And I don’t care for dressings that are so runny, (and usually watered down), that they instantly seep and puddle to the bottom of your plate and in no way stick to the greens, let alone even vaguely resemble what I ordered and expected. I prefer mine to coat and cling so that I can actually taste it and enjoy it.

Besides, licking the plate in a public restaurant with linen tablecloths and real silverware is not attractive. So I’ve been told anyways. Some maitre d’s can be so testy. 😉  

I also don’t care for way too much lemon juice and oil in this. So I just plain prefer to make it homemade and make mine cream-style and a little bit on the thick side – – just the way I like it. You can even use mine as a dip, too, for veggies. And if it’s too strong, or you would like it to be thicker even,  just fold in a small spoonful of sour cream and wah-lah – – you have dip! (Just add more seasonings as wanted if the the sour cream takes away too much of the flavor for you.) Good dippers are of course inner small romaine leaves, endive, baby carrots, cucumber sticks, broccoli and cauliflower florets, pea pods, bell pepper sticks, and my personal favorite…raw turnip sticks! Yes, you read that correctly. Sweet, crunchy, and always the first to go! 😀    

Whole anchovies most certainly can be used in this dressing, but I really like using the tubes of anchovy paste much better, and mostly because of convenience. I use bits of it in a lot of things and there’s never any waste. So just use whatever you enjoy most. Cesare would definitely object to this, as he did not add this ingredient and didn’t care for anchovies himself. His brother was the one to add this now popular ingredient into the mix! But I do think he would get a chuckle and be quite proud of how world-famous his original recipe has morphed, and re-morphed, and has literally transformed into 1,000’s of different variations! Some even including bacon. I know, right? 😉  

Mmmmm, bacon…………………….sorry. I’m back now!

I’m ok. 😉 😀   

So, keep in mind, that this is just a guide for you, there are MANY versions of this recipe, and I designed this to suit my own personal tastebuds. If you prefer a thinner dressing, (and remember, *this gets thicker after it sits), you may want to drizzle in more EVOO, lemon juice if you like it tangier, and even a bit of water to thin it while blending and before chilling. Just because I enjoy it thicker, doesn’t mean that you have to. 😉   

So head out to the garden or your nearest farmer’s market and pick a nice head or two of crispy romaine lettuce and make yourself this timeless, refreshing, summer salad! 😀 Enjoy all, and have a wonderful day! The official first day of summer is almost here!! 😀   

Yield: 1 pint

Classic Creamy-Style Caesar Salad Dressing

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

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Ingredients

For Dressing:

• 1 cup heavy mayo, I use Hellmann's
• 1/2 cup lightly packed fresh grated parmesan cheese
• 1 extra large egg
• 1 Tbl. worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tbl. anchovy paste
• 1 Tbl. finely minced garlic
• 1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. red wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. packed fresh finely chopped parsley
• 1/4 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. mustard
• 1/16 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. EVOO
• [br]

Rest of Ingredients:

• romaine lettuce leaves
• fresh shaved slices parmesan
• garlic and parmesan croutons
• grilled chicken, optional
• crisp-cooked chopped bacon, optional

Instructions

Place dressing ingredients, except EVOO, into blender. Blend until smooth. Stream in EVOO while running. Pour into pint jar (you'll have a dab extra for snacking), and chill for several hours or overnight.

Serve over romaine lettuce, top with shavings of parmesan and croutons.

Notes

*Add grilled chicken, sliced on the bias and fanned, (off to the side looks nice), and garnish with crisp-cooked bacon pieces if desired for a full meal in itself.