A Very Homemade Caesar Salad

It's been a few months since our twins were born and I'm finally ready to start cooking a bit here and there. (After all, there's nothing like a hurricane that keeps you stranded indoors all weekend to motivate you to start cooking again!) Saturday, my sister and I spent the day preparing the components of a homemade Caesar Salad - my latest obsession -while my husband entertained the babies. You're probably thinking a salad sounds kind of easy to make, but not when you're making the croutons, dressing and grilled chicken. The salad came out pretty great and went well with a couple bottles of wine and some board games.... not a bad way to spend hurricane Irene!

Crouton Ingredients

2 slices bread

1 garlic clove, minced

3 tbsp butter

To make your own homemade garlic croutons, start by cutting off the crusts of two slices of bread (I use sourdough because it's what I had) and then cut into cubed. While doing this, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a large saute pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in garlic and cook it for a minute. Add the bread cubes and toss to coat. Spread them on a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until crispy. The croutons turned out so much better than the boxed ones, I'm not sure why I never made them before. So easy!

Caesar Dressing Ingredients

4 tbsp mayo

1 garlic clove

zest and juice of 1/2 lemon

1 2oz container of anchovy filets in oil

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

3 tbsp olive oil

Combine all the above ingredients in a food processor for a creamy, garlic-y caesar dressing to pour all over your salad! If you want something with a little less fat, I also posted a mayo-free version of a Caesar dressing last summer.

Chicken Ingredients

2 large chicken breasts

1/4 cup olive oil

1 bunch scallions

4 garlic cloves, minced

salt and pepper

You'll want to marinate the chicken breasts before grilling to let them absorb some flavor. In a plastic bag, combine olive oil, chopped scallions and garlic. Let marinate in the fridge overnight (or a couple hours if you're cooking it that day).
Season the breasts with salt and pepper and place on grill pan over high heat . Cook each side for about 5 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer raw in the middle.

Wash, dry and cut three bunches of romaine lettuce and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Lastly, add on on the dressing, croutons and chicken and don't forget some fresh ground pepper, and you're ready to enjoy your very homemade Caesar salad! This dish is great to make during hurricanes..... and earthquakes, and monsoons.....