To fuck or to cook?

[Sparklehorse]

Originally Posted by Flinty_McFlint

Ok, anyone out there have a favorite caesar dressing recipe? I'm not a stickler for the traditional, and probably don't want a creamy one--but the recipes out there seem like they interchange raw eggs, coddled eggs, mayo, and lemon juice, lime juice, red wine vinegar, and the level of garlic and anchovies/paste. Just wondering if anyone had a great recipe, otherwise I guess I have to improvise.

Julia and Jacques Cooking At Home has a recipe that Julia Child asserts is "quite close to the original." She says that anchovies are an adulteration.

Julia's Caesar Salad

Yield: 2 or 3 servings

18 to 24 crisp, narrow leaves from the hearts of 2 heads of romaine lettuce, or a package of romaine hearts (about 1 pound)
1 cup Plain Toasted Croutons (separate recipe I can type and post if necessary)
1 large clove garlic, peeled
1/4 cupd or more excellent olive oil
Salt
1 large fresh egg
Freshly ground black pepper
1 whole lemon, halved and seeded
Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbs freshly grated Parmesan cheese, imported Parmigiano Reggiano only

Special equipment: A large mixing bowl; a small frying pan

Preparing the Salad Components

[More details about lettuce which I am omitting.] Separate the leaves and wash them carefully to keep them whole, roll them loosely in clean towels, and keep refrigerated until serving time.

To flavor the croutons, crush the garlic clove with the flat of a chef's knife, sprinkle on salt, and mince well. Pour about a tablespoon of olive oil on the garlic and mash again with the knife, rubbing and pressing to make a soft puree.

Scrape the puree into the frying pan, add another tablespoon of oil, and warm over low-medium heat. Add the croutons and toss for a minute or two to infuse them with the garlic oil, then remove from the heat. (For a milder garlic flavor, you can strain the puree through a small sieve into a pan before adding the extra oil and croutons. Discard the bits of garlic.)

To coddle the egg, bring a small saucepan of water to the simmer. Piece the large end of the egg with a pushpin to prevent cracking, then simmer it for exactly 1 minute.

Mixing and Serving the Caesar

Dress the salad just before serving. Have ready all the dressing ingredients and a salad fork and spoon for tossing.

Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the romaine leaves and toss to coat, lifting the leaves from the bottom and turning them toward you, so they tumble over like a wave. Sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt and several grinds of pepper, toss once or twice, then add the lemon juice and several drops of Worcestershire, and then toss again. Taste for seasoning, and add more, if needed.

Crack the egg and drop it right on the romaine leaves, then toss to break it up and coat the leaves. Sprinkle on the cheese, toss briefly, then add the croutons (and the garlicky bits in the pan, if you wish) and toss for the last time, just to mix them into the salad.

Arrange 6 or more leaves in a single layer on individual plates, scatter the croutons all around, and serve.

[taxwonk]

Originally Posted by Flinty_McFlint

Ok, anyone out there have a favorite caesar dressing recipe? I'm not a stickler for the traditional, and probably don't want a creamy one--but the recipes out there seem like they interchange raw eggs, coddled eggs, mayo, and lemon juice, lime juice, red wine vinegar, and the level of garlic and anchovies/paste. Just wondering if anyone had a great recipe, otherwise I guess I have to improvise.

I don't have a recipe, because I just eyeball everything, but I do have a few observations.

The coddled egg v. raw egg is a salmonella/food poisoning issue. I use a raw egg, because (i) I buy pastuerized eggs if I'm going to be making caesar dressing and (ii) I think coddled eggs are disgusting.

Lemon juice. Not lime juice. Lemon.

Red wine vinegar is good, chjampagne vinegar is better; use either sparingly, you can add more to taste if needed.

Mayo is a way to go if you want to avoid the egg issue altogether and/or you want a creamier dresssing.

One clove of garlic is mashed in the bowl with some kosher or sea salt. You need larger crystals or flakes to act as an abrasive. Scrape out the garlic after mashing, youonly want a suggestion of garlic.

Worcestershire is basically fermented anchovies with some additional ingredients. You can skip the anchovy if you're using worcestershire. I always use anchovies because that's what I like about caesar salad. If you can find some marinated white anchovoes to go on top of the salad, you have a particularly good thing. they are not as salty and have a fresher taste.

No disrespect to Julia and Jacques, but I find it much easier to make the dressing in the bowl, add the romaine, and then toss.

Always fresh ground black pepper.

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally Posted by Flinty_McFlint

Ok, anyone out there have a favorite caesar dressing recipe? I'm not a stickler for the traditional, and probably don't want a creamy one--but the recipes out there seem like they interchange raw eggs, coddled eggs, mayo, and lemon juice, lime juice, red wine vinegar, and the level of garlic and anchovies/paste. Just wondering if anyone had a great recipe, otherwise I guess I have to improvise.

My uncle got one out of Playboy about 20 years ago that he uses to this day and it's out of this world good. For some odd reason, "playboy" and "caesar salad" doesn't yeild any results from google, so I'll call and get the recipe for you.

[Sparklehorse]

Originally Posted by taxwonk

I don't have a recipe, because I just eyeball everything, but I do have a few observations.

The coddled egg v. raw egg is a salmonella/food poisoning issue. I use a raw egg, because (i) I buy pastuerized eggs if I'm going to be making caesar dressing and (ii) I think coddled eggs are disgusting.

Lemon juice. Not lime juice. Lemon.

Red wine vinegar is good, chjampagne vinegar is better; use either sparingly, you can add more to taste if needed.

Mayo is a way to go if you want to avoid the egg issue altogether and/or you want a creamier dresssing.

One clove of garlic is mashed in the bowl with some kosher or sea salt. You need larger crystals or flakes to act as an abrasive. Scrape out the garlic after mashing, youonly want a suggestion of garlic.

Worcestershire is basically fermented anchovies with some additional ingredients. You can skip the anchovy if you're using worcestershire. I always use anchovies because that's what I like about caesar salad. If you can find some marinated white anchovoes to go on top of the salad, you have a particularly good thing. they are not as salty and have a fresher taste.

No disrespect to Julia and Jacques, but I find it much easier to make the dressing in the bowl, add the romaine, and then toss.

Always fresh ground black pepper.

IMHO, Julia's recipe steps are worth the effort. It gets you a far more delicious salad than the short-cut standard way to make a dressing and mix it with the lettuce.

If you cook the egg in simmering water for 1 minute, it's not really coddled. It's just taking the bacterial edge off.

No vinegar is necessary with the lemon.

Her method of creating a garlic oil gets you the good parts of garlic flavor without the overpowering raw garlic flavor. Again, just my opinion but this is where many Caesar salads are ruined.

[PresentTense Pirate Penske]

Originally Posted by Replaced_Texan

My uncle got one out of Playboy about 20 years ago that he uses to this day and it's out of this world good. For some odd reason, "playboy" and "caesar salad" doesn't yeild any results from google, so I'll call and get the recipe for you.

Do you recall who the centerfold was in that issue?

[J. Fred Muggs]

Originally Posted by Sparklehorse

If you cook the egg in simmering water for 1 minute, it's not really coddled. It's just taking the bacterial edge off.

I'm not a microbiologist, but I have trouble believing that cooking an egg in simmering water for 1 minute has any substantially beneficial impact with respect to bacteria. I would like for someone to prove me wrong so that I can considering doing that and not using raw eggs.

[Sparklehorse]

Originally Posted by J. Fred Muggs

I'm not a microbiologist, but I have trouble believing that cooking an egg in simmering water for 1 minute has any substantially beneficial impact with respect to bacteria. I would like for someone to prove me wrong so that I can considering doing that and not using raw eggs.

Yeah, as I was writing that, I also wondered how effective this actually is in killing any bacteria. Maybe there is another reason to do it, like thickening the egg slightly?

[taxwonk]

Originally Posted by Sparklehorse

IMHO, Julia's recipe steps are worth the effort. It gets you a far more delicious salad than the short-cut standard way to make a dressing and mix it with the lettuce.

I don't view making the dressing alone as a shortcut. I prefer to have the ingredients blended better that doing it with the romaine allows. I have tried it both ways and I don't like the latter.

[Atticus Grinch]

Originally Posted by Sparklehorse

Yeah, as I was writing that, I also wondered how effective this actually is in killing any bacteria.

The Wikipedia article on eggs (too lazy to link) suggests that an FDA study in 2002 shows that only 1 in 30,000 eggs is contaminated with salmonella, and that it only reaches the interior of the egg if the seal of the shell is compromised by handling or the laying hen's health issues. And even if you ate 30,000 eggs in your lifetime, what are the chances that the 40-50 of those that were in caesar salad dressing included the one bad egg?* When you consider that only the eggs that are aethetically perfect even make it to supermarket shelves, the rest being sold to food manufacturers who presumably pasteurize as part of their own production, the risk of contracting salmonella from a supermarket egg cracked in your own kitchen is vanishingly small -- far less than the bacterial load you likely give yourself when you handle the butcher paper around your raw chicken and then scratch your nose, even if that only happens rarely.

My take is that pathogenic bacteria are all around us, but raw eggs are a tiny part of the problem. If you get a bad egg in your lifetime, odds are pretty good it will be one of the thousands of cooked ones rather than one of the tens of raw ones.

*Confidential to Adder: I understand that one would not need to consume 30,000 eggs before one was exposed to a 1:30,000 risk. This is just for rhetorical exposition.

[Flinty_McFlint]

Grazie Sparkle and Wonk. I also happen to have some korean anchovy sauce (for making kimchi and katugi), which I may experiment with as well. I never liked anchovies growing up, but now, damn I'm all over them. Except on pizza. Not for me.

[tmdiva]

Originally Posted by Flinty_McFlint

Grazie Sparkle and Wonk. I also happen to have some korean anchovy sauce (for making kimchi and katugi), which I may experiment with as well. I never liked anchovies growing up, but now, damn I'm all over them. Except on pizza. Not for me.

I haven't made it in years, but back in the mid-90s I was into a "caesar" dressing the had lots of garlic and anchovy in a mayo-sour cream base, all blended to perfect smoothness in the Cuisinart. I can see if I can dig it up if you're at all interested.

tm

[Flinty_McFlint]

Originally Posted by tmdiva

I haven't made it in years, but back in the mid-90s I was into a "caesar" dressing the had lots of garlic and anchovy in a mayo-sour cream base, all blended to perfect smoothness in the Cuisinart. I can see if I can dig it up if you're at all interested.

tm

Thanks, I think I'm covered for now!

[ltl/fb]

Originally Posted by Flinty_McFlint

Thanks, I think I'm covered for now!

Covered in fishy tasting salad dressing?

[Sidd Finch]

Originally Posted by Atticus Grinch

The Wikipedia article on eggs (too lazy to link) suggests that an FDA study in 2002 shows that only 1 in 30,000 eggs is contaminated with salmonella, and that it only reaches the interior of the egg if the seal of the shell is compromised by handling or the laying hen's health issues. And even if you ate 30,000 eggs in your lifetime, what are the chances that the 40-50 of those that were in caesar salad dressing included the one bad egg?* When you consider that only the eggs that are aethetically perfect even make it to supermarket shelves, the rest being sold to food manufacturers who presumably pasteurize as part of their own production, the risk of contracting salmonella from a supermarket egg cracked in your own kitchen is vanishingly small -- far less than the bacterial load you likely give yourself when you handle the butcher paper around your raw chicken and then scratch your nose, even if that only happens rarely.

My take is that pathogenic bacteria are all around us, but raw eggs are a tiny part of the problem. If you get a bad egg in your lifetime, odds are pretty good it will be one of the thousands of cooked ones rather than one of the tens of raw ones.

*Confidential to Adder: I understand that one would not need to consume 30,000 eggs before one was exposed to a 1:30,000 risk. This is just for rhetorical exposition.

Yeah, but when you consider things like chocolate mousse, homemade mayo, and that cup of raw eggs I like to drink before running in the morning, the risks go up, and are probably comparable to using the door handle in public restrooms.

[Sidd Finch]

Originally Posted by Flinty_McFlint

Grazie Sparkle and Wonk. I also happen to have some korean anchovy sauce (for making kimchi and katugi), which I may experiment with as well. I never liked anchovies growing up, but now, damn I'm all over them. Except on pizza. Not for me.

Next time you get a hall pass and can come to SF, we should go to my favorite restaurant here. They make house-cured anchovies that rise to the level of orgasmic.