Electric Chair Dinner: Part 2

At last, I give you the third and final factor to my Electric Chair Dinner-- The Caesar Salad. You haven't experienced a real caesar salad until you've had a homemade dressing, and once you've had the homemade dressing, there's no turning back. Your life will forever be changed, and you will never buy a bottled caesar dressing AGAIN!

Ingredients:

- 4 to 6 anchovy filets, minced

- 4 to 6 medium garlic cloves, smashed

- 1 tsp worcestershire

- 1 tbsp dijon mustard

- 2 tbsp mayo

- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar

- 1/2 cup olive oil

- 1 lemon, juiced

- 3 heads romaine

- 1 to 2 cups parmesan, grated

- Croutons

Most of you are probably thinking, "No way to the anchovies," and I completely understand. I'm the kind of girl that will not eat any kind of seafood unless it is free of all fishy flavor and smell. I also freak out if I can't get fish smell off of my hands. One time, I thought it would be a great idea to make salmon burgers. Yeah... worst idea ever. My hands smelled like fish for two days. Needless to say, the next time I decide to make any sort of seafood burgers, I'll be buying gloves. Anyways, as much as anchovies might turn you off, they are essential to a great caesar dressing. If you can only handle a small amount, start with two filets and work your way up. Another handy alternative is anchovy paste. It is super convenient, comes in a tube, and is a great way to avoid clumps of anchovies/excessive fishy flavor in your dressing. I try to think of it more as a salt additive rather than what it actually is. Oh well, if I can get over it, so can you. Trust me, it's worth it. 

Directions:

Mommy dearest is the hand model for these pictures. That is her mincing up the anchovies using two forks in a small mixing bowl.

There she is again crushing garlic like a pro.

Once the anchovies are minced and the garlic is smashed, mix these ingredients together. As you can see, the goal is to get the pieces of anchovy down to about the same size as the garlic bits. If you're using anchovy paste, no need to worry about that. Just crush the garlic, toss in a couple tablespoons of the paste, and continue from there...

Now it's time to finish constructing the base. Add in the worcestershire, dijon, mayo, and red wine vinegar, and mix until combined. It's best to taste the base once it's finished to make sure you've got the right balance of ingredients, and by "the right balance" I mean this mixture should give you a nice, tangy, garlicky punch in the mouth! 

When the base is done, whisk in the olive oil...

And the final (delicious) product should look a lot like this.

Finally, to prepare the salad, chop up your romaine...

And top it with the croutons, grated parmesan, lemon juice and dressing.

Toss until the dressing is evenly distributed and enjoy! Take note that you will be breathing garlic for the next day or two, and any garlic lover would agree that that is a beautiful thing.