All Hail Caesar....Salad

      On the opposite end of the spectrum from my love of chocolate is my love of garlic....I've eaten enough chocolate to feel sick, and I've eaten enough of my homemade caesar dressing to be sick. But it's just so good....

      The truth about this "recipe", is that there is no real recipe....my Dad makes an amazing caesar salad dressing, I asked him how he made it, he showed me. The end. No measurements, just "watch and learn". Okey dokey!

Just a few ingredients gets this dressing ready

My Dad's famous Caesar Dressing:

Ingredients:

1-2 cloves of garlic per person who will be eating it. (one person=1-2 cloves, 2 people 2-4 cloves, get it?) The number of cloves you use will depend on how jumbo they are, how fresh they are, and how much you and the people you're making the salad for like garlic. 

Olive Oil

Lemon Juice

Parmesan Cheese

Mayo (*it is optional if you don't like/can't eat mayo)


Method:

1. Press your garlic into a small to medium sized bowl (depending on how much you plan to make). I used to use a regular garlic press, but I was given one of these do-hickies (pictured below, and I seriously don't know what it's called) and I use it now. A lot.

2. Add equal parts olive oil and lemon juice to the garlic so that it is runny. Whisk it around.

3. Add parmesan cheese until the mixture is thicker. *If you opt out of the mayo, at this point, only add enough parm to make the mix thick, but still loose...think store bought oil based salad dressing consistency.

4. Add mayo to make the dressing runny again (as runny as you like it). I know the mayo idea sounds gross, but it's not. I know someone who hates (HATES!) mayo, and loves this dressing. Just sayin'.

   To re-cap on how simple this recipe is:
1. Garlic
2. Oil and Lemon to make runny
3. Parm to make thick
4. Mayo to make runny   

My garlic "do-hickey". Anyone know what it's called?

The crushed garlic, then the olive oil and lemon added.

Don't worry too much about the amount of lemon juice and olive oil you use. You just want the mix to be runny.

The parmesan going in, then mixed up.

Adding the parmesan makes the mixture nice and thick.

Add your mayo, and you're done!

It doesn't take too much mayo to get the dressing to a good consistency. Just add it a little at a time. 

    Typically a caesar salad has croutons, but I am not a fan. I'll usually cook up some bacon and chop some tomatoes to go with. If I have left over chicken, I will add that too.   

A hearty chicken caesar salad

    A delightful meal (or side salad) that will give your breath the ol' one-two, and it's pretty darn good for ya too! Ya know, just in case you needed a better reason for smelling so badly like garlic besides, "but....I really like it!". http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2004/02/28/garlic-health.aspx

      So simple...but so good. I make it and enjoy it on a regular basis! I have even put this on my plain cooked chicken wings as a sauce. Now, that is yummy! You can make a bigger batch and store it in the fridge for up to a month. Make sure the container it is in is a good one, or your whole fridge will smell of garlic!