Caesar Salad fit for a... Duchess

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like Caesar Salad. Throw some chicken or shrimp over it and you’ve got meal. My husband gets very territorial about his Caesar… he scowls when someone dares take a plateful for themselves. A favorite meal is a good bowl of soup and a heaping plate of C.S.

Personally, I hate those little anchovy bones; they make me gag. And, unless I see the chicken the egg came from, I don’t eat them raw. So I fiddled with a few recipes until I came up with this: no anchovy filets, and no raw eggs. Also, unlike a lot of other recipes, the croutons are baked not deep or pan fried. So, enjoy and be sure to make enough!

This serves 4-5. If you’re making it as a meal with some kind of protein, then 2-3 people.

If you’re my husband, it’s enough for 1.

Croutons:
1 Loaf of good bread, 10 or so ounces (can be almost anything you like, personally I go for a rustic Italian). Crusts removed, and cut into 1” cubes
1 tbs olive oil
2 ½ tbs unsalted butter, melted
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 ½ tsp salt

Salad:
3 Romaine hearts (it usually comes in packages of 3)
4 2 ½” - 3” stripes of anchovy paste (the length of an actual anchovy filet)
2 large cloves of garlic (3 small), cut in quarters
1 tbs mayonnaise
1 tbs fresh lemon juice
1 heaping tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire
1 tsp salt
½ tsp fresh cracked pepper
½ cup of olive oil (could be more depending on personal tastes)
1 cup grated parmesan cheese

-Preheat oven to 400
-In a bowl, combine melted butter, 1 tbs of olive oil, ½ tsp cayenne, and 1 ½ tsp salt with cubed bread. Place on baking sheet and put in hot oven for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown
-While croutons are cooking, place garlic, 1 tsp of salt, and 4 stripes of anchovy paste in a wooden salad bowl. Using two forks, mash the garlic, anchovy paste, and salt together until the garlic is in small pieces
-Add mayo, Dijon, lemon juice, Worcestershire, and pepper to bowl, mix well with fork
-Slowly whisk in the ½ cup of olive oil until dressing is well combined and creamy. Taste the dressing. Sometimes I find it needs a little more lemon juice at this point. If you’d like a more mellow flavor, add more olive oil 1 tbs at a time until you are satisfied (keep in mind, you have not yet added the parmesan cheese)
-Remove any tough or bruised leaves from the hearts, cut off the bottoms, then chop the hearts. Add to salad bowl
-Add the 1 cup of parmesan and mix the entire salad very well… you don’t want any dressing left at the bottom of the bowl
-By now the croutons should be done. Remove from the oven and add to the salad, serve