Picking Favorites: Grilled Caesar Salad

While some of these recipes are like my children, I am not ashamed to tell you my favorites.  This Caesar salad, which I am about to explain to you, is my absolute favorite salad to make at home.  Even with the ability that I have, I cannot fully explain the deliciousness that is this particular Caesar salad.  I also cannot pick out one thing that puts this salad above the rest.  From the charred and slightly wilted Romaine leaves, to the freshly grilled croutons, to the beautifully acidic and garlicky homemade Caesar dressing, all of them play a part in making this salad absolutely mouthwatering.  In fact, to be brutally honest, my mouth is watering right now just thinking about this salad.  It's that good, people!  Another way to show this is my favorite salad is the fact that I have made this salad over and over and over again over the past 4 years since I bought this issue of Gourmet (RIP)-- oh yeah, this is also the issue which moved me to get a subscription of Gourmet-- so that should say something.  You can easily make this into a meal by adding grilled chicken, which is what I did on this particular occasion, but it is an awesome side dish to pretty much anything.  It's great with grilled meats, since the reason behind the creation recipe was to utilize the residual heat of the grill after grilling steaks or chicken.  Honestly, I think we've actually just eaten this salad as it is as our dinner a few times.

I think I've said all I can about this salad.  I mean, at the base of it this is JUST a salad, albeit a super delicious fantastic salad.  One note of caution, which I want to tell everyone, this Caesar dressing is a true Caesar dressing, meaning it requires raw egg.  I've read other raw-egg recipes where you can boil the egg for only a minute, therefore cooking it just enough to hedge your bets against salmonella.  Gourmet suggests buying pasteurized eggs in the shell (as opposed to the scrambled eggs in the carton), which are available in the grocery store.  I was squeamish at first about using raw egg, but I've gotten used to it.  I will say, though, that if you do decide to use raw egg, which is chemically "cooked" by the lemon juice, the dressing is only good for that day.  Marshall and I tried using some and saving it for the next night, but it just wasn't quite right.  It was also super "eggy", which really turned me off.  But, I completely understand the desire to stay away from using raw eggs; it is a definite risk.  ...a delicious risk...  OK, I'll stop trying to persuade you to use raw eggs if you don't want to.  Oh yeah, if the raw egg wasn't enough already, the dressing also contains anchovies.  If you're allergic to fish, keep this in mind.  You can easily omit this ingredient if necessary.

The Meaty Manly Salad: Grilled Sausages with Figs and Mixed Greens

I say this as a woman and without fear of judgment...very rarely will I feel satisfied after eating a salad for a meal.  I usually require something else either on the side WITH my salad or in my salad (i.e. meat or legumes) to really feel full and satiated.  I know this is weird coming from a girl, because it seems all of us are quite OK with eating just a salad.  At least, that's what our movies tell us we order when we're on a date and looking to "keep our girlish figures".  Yes, I see the necessity of eating more vegetables and keeping our portions in check, but that doesn't automatically mean "must eat salad consisting of just lettuce for lunch and dinner".  Blech!  I don't know about you, but I like to eat.  When I'm on a date, or when I would go on dates, I never felt obligated to keep what I ordered in check.  This doesn't mean that I always ordered the surf n' turf on dates, but I would eat like I would normally eat:  burgers, pasta, chicken, steak, whatever I felt like.  If I am to show who I really am when I meet someone, I will eat normally.  I like food; I will show it!  Having said all of that, this is one of those rarest of rare times when I felt satisfied after eating what was essentially a salad.

During the grilling season, which in California is pretty much any time during the year as long as the grill area is covered, I love grilled Italian sausages.  One of my favorite Italian deli selections is a sausage and pepper sandwich, especially if the sausages are grilled.  There's something about the pork, fennel seed, and all the Italian seasonings licked with gas or grill flame that really makes me happy.  This particular salad marries a number of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavors together and creates just a great meaty dinner salad.  The slices of warm and salty sausage mingle with the sweet figs, coupled with the crunch of the greens and the creaminess of the goat cheese just right.  Throughout each bite you get the cooling mint and the bite of the dressing, mixed in with all these other flavors.  You'd think this would be overwhelming, but it isn't.  It actually feels right and is perfect for a quick light meal and is great during the summer when you can grill freely and get some wonderfully fresh greens and herbs.

Cooking with Martha: Seared Fish with Crispy Potatoes and Green Sauce

I do believe I was tardy to the Martha Stewart party when she first arrived on the scene.  To be honest, though, once I became aware of her and her craftiness I never did seek her out.  I thought she had great ideas, but I was never, and still not, in a position to really follow her closely.  I'm not entirely crafty and I found her cooking style to be rather...pompous.  This is, of course, not to say that she has no talent; she's full of it.  I received one of her larger recipe books, Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook, and I've made a couple of her recipes.  Funny thing is, I'm not a huge baker.  I love to bake, don't get me wrong, but it seriously stresses me out.  Cooking is comfortable; baking is a challenge.  It's so precise and there are usually so many steps, I lose patience easily.  Anyway, about a year ago, one of my coworkers picked up an issue of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine from the store.  It's like a digest and I actually don't see them on a regular basis at my grocery store.  My coworker bought it before realizing she doesn't cook nearly as much as I do, so she passed it along to me.  This little issue, entitled "Back to Basics," is riddled with really yummy recipes.  I've made a few of them and they've all turned out to be great successes.  My favorite is this one.

Originally, I first followed this recipe closely and seared my fish.  This time around, it was during the summer months, and I wanted to grill everything and anything I could get my hands on.  So, I grilled the salmon for this, instead of cooking it indoors.  It was equally as delicious, especially since the majority of the flavor comes from the incredibly simple and refreshing "Green Sauce."  The sides for this dish have also been a hit.  The Crispy Potatoes are wonderful.  In fact, I provided this recipe to my mom and she easily made it her own and baked each potato with a bit of blue cheese and bacon, making them incredibly decadent.  I also like the roasted tomatoes, which are a nice compliment to the fish and potatoes.  It has something fresh and sweet to the rather heavy plate.  I recently shared the recipe for the fish and Green Sauce with a classmate to share with me and a couple of other girls we grouped with for a few projects last semester.  It was delicious and everyone loved it.  This is definitely a dish you can eat on a weekday by yourself or with your spouse or dress it up on the weekends with guests.