Dad's Caesar Salad

My mom is an excellent cook, I got my appreciation for good cooking (and lots of recipes) from her. My dad, on the other hand, is really good at making two things. He is always the grill master at home and can grill a mean steak or burger. But I think where his culinary skills really shine is with this salad! For as long as I can remember, if we had a caesar salad, my dad made it. This is his recipe which I try to emulate. I still think his is better though!

Caesar Salad
3 cloves or garlic, minced or pressed
1/2 t dry mustard
1/2 t worchestershire sauce
4 T grated Parmesan (divided)
1 t Anchovy paste (optional)
1 T lemon juice
1 T white wine vinegar
1/4 c olive oil
Hot sauce
1 head romaine lettuce, torn

Combine garlic, mustard, worchestershire, and 1 T Parmesan in the bottom of a wooden salad bowl. Mix with a fork until a paste forms. Add anchovy paste, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, olive oil, and a few shakes of hot sauce. Combine all ingredients and let stand for 30 minutes. Add lettuce to the bowl and top with remaining Parmesan. Toss to combine.

This salad really stands on its own, but it's even better with homemade croutons and grilled chicken or shrimp!

Sushi Salad

I love sushi, but I'll admit I'm a little nervous to try my hand at it at home.  I saw this recipe on a blog I read (shutterbean.com) and it just looked too good to pass up.  This salad has all the wonderful flavors of a sushi dinner, without dealing with the scary raw fish.  It also is an incredibly filling salad with both the rice and edamame. And let me tell you, this miso-green onion vinaigrette is killer!!!

Sushi Salad
3/4 cup dry brown rice, cooked and cooled
1 cup shelled frozen edamame, thawed
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp agave nectar
8 cups romaine lettuce, chopped
1 small cucumber, cut into small pieces
1 medium carrot, shredded
1 cup green onions, sliced
4 teaspoons sesame seeds
2 sheets nori, chiffonaded
1 avocado, chopped
1 recipe Green Onion-Miso Vinaigrette (recipe below)
Sriracha
Wasabi

In a small bowl, mix the edamame, rice vinegar and agave together, set aside.

Place the lettuce in a bowl and drizzle a spoonful of dressing on top, toss. Add rice, cucumber, carrots, green onions, sesame seeds, nori, and avocado to the lettuce and drizzle more green onion miso dressing on top. Top with a bit of sriracha and wasabi and dig in!

Green Onion-Miso Vinaigrette
1/4 cup red miso
1 cup roughly chopped green onions
3 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tsp minced ginger
1 clove garlic
2 tsp agave nectar
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/2 cup water

Put everything in a blender and blend until smooth (you can easily use a hand blender, which is what I did). Chill until ready to use.

This made enough for 2 large dinner salads with plenty left over for lunch the next day!

Salad Night

Oftentimes when we don't feel like cooking, we just throw together a salad with whatever veggies we happen to have on hand.  This was the case again on Wednesday night.  I think it turned out to be a pretty awesome salad.

In the mix:
Boston Bibb Lettuce
Romaine Lettuce
Grape Tomatoes
Carrots
Sliced Button Mushrooms
Green Pepper
Marinated Artichokes
Kalamata Olives
Crumbled Blue Cheese

Lately I've been making my own salad dressings, but we didn't have any on hand and were in a bit of a rush, so we topped the salad with a bottled Creamy Caesar dressing.  Quick and delicious!