Caesar Salad

Ingredients

• 4 heads romaine lettuce, outer leaves removed, or 1.5 pounds romaine lettuce hearts
• 3/4 cup Caesar dressing, recipe follows
• Pizzetta's, recipe follows, used as croutons
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan

Directions

Put the whole romaine leaves in a work bowl. Add enough of the dressing to coat the leaves and toss well. Arrange the leaves in a serving bowl with their tips up, and intersperse the pizzetta's, if desired. Sprinkle the Parmesan over all.

Caesar Dressing:

2 eggs*

2 tablespoon Dijon mustard

6 to 8 anchovy fillets, minced

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Worcestershire sauce

2 cups olive oil

2 tablespoon warm water, if needed

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Place the egg yolk, mustard, anchovies, garlic, vinegar, lemon juice, and a dash of Worcestershire sauce into a salad bowl. Blend with whisk and then add the olive oil in a slow, steady stream until it is fully incorporated. If the dressing stops gets too thick, add the warm water and then continue until all the oil is added. Add the cheese and continue to blend.

Yield: about 1 1/2 cups

Pizzetta's with Olive Tapenade and Pecorino Cheese:

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (8 to 10-ounce) jar olive paste tapenade

9 ounces store bought pizza dough

2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves

1/4 pound Pecorino cheese, thinly sliced

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Stir the garlic into the tapenade. Separate the ready made/store bought pizza dough into 1 1/2-ounce pieces and roll them out to 1/8-inch (if possible, roll out to desired thickness by using a pasta machine). Cover the top of the rolled out dough with olive paste and garlic mixture. Sprinkle the thyme on top. Lay the pecorino on top of pizzetta. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Bake the pizza for 15 minutes or until light brown (a cracker like thinness and texture). Let cool for about 10 minutes, and serve.

Yield: 6 servings