"Caesar" Salad

Here is yet another recipe that I have LOVED from the book Bread & Wine.  This is now one of my favorite salads.  As described in the book, it's not a traditional caesar in that it doesn't have anchovies and/ or egg yolk.  It's more of a marriage of a caesar and vinaigrette.  I happen to love caesar and vinaigrette, and the combination of the two is genius!  Plus it keeps much longer than a traditional caesar and is safe for pregnant women to consume.

The only changes that I made were regarding the croutons... I always use cubed whole wheat sandwich bread (and the end pieces) to make croutons.  I also didn't use oil on the croutons, and was a lot more generous with the parmesan on the croutons.

Brannon's Caesar Salad
 Shauna Niequist, Bread and Wine

Salad

2 hearts of romaine, washed and dried and torn into bite-size pieces
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

(croutons and dressing from below)

Dressing
1 garlic clove
1/4 c white vinegar
1/4 c olive oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard
A few dashes of Tabasco, to taste
Juice of half a lemon
1 tblsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp sugar

Chop garlic clove in a food processor, then add remaining ingredients and blend together. Or chop a garlic clove, drop it into the bottom of an old pickle jar or jelly jar, add everything else, and shake like crazy.

Croutons
4 c bread cubes
1 Tbsp oilive oil
1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and then toss the frozen bread cubes with olive oil, salt, pepper and grated Parm. Bake until crispy and golden, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Toss the romaine lettuce with croutons, grated Parm and dressing.