Who Created the First Caesar Salad?

    

Let’s begin with an excerpt from Julia Child on Caesar Salad:  “Caesar  himself rolled the big cart up to the table, tossed the romaine in a great wooden bowl, and I wish I could say I remembered his every move, but I don't. They only thing I see again clearly is the eggs. I can see him break 2 eggs over that romaine and roll them in, the greens going all creamy as the eggs flowed over them…”  I just love the imagery of crisp bright green romaine leaves with flowing creamy eggs and dressing for that seminal moment of Julia’s first Caesar Salad! 

This Sunday is a wonderful day to share with everyone my personal recipe for Caesar Salad.  I have been making and tweaking this recipe for over 25 years and from family to friends it seems to be enjoyed by all.  It can also be a great Valentine's Day dinner as well, as it can be the centerpiece for your Super Bowl Party… “In this corner representing the sentimental favorites, New Orleans Saints, is our Cajun Shrimp Caesar Salad and in this corner representing the Indianapolis Colts is the hard working Midwest Steak Caesar salad…”  well you get my drift.  I prefer it as a romantic Valentine's dinner for two, topped with roasted lobster tail, yum.  

There is so much history to talk about regarding Caesar salad:  Who first made it? Was it named after Julius Caesar?  Did it really originate in Mexico or Chicago?

Do you have to use anchovies? Does the recipe call for a coddled egg? What is a coddled egg?

There are 2 conflicting histories on the origin of Caesar salad.  One had Caesar Cardini referenced by Julia Child above as the creator (actually spelled Cesar, but he later changed it).  First made on July 4th in his Tijuana restaurant in the early 1920’s (this was during prohibition and stars like Clark Gable, Jean Harlowe, and W.C. Fields. would flock down to imbibe as well and indulge in the newest culinary craze).  The legend has it, after a busy weekend he ran out of product and made this salad with the only ingredients left in the kitchen.  There is a bottled Caesar dressing  that is sold at Peapod and other grocery outlets still produced by his family Cardini Caesar Salad Dressing.  The other history has Giacomo Junia a Chicago Chef in 1903 as the inventor naming it after the greatest Italian he could think of Julius Caesar.  I am not sure which account is to be believed but it certainly has an American heritage and in 1953 was named the greatest recipe to come from America in the last 50 years by the Society of Epicures in Paris!

On Sunday I will demonstrate My own Caesar Salad Recipe just as Caesar Cardini prepared his Caesar Salad tableside for Julia Child nearly 100 years ago.  There is some debate whether the original recipe had anchovies, but mine will have anchovies and a few other twists as well, and as I demonstrate we can talk about the history and some tips to make your next Caesar Salad a great one!

I start with an old seasoned wooden bowl that I have used time and time again, rubbing the bowl with fresh garlic cloves, breaking up the garlic as I rub, letting the garlic’s essential oils seep and coat the bowl.  I remove the larger pieces of garlic then add anchovies, mashing it into a paste.  The original recipe called just for a few drops of Worcestershire sauce instead of anchovies, which has anchovies as one of its ingredients, but I prefer a bolder taste with anchovies and Worcestershire as well.  Now add some olive oil, mustard, fresh cracked pepper, Worcestershire and some balsamic vinegar (I like the sweetness the balsamic brings to the salad), stir it around bit and let it breathe.  At this point I like to cover and let the dressing take on flavor, but we will keep going by adding the romaine leaves. Interestingly enough, the original recipe called for whole romaine leaves (some restaurants still do it this way), and patrons would pick up the leaves and eat them delicately sans fork and knife.  At this point you want to toss until the romaine leaves begin to glisten. Now comes the controversial part by breaking a coddled egg over the romaine.  A coddled egg is an egg that has been cooked for one minute in boiling water. This does help prevent possible contamination from salmonella, but is not fool proof. So, if you are adverse to raw egg, you can substitute mayonnaise or plain yogurt.  Keep mixing those glistening green leaves as you squeeze a fresh ½ of lemon, then add parmesan cheese and croutons and serve.  You can also now top with a variety of toppings from Chicken to Steak to Shrimp.  The one thing about Caesar salad is there appears to be no hard rules as the recipe continues to evolve and flourish.  The one thing I do miss is those beautiful tableside presentations with all the fanfare only a chef who cares about his food and his customers can bring.  On Sunday we will attempt to bring a little of the flourish and lot of the caring about the food we prepare and share with our viewers.

Here is the recipe. 

Tony's Caesar Salad
	2	garlic cloves
	1/3C	Olive Oil Extra Virgin
	1Can	Anchovies in oil *
	1/2T	Worcestershire Sauce
	1/2T	Mustard Dijon
	1/2T	Balsamic Vinegar
	1/2T	Black Pepper freshly cracked
	2hds	Romaine Hearts
	1	Egg coddled**
	1/2	Lemon juice squeezed
	1/2C	Croutons Garlic
	1/3C	Parmesan Cheese imported
		In a large wooden bowl rub garlic cloves all over bowl breaking into smaller pieces, remove the larger pieces of garlic.  Add anchovies (including oil from can) and use spoon or fork to mash and work into paste with garlic pieces.  Add oil, mustard, vinegar, pepper and Worcestershire sauce to bowl and mix with anchovies paste until creamy.  (I like to cover the bowl and let the dressing stand for an hour to increase the flavor).  Add Romaine and toss until leaves glisten.  Then break egg onto romaine leaves squeeze fresh lemon over salad and toss until leaves are well coated.  Add croutons and cheese, toss some more and serve.
	*	You can substitute 1T of anchovy paste for anchovies in a can.
	**	To coddle an egg place in boiling water for one minute remove and immediately run under cold water.

    

Produce Alert!

1/15  Cold Weather in Florida devastates Strawberries and Vegetables!  Preliminary estimates from Florida show 10 consecutive nights of freezes destroyed nearly a third of the state’s winter fruit and vegetable production and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in losses.  Please be prepared for some increasein pricing, some availability issues and variable quality.  We will do our very best to give our Peapod customers the best available produce and keep our prices down.  I have listed the top 5 produce that will be affected by price, availability and quality:

1. Green Beans 
2. Strawberries
3. Tomatoes

4. Corn

5. Green Peppers

Clementines for Gifts!

  12/21  Doing any last minute Holiday Shopping?  I always order a few extra Clementine's around this time of year to keep around the house for added gifts when friends stop by or some one you might have forgotten or some one you just wanted to show a little token of appreciation to...  The quality and flavor is excellent (i give them a 8 on 1 to 10 scale) with great size and they come in nice box for a gift.  I suggest keeping them in a cool dark place; when I buy 3 or more at a time I store them in my garage where the can keep up to 10 days as you pass them out and consume them yourself as well.  Give the gift of fruit this season and your friends and family will appreciate it.

Cherry, Cherry, you are my sweetheart!

12/9/09  As I promised in August when I regretfully informed everyone that the domestic cherry season is over that they would reappear in December just in time for the holidays! They are here and the quality is very good.  I would give them a 7 on a 1 to 10 flavor scale.  You might wonder where on earth do the cherries come from at this time of year:  Chile, where our winter is their summer.  These cherries are picked then flown to the United States for distribution.  You will also find them on sale in Chicago this week, but as you can expect with a fruit that has to travel so far the price will be more than we are used to paying in the summer months, but with snow on the ground here in Chicago I really welcome the flavors of summer.

To avoid the holiday blues eat more blueberries!

11/18:  Blueberries are now back in season coming from Argentina and Chile.  I really like the flavor!  They are currently packed in a 4.4 oz clamshells, but we will be switching to a 6 oz in Chicago to give our customers more value and we will see the price begin to come down drastically from the highs a few weeks ago.  Beginning Thursday they are on sale 2/$5 in Chicago and are in a 6oz clamshells.   Why should you eat more blueberries? 

• Huge in antioxidants, these antioxidants help prevent certain forms of cancer, lower blood pressure and can actually reverse parts of the aging process.

• Huge in Vitamin C and a great source of fiber\

Happy Holidays!

Collards, Kale and Swiss Chard Oh My!

I do monthly show on the local ABC affiliate in Chicago, here is the excerp from last Sunday's show also the recipes are attached as well Download Cooking Greens:

As the weather turns colder our thoughts turn to warmer things and we tend to eat more comfort foods from stews to roasts to soups.  On this Sunday’s show we are going to explore the wonderful world of “Cooking Greens” a delicious companion to all of the above.  Not only are they a hearty, delicious compliment, they are also fantastically healthy, and I mean HEALTHY in capital letters!  With Thanksgiving right around the corner (I can’t believe I am saying this) they also make great side dishes for your feast and are traditionally found in most southern celebrations.

Let’s talk cooking greens.  You might be a little confused by the term.  It simply refers to side dishes of green vegetables (basically the leaves of plants) that are cooked and served alongside a main dish or added to a stew or soup.  There are many types of leafy greens including kale, collards, Swiss chard, dandelions and spinach.  This Sunday I will bring a variety of greens including dandelions (yes, they belong to the same family as the common lawn weed and come in different colors of red and green), kale, collards and Swiss chard.  For Sunday’s show we will focus on the latter three.  Kale, collards and Swiss Chard are extremely rich in beta-carotene, vitamin C, and other substances that protect against cancer.  They are also huge in fiber and various minerals, especially iron and calcium.  Ounce for ounce they contain as much calcium as whole milk!  They are also high in vitamin K which is important for maintaining bone health.

All of these greens are best eaten in the colder months, partially because their flavor improves in the cold weather.  In fact, kale can even withstand frosts!  Kale and collards both belong to the cabbage family. Our viewers may also be more familiar with the ornamental version of kale that comes in a variety of colors that is found as a garden plant for décor and planted in the fall or sometimes as a plate garnish at some restaurants, this version of kale is actually edible, but not recommended. On Sunday we will be discussing green kale only.

 

We have seen a huge increase of late in the popularity of these cooking greens due in part to the health benefits and also due to new packaging.  The stems of both of these plants are somewhat tough and nearly inedible so they have to be removed before cooking.  The new packaging comes with the stalk removed and the greens washed and cleaned, making it very easy for consumers to enjoy these healthy vegetables.  Collards and kale can be bitter and tend to be tough, so I like to braise them in a liquid first for 20 to 30 minutes.  Since it is fall I like to use fresh cider, then finish them off with a little sauté of bacon, garlic and onions.  Cooking actually makes these 2 vegetables healthier because it breaks down the tough cell walls to unlock more nutrients.  According to folklore, collards served with black-eyed peas and hog jowl (you can substitute a nice smoky ham) on New Year's Day promises a year of good luck and financial reward.  Hanging a fresh leaf over your door will ward off evil spirits, and a fresh leaf placed on the forehead promises to cure a headache.   

Some people might find the flavor of collards and kale too strong or the texture a little tough, so an equally healthy but milder and more tender cooking green is Swiss chard.  In fact, nearly all the stem of this vegetable is edible and it only requires a quick sauté or braise, or can be eaten raw in a salad.  Swiss chard literally comes in a rainbow of colors or can come just green.  We will be bringing and cooking rainbow Swiss chard.  It is my belief that more color = more vitamins, and the healthier it is for you.  We will be eating heartily and healthy this Sunday!

 

Cider Anyone?

One of life's simple pleasure is fresh squeezed apple cider served warm!  Even better is walking in from the cold outside (and it sure has been cold here lately), into a warm house, smelling the the comforting scent of cider being warmed on the stove with some mulling spices.  So far this has been a great year for not only local apples but also for fresh pressed cider.  So give yourself a treat and serve some nice warm cider.

Bye, Bye, Peaches and Nectarines

10/4/09  Bye, Bye, peaches and nectarines!  It was a great year for for both the peaches and nectarines (especially the nectarines).  There are some still some good plums around, so enjoy them as they will be winding down soon, as well.  It is bye for now, but look for a return appearance in December.  At that time they will join cherries as the soft fruit season will be just be beginning in South America. 

Calling All Apple Lovers!

9/23/09  Mark Twain described it best, "Tom's mouth watered for the apple, but he stuck to his work".  One of the best places on earth to grow these delectable fall treats is in the Mississippi  river valley.  Chicago just got it's first shipment of apples from Sunrise Orchards located in the Mississippi Valley.  In Gays Mills Wisconsin to be exact, a little over 200 miles from Chicago.  I have been in the produce business for over 40 years and these are the best tasting, most beautiful locally grown apples around.  Peapod Chicago is one of the few retail outlets you can purchase these highly sought after apples, other than taking a day trip and buying them directly from the orchard.  By the way I highly recommend the day trip if you have the time, it makes for a beautiful autumn excursion.  Come one, Come all and sample some Fall Flavor in the form of our locally grown McIntosh 3lb bags, Gala 3lb bags (I highly recommend) and the Orchard's Best Variety 3lb bag.  If you would like more information on Sunrise Orchards or would like to visit the orchard here is the link to their website: 

http://www.sunriseapples.com/

Honeycrisp Apples are Here!

9/10/09  Attention all Chicago Customers!  The incredible Honeycrisp apple is available for purchase.  The first ones of the season have arrived and they are juicy, crunchy and explode with sweetness followed by some nice tartness in the end.  I will keep everyone updated as to when they will be available in Peapod's east coast markets, but it will be very soon so keep checking back.