Brian makes the BEST salads…or at least I think that because let’s get real…I didn’t have to make it myself.  Now, some salads are simple and easy and some are more complex.  Let’s take Caesar salad for an example.  This one is pretty simple, or at least I think.  However, even though it is simple, doesn’t mean that you should skimp on the quality of ingredients you use.

My life before Brian would have likely consisted of grabbing a prepackaged salad mix and then drizzling some dressing over it and call it a day.  There, I confessed my lack of creativity when it came to food in my past life.  While it tasted good, didn’t necessarily mean that with a couple extra steps, and great ingredients, the salad turns into so much more.

Now, let’s also be honest here and say that I, personally, could eat salads every day for dinner…or lunch for that matter.  Brian, not so much.  He looks at it as rabbit food.  He’s a true Midwestern boy at heart.  Give him meat and potatoes and he is happy.  So, if we are going to have a salad for a meal, it better taste damn good in his opinion.

There’s also something to be said about a good salad as a quick meal.  We have been on a Caesar salad kick lately.  It is super simple, super easy and tastes delicious.  Add some grilled chicken and you’ve got yourself a meal.

Ok, I know I probably sound biased here and feel like I’m gushing all about how great this is and that is…blah, blah, blah.  He just knows how to make things taste way better than what I’ve done in the past.  And, well, anytime someone else cooks something for you, it just seems to taste THAT much better too!  And, a man who can cook is kind of sexy!  Can I get an AMEN!!!!

So, back to the Caesar salad.  This is our easy, go to recipe.  If you want to take your Caesar salad to the next level, incorporate some higher quality ingredients when you make it.  You will be happy you splurged on the couple extra bucks!

Caesar Salad

1 head of Romaine lettuce, chopped

1/2 cup Croutons, large homestyle

1/4 cup Parmesan Crisps

2 tbsp high quality parmesan cheese, grated

Fresh cracked black pepper, to your taste

1/4 cup Caesar dressing

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly.

We like a little extra dressing and additional parmesan on top when serving.

Serves 4 or 2 entree portions

Couple things to note here that we used Cardini’s Caesar dressing.  You can get whatever kind of dressing you like, however, make sure that the dressing has anchovies listed in the ingredient list.  This makes it a true Caesar salad.  As for the high quality grated parmesan, I’m not talking about the kind that you find on the shelf.  You know, the kind that starts with a “K”!!!  I’m talking about the good kind found in the cheese section.

We discovered the parmesan crisps not too long ago and they are a great addition to the traditional Caesar salad.  It gives a flavorful burst every couple of bites.  You know, flavor, is the reason we are doing this.  Trying to make everything, even salads, taste great.  That’s a quote by my guy.

A perfect meal for us includes chicken.  Some amazing chicken cooking techniques to come in a future blog!