Garlic bread, caesar salad, and some ramblings

I grew up watching my grandmother make delicious meals and bake the best deserts ever.  EVER.  Even her toast was amazing.  Seriously, I’ve tried to replicate it but it’s just not the same.  I’m told I’m probably not slathering on the butter enough, but it’s still not the same.   I can still remember the way she’d cut the toast, the plates she always used, and I can almost taste it.  My mouth is now watering.  I couldn’t eat lemon meringue pie for years because it just wasn’t the same.  My grandmother loved to cook for other people and this was one of the ways she showed her love.  Over the years I’ve begun to realize that I’ve inherited this same trait.  I love feeding people.  When I make cookies and Mr. C doesn’t dive right in I feel like he’s rejecting me.  Yes, I do know this sounds horrible and portrays the idea that I’m trying to fatten my husband up, but I’m not!  To me, cooking/baking something from scratch takes something special, and it’s an act of love.  Cheesy yes, but I’m a bit cheesy today.

There’s something about making something from scratch that’s a little magical to me.  Anyone can buy a box, mix in the eggs and water, throw it in the oven, and call it a cake.  But when you make something from scratch, you know what you’re feeding your family, you have more control over the outcome, you understand the process and you’re putting a bit of yourself into it.  Not literally of course.

My grandmother was one of those annoying people who when you’d ask how they made something, would respond that she just “threw in” a little of this and a little of that.  She just “threw” things together to make amazing food.  I don’t think she used recipes much and unfortunately for us, she didn’t write them all too often.

Over the past few years I’ve found myself loving being in the kitchen more and more.  I own more cookbooks than any one person really needs, but I love them.  I’ve been using my cookbooks like crazy, cooking at least one new thing per week lately.  But, I find that all recipes need a bit of tweaking.  I like to say that I “fix” them.  It’s not that they aren’t good; I just like my version better!  I love cookbooks because they give me a base, an idea to start with that I probably wouldn’t have come up with on my own.  And, over the course of the past few years I’ve found that I’m one of those annoying people, the one who when you ask, says I’d be happy to give you my recipe but that’s not how I really make it because I “throw” in a little of this and a little of that.  I think we all know where I got that from.

I’m always in search of the perfect salad dressing and while I appreciate store-bought dressings because of the ease and longevity, there’s still nothing like homemade.  One night when Mr. C was working late I cooked us up a pretty darn good Italian meal.  I was extra inspired that night and made one of the best Caesar salads I’ve had in awhile.

You get two for one in this recipe post, because a few days prior to making the amazing salad, I made garlic bread for the first time ever.  Yes, ever.   My mom was big on not eating too many starchy things in the same meal, so pasta and bread don’t really go together at the dinner table for me. 

Buttery Garlic Bread

1 stick butter, softened

¼ - ½ C. Italian parsley, chopped

6 garlic cloves, finely chopped

French Loaf

You should be warned that I like it garlicky, so dial back the garlic if you’re not a huge fan.

Cut the loaf in half.  Mix the butter, Italian parsley, and garlic together in a bowl.  I threw my butter in the microwave for a few seconds to soften it up and melt it just a bit. 

Spread the buttery mixture evenly over the loaves.  Wrap each loaf half in foil and bake for 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees.  The longer you bake it, the crispier it gets.

Adapted from 100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know by Cindi Leive.

A few nights later I got home and felt inspired.  I had found a Caesar dressing recipe I planned to make.  First though, I wanted croutons.  I opened the fridge and found the garlic bread leftovers.  I had never made croutons before but it sounded pretty darn easy, which it was.  I preheated the oven to 375 and cut the bread into squares.  I spread them out over a baking sheet and baked for about 10 minutes, checking on them about every 3 minutes after that until I was satisfied with the crunchyness. 

Then I whipped up this Caesar dressing, adapted from Everyday Food by none other than Martha Stewart.

Easy Caesar Dressing

1 lemon, juiced

Scant ½ c. mayo

½ c. shredded Parmesan cheese  

2 cloves garlic

Lots of pepper (when you think you’ve got enough, add a bit more and that’ll be equal to my “lots”)

Ok here comes the hard part.  Ready?  You get all your ingredients, throw them in the blender, and blend until you’re satisfied with the consistency.  Difficult huh?  Actually, the most difficult part was fitting my spatula in between the blender blades. 

Then you just assemble with the rest of your salad –

Toss your washed lettuce (I usually use baby romaine or spring mix) in the dressing.  Top with croutons, shredded Parmesan cheese, and lots of freshly grated pepper.  Delicious!  If you make this please let me know what you think!