Just made some Ceasar dressing.
 

First time from scratch. Came out nicely. Had it with some chicken in the salad. Have tons left over. It's in the fridge, but with the raw yolk, I won't keep it more than a day or so.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

2 egg yolk
2 tbl Dijon mustard
6 to 8 anchovy fillets, minced
2 tbl chopped garlic
4 tbl balsamic vinegar
3 tsp lemon juice
dash of Worcestershire sauce
2 cups olive oil
2 tbl warm water, if necessary
1 cup parmesan


Directions

1. Place egg yolk, mustard, anchovies, garlic, vinegar, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce into a bowl.

2. Mix with whisk

3. Slowly add olive oil until fully incorporated

4. If dressing gets too thick, add warm water and then continue until all oil is added

5. Add parmesan and continue to mix

6. Makes 2 1/2 cups

I am bored with store bought dressings. Post your faves.

My very favorite is vinaigrette... simple but tasty.

Crush or dice a clove of garlic and mix it together with a pinch of salt to make a paste
Add 1 diced or crushed shallot, a tablespoon of grainy mustard and a little bit of fresh pepper and stir
Add 1/2 cup vinegar (I prefer a 1:3 blend of balsamic and cider vinegar) and 1 cup good olive oil
Shake it up and serve! Sometimes simplest really is best :)

Made ceasar salad dressing last night - used the Cooks Illustrated recipe. Super good and silly easy, aside from poaching* and separating the eggs. The recipe was same as yours but no balsamic vinegar and the cheese went over the whole thing at the end rather than into the dressing.

Aside from blue cheese, we haven't bought dressing in a decade. It's too easy, cheap, good and usually fast to make from scratch.

(*) Dunno why, but they had the eggs poached for 45 sec in boiling water before separating. It cooked maybe 1/16" of white at the shell. Must have "pasteurized" them...

I would love a bleu cheese dressing recipe if anyone has one.

Man - something about anchovies lately - they taste like more.

There is no balsalmic vinegar in caesar salad dressing, though that would be good I bet.

I always thought you did the egg in the hot water for a minute to thicken it up.

Holy Crap! That's way too much oil. And some of those other ingredients are out of whack.

Cut the oil to 1/2 cup./ Balsamic to 2 Tbl./ Dijon to 1 Tbl./ Parmesan to 1/2 cup...and the recipe will be balanced better and still be enough for a large salad for 4 people.

You could also splash in a bit of Tabasco and Brandy. And don't forget lots of pepper and some salt.

You want to coat the leaves lightly, not drown them.

Also never keep a fresh Ceasar dressing overnight. Throw it out.

I would not even use a half cup of oil. Only one egg yoke. I use red wine vinegar. The rest of the ingredients need to be toned down as well. I agree with Dottore.

What he said about tossing it. You make it and use it, I can't remember measuring when I make it, not how I was taught.

Quite right. Should be red wine vinegar. Not Balsamic. At least if you're aiming for an authentic Ceasar.

Made a great steak salad last night... mixed greens, steak and grated parmesan.

I made the dressing with the following... definately NOT a ceasar but still really good!

1. olive oil
2. balsamic vinegar
3. seeded mustard
4. W sauce
5. dash of lemon juice

This is ours . . . it is always a crowd pleaser.

Caesar Salad

Mash several croutons (or in a pinch use bread crumbs)
2 cloves of garlic (mashed)
4 drops Worcestershire
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 egg yolk

Combine all & stir into a thick paste

Add 1 tbs lemon juice

Then slowly add ½ cup good olive oil while stirring constantly

Refrigerate for an hour to enhance flavors

Toss with 1 head romaine lettuce (washed, dried & cut into bit sized pieces). Add approx 1 cup real grated Parmesan cheese & toss again.

Garnish with croutons & real bacon bits.

Croutons: Fry 5 slices of bacon for salad – set aside to cool & crumble. Pour off grease, add butter & stale bread cut into small cubes. Lightly season with seasoned salt & pepper. Fry until golden. Remove croutons & let stand for an hour or so to harden & cool.

Ian

OK,

For the record, an authentic Caesar doesn't use any vinegar, or lemon juice, or mustard, or water....

Try this:

5 cloves of garlic
3 egg yolks
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce (or half Worcestershire, half Maggi seasoning)
1/4 cup lime juice, fresh squeezed
1 1/8 cup olive oil
1/3 cup fresh parmesan (a real one)
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Use some of the cheese in the dressing and the rest over the salad. Use only the hearts of the romaine. Skip the croutons. Salt-packed anchovies are better than oil-packed anchovies, if you can get them.

JR

Sorry to be argumentative, but this is a subject dear to my heart.

An authentic Ceasar dressing uses all of those things except the water.

Here's what you need:

1 egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 anchovies
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 cup shredded parmesan

That's not what I understand. The dressing was created by Caesar Cardini, maybe with help from his brother Alessandro, at his restaurant in Tiajuana in the 1920's. His original version didn't even use anchovies, so if you want to make it more authentic delete those, in favor of more Worcestershire.

JR