I need a good Caesar salad dressing recipe...

Ingredients

6 cloves garlic, mashed and minced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon Vinegar
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Lemon juice
Minced anchovy fillets (optional)

Directions

Combine garlic, mustard, vinegar and two pinches of salt in a blender and mix thoroughly. Add mayonnaise and blend together to form a thick base. Pouring in a slow stream, add the olive oil through the hole in lid.

Scrape dressing with spatula into a bowl and season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice. If desired, add anchovy to dressing to create a deeper, saltier taste.

Add croutons and grated parmesan.

I mix a bunch and seal it in the fridge with a close fitting lid/cover. I generally don't ever have much left over after about 5 days. It tastes fine on day 5.

You've tried that one? It's good?

Substituting egg with mayo seems troubling but what do I know -- I make lousy dressing.

That also sounds like a lot of Dijon...

Thanks! I'll put that in my "to try" list....

Tried it, like it and it's loved by friends and family alike.

Mayo instead of egg works out fine particularly with consistency/blending issues. Experiment around with amount of mayo..if you like it a bit less thick. I've seen recipes with as much as 3/4 cup of mayo (gag).

Alternatively I've added a 1 tsp of Worcestershire..but typically not adding it when I've added anchovies.

1 tbsp of dijon is not a lot mustard.

Okay! I'll try it.

Most of the recipes I've seen call for a teaspoon of dijon so a tablespoon seems like a lot to me.

{Edit: I added a bit after you reply...refresh the screen}

I see!

I suppose the mayo would keep much better than raw or coddled egg -- that alone might make it a worthwhile substitution.

And yeah -- leaving out the Worcestershire when using anchovies makes a ton of sense!

Are you confusing the mayo with the mustard amounts or are you asking a separate question?

Two separate questions!

Mayo v. egg

1 T. dijon v. 1 t. dijon

ok..Then my recipe stands exactly as I wrote it.

Furthermore, I add as a last measure when at the mixer...1 tsp of honey if and when using anchovies. It cuts down on the acidity. This last step is not needed with recipes using Worcestershire, though..due to the molasses in Worc sauce.

I usually use anchovy paste since it's easier to keep on hand. Plus, I like my dressing really tangy. Would you still recommend using honey?

Maybe I should taste it without and add if needed.....

Correct. Whenever in doubt ...taste it first. The purpose of the honey is to reduce the acidity. However, once you taste it (without) you'll know for sure.

I don't make caesar salad dressing but I haven't bought salad dressing from a store in gawdknowshowlong, maybe thirty years... except for the time I broke down and bought some poppy (poopity) seed dressing, and that stayed in the fridge, preserved as it was, for about a year before I cleared it out.

I love salad and love caesar dressing, but I'm a failure at using up lettuce in a timely manner. I've improved a bit since, as a single, I've learned to no longer wash and spin a whole head of whichever lettuce at once. (Learning is still possible.) And I've listened to Noddy - she recommended storing the lettuce with a paper towel in that plastic bag.

I post because I make all sorts of dressings for all sorts of reasons, and save marinades and leftover adobo sauce and pickle lightly cooked veggies (but raw peeled carrots) in either an online recipe refrigerator pickle recipe or the leftover "juice" from any of the Mezzetta olive or pickled pepper products (I never put my finger in one of the jars to nab an olive). I haven't poisoned myself yet, it has been years now, and my only problemo has been remembering to label that damned jar with a sharpie.

I've saved the Zuni Cafe pickled zuchini recipe, and, tada!, I just bought three zucchs an hour ago. Stay tuned..

My point being that my present refrigerator seems to keep stuff well for some length of time, including herb dressings. I also store bottled anchovies that had been opened in there. Might be temp is a little colder than past refrigerators, but I'm not thinking so.

Signed,

anchovy liker, fresh and marinated best, salted, tinned fine with me.

This sounds good, will have to copy it and try it sometime!

Please share some of your favorite dressings with me!

I hate buying bottled dressing but seriously, I'm hopeless. I don't know what I do wrong. I'm generally a pretty good cook so I get very frustrated with this.

Mo LOVES Caesar salad so I try to keep the ingredients on hand. Mr. B and I are a little more ambitious so I'd love to know some good dressings.

I make them up as I go along..
I tend toward italian re comfort, but I like Thai.

I suppose the key question is re oil in respect to acid - what oil, and then what vinegar (fruit?), and so on.

my dictum is that you need to play (I know, trust me, that you are good re
cooking) and maybe pull Mo into the play.

I just saw this again, sorry for not responding more at the time - mostly I make up dressings on the spot, but I'll think about it.

Diane and I recently ate at a newish restaurant here, and we both ordered the same thing.

Craziness, we both ordered steamed mussels, a major no no in advisability here in bad fish land of sand - that was because I'd read blurb on the restaurant's link and they emphasized use of very best ingredients. Gads, it was so good to taste those again.

And we both had completely glorious salads. I'll be back with the ingredients and then see what I can nab online.

Nag me if I don't show up. I just pulled an anchovy and mozzarella studded focaccia, and am hungry.

Okay - this was the salad:

Fuji
fuji apples, spring mix, balsalmic reduction, gorgonzola, roasted onions, citrus steeped currents, candied walnuts, aged cider vinaigrette.
Half $6.00 Full $8.00

http://www.nickyvs.com/menu.html

Since I haven't tried these, and have never purchased aged apple cider vinegar that I remember, I'll throw in a bunch of links re vinaigrettes using it:

This one from Martha makes sense with those salad ingredients -
http://www.marthastewart.com/351242/white-house-honey-apple-cider-vinaigrette

mmm, this one not for a recipe but a general commentary on vinaigrettes:
http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/oilvinegardressings/qt/vinaigrette.htm

like Martha's, fits with that group of ingredients -
http://www.food.com/recipe/apple-cider-vinegar-and-honey-vinaigrette-dressing-396343

interesting site that I've barely looked at but will go back and read, chatty but I like chatty, and there look to be several types of dressings on there:
http://foodpluswords.com/2011/09/apple-cider-vinaigrette/