Caesar Dressing with Anchovies OR Capers

This creamy Caesar dressing with anchovies OR capers is perfect tossed with crisp Romaine leaves. The caper version is ideal when you are hosting vegetarian or vegan friends. Omni friends will not notice the missing anchovies. 

Among friends in Kuala Lumpur, my most requested dish to bring to a potluck is my Caesar salad.  I always made it just by pouring a little of this and a lot of that in a large measuring cup while not actually measuring.  But when folks started requesting the recipe, I had to take measure.  

Caesar Dressing with Anchovies OR Capers

My original recipe calls for a small can of anchovies. I would like to give credit for the caper substitution for vegetarians to my elder daughter’s roommate, Molly. 

Molly is a creative cook as well as a talented artist.  Last year she spent a semester in Italy and I thoroughly enjoyed following her exploits and getting to know her through her sketchbook blog.  And I drooled over her Facebook photos of the rustic tarts she made for a potluck.  

Ingredients

2 tablespoons fresh or reconstituted lime or lemon juice (You can also use vinegar, in a pinch.  Desperate times have called for desperate measures.)

3/4 cup or 180ml olive oil

1/4 cup or 60ml cold water (Using cold water helps the dressing emulsify.)

1 small (1.6 oz or 45g) can anchovies in olive oil OR two generous tablespoons drained tiny capers

1/4 teaspoon powdered English mustard (Colemans)

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 large cloves garlic, peeled

1/4 teaspoon sea salt or to taste  (You can add the salt after blending if you’d like.  Some anchovies and capers are saltier than others.  We don’t mind salty so I just go for it with a 1/4 teaspoon.  And add more after if necessary.)

Method

This is so easy.  Puree all the ingredients in a blender or with a hand blender until emulsified. 

Give it a quick taste and add more salt, if necessary.

If you are using capers, the resulting dressing may be a tiny bit more green.

This dressing is best served tossed with crisp romaine leaves which you then sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese or a suitable substitute, if needed.  It will keep for a couple of weeks stored in the refrigerator in a closed jar.

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter M&M Muffins #MuffinMonday

Way back when I was a freshman (first year) at the University of Texas at Austin, I lived in an all-girls dorm called Contessa West.  It was suite-style, which meant three bedrooms with two girls each and a tiny common area in which you could not swing the proverbial cat, with a round table, four chairs, a two-burner electric stove, a hotel refrigerator and a bathroom-sized kitchen sink.  And that is all.  I am staying with my younger daughter in her campus apartment for a few days and, while student housing undoubtedly varies from school to school, I can only say, it’s lovely.  Three bedrooms with only one girl each and a fairly well equipped kitchen.  It has a real stove with an OVEN, a full-sized fridge and actual counter top space for food prep.  Her corner bedroom is full of light from three big windows and from my vantage point, perched in her bed writing this, I can see the beautiful dome of the Rhode Island State Building.  It’s a far cry from Contessa West, back in the Dark Ages, I can tell you.  Tell me, was your campus housing anything like this?  (Disclaimer:  Any mess you see is mine!  Amazingly, they keep their common area quite clean and my daughter's bedroom is fairly tidy.)

I could swing a few cats in here! 

My cardigan on the chair!

Check out all those windows!  And, yes, that is my unmade bed, where I am perched writing and my stuff on the desk.

Last night we were making gyozas from this recipe and I didn’t take a single photo but I can tell you they were delicious.  But yesterday morning, I was baking muffins and, since it’s Muffin Monday, I will share.  Our ingredient this week is peanut butter and since nothing goes better with peanut butter than more nuts and chocolate, I added in Nutella and Easter M&Ms.  My younger daughter and one of her roommates enjoyed a couple and then we took a few up to my elder daughter who works on Sundays at RISD|Works for her to share with her colleagues.  They were a hit!

Ingredients
2 cups or 250g all-purpose flour
1/2 cup or 115g sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup or 120ml peanut butter
1/4 cup or 60ml Nutella or other hazelnut chocolate spread
3/4 cup or 180ml milk (I used Rice Dream because that is what my daughter had. Worked great!)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1/4 cup or 60ml canola oil
1/2 cup or 100g milk chocolate M&Ms plus extra for decoration

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your muffin pan using non-stick spray, butter or by lining it with paper muffin cups.

Put your flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl and give it a good stir to combine.

In another smaller bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, Nutella, milk, vanilla, egg and canola oil.

Pour that luscious, chocolately peanutty mixture into your dry ingredients and mix until it is just coming together.  You’ll still see a little flour, but that’s perfect.

See that?  That's how you know this muffin will be delicious. 

Fold in the M&Ms.

Divide the batter between your muffin cups and poke a few more M&Ms into the batter for decoration.

Bake in your preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for a few minutes and then remove to finish cooling.  I didn’t have a wire rack here so I put them on another baking tray that was chilled from the cold weather we are experiencing.  And several were eaten warm, almost straight from the oven.  Yum!

Enjoy!

Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Way back in February, I was minding my own business when a certain post from Katherine at Eggton arrived in my inbox.  It was witty and fun, much like Katherine herself, and the recipe was for a tasty grilled cheese sandwich made with cheddar and cream cheese and ham.  It gave me a scathingly brilliant idea!  (Anybody else grow up watching Hayley Mills in the Trouble with Angels movies?)  How about a jalapeño popper grilled cheese sandwich, I immediately said to myself, using bacon instead of her ham and adding in jalapeños and garlic?  And, ooh, oooh, I could serve them with avocado halves filled with ranch dressing!  Yes, I could!  I had all the ingredients on hand so it didn’t take me long to answer that question.  I kid you not, jalapeño popper grilled cheese sandwiches are fabulous!  I hope you will agree.  I share this recipe along with many thanks to Katherine for the inspiration.

Ingredients
4 oz or 115g grated cheddar cheese
4 oz or 115g cream cheese (at room temperature)
1-2 tablespoons butter (at room temperature) for buttering bread
6-7 slices smoked bacon
1/2 - 1 fresh jalapeño (depending on how hot you like it)
1/2 large clove or 1 small clove garlic
6 slices sandwich bread

Optional for serving: ranch dressing and avocados

Method
Fry your bacon until crispy then drain it on a paper towel.  Using a sharp knife, chop the bacon into small pieces

Slice the jalapeño in half, removing the membranes and seeds, if you don’t like things too spicy, leaving them in if you do.  Mince your jalapeño and garlic very finely.

As you can see, I left the seeds in, but we are gluttons for spicy punishment.

Mix your cheeses together with the minced jalapeño and garlic.

Add in the chopped bacon and stir well.

Butter one side of each slice of bread. Lay out a piece of cling film on your work surface then place the bread so the buttered side is on the cling film.  (One piece of cling film per sandwich.)

Put a third of the jalapeño popper cheese filling on three of the slices of bread.  Close the sandwiches with the remaining slices, making sure to leave the buttered side out.

Fold the cling film over and gently press down on the sandwich.

Grill on your griddle pan, until the cheese is all melted and the bread is nicely toasted on both sides.

Serve each sandwich with some ranch dressing to dip.  Extra points if you serve the ranch dressing in a half avocado.

Enjoy!

If you are a fan of jalapeño poppers, you might also enjoy this jalapeño popper chicken chili. (Link in the caption.)

Jalapeño Popper Chicken Chili