Hail to Ceasar

True Rome wasn't built in a day; but, Ceasar salad was. That being said I thought I would share my favorite Ceasar salad dressing recipe with you. It's really good and really easy, and what the hell I'm bored, so you get to reap the bennies.

Here's the list of hardware you're going to need:

A medium size mixing bowl, because you're going to be doing some whisking.
And a whisk.
You will also need a glass jar for storage, sure you can use plastic containers but the dressing will probably flavor the container for life.

Can you do this in a food processor? Sure you can, if you're a rich white collar pansy that has do every thing the easy way.

Ingredients:

1 tsp freshly grated lemon zest ( you could also use orange or lime, if you don't know what zest is stop what you are doing, and go read a book)

3 tsp lemon juice (again you could also use orange or lime)

1tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp anchovy paste (please, PLEASE, for the love of God, be careful with this stuff)

2 tsp Marsala wine (or vinegar, I'd use red wine)

2 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp horseradish (that's right I said horseradish, if you don't like it make your own damn recipe)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 cup good olive oil

1 Tbsp dairy sour cream


In your mixing bowl combine everything BUT the olive oil and sour cream. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until smooth, and then aid sour cream and again, whisk until smooth.

Pour over some crisp romaine, add some Parmesan, maybe a few dried cherries and some marcona almonds and enjoy.

In Search of a Better Pot Pie

Being new to the Seattle area, I have to admit that I haven't really had much opportunity to immerse myself into its cuisine. This last evening afforded me such an opportunity as I accompanied my Mom to Clair's Pantry, A local dinner off Main street in Edmonds.
At first glance Clair's establishment looked both clean and welcoming. When we were finally seated our waitress, a young high school student in a dirty sweater, treated us to some excellent dinner rolls. They had just the right amount of crusty-ness, without being tough, and the inside was soft and delicate without being undercooked.
After perusing the menu, I finally decided on the turkey pot pie. Now let me tell you about pot pie. Pot pie should be a combination of meat, vegetables, gravy, and crust. In other words it's a big heap of pastry goodness. Clair's pie had all of these components, but what it didn't have was flavor.
The crust was damn near perfect, it was golden brown, flaky, not doughy, it was just a little thick for my liking. The pie had big ole' chunks of turkey; which is, let's face it, awesome. The veggies were tender and abundant. The gravy was the perfect viscosity, not to thick not to thin. It only lacked one thing... FLAVOR.
The most essential ingredient in any meal is always flavor. Clair's pie had so much going for it, but it was so bland that it was near impossible to eat. Don't get me wrong bland is not always a bad thing, but NOT when you're eating pie. Thanks anyway Clair it was a noble effort.

Where to Begin?

So my sister suggested to me, a while ago, that I should start one of these blog things. If for no other reason than to have something to do. God knows I'm lacking for things to do, and I am never sarcastic. Being that this is my first time I am going to expect some patience from my audience, both of you. Be gentle.
Those of you that don't know me may be wondering about my title. Let me clue you in, I am an experienced cook, I have trained in the culinary arts both formally and informally for years. Anyone that has eaten my food can tell you that it is not only delicious but highly unlikely to give you dysentery. So my faithful readers can expect to find some pretty sweet recipes and cooking tips along with restaurant reviews. Yay.
I also ride a classic Harley-Davidson, and at the moment I am working full time at local Harley dealership. Why did I choose Harley's over cooking as a profession? Let me ask you this: Have you ever worked in a professional kitchen? Do you know how much cooks make? Don't judge me. If I could afford to run my own restaurant the way I wanted to, I probably would. But, until I can, I'm having a blast with Harley's and I'm making a fairly good living.