Category: Slow Food

Buonissimo Cesare Dressing

Sauces are the crowning event of food preparation. This recipe for the king of dressings, known as Caesar, was invented by an Italian restauranteur in Mexico on an American holiday. Cesare Cardini founded Cesare’s Restaurante and Bar on Tijuana’s main drag in the early 1920s. On July 4, 1924, a crowd of Mexican workers and vacationing Americans simultaneously filled his establishment. Cesare was low on stuff and, well, his weakness became his strength.

From there, the stories are varied, with a handful of cooks (all Italian) taking credit for the dish. What is sure is how fast it became a worldwide success, helped by the movie industry not far to the north. Clark Gable and Jean Harlow travelled from Hollywood to Tijuana to be able to have wine with their dinner during the Prohibition era. They were told about the new sensation at Cesare’s. Once they sampled it, they returned often. Most likely, the Gables told friends who told other friends, because the restaurant became a Hollywood favorite. And guess what? It’s still there.

I love how easy this is to make. This dish originally used lime juice. As its fame has spread, lemon has been substituted for lime, probably because the lime is “limon” in Spanish. Try it with lime juice for a truly authentic touch.

Nota Bene: This version of Casare’s dressing substitutes fish sauce for anchovies. The sauce I buy at any ethnic foods aisle is derived from anchovies. Use the real anchovies for a thicker dressing.

Ingredients

3 medium egg yolk
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp garlic granules or two fresh cloves chopped
2 tblsp fish sauce or 6-10 anchovies
1/2 c lemon juice freshly squeezed (remove seeds) – originally lime juice
2 tsp course salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 cups mild olive oil
1/2 c pecorino romano or parmesan cheese, grated

Assembly

Place egg yolks, mustard, garlic, fish sauce, lemon juice, slat and pepper in a bowl. Using a handheld blender, mix until smooth. Slowly pour the oil into the mixture while the handheld is running, until thick. Add the grated cheese and pulse a few times without totally emulsifying the cheese, for texture.

Use for salads and as a topping for vegetables, seafood and meats

Buon Appetito

Small-Batch Smoked Mayonnaise

This amazingly simple mayonnaise is good for you for several reasons. One is healthy oil. Most oils are either GMO or hydrogenated. Others are known to be inflammatory to humans (even if organic and cold-pressed). Unhealthy oil can contribute to diabetes, hypertension, atherosclerosis, heart failure, and arthritis.

So what are the good oils? The ones you can count on to be helpful and not harmful are olive, coconut, and avocado. Make sure you cook with the latter two, as olive oil becomes hydrogenated at higher temps.

Finding storebought mayonnaise made exclusively of the “good” oils is getting easier. However, doing it yourself at home will ensure the ingredients are fresh and of the best quality. You will taste the difference. Supremely easy to make, your slow-food mayo will taste better and probably cost significantly less than store-bought specialty mayonnaises.

It takes about 10 minutes to assemble the ingredients for and create this healthy mayonnaise. For a more standard mayonnaise, leave out the smoke flavor and cut the garlic. Add some of your own spices. I often use rosemary from my herb garden. Making your mayo in a small batch, a cup or so at a time, will help you gain confidence in seasoning it.

I’ve often heard and read that getting homemade mayo to thicken is a problem. While weather conditions affect how well mayonnaise will congeal, I’ve found an extra egg will solve the problem. If you want to limit your intake of eggs, you can start out using one – then if it stays liquid after blending, just add the second egg.

Keep in mind, this slow-food mayonnaise does not contain preservatives or additives, nor is the oil hydrogenated to keep it fresh on a shelf. The 8 oz. batch in this recipe and pictured above stays fresh in my fridge up to 2 weeks. The question is, will it even last that long once you and your family taste it?

First, assemble the following:

Ingredients:

8 oz avocado oil
1 capful apple cider vinegar
1/2 t salt – or to taste
1 t garlic powder – or to taste
1/2 capful Wright’s Liquid Smoke, any flavor
1-2 large eggs

Pour the oil into mixing bowl, or a wide-mouthed glass container such as pictured above. Add all the other ingredients. Mix with your favorite high speed mixer, or insert an immersion handheld blender and blend on high speed. In 30-60 seconds, your mayonnaise will go from a clear oil to creamy white. It should also thicken to the consistency of pudding. Target any lingering pools of oil until all is whipped.

Now your easy-peasy, mega-healthy mayonnaise is ready to use or refrigerate.

Once you taste this mayonnaise, you may never use store-bought regularly again. I use it on meats, fish, vegetables, even mixed into a broth for soup.

Many variations are possible with this. So experiment with some of your favorite spices, add sweetener for a dressing for fruits, some horseradish for a great accompaniment to red meat, or add turmeric for a mock Hollandaise sauce.

Be creative, have fun, and bon appetit!

Slow food is the antithesis of fast-food. It is prepared in small batches, with carefully chosen ingredients, by one or two cooks. Fast food is, by necessity, prepared on an assembly line, usually using heavily processed foods and pre-made mixtures which have been frozen, denatured and injected with preservatives (there are a few exceptions). Because of these differences, including its freshness, slow food is generally healthier than fast-food. Though usually enjoyed in the intimacy of one’s home, it may be adapted to larger gatherings. Its preparation will always take more time than processed food with pre-formulated mixes, resulting in superior flavor and health benefits.