Caesar Salad Simplified

I have been meaning to post this Caesar salad recipe for a while now. It is a pass down from my mom and we serve it with grilled chicken and I have actually made homemade croutons.

Caesar Salad Simplified

2 quarts of greens, torn in manageable pieces
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cut clove of garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
plenty of fresh ground pepper
2 dollops of mayonnaise
2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, freshly grated if possible
1 cup croutons

This is properly made with romaine, but any combination of greens may be used. Ahead of time, measure the olive oil and put in the cut clove of garlic. Let sit for 30 or more minutes. Note...remove the garlic clove before pouring oil onto the greens.

Put the greens in a large bowl, grind plenty of pepper over them, sprinkle on salt, and the garlic flavored oil. Put the dollops of mayonnaise in the middle of the greens, pour the vinegar over the mayonnaise, sprinkle the cheese over the entire salad and toss gently until everything is evenly distributed. Last, scatter croutons over the top and toss once more. Transfer to a clean, chilled bowl and serve at once. Serves 4.

How to Make Croutons

Remove crusts from slices of bread and cut in small cubes. Use 1 tablespoon olive oil for each slice of bread. Heat oil with cut clove of garlic in skillet. When hot toss in the bread cubes. Shake the pan until they begin to brown, then lower the heat to allow them to crisp without burning. Shake the pan or stir with a fork now and then. This takes about 10 minutes in all. 2.5 slices of bread makes 1 cup of croutons.