Kitchen Tip: Cheater Caesar Salad Dressing

Before I go any further with this tip, I want to make it clear that this is NOT a recipe for a classic Caesar dressing. Real Caesar dressing is an emulsion of oil, garlic, eggs, anchovies, and other ingredients that calls for a few more steps than this. This is NOT that.

What this is, is a ridiculously easy homemade Caesar salad dressing that you can whisk together in about 2 minutes without dirtying too many plates. The trick is using mayonnaise as the base. Mayo, as you may know, is already a combination of oil, eggs, and lemon juice, so by using it you're basically just skipping a couple steps (and bowls).

To make, all you need are two anchovy fillets, a garlic clove, some mayo, lemon juice, a dash of oregano, and a little salt and pepper. If you'd like, you can also add in some grated Parmesan cheese. It just takes one bowl, and the result is this thick and creamy dressing that's pretty darn close (I say even better!) to the Caesar salad dressing you'd get from a bottle or with your salad at lunchtime.

I love this over a big plate of crisp greens and sliced grilled chicken. It's also really good as a spread in sandwiches and wraps. Or toss it with cooked jumbo shrimp for a fun main course.

Note: You have to like anchovies for this recipe to work; no skipping them here, OK? ;)

Creamy Cheater Caesar Salad Dressing
This makes about 1/2 cup of dressing

Ingredients
2 anchovy fillets (or 1 teaspoon anchovy paste)
1 garlic clove
salt and pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese (optional)

Using a fork and small bowl (or mortar & pestle), mash the anchovy fillets (or anchovy paste) and garlic clove into a course paste along with pinch of kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper.

Add the half cup of mayo and the lemon juice. Whisk until combined and smooth. Stir in the oregano and (if using) the grated Parmesan cheese.

Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt and pepper, if desired.

Serve on the side with salad greens or use as a spread in wraps and sandwiches. Also wonderful over grilled chicken!

Keeps in the fridge, covered, up to 2 days (if chilled, whisk gently before serving).

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Mini Crab Cakes with Cilantro-Lime Aioli

These little crab cakes were the first to disappear at the dinner party I hosted Saturday evening. Based on a Bon Appetit recipe I spotted in the April 2009 issue, the crab cakes are assembled by layering bread crumb mixture and a savory crab filling in mini muffin tins. They are baked instead of fried, and can be prepared ahead of time—a godsend when it’s 30 minutes until the guests arrive and you’ve yet to hop in the shower.

Since I found the original results a bit plain as an appetizer, I put together a cilantro-lime aioli to drizzle over the tops before serving. I made my aioli from scratch in the food processor with egg yolks and vegetable oil, but in a pinch you can blend a cup of prepared mayo with a bunch of cilantro, a generous squeeze of lime, and two garlic cloves. Blitz them in your blender or processor for a minute then serve. The result is similar and the color will grab everyone’s attention. Leftovers make a natural addition to your weekday sandwiches.



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Mini Crab Cakes with Cilantro-Lime Aioli
Adapted from Bon Appetit, April 2009
If lump crab stretches your budget too much, feel free to replace with claw meat. It’s usually half the price and the flavor and texture will be similar in a recipe like this. Avoid the temptation to use imitation crab (or “krab”) as it’s loaded with preservatives, artificial color, and sugar.

Ingredients
8 oz Neufchâtel or cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup grated Pecorino cheese
1 large egg
1/4 cup plain Greek-style yogurt such as Fage or Oikos
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel
4 teaspoons plus 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives, divided
1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
6 oz fresh lump crabmeat, picked over and coarsely shredded
1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) or plain, unseasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pans
Fresh chives, cut into 1” pieces
Cilantro-lime aioli (recipe below)

2 mini muffin pans


DirectionsIn the bowl of your electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add 1/4 cup of the Pecorino and the egg; beat until incorporated. Beat in the yogurt, zest, 4 teaspoons chopped chives, salt, and spices. Fold in the crabmeat. This can be made up to 1 day ahead (just keep chill and covered in the rerigerator)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Generously butter 2 mini muffin pans. Toss the breadcrumbs with 1/2 cup of Pecorino and 2 tablspoons of chopped chives. Drizzle 1/4 cup melted butter and mix until evenly moistened.

Press 1 rounded teaspoon of panko into the bottom of your prepared muffin tins. Top with 1 tablespoon of crab filling. Sprinkle with more panko until it is full covered. Continue until you have used all the bread crumbs and all the fillings

Bake the crab cakes until golden on top and slightly puffed, about 30 minutes. Cool in pans for 5 minutes, then use a skewer or knife to gently loosen the cakes and remove from the pan. Arrange on baking sheets and let stand at room temperature. Rewarm in 350 degree oven for 6 minutes before serving.

Arrange on serving tray and drizzle each crab cake with 1 teaspoon of aioli dressing. Top with two crisscrossed chives

Cilantro-Lime Aioli
This aioli is a brilliant addition to seafood, but can also be used in sandwiches or over grilled chicken

Ingredients
1 large egg yolk, room temperature
Juice of half a lime
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard (not course grained)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1 bunch cilantro, washed, trimmed of the stem bottoms, and patted dry
Kosher salt


Directions
Add the egg yolk to the bowl of your food processor with the blade attachment. Whisk in lime juice and mustard.

In a separate bowl, combine the oils and then add the oil mixture in a slow steady trickle through the opening in your processor while the blade is whisking constantly. Continue until all the oil is incorporated and the mixture has emulsified (thickened to a creamy consistency).

Add the garlic cloves and cilantro in small bunches, allowing it all to be processed and incorporated. Season with kosher salt to taste.

Chill, covered, until ready to use.

13

Pink Noodles and Super Mayonnaise: Shopping at the Sunrise Mart

In the movie Hook, (yes, that Robin Williams debacle) there is a scene where Peter and the Lost Boys sit around a table with rumbling tummies and empty plates dreaming up the delicious treats they wish they could be eating. Their imaginations are so strong that it isn't long before the plates are piled high with cakes and meats and strangely colored porridges that they wolf down and flick across the table at each other as lost boys are wont to do. I've been thinking about that scene quite a bit lately since I started browsing the magnificent food por(n)tal, Tastespotting, during my lunch hour. I find myself wishing that, like Robin and the lost boys, I could will my average work cafeteria meals into some of the incredible dishes that stream by on that site.

I go there for inspiration, ideas, and pure entertainment. I'm completely dazzled by some of the images I see pop up and am quite proud to have had a couple of my own (mediocre) photos included in the line-up. While browsing the site a few days ago, my eyes were immediately drawn to a gorgeous bouquet of pink noodles. I followed the link to Cake Wardrobe's blog where I read her post about finding these ume plum udon noodles among the racks at a cool Japanese grocery store located around the corner from St. Mark's Place. Her descriptions were so exciting that I instantly decided to pay the market a visit.

I went on Sunday. After brunch with a friend in Chelsea, I made my way east towards the village. I had very vague directions, (only the name of the store and that it was "near St. Mark's Place.") and so it took a bit of wandering before I finally stumbled around a corner and found myself at the entrance to the Sunrise Mart.

The store is located at 4 Stuyvesant Street, right above the St. Mark's Bookshop. You have to take an elevator to the second floor and the moment the doors open, it's as if you've left New York. The store bustles with people: older Japanese men and women shopping slowly, NYU hipsters loading up on candy and fresh sushi, and a disproportionately high number of mom's pushing baby strollers (seriously, it's like a Japanese Park Slope in there). Even though I told myself that I was only there to buy some of those pink ume noodles, I somehow found myself reaching for a basket and checking to make sure they accept credit cards (they do). The basket filled up quickly, as I indiscriminately tossed in anything that struck my fancy. As everything is labeled in Japanese, it's almost impossible to know what you're buying without reading the mandatory English nutritional labels stuck over the back of everything (thank you FDA), but even then it's kind of a guessing game.

I love puzzles, so it was just the thing to get the ideas flowing. "I'll make green tea ice cream!" I thought as I threw in a pricey bag of ground Matcha powder. I followed the Matcha with a pound of ginger root, a bag of fiery-looking dried chiles, some rice flour and red bean paste to make daifuku (mochi cakes filled with red bean paste--an idea inspired by the cute little PacMan-like mochi on Peko's Kyoto Foodie blog). Never having actually tasted daifuku before, I made sure to pick out a plump little premade one from the fridge to serve as a guide. I also grabbed a little package of quail eggs (a dozen for two dollars--Whole Foods sells them at 1 dollar each), a package of pink noodles, and a little box of gorgeous cherry blossom tea that "blooms" when you pour hot water over it. From the snack aisle I picked out a box of chocolate candy sticks and a plastic container full of teriyaki flavored nori snacks. The item that I am most excited about, however, was found in the refrigerated section in the back: a squooshy squeeze bottle of "Super Mayonnaise." Super! Mayo! And it comes with a star tip! I'm already giddy about the possibilities...


The Details:

Sunrise Mart
Japanese Specialty Foods

4 Stuyvesant Street, Second floor
New York City, NY 10003

Hours: 11a-10p

11

Smoky Deviled Egg Salad on Golden Rye Crisps

As much as I love to cook, there are some nights when I just don't have the energy to put much effort into it. It's on these nights that I pull out my "single girl" dinners--no, not Lean Cuisine--single girl dinners are those easy, go-to meals that you can fix in just a few minutes with minimal ingredients, but which somehow manage to satisfy each and every one of your deepest cravings. It's comfort food, tailored exactly to your very own (and often very peculiar) taste and preferences.

My single girl dinners tend to resemble an antipasti platter: hunks of cheese, roasted red peppers with bits of blackened skin still clinging, hard boiled eggs, olives, fat red grapes, and slices of salami or prosciutto eaten one-by-one, usually pulled straight from the plastic package. Basically anything tasty that I happen to find in the fridge. An ardent lover of mayonnaise, I'll often drop a dab on my little mini party platters for dipping or just licking off my fingers--something that I could never do in front of other people without fear of completely grossing them out.

I've realized that my single girl dinner habits came straight from my mom. On the nights when my dad was appearing at an event and my brother was out with friends, my mom would skip the preparation of a full meal and we'd instead sit down to a makeshift dinner of crackers, rolled up salami, hunks of cheese, and generous dollops of mayonnaise. We'd work our way through an entire package of cold cuts or crackers, making tiny sandwiches and talking about our days or anything else that was on our minds. I loved these dinners, and sometimes even preferred them to the full meals my mom made when my dad and brother were around. The men in my family have never really understood how my mother and I can be satisfied with a dinner of just a few crackers and cheese. "But that's not real food," my dad would say when he would come back to find empty salami packages and no leftovers. But to my mom and me, it's always been the most real.

While thinking up ideas for recipes to share, I keep finding myself coming back to these basic foods that I love. I'm learning that there is value in the things we eat when we're alone and perhaps in need of a bit of comfort. When cooking for yourself or for your loved ones, think back to thing things you instantly grab for when we're not trying to impress or worrying about the scale. It is from these ingredients that your most memorable meals will come.

Smoky Deviled Egg Salad on Golden Rye CrispsI love eggs and mayonnaise. If I were ever asked to pick a few desert island foods, these two would definitely be on the lists. This recipe starts out as one of the most basic of all comfort foods: the egg sandwich, and then elevates it to the next level. I’ve replaced the usual soft deli rye with a nutty Danish crisp bread to add a nice bit of crunch. I also use homemade mayonnaise (recipe at the end). The real key ingredient, however, is the smoked Spanish paprika (Pimenton de la Vera), which can usually be purchased at gourmet supermarkets or specialty stores. If you can’t find this spice near you, you can certainly replace it with the more commonly found Hungarian paprika, but note that you will lose out on the smoky heat of the Spanish version. I’ve included a link at the end for an online supplier for those of you who can’t find it elsewhere.
Ingredients3 medium eggs
2 slices of golden rye Danish crisp bread (suggested brands: Wasa, Kavli)
2 tablespoons of homemade mayonnaise (recipe below)
1 heaping teaspoon of smoked Spanish paprika (also known as Pimenton de la Vera)
Fresh cracked pepper
Course sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly chopped dill


1. Place the eggs in a saucepan filled with water and bring to a boil. Boil for 7 to 8 minutes then remove from heat. Peel the eggs under cold running water to keep your fingers from burning and then coarsely chop and place in a bowl.

2. Add the mayonnaise and paprika to the chopped eggs and mix well. The paprika should turn the mix a lovely orange color. Season to taste with course sea salt and fresh cracked pepper.

3. Arrange two slices of crispbread on a plate with nutty side up. Top each one with half of the egg salad mixture. Garnish with a sprinkle of dill before serving.

Homemade MayonnaiseThis recipe might read a bit complicated, but it’s really just about patience. An electric mixer or food processor makes it a snap!! Once you get the hang of it, you can experiment with the use of different oils or the addition of herbs and spices—I’ve included a couple variations at the end. Perfect in the Smoky Deviled Egg Salad or as a dipping sauce for French Fries.

Ingredients2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon powdered mustard seed
Pinch of sugar
4 to 5 teaspoons of lemon juice (or white vinegar)
1 ½ cups olive, soy, or canola oil

1. Combine the egg yolks, mustard powder, sugar, and 1 teaspoon of vinegar/lemon juice in the base of an electric mixer and beat until the yolks double into a creamy, pale yellow.

2. Lower the mixer to medium speed and slowly drizzle in the first ¼ cup of oil.

3. Add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice

4. Drizzle in another ¼ of olive oil, a few drops at a time, making sure that it is all combined before adding the next drops.

5. Follow with another teaspoon of lemon juice.

6. Add ½ cup of oil in a steady stream and then the remaining lemon juice.

7. Drizzle in the remaining oil. If it’s too thick for your taste, finish by thinning out with a tablespoon or two of hot water.

Cover and refrigerate. Will keep in an air-tight container for up to 5 days.

Variations:
Aioli: For every ½ cup of prepared mayonnaise, whisk in: 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of fresh chopped coriander and salt and pepper to taste.

Meyer Lemon Mayo: Use juice from fragrant Meyer lemons in original recipe. Finish with a teaspoon of Meyer lemon zest, and some fresh cracked pepper.

Chipotle Mayo: Prepare mayonnaise then blend in a processor with 2 chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, 1 clove garlic, 1 tablespoon smoked Spanish paprika, and a squeeze of fresh lime.

Remoulade: Blend 1 cup prepared mayo with 1 tablespoon each of: minced cornichons, capers, garlic clove, chopped parsley, chopped tarragon, and spicy Dijon mustard. Finish with a few drops of red pepper sauce.

Where to Buy
The Spice House, based out of Chicago, offers all kinds of hard-to-find herbs, spices, and spice mixtures. Click here for Smoked Spanish Paprika.

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