Caesar Dressing

This is my absolute favorite recipe for Caesar dressing.  It's also my only recipe for Caesar dressing but that doesn't matter.  It comes from Cooks Illustrated magazine which is a fantastic place not only for recipes, but also an explanation for why they do the things they do, the best way to store things and sometimes product reviews.  This particular recipe came from the light and healthy edition.  This is my version...no anchovies for me! It also recommends using a blender to mix it all together. I use a fork. Works great, less mess.

Caesar Dressing
1/2 C low-fat buttermilk
3 T light mayonnaise
2 T fresh lemon juice
2 T water
1.5 t yellow mustard
1/2 t Dijon mustard
1 t Worcestershire sauce
1 garlic clove, squished in a garlic squisher
1/2 t pepper
1/4 t salt
2 T EVOO
1 oz freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/2 cup)

Mix everything except the Parmesan cheese together in a bowl.  Grate the Parmesan cheese with a microplane grater and weigh with your kitchen scale (yes, of course I have one).  Mix it all up and eat it because it's sooo good!

For those of you who don't know what a microplane grater is...

there ya go. It's a grater with little tiny blades and it will severely damage the tips of your fingers. So be careful! It's also good for zesting, grinding up ginger, saying you have a microplane grater, etc....I do actually use mine all the time.

Also, if you don't have a garlic squisher (AKA a garlic press), get one of those too.  I mean really, who wants to mince garlic?! NO ONE!  Here's a little garlic tip...the best way to peel garlic = silicone pot holder.  Yes, you could buy one of these...

but it's really only good for one thing.  Instead get one of these...

 

They're good for peeling garlic, keeping your hands from being burned, holding your cutting board in place, getting a lid off of a jar...so many uses! They have really cute ones at Sur La Table that come in the shapes of animals. And at Christmas they have gingerbread men, snowmen, penguins...things like that. Way more fun/useful than a silicone tube.

**The microplane grater picture came from a blog which I stumbled upon called A Bountiful Kitchen. It appears to have all kinds of recipes and is very well organized. Worth takin' a look at!