Caesar salad is no doubt my mom’s culinary claim to fame. It’s been requested no less than 1,043 times by friends and family over the years. Every time I make it, people ask me for the recipe. So here it is!

Truth be told, my mom still makes it better. I’m getting closer though… just need another decade or so.

The secret is in the sauce. The dressing is lemon based, so it’s not like the overly creamy stuff you find bottled in the grocery store. This is light and refreshing, and loaded with bright flavors like lemon and garlic.

It’s attended over a dozen Super Bowl parties, holiday dinners, wedding showers, potlucks, etc. It’s like… if you’re not sure what to make, just make this. It’s a simple crowd pleaser. A good caesar salad never goes out of style.

Mom’s Caesar Salad

serves 2 as an entre, 4 as a side

1 large head of romaine, washed and cut into bite size pieces

3 large gloves of garlic, pressed or finely minced

1tsp sour cream

1tsp dijon mustard

juice of 1 lemon

1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese

lemon pepper

a few dashes of tabasco sauce

2-3 TB extra virgin olive oil

croutons

How To

In the bottom of a wooden salad bowl add your minced garlic, sour cream, mustard, lemon juice, parmesan, tabasco sauce, and several shakes of lemon pepper. Mix it all together and gently stream in your olive oil while continuing to stir. Dressing should look creamy, but taste lemony!

At this point, I spoon out some of the dressing and reserve it. My mom always makes the perfect amount of dressing to salad ratio, but I always seem to have too much (?)

Throw your romaine into the bowl, and toss until the dressing evenly coats the lettuce. Taste, and add some of your reserved dressing if you need it. Finish off with good croutons.

Serve it up as a side, or as an entree with grilled shrimp or chicken. You’ll thank me later!

 

This might look scary. But, it’s actually easy.

And quite delicious.

Truly, I never knew cooking a whole fish could be so simple. I fancied this one up with a little parsley-chili oil. You could also just stick some rosemary branches in the belly, with lemon and garlic. I’ve done that before too and it was great!

So, we got the idea to make whole fish a few months ago after dining at what has become one of our favorite restaurants in Antwerp, Fiskebar. Twice I have ordered the whole Sea bass and it comes out perfect every time.

I don’t even remember seeing pre-packaged whole fish in our super markets back in the States? … I also was never looking for it. But here, it’s always on display. We think it’s worth the extra euros to buy it super fresh from the Saturday market. Even just for the experience! The fish monger we go to always has a long line, so you have to be prepared to wait. I’m usually so busy staring into the glass case filled with live lobsters, mussels, a variety of whole fish, and gorgeous salmon filets that when our number is called I feel like we just got there!

I found a recipe on the internet for baked whole fish with basil infused oil, and was inspired. I also had a few extra chills hanging around, and a huge bunch of parsley ready to dry up and wilt.

Garrett and I agreed this was our favorite way to serve the fish yet. The flavors are subtle enough, so the Sea bass remains the star of the show. Marinating before baking ensures that you’ll have a perfectly moist fish infused with lemon and herbs once it comes out of the oven. This is rustic, simple dining at it’s finest.

Baked Whole Sea Bass with Herbed Chili Oil

adapted from Le Creuset 

2 whole Sea bass, cleaned and descaled

3 thick slices of lemon, cut in half

Herbed Chili Oil

2Tb to 1/4 cup chopped parsly (or whatever fresh herb you have on hand. Basil or cilantro would be nice too)

1tsp fresh thyme (again, I just had this sitting around. Use whatever combo you love!)

1 garlic glove, minced

1 small chili, finely chopped

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Prep and Bake

Preheat the oven to 190 C/ 375 F

Lay the fish on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and pat them dry. Make three diagonal slits on one side of each fish (check out above picture) cutting through the skin into the flesh. Season the skin and cavity with a good amount of salt and pepper.

In a blender or food processor, add all the ingredients for the oil. Pulse until just combined.

Spoon the oil over the fish, and all inside the cavity. Stick a half of a lemon slice in each of the slits you made on the body. Refrigerate up to 30 minutes before baking in the oven.

Bake for about 20 minutes. Cooking time will depend on the size of your fish.

* for a dipping sauce, I mixed about 1/4 cup mayonnaise with 1 tsp of siracha sauce, the juice from half a lemon, a clove of minced garlic and some additional chopped parsley. I mixed what fish meat we had leftover from dinner with the dipping sauce. My mom use to do this with fresh trout and it made a fabulous dip. This turned out pretty great too!

 

There are a few things that I did not bother to do on a weekday when I had a real job. Make my own pie crust is right up there with clean the house and tackle 3 loads of laundry.

I totally understand the necessity for short cuts in the kitchen. Back in Philly, we use to stock up on Trader Joe’s whole wheat crust, which I LOVE. Come Friday night, we would leave work and pick up any additional ingredients we needed, and then spend the evening assembling and eating pizza in our own cozy kitchen. It was an awesome ritual.

Jump ahead to Belgium days, no Trader Joes’s, and a lot more free time for me. Last Friday night I made this crust, and I have to say, I think it’s my new favorite. The ingredient list is minimal, and the dough doesn’t even require any rising time. The best part? The crust is super thin and crisps up beautifully in the oven. Just the way I like it.

Never tried peaches on pizza? You need to! The combination of sweet peaches and tangy barbecue sauce paired with salty bacon and melty gouda cheese is CRAZY GOOD. I like caramelized red onions for an additional layer of flavor, cilantro for garnish and color, and red pepper flakes for heat. Mmmm. This one is a summer keeper! 

Barbecue Pizza with Peaches, Bacon and Gouda Cheese

1 thin crust pizza dough (*recipe below)

2-4 slices of bacon, fried and chopped (depends on how much bacon you like)

1 peach, thinly sliced

2 Tbs barbecue sauce

1/2 small red onion, sliced and sautéed in 2 tsp of olive oil

1/2 – 1 cup of grated gouda cheese (again, depends on how much you like)

bunch of cilantro, chopped

pinch of red pepper flakes

Homemade Thin Crust Pizza Dough

recipe from thekitchn.com

makes 2 pizza crusts

2 cups (10 ounces) All Purpose flour

1/2 tsp active dry yeast

3/4 cup (6 ounces) lukewarm water

1/2 tsp salt

To Make the Dough

30 minutes to an hour before baking, preheat your oven to 500* F. If you are using a pizza stone, situate it on the lower middle rack in the oven.

Measure lukewarm water into a small bowl. Add the yeast and gently stir to combine. Let it sit for a few minutes until the yeast is completely dissolved.

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour and the salt. Make a well in the middle of your flour mixture and gently pour in the water and yeast mixture. Work with your hands or a wooden spoon to combine everything together.

Once the dough roughly comes together, dump it out on a clean surface. Don’t worry, it will be a bit shaggy at this point. Work the dough with your hands, kneading for five to ten minutes until it comes together in a smooth, elastic ball. If it’s too sticky, work in 1Tb of flour at a time until your dough is silky and smooth. 

Cut the ball of dough in half with a bench scraper or large knife.

*Remember, the recipe makes two pizza doughs, but we’re only making one pizza. I wrapped my second dough in plastic wrap and stuck it in the freezer for another time.

Tear off a 12 inch piece of parchment paper. Work the dough into a disk and set it on the paper. Using the heel of your hand stretch the dough from the center outwards until 1/4 inch or less thick. You can also use a rolling pin to do this.

Assemble and Bake

Transfer the dough with parchment paper onto the back of a baking sheet.

*You are going to bake the pizza directly on top of the parchment paper. You can slide out the paper once you are ready to slice and serve.

Place 2 Tbs of barbecue sauce on the dough using the back of a spoon to spread the sauce out evenly to the edges. Next, add the chopped bacon, sautéed onions, and sliced peaches (everything but the cheese).

At this point, if you have a pizza stone, you can gently slide the pizza onto the stone using the baking sheet. If not, just place the baking sheet directly in the oven and bake for 5 minutes. Turn the pizza 180* and bake for another 3 minutes. Next, add your cheese and bake for a final 2-3 minutes until the crust is browned and crispy and the cheese is entirely melted.

Let your pizza cool for about five minutes before topping it off with chopped cilantro and red pepper flakes. Serve it up and enjoy! It’s pizza night!!