Caesar Salad in a Parmesan Basket

For the Croutons:
6 one-inch slices crusty white bread, cut into ¾ inch cubes
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tsp. granulated garlic
2-3 tsp. dried oregano

For the Salad:
2 cloves garlic, minced
11/2 cups mayonnaise
11/2 tsps. Dijon mustard
4-5 anchovies or 1 tsp. anchovy paste (optional)
Squeeze of fresh lemon
dash worcestershire
salt and pepper to taste
2 head romaine, washed and dried and torn into 2-inch pieces
grated parmesan (reggiano) to taste
½ pint grape or cherry tomatoes sliced in half

For the Croutons:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, toss bread cubes with remaining crouton ingredients. On a sheet pan, bake until golden brown, tossing occasionally, about 10-12 minutes.


Toss lettuce, croutons, parmesan, tomatoes & dressing serve in parmesan bowl Serves 6.

Parmesan basket: take about ¼ cup grated parmesan and sprinkle into a hot non stick skillet, once hot and bubbly carefully take a fork and flip, let cook about 20 seconds remove and place over a cup to form the mold.

Carbonara

Carbonara

1 pound dry spaghetti
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 ounces pancetta, sliced into small strips
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
¼ cup dry white wine
2 large eggs
½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and ¼ cup Romano
Freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbls. Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2 Tbls. heavy cream (optional)
Prepare the sauce while the pasta is cooking to ensure that the spaghetti will be hot and ready when the sauce is finished; it is very important that the pasta is hot when adding the egg mixture, so that the heat of the pasta cooks the raw eggs in the sauce. Drain the pasta well, reserving 1 cup of the hot pasta water.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a deep skillet over medium flame. Add the pancetta and sauté for about 3 minutes, until the bacon (pancetta) is crisp and the fat is rendered. Toss the garlic into the fat and sauté for less than 1 minute to soften (careful not to burn). Add the wine and turn off the heat, add the hot, drained spaghetti to the pan and toss. Beat the eggs, parsley and Parmesan together in a mixing bowl, pour the egg/cheese mixture into the pasta, stirring quickly until the eggs thicken, but do not scramble (this is done off the heat to ensure this does not happen.) Thin out the sauce with a bit of the reserved pasta water, until it reaches desired consistency (optional, add 2 Tbls. cream). Season the carbonara with several turns of freshly ground black pepper and taste for salt. Mound the spaghetti carbonara into warm serving bowls and garnish with chopped parsley. Pass more cheese around the table, serves 4-6.