A 1920's appetizer?
Recently, I was invited to a Roaring 20's themed party. I wanted to bring an appetizer, but what were popular appetizers in 1920? I knew that Caesar Salad was created during that decade. Originally, it was eaten with the fingers even. Because I am a big fan of finger food for cocktail parties, but since I figured people would not want to get dressing on their fingers, I came up with an idea for Caesar Salad on a toothpick. I mixed some minced garlic with olive oil, then cut up ciabatta bread into slices. I brushed the bread slices with the infused oil then baked them in the oven around 400 degrees until the bread was crunchy on the outside but still a little chewy on the inside. After the slices cooled enough to handle, I cut them up into croutons. Then I rolled up strips of romaine lettuce and speared the rolls with a toothpick. I added a small square of parmigiano reggiano, and then the crouton. The crouton on the bottom made the whole thing stand up relatively straight on the platter. Normally, I would mix the dressing in the bowl with the lettuce, but for this I mixed it up separately. I put a raw egg in 140 degree water for four minutes as I had read that that would pasteurize the egg. Then I crushed four anchovies in a bowl (although the original salad probably didn't include anchovy, or Worcestershire either), added the egg, the juice of one lemon, salt and pepper, and a dash of Worcestershire sauce. I mixed that well and then added around 1/4 cup of olive oil mixing well as I poured.
People could dip the toothpicks in the dressing or put the toothpicks on a plate and dribble the dressing over. Either way, everyone seemed to enjoy my Caesar Salad on a toothpick.
People could dip the toothpicks in the dressing or put the toothpicks on a plate and dribble the dressing over. Either way, everyone seemed to enjoy my Caesar Salad on a toothpick.
This was delicious and so fun to eat!
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