Caesar Salad

I often make my own salad dressing.  I think it has a much better taste than store bought for little effort and I almost always have all the ingredients on hand to make some sort of basic vinaigrette.  But this New Year's Eve, we were having a filet mignon roast and I wanted to make a salad that would stand up to heartier fare.  Caesar salad was the ultimate choice and everyone (even the guys) came back for seconds.  Delicous and incredibly easy to make as long as you own a blender.

Romaine Hearts with Caesar Salad Dressing (adapted from The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual)

Ingredients:

2 large hearts of romaine 

1/3 cup grated good quality Pecorino Romano, plus additional for serving

1/2 Hellman's mayonnaise

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar

1 garlic clove

1/4 tsp worcestershire sauce

1/4 tsp Tabasco

8 turns freshly ground white pepper

Fine sea salt, if needed

Freshly ground black pepper

Directions: 

1. Trim the root ends from the romaine, separate the leaves and wash and dry them.  Chop the lettuce and put into the fridge to chill while you prepare the dressing.

2. Combine 1/4 cup of the Pecorino with the remaining ingrendients (except the black pepper) in a blender and puree until the dressing is smooth.  (If you don't have a blender, mince the garlic and whisk them together with the rest of the dressing ingredients.)  Taste and add salt if necessary.  Loosen the dressing with water as needed starting with the prescribed 1/4 cup.

3. Toss the chilled lettuce with the dressing in a large bowl, transfer to serving plates or a serving platter and finish with a generous crowning of the remaining grated cheese and a few turns of black pepper.  Serve at once.