by Carol Mackey
Valentine’s Day has always been one of my favorite family holidays, when the boys were young I would involve them as well. To me, it’s a bit like New Year’s Eve, why go out for dinner when everyone else is too? We love cooking dinner together. This allows us time to talk, laugh, and enjoy the entire process. This year it falls on a Saturday, so why not make it a family Valentines this year?
For more ideas on this watch me on Fox’s Good Day Chicago
2/10 at 9:45 a.m.
Heart Beat Caesar Salad in Parmesan Baskets
For the Croutons:
6 one-inch slices crusty white bread, cut into ¾ inch cubes (heart shaped if desired)
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
Heart shaped red pepper cut outs
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, if you have a heart shaped bowl you can try to from the mold over that.