Made with a mix of fresh lemon juice and vinegar, this Caesar dressing has the perfect balance of acidity and richness . Make it in a large or small batch and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Having a stash of dressing on hand is the best feeling when the dinner hour rolls around.
A few times in the past few months, I’ve had to entertain for a large-ish number of people, first for family, then for my daughter’s soccer team. For the first I made a bunch of pan pizzas , for the second I made a bunch of baked penne (more on this soon), and for both I made a very large Caesar salad, which was not only well received, but also easy.
Unlike other salads I love for entertaining — such as this Greek salad or this chopped salad , both of which require a fair amount of chopping — Caesar salad requires very little. And if you make it as suggested here, which is inspired by the one served at Speedy Romeo in Brooklyn, the chopping amounts to cutting heads of Romaine or other lettuces in half — in other words, the lettuce leaves are kept on the large side, and the salad is served with a fork and knife.
I love the large size not only because it’s visually appealing, but it also holds up a little bit better — the leaves don’t wilt as quickly upon being dressed. Using a mix of Romaine and chicories also helps in the longevity department: radicchio or Treviso, if you can find it, as well as Belgian endive are a little sturdier than Romaine, and I love the bitterness they lend, a perfect complement to the sweet Romaine and lemony dressing.
Incidentally, I recently spotted at the grocery store this mix of Romaine and Treviso, which I love but can never find. Treviso, if you are unfamiliar, is a variety of radicchio and looks like a cross between Belgian endive and radicchio:
A Few More Notes:
- Where are the croutons? Because I am so often serving Caesar salad aside pizza or pasta, I rarely include any crouton or bread crumbs. If you wish to add these, see this post for the crumbs and this post for the croutons .
- Egg Yolks: If using raw egg yolks makes you nervous, you can use mayonnaise in its place. See the recipe box for details.
- Large Batch: Once you start making salad dressing in large batches (see this large-batch tahini dressing and this large-batch shallot vinaigrette ), it’s hard to go back, because it requires the same amount of work and leaves you with double the product. The large batch recipe below calls for a whole tin (2 ounces) of anchovies, which is so nice — I hate storing opened tins of anchovies. Salad dressing lasts a long time in the fridge, and it is such a gift to have on hand when the dinner hour rolls around.
Below you will find step-by-step instructions for making both Caesar salad and Caesar dressing.
How to Make Caesar Dressing, Step by Step
Gather your ingredients: lemons, anchovies, garlic, egg yolks, vinegar, and extra-virgin olive oil. If using raw egg yolks worries you, you can replace each yolk with 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise.
Place the garlic and anchovies along with a pinch of flaky sea salt into a food processor or blender.
Purée until smooth, scrape down, then add the fresh lemon juice, vinegar, and egg yolks.
Purée until blended.
With the machine running, stream the oil slowly through the food chute — if you have a Cuisinart , stream the oil through the food pusher insert, where it will enter the machine through the teensy pin hole located at the bottom of the insert.
Taste, and adjust to taste with more salt and lemon to taste. Thin with a few tablespoons of water or until the dressing is a pourable consistency.
Transfer to storage vessels and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
I love these Weck Jars.
How to Make a Caesar Salad, Step by Step
Gather your greens. I love using a mix of Romaine and some sort of chicory like endive or radicchio. You’ll also need some Parmigiano Reggiano.
I like to cut my greens into large pieces, and I serve the salad with a fork and knife. Dress the greens lightly with the Caesar dressing and a pinch of flaky sea salt. Love this large bowl .
Transfer to a serving bowl then…
… shower it with shaved parmesan. The leaves should look as though they are blanketed in snow. A microplane grater is handy/essential for this.
Season with pepper to taste.
Transfer to serving plates and shave more parmesan and crack more pepper over the top.
Description
Adapted from my cookbook, Pizza Night .
If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a knife/whisk to make the dressing: To make by hand, use a knife to mince the garlic and anchovies until very finely chopped. Transfer to a medium bowl, then whisk in the egg yolk (or mayonnaise), vinegar, and lemon juice until smooth. Very slowly stream in the olive oil, whisking constantly until emulsified. Taste and adjust with more salt and/or lemon. Thin the dressing with 2 to 4 tablespoons of water if needed.
Two Tools I love:
- Microplane Grater for the Parmigiano Reggiano
- 14-Cup Food Processor
For a small batch, use these proportions:
3 garlic cloves
6 olive oil–packed anchovy fillets
1 large egg yolk or 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves
a 2 -ounce tin of anchovies, drained (roughly 12 olive oil–packed anchovy fillets
Flaky sea salt or kosher salt
2 large egg yolks or 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste
2 cups extra-virgin olive oil
3 to 4 tablespoons water
- In a food processor or blender, combine the garlic, anchovies, and a pinch of salt and puree until smooth, about 15 seconds. Add the egg yolks (or mayonnaise), vinegar, and lemon juice and puree again until smooth, another 15 seconds.
- With the machine running, stream in the oil very slowly until emulsified. ( Note: If you have a Cuisinart, stream the oil through the food pusher insert of the food chute… there is a teensy hole at the bottom that will allow the oil to stream in very slowly.) Taste and adjust with more salt and/or lemon juice. If necessary, with the machine running, thin the dressing with 3 to 4 tablespoons of water.
- Transfer the dressing to a jar and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dressing
- Method: Food processor
- Cuisine: Amerian
Description
Adapted from my cookbook, Pizza Night .
If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a knife/whisk to make the dressing: To make by hand, use a knife to mince the garlic and anchovies until very finely chopped. Transfer to a medium bowl, then whisk in the egg yolk (or mayonnaise), vinegar, and lemon juice until smooth. Very slowly stream in the olive oil, whisking constantly until emulsified. Taste and adjust with more salt and/or lemon. Thin the dressing with 2 to 4 tablespoons of water if needed.
Two Tools I love:
- Microplane Grater for the Parmigiano Reggiano
- 14-Cup Food Processor
For a small batch, use these proportions:
3 garlic cloves
6 olive oil–packed anchovy fillets
1 large egg yolk or 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves
a 2 -ounce tin of anchovies, drained (roughly 12 olive oil–packed anchovy fillets
Flaky sea salt or kosher salt
2 large egg yolks or 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste
2 cups extra-virgin olive oil
3 to 4 tablespoons water
- In a food processor or blender, combine the garlic, anchovies, and a pinch of salt and puree until smooth, about 15 seconds. Add the egg yolks (or mayonnaise), vinegar, and lemon juice and puree again until smooth, another 15 seconds.
- With the machine running, stream in the oil very slowly until emulsified. ( Note: If you have a Cuisinart, stream the oil through the food pusher insert of the food chute… there is a teensy hole at the bottom that will allow the oil to stream in very slowly.) Taste and adjust with more salt and/or lemon juice. If necessary, with the machine running, thin the dressing with 3 to 4 tablespoons of water.
- Transfer the dressing to a jar and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dressing
- Method: Food Processor
- Cuisine: Amerian
Find it online : https://alexandracooks.com/2024/11/02/caesar-dressing-large-batch-or-small/
Below you will find all of my favorite recipes for Thanksgiving. There are printable timelines at the very bottom. Good luck. Gobble Gobble.
- What to drink? Punch, of course.
- Holiday Bread No-knead, no excuse.
- Classic Bread Stuffing My favorite part of the meal every year.
- Potatoes Five Ways
- Sweet Potato Casserole
- ALL the Sauces Make-ahead gravy, cranberry, mustard, and more.
- Simple Salad Palate cleanser.
- Other Sides If you’re up for it.
- Dessert Pie Pie Pie Pie Pie Pie Pie Pie.
- Vegetarian Entrée? This one steals the show.
- Turkey Dry-brined.
- Schedule + Shopping Get organized!
PS: 25+ Thanksgiving Side Dishes
Philadelphia Fish House Punch
If you’ve never made a “house” punch, I highly recommend it, and I highly recommend this one: Philadelphia Fish House Punch , a mix of brandy, cognac, rum, fresh lemon juice, and simple syrup.
Since discovering this recipe eight years ago, there has not been a Thanksgiving, New Year’s Eve, or Easter for which I have not made it. Its reception, without fail, is wild, and for this, I look forward to making it more than just about anything during the holiday season.
Punch bowl!
Holiday Bread
Popovers 🎉
Rolls 🎉
Biscuits 👏
Bread 🎉
If making rolls is a page-turner for you, you could make a batch of this no-fuss focaccia . The beauty of this recipe is that it’s best made the day before and tucked in the fridge — on Thanksgiving morning, you would just let it rise at room temperature for 3 to 4 hours. You can bake it when the turkey is out of the oven.
Favorite Stuffing
This kale and caramelized onion stuffing is a variation of the one in my cookbook, Bread Toast Crumbs . After 45 minutes in the oven, it emerges with a crisp golden exterior and a creamy center, flavorful enough to eat on its own, but welcoming to many a relish, sauce, gravy, or anything else the Thanksgiving plate has to offer.
Know you can customize the seasonings and add-ins to your liking. Also: you can make it ahead and freeze it. See instructions in the post for how to freeze it .
I love the kale and caramelized onion version, but if you’re looking for a very classic stuffing , made with onions and celery, seasoned with Bell’s Seasoning, find that here :
This stuffing freezes well!
Potatoes
Crispy Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
Sweet Potato Casserole
This is my Great Aunt Phyllis’s recipe for sweet potato casserole: creamy, orange-scented, brandy-spiked, and unapologetic in its use of butter and sugar.
4 Holiday Sauces
All of the sauces below can be made in advance. Bring cranberry sauces and mustard sauce to room temperature several hours before serving, and bring the gravy to a gentle simmer before serving.
CranberrySauces
On the left: Sally Schneider’s Red Wine Cranberry Sauce (an old favorite, also delicious when made with Port). On the right : No-Cook Cranberry Relish (sweet, tart, orange-scented, and delicious).
Gravy & Mustard Sauce
On the left: Simple, Make-Ahead Gravy . What is especially nice about having gravy made before the bird is even roasted is the mental assurance that as soon as the bird is done, you can (after it rests) serve it without too much of a last-minute scramble. On the right : My Grandmother’s Mustard Sauce: We rarely make a ham for Thanksgiving, but if we do, we make my grandmother’s mustard sauce, affectionately known as the ham sauce !
Also, do yourself a favor and make a batch of this delicious roasted turkey stock before Thanksgiving… it will make the best gravy, and you will need it for your stuffings and potatoes, too:
Simple Salad
Other Sides
Thanksgiving Desserts
One of the best ways you can get a jump start on your Thanksgiving preparations is to make your pie dough in advance. The recipe in the video below and in the recipe here, which includes instructions on how to parbake your pie dough yields two rounds. If you want to double it, I recommend measuring all of the ingredients and making two consecutive batches (no need to clean the food processor in between) as opposed to trying to make a double batch all at once. I use this recipe for all of my pies, tarts, galettes, etc.
Every Thanksgiving I make Ronnie Hollingsworth’s Most Excellent Squash Pie , which comes from Kristin Kimball’s, The Dirty Life , in which she writes: “Pumpkin shmumpkin, winter squash has more flavor and better texture.”
I couldn’t agree more. I also always make David Lebovitz’s no corn syrup bourbon pecan pie and some sort of apple tart, either this apple frangipane galette or this French apple tart . Sister Pie’s salted maple pie has become a recent favorite.
Foolproof, Food Processor Pie Dough
Vegetarian Thanksgiving?
Butternut Squash Lasagna
One snowy Thanksgiving in Vermont , this butternut squash lasagna, brought to the feast by a vegetarian friend of my aunt’s, stole the show. This is the kind of dish you will want to make all winter long, one you’ll want stashed in your freezer, ready to take to a friend in need, the crowd-pleasing recipe you’ll turn to for your next holiday party, one proven to please both carnivores and vegetarians alike.
The recipe comes from Gourme t magazine: Butternut Squash Lasagna
.
And last but not least… the turkey!
Here is the simple method I use for dry-brining a turkey: I use salt alone (as opposed to salt and sugar) and I use 1 teaspoon of kosher salt per pound. Rub the turkey all over with the salt, place it in a giant plastic turkey bag, and transfer it to the fridge for 48 hours.
On Thanksgiving morning, pat the turkey dry, set it on a rack in a roasting pan, brush it with melted butter, season all over with salt (lightly), and pepper; then transfer the pan to the oven and roast it till it looks done, which will vary depending on the size of your bird.
If you’re not feeling turkey, you could make a ham ! Don’t forget the ham sauce .
How To Dry Brine and Roast A Turkey
Simple Baked Ham Recipe with Brown Sugar Glaze
Countdown to Thanksgiving Schedule
Here’s a relatively detailed Countdown to Thanksgiving timeline. If you’d prefer to create your own, here it is in a Google Doc — you can create a copy of it, which you can edit/add notes to. And here’s a rough shopping list , which you can also edit.
Anytime between now and Thanksgiving, you could make and freeze the following:
- peasant bread (for the stuffing)
- pie dough
- Turkey stock
- stuffing
One Week Before Thanksgiving (November 21st)
- Remove turkey from the freezer and transfer to the fridge to thaw
Sunday, November 24th:
- Make a double-batch of peasant bread (4 loaves, 2 of which will go into a double batch of stuffing ).
- Make large-batch shallot vinaigrette .
Monday, November 25th:
- Make a double batch of stuffing through the step at which you cover the pan with foil; freeze each pan.
- If you froze your pie dough, remove it from the freezer to thaw.
Tuesday, November 26th:
- Brine the turkey .
- Make a double batch of pie dough , stash in the fridge.
- Freeze the ice ring (for the punch )
- Juice the lemons (for the punch )
- Make the simple syrup (for the punch )
- Make the cranberry sauce .
- Roast the squash for the butternut squash pie .
- Measure and mix the fillings for each of the pies ( pecan , butternut , salted maple , apple )
Wednesday, November 27th:
- Make the buttermilk pull-apart rolls through step 5; cover the pan and stick it in the fridge overnight. Or…
- … make the dough for the thyme dinner rolls , stick it in the fridge to rise overnight.
- Make the gravy.
- Make the potatoes 3/4 of the way — remove the pan from the oven after 35 minutes — just as the potatoes are starting to brown and the liquid is thickening. Or if you’re making mashed potatoes, make them through the end of step 2.
- Make (salted) whipped cream for the pies.
- Roll out the pies and parbake them.
Thursday, November 28th:
- Rise early and bake off the 4 pies.
- Bring the turkey to room temperature, and prepare it for roasting.
- Prepare the salad — toss it at the last minute.
- Finish baking the potatoes. If you made mashed potatoes, you can re-warm them using a double boiler or in a crock pot or Instant pot on the warm setting.
- Assemble the punch.
- Bake the stuffings.
- Roast the turkey.
- Bake the rolls — while the turkey rests and is carved, there should be plenty of time to bake off the rolls, which means they’ll be piping hot when you gather around the table.
