Original Home of The Caesar Salad!
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"When you outlaw Caesar salad, only outlaws will eat Caesar salad," noted the party's Director of Communications, Bill Winter. "That's why, on the issue of Caesar salad, we Libertarians have always been pro-legalization."
Selling Caesar salad became a crime last year when California legislators passed a new health law banning the sale of food that used raw eggs as an ingredient. Unexpectedly, the law included Caesar salad, which uses uncooked eggs in its unique dressing.
Restaurant owners and fans of the popular salad were outraged. The outcry convinced state legislators to file a new bill to cancel the criminal status of Caesar salad--and, presumably, end what might have become a flourishing black market in contraband romaine lettuce, raw eggs, and Parmesan cheese.
The bill, signed into law by Governor Pete Wilson on Monday, has Libertarians cheering--but a little surprised.
"We have to compliment California legislators for their rare display of good sense," acknowledged Winter. "Although we're a bit surprised that they were courageous enough to toss the Caesar salad law entirely."
Libertarians had expected politicians to take a more timid, gradual approach, said Winter, perhaps...
* Implementing a five-day waiting period for Caesar salad, so the government could do a medical background check for raw-egg allergies.
* Legalizing only "medical Caesar salad"--whereby people with a vitamin deficiency could get a doctor's permission to buy a small amount of Caesar salad for their own personal use.
* Launching an anti-Caesar salad TV advertising blitz, perhaps with a commercial showing a frying pan, and then showing a frying pan with a raw egg in it. The voice-over could be: "This is your brain. This is your brain on Caesar salad."
* Allowing only adults, 21 and over, the right to buy Caesar salad, on the grounds that it may be an adolescent's gateway-salad to stronger stuff, like macaroni salad or three-bean salad.
But Libertarians say they are delighted with the bold, unexpected victory over the "Just Say No to Caesar Salad" lobby--and argue that it's a win for libertarianism and the American way of life.
"We support the Constitutional right of every American to keep and bear a Caesar salad--or, rather, to eat and buy a Caesar salad," said Winter. "All joking aside, it's a setback for those political eggheads who think they have the right to micromanage every aspect of our lives--down to the type of salad we buy in a restaurant. Hopefully, politicians will learn to just lettuce alone."
Caesar Salad
A Caesar salad topped with grilled chicken.Caesar salad is a salad of romaine lettuce and croutons dressed with Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, olive oil, egg, Worcestershire sauce, and black pepper, often prepared tableside. There are many variations. It was created in the 1920s in a hotel in Tijuana, Mexico by Caesar Cardini.Caesar Salad History
Hotel Caesars on Avenida Revolución in Tijuana where Caesar salad was inventedCaesar salad was invented in 1924 by Caesar Cardini. Cardini was an Italian restaurateur and chef in Tijuana, Mexico. He was living in San Diego but working in Tijuana to avoid the restrictions of Prohibition. There are several stories about the specifics of the salad's creation. The most common is that it resulted from a Fourth of July rush depleting the kitchen's supplies, and Cardini made do with what he had, adding the dramatic flair of a table-side tossing. Another is that it was created for a group of Hollywood stars after a long weekend party. The Hotel Caesar in Tijuana Mexico no longer operates a restaurant, but the bar and grill adjacent to the newly renovated hotel recently resumed preparing table-side ensalada Caesar per tradition (10 January, 2007).As an historical addendum, the salad recipe was created in "Caesar's Cafe" owned by Caesar Cardini on the ground floor of the Hotel Comercial at the corner of 2nd Street and Revolution Blvd. In 1929, Sr. Cardini moved his restaurant to the newly constructed Hotel Caesars on Revolution Blvd. near the corner of 5th St. The Hotel Comercial is long-gone, but the historic "Comercial" building still stands at the same location, and the Hotel Caesar continues to operate to this day.
Contrary to popular belief, the original Caesar salad recipe did not contain pieces of anchovy; the slight anchovy flavor comes from the Worcestershire sauce, which does contain anchovies. Cardini was opposed to using anchovies in his salad, but some modern recipes now include chopped anchovy fillets or anchovy paste.
In the book From Julia Child's Kitchen, Julia Child describes how she ate a Caesar's salad at Cardini's restaurant as a child in 1924, and many years later she sought out Cardini's daughter, Rosa Cardini, in order to discover the original recipe. Rosa Cardini's recipe differs from those that appear in the links below. In particular, the lettuce is served whole on the plate. It is meant to be lifted by the stem and eaten with the fingers. It calls for coddled eggs but no anchovies.
Some recipes include one or more of mustard, avocado, tomato, bacon bits, garlic cloves, or anchovies. Many restaurants offer a more substantial salad by topping a Caesar salad with grilled chicken, grilled salmon or shrimp. The salad today is served at many Italian and some Mexican restaurants, with certain Mexican restaurants improvising on occasional items such as substituting tortilla strips for croutons and Cotija cheese for the Parmesan.
The Cardini family licensed the original recipe early on, and bottled Cardini Caesar salad dressing is still available. Many other bottled versions are sold now, as well, including Morgan's and Newman's Own.
Caesar Salad Raw eggs and salmonella
Many people are concerned about the safety of Caesar salads due to the potential risk of infection by salmonella bacteria occasionally found in raw eggs. This is a concern with many similar dressings like mayonnaise, though in most cases, the pH level is thought to be acidic enough to kill the bacteria. Nevertheless, later versions of the recipe call for briefly-cooked coddled eggs or pasteurized eggs. Today, many recipes omit the egg and produce a Caesar vinaigrette. Yogurt can be substituted for the eggs to maintain a creamy texture.Caesar Salad in humor
The Canadian comedy duo Wayne and Shuster performed sketches based on the popular idea that Caesar salad was invented by or for Julius Caesar. In one variant, Caesar's chef (Shuster) prepares a modern Caesar salad, and says, "You shall name this salad, Caesar." After a pause, Caesar (Wayne) replies, "I name it... coleslaw." Brutus then offers his knife to the cook when the cook disparages the new name.Another joke, a pun, is set up by bandits who invade Julius Caesar's birthday party seeking lettuce. Caesar shows them a truly beautiful salad. The bandit chief then replies, "We come to seize your salad, not to praise it!"
Caesar Salad Recipe
A Caesar salad is generally made from the following ingredients:romaine lettuce
croutons
lemon juice
freshly crushed garlic
mustard, powdered or prepared
olive oil
grated or shaved Parmesan cheese
raw, coddled or hard-boiled egg yolks
fresh-ground black pepper
Worcestershire sauce
anchovies (optional)
