Name: Caesar Salad with Homemade Croutons and Balsamic Dressing
Yield: Makes 6 first-course servings
Ingredients: 1/2 cup olive oil, divided; 3 large garlic cloves, crushed, divided; 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt; 1 15-ounce loaf country-style white bread, crust removed, cut into cubes; 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese; 1/4 cup mayonnaise; 2 anchovy fillets; 1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar; 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice; 1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard; 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce; 1 very large head of romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces

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Caesar Salad with Homemade Croutons and Balsamic DressingTina Rupp

Alexis Watson of Irvine, California, writes: "You could say I'm a bit obsessive when it comes to cooking. Often I'll take a particular recipe and spend months perfecting it, as I've done with the Caesar salad here. My wife wanted an easy do-ahead dressing that was creamy but didn't use egg yolks. Now we make this salad several times a week, so it was certainly well worth the effort."

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