CAESAR SALAD WITH CROUTON COLLARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Using your fingers, pluck the doughy section of bread away from the crust leaving a 1/4-inch thick collar of crust. Place the crusty collars in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Toss and squish the bread like a sponge until the oil is evenly absorbed.
• Place the oil-soaked crusty collars on a baking sheet, standing up so that the hot air can circulate through the "O", and bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until collars are crispy and golden brown.
• Place the egg, in its shell, in boiling water for 40 seconds. Remove, run under cold water for 15 seconds to stop the cooking process, then use as directed.
• To make caesar salad dressing, add salt and pepper to the salad bowl (this creates a sandpaper-like base that will make the next steps easier). Using the back of a soup spoon, grind the garlic against the wall of the bowl until it becomes a paste. Then add the anchovies, and once again use the back of the spoon to grind it into a paste. Follow the same procedure, adding the Dijon, egg yolk, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce, 1 at a time. Make sure that each ingredient is blended into a smooth paste with the previous ingredients before proceeding.
• Add the oil and vinegar. Blend well.
• To serve, stand lettuce leaves upright in crouton collars. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of dressing overtop each serving, then sprinkle liberally with Parmigiano-Reggiano.
• Note: If you don't have a rough wooden salad bowl, the dressing can be made (with some sacrifice) in a blender. Add the salt, pepper, garlic, anchovies, Dijon, lemon juice, Worcestershire and vinegar. Puree. Then add the oil and pulse a few times. Add the yolk and pulse a couple more times-just enough to blend it without causing the dressing to turn mayonnaisey.