Grilled Caesar Salad

I had this at a restaurant and it seemed easy enough to recreate at home and it was! I actually broiled my lettuce instead of grilling it (lazy) but I'm sure grilling would taste even better. I used my patented Caesar Dressing. The addition of the poached egg makes this much more meal-like and less of an appetizer salad. I have a fear of poaching eggs. It's a simple concept that seems much harder for me to execute in reality.

I've read lots of tips and tricks and tried the old fashioned way. Just recently (one egg before this salad) I found a trick that works for me- the novice poacher. Wow that sounds like a hunt animals for their skins... Novice EGG poacher, the good kind... you know know what I mean! I used this Perfect Poached Eggs trick but I lengthened the time the whole egg was in the water. 15 seconds did nothing to form a lightly cooked outside even in a real simmer. And I didn't simmer the water. I brought it to just before a simmer, where there are bubbles on the bottom but the bubbles aren't moving. I also eliminated the two pan deal, cause why?

I made one salad and used the inside (aka un-rotten part) of some old lettuce. Romaine lives longer than some rodent species I'm convinced. You want to lay your lettuce leaves spaced out on a cookie sheet and lightly brush with oil. Set your broiler to HI.

Bring some water up to an almost simmer. See how this has bubbles but they aren't moving (even in a Wizard picture they wouldn't be, I promise).

Next throw a handful of raw pine nuts on a cookie sheet or small oven safe dish.

Pop those under the broiler and watch until they start to brown. You will need to watch them, broilers go from 0 to 60. Mine took about 2-3 minutes.

Once your nuts are out. Whoaaaa there, mind out of the gutter. Pop a whole egg into the hot water. Roll that around for about 1 minute. Remove and crack into a small measuring cup. I say small because you want to be able to lower the egg gently into the water, not drop from above.

Egg lowered into the hot water. Once you put the egg in, pop the lettuce under the broiler for about 3 minutes. It should take about as long for the egg to finish as for the lettuce to wilt. If the egg is taking too long you can knock up the temp at this point since the egg is already in its shape.

Use tongs to arrange the lettuce on a plate, remove your egg with a slotted spoon (I sort of 'shake' it down a few times to remove excess moisture) and lay it over the lettuce. Top with your roasted pine nuts, a twist from a pepper mill, and some shaved or grated parmesan. Drizzle dressing over it all and enjoy! I popped some buttered bread under the broiler with the lettuce to add even more substance to this dish. Remember your lettuce will shrink when heated, so heat more than you think you want per serving. There is a lot going on for this dish, but everything takes >3minutes and uses the broiler or the boiler. Stove top, had to take the rhyme guys. Anyway, enough joking around! Eat your fancy-schmany salad!