Alex MacKay

Caesar Salad

Ingredients for Eight

2 heads Romaine lettuce, cut, washed and dried
2 egg yolks
2 tbsp. mustard
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
6 anchovy filets, crushed
¾ cup freshly grated parmesan
1¼ 300mls olive oil
8 slices of white bread, cut into croutons and oven toasted
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Mash the egg yolks together with the mustard, vinegar, garlic, anchovies and a little salt, whisk in the olive oil slowly until you have the texture of a thick mayonnaise, add a little water if it is too thick then add the parmesan cheese. Toss the romaine through this and top with the croutons.

Gratin Dauphinois

Ingredients for Eight

3 pounds (1.5 kgs) firm potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly
2 cups of milk
3 cloves of garlic peeled and chopped
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2/3 cup freshly grated gruyere cheese
Salt, pepper and fresh nutmeg

Method

Preheat your oven to 400ºF (200ºc)

Bring the milk to the boil with the garlic, add the heavy whipping cream and stir well, season with the salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste. Pour all of this over the potatoes in a shallow gratin dish and cover it with foil. Bake it for about 45 minutes then remove the foil and bake for a further 15 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over, top with the butter and grill it until golden brown.