Hail, Caesar!

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interred with their bones...

When Katie from Other People's Food announced Caesar Salad as the theme for HHDD, I chose this recipe for Caesar Salad with Skewered Shellfish. Unfortunately, life intervened and I missed the deadline. (Checkout the roundup for some of the most mouth-watering interpretations of lettuce I've ever seen).

Fortunately for me, fellow Daring Bakers Kelly and Lis realized swimsuit season looms ahead. In response, they've temporarily abandoned flour, sugar, butter and eggs, embracing the ultimate diet staple: the salad. Their call for contributions to Salad 'Stravaganza gave me a second chance with Caesar.

We prepared the salad pretty much as-published, and although I suspect under nutritional analysis the dressing wouldn't qualify as light it was quite tasty and will probably become our go-to recipe for homemade Caesar dressing. Leftover salad dressing would make a great topping for grilled chicken or baked potatoes.

For the diet-minded, it could pretty easily be lightened without sacrificing much; the garlic, anchovies and Parmesan would more than make up for light mayo. One caveat on that note: this is probably *not* the salad for a first date...the garlic and anchovies aren't generally conducive to first kisses.

On the positive side this salad goes together quickly and plates beautifully. It would make a great light summer meal; grilling the seafood keeps the heat out of the kitchen.

Let's carve him as a dish fit for the gods...

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