Nibbles of Tidbits, a Food Blog

Announcement:  We’re aware that certain pages appear to keep loading.  Viewing content here is safe, but the constant reloading of pages, in some instances, is certainly annoying, especially to me.  We’re working to resolve the issue as soon as possible and apologize for any inconvenience.  We’ll get back to the Baby Back Ribs shortly.  Thank you.

I love a well prepared Caesar Salad, but when it comes to making one at home, I don’t want to work with Anchovies or raw Eggs, if I don’t have to.  In search of simplicity and flavor, I found a Caesar Salad Dressing I’ll keep forever.  It satisfies all criteria perfectly.

No-Egg Caesar Dressing (Rachael Ray’s) – Just mix all ingredients in a blender & enjoy!
1 Garlic Clove, finely chopped
1 Lemon, juice of
1 teaspoon of Tabasco
1 teaspoon of Worcestershire Sauce
1 teaspoon of Dijon Mustard
1/3 cup of Olive Oil
1/2 cup of Parmesan Cheese, shredded or shaved
Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper

This Salad Dressing doesn’t lack for anything and can be tossed with any greens.

Once the Salad Dressing is prepared, only two more ingredients make this Caesar amazing.

Toasted Parmesan Cheese sprinkled as Croutons put this homemade Caesar over the top.

To prepare the Cheese-Tons, just add grated or shredded Parmesan to a dry skillet on medium.  Heat until each Cheese consortium crackles and pops together, then remove from skillet to cool on a paper towel.  Crumble over fresh Romaine tossed with this delicious mock Caesar Salad Dressing.  It’s made in minutes and tastes like it’s from a restaurant.

This story isn’t food related, except for the California Pizza Kitchen in my car when it happened.  A few years ago, I was driving home from work with CPK, irrelevant to the story but continue… I was wearing prescription sunglasses when I left the office, then was later at a stop light after the sun set.  I didn’t switch to regular glasses, since I was almost home.  And while waiting in the left turning lane, I noticed a guy in a car on my right frantically trying to tell me something.  A little sketchy, but I cracked the window to hear what he was revving to say.  And it was simply this… “I guess the sun never goes down for cool people.”  Although he dissed me, I thought it was one of the funniest things I’ve heard.  That’s right, I’m a So Cal native with CPK in the car and now the sun never goes down for me.  Cool!

After much experimentation, I found the best combination/ratio of ingredients to make Hummus using (1) Can of Garbanzo Beans aka Chickpeas.  I always have at least one can on hand, plus all necessary components to prepare a flavorful Hummus — Garlic (1 Clove), Tahini (2 Tablespoons), Lemon Juice (3-4 Tablespoons), Olive Oil (2 Tablespoons), Salt (1 Teaspoon) and Pepper (to taste).  And the best part is… All is simply blended together to produce instant homemade Hummus in minutes.  With warm Pita Bread, it’s my current snack preference.  Recipe doubles well, if you want more.  Opa!

I’m grateful for American liberty and the ability to seek out never-ending food frontiers.

The Balboa Fun Zone – A nearby attraction that’s filled with amusement and food.

Somehow I ended up with several wooden clothes pins that come in handy as Chip Clips and various bag sealers.  And I’ve recently discovered a new use — They work well as Improvised Mini Tongs, while cooking Tortillas in the toaster oven.  Can you think of another kitchen use?

Happy April Fools’ Day!  You better stay away from me today.  How about some Chocolate Covered Insects?  Perhaps you may want to add them to a bowl of Chocolates and step back and watch the unsuspecting.  Just kidding — Don’t do that.  I wouldn’t, anymore.

I still feel bad about the Dog Beef Jerky joke I played on someone years ago.  Moving on to the suspecting… Our friend Ray volunteered to try the pictured Chocolate Covered Worms and Crickets, as I just couldn’t.  He described them as follows… 

They had no actual taste for the most part.  They were not slimy.  Kind of had the texture and taste of Chocolate Covered Pretzels!

Thanks for the report Ray!  You’re a trooper and certainly no fool.