Caesar Salad with Shrimp Skewers

Use a large, heavy baking sheet with sides, slice the butter thinly and scatter on the bottom of the pan. Tear or slice your bread into cubes - I aim for about 1” cubes but you can make them larger or smaller. Toss bread with garlic salt and a little drizzle of oil. Layer over the butter on the pan and place in the oven. Bake for about 3 - 4 minutes, then toss and keep baking until they’re golden all over and crunchy. Remove to cool.

In a blender, add the anchovy paste, the yolks of 2 of the eggs (save the whites!), garlic clove, and dijon. Turn on and blend for about 30 seconds. Zest in the lemon and squeeze in ½ of the juice. Get the oil ready, turn the blender on low, and SLOWLY drizzle the oil in through the top of the blender. It will feel ridiculously slow at first, but just drizzle in a few drops at a time. Take your time and stay steady. Eventually you can add a little more quickly but don’t rush, you’ll hear the mixture change its sound as it gets thicker. Going slowly creates the emulsion. When it is thick enough, you should have used most of the oil, you can use a little less if it gets too thick (like a mayo consistency). Add most of the parmesan to the blender but reserve some for garnish.

TOO THICK - by hand, whisk in a little more lemon juice, water, or a ½ teaspoon of cider vinegar

BROKEN - if you went too fast with the oil, remove half the contents from the blender, and add another egg yolk. Turn the blender back on and very slowly stream in the rest of the liquid that you removed. It will come back together

TOO THIN - keep adding more oil

Chop the romaine and rinse in a colander as needed. Let it hang out in the sink to drain.

In a bowl, toss the shrimp with the paprika and a pinch of salt.

Thread the shrimp on skewers. Heat a grill pan or large sauté pan (cast iron is great!) over medium high heat. Add a swirl of oil (about ½ teaspoon) and add the shrimp in one layer. Cook on the first side until pink and a little golden brown - about 3 minutes. Flip and cook the other side for 2 - 3 minutes until the shrimp are just done.

In a large bowl, toss the lettuce, croutons, and dressing to taste. Pile high on plates. Top with shrimp skewers and garnish with reserved parmesan and freshly ground black pepper.