Don’t get too excited. I didn’t make those, but aren’t these just the cutest things ever? Caesar Salad in a crispy Parmesan shells! I love Caesar Salad so these piqued my interest immediately. The dish was sold as easy and simple and elegant. And, well, with the exception of the anchovy paste, I already had the ingredients in my fridge. So I thought “why the hell not? I’m always up for something new! It’ll do you some good to make a recipe from later than 1980!”
The recipe can be found HERE at Emily Bites.
So I got some anchovy paste and got crackin’ with the Parm cups.
To get the shredded Parmesan into patties that would come off of the parchment paper took MUCH longer than indicated. The recipe’s three and a half minutes turned into about 9 minutes. And even then I think they would have benefited by a wee bit more heat.
But friends, I don’t get it! My oven thermometer read 300 degrees exactly. The oven is gaslighting me. As are the lights in my apartment–they keep flickering and then cutting out for only a few seconds or so. Weird. And now that I’m speaking of gaslighting–the 1944 film, Gaslight, starring Ingrid Bergman, is a classic and you should see it. Also, the film was the basis for what I consider one of my better poems (yeah, I’ve been known to dabble in some poetry. But they tend to all have weird movie references i.e. Patrick Swayze as Johnny Castle).
Speaking of Johnny Castle and Dirty Dancing…just watch this awesome clip.
OK, where was I?
Cups! Yeah, so I finally was able to get them off of the parchment paper and then got them into the muffin pan.
And then they baked for (it was supposed to be 5) about 10 minutes (and they still could’ve been cooked more) and looked like this:
They had crispy edges and soft, kinda oily bottoms. I had no idea how to get them out. The recipe didn’t say how to get them out. So I tried to use a butter knife to pry them out. I picked at them with my fingers. I held the pan upside down and tried to shake them out. The result:
Well, they were halfway there. And by halfway I mean that there is half a cup there. Two tablespoons of cheese was nowhere near enough to make a cup that would hold anything.
But now to the dressing. And the dressing, recipe HERE, was pretty solid, especially for a WW-conscious recipe. I would never think of using fat free Greek yogurt as a substitute for oil and egg, but it worked and result was a pretty successful creamy Caesar.
But because I had to add extra anchovy paste, and Crystal Hot Sauce to get it to my peppery liking, the end result was PINK.
Pink Caesar Salad. Looked weird. Tasted good. Appropriate for a bridal or baby shower?
So in the end, Emily Bites. Just not in a good way. And when I say “Emily” I mean me. And by “bites” I mean sucks.
Friday Fail.
I like all the suggestions you have gotten. It is disappointing when a recipe doesn’t turn out like we are hoping. I’m sure you will tweak with the recipe with good results.
Just say you created the dressing for breast cancer research. Done. 🙂
It sounds like a great idea! One way you can remove the little parm cups from the muffin cups is to put two pieces of foil, shaped in an ‘x’, across and down into each cup before you put in the cheese. If you use the non-stick foil, it’s a breeze to just lift them out and pull the foil strips off. But I really like the suggestion to invert the muffin pan and drape the still-hot discs over each cup.
(Check out Thomas Keller’s New Age Caesar Salad – it’s unreal (from his French Laundry Cookbook).
It’s basically a deconstructed Caesar. I’ve made it twice and it is just spectacular every time.) Your salad dressing sounded delish and I’m going to make it! So good for a Friday dinner.
A. Gaslight is a classic.
B. Were you using low fat or light parmesan?
3. Now I’m intrigued by the greek yogurt salad dressing.
D. Save your good cheddar for something else. I don’t see it melting smoothly enough.
IV. Remind me to bring you a container of home grown hot sauce. It kicks like a mule!
I was using regular ol’ Parm. I just think nothing ever got hot enough. I’d give these (or at least something like this) another try based on my missteps this round.
Wow. Dishes made of cheese? I am so there.
Sorry the recipe didn’t turn out as promised, though. I think if I were to do this, I’d put the melted cheese disks over the bottom of the cupcake cups rather than inside; they’d be easier to remove that way.
I’ll bet you could do this with a nice sharp cheddar, too. And then instead of Caesar salad, fill the cups with bacon.
Fill the cups with bacon. Genius.
Also, your idea of flipping the tin is a good one.
Lurker commenting late: I like that idea too, because gravity would help to “shape” the cups, whereas if they are on the inside, gravity works against you and pushes them down into the bottom of the cupcake pan.