Caesar Salad "Tacos"

I hosted a networking group for my sorority.  It was supposed to be at the office but thanks to the flood, we all met at my home.  It saved everyone from hiking three flights of stairs and having to wear layers of clothing to keep warm.  It also saved me from schlepping serving dishes and lots of appetizers up the stairs.  And, I got to try a BUNCH of new recipes. The majority came from two new to me cookbooks.  This one, however, came from Southern Living.  I'd clipped the recipe and put it in my portfolio instead of any of the envelopes where I normally tuck recipes to try.  That way it did not get lost. 

Now, before I go on about the recipe, you're probably wondering about the flood.  Every once in a while our parking lot at the office floods.  That's not too bad.  This time, the whole parkway flooded, the flood doors failed, the elevator was out for two weeks, we had no heat for a couple of days and it was a total mell of a hess.  Here's what it looked like:

Here's the parking lot:

See what used to be street there?

 For once we weren't watching all the idiots run the stop signs...

Back to the recipe:  I made a couple of changes.  The original called for chopped parsley and croutons.  I omitted the parsley, added the shredded romano and changed the croutons to garlic bread crumbs.  I also used my homemade caesar dressing instead of bottled.  That being said, bottled caesar dressing is one of the better bottled dressings in my opinion.

This was one terrific recipe.  Connie and I did a trial run before my friends got there and we were very impressed.  Then, all my friends loved these.  And, best of all, when I pulled the leftovers out of the container the next day, they weren't soggy.  The bread crumbs were a little worse for the wear but not terribly.  This will be a go-to appetizer for us.  It's fresh, different and tastes wonderful.

Caesar Salad Tacos

Ingredients:
romaine lettuce leaves
caesar dressing
chopped grape tomatoes
chopped cucumber
finely grated romano or parmesan cheese
garlic butter bread crumbs

Directions:

Drizzle a little caesar dressing down the center of each lettuce leaf.  Sprinkle with a chopped tomatoes, chopped cucumbers, cheese and finish with garlic butter bread crumbs. 

To make the garlic butter bread crumbs, melt a couple of tablespoons of butter in a small skillet.  Add a very finely minced clove of garlic.  Stir in 1/2 c of bread crumbs.  Stir until the bread crumbs are nice and brown. 


adapted from Southern Living