Grilled Chicken Salad with House Caesar dressing and Gladiator

When someone asked me about my philosophy about cooking I told them it's basically just simple food that's done right. Chicken Caesar is the perfect example of that. It's a meal that can be thrown together very quickly and there are quite a few elements to the meal to take it from ordinary to extraordinary. The first step of course is homemade Caesar dressing and It's so easy and delicious you'll never want to buy a bottle of it again. Tossed with fresh romaine lettuce, salty parmesan cheese, and crispy croutons this is the perfect way to start of a meal. Add some slices of freshly grilled chicken on top, and we have a meal all to it's self. Though the namesake of the salad and the dressing have no relation to ancient Roman Emperor Julius Caesar, I've paired this meal with the 2000 film, winner of best picture at the Oscar Awards that year, Gladiator.

For the Dressing
2 Cloves of Garlic (Grated or finely minced)
3 Fresh Basil leaves (Roughly Chopped)
2 Tablespoon of grated Parmesan
3 dashes of worcestershire sauce
1 Teaspoon of balsamic vinegar
1 Teaspoon of Lemon zest
1 Tablespoon of Fresh Lemon Juice
1 Teaspoon of Dijon Mustard
3 Tablespoons of Mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon of Anchovy paste (optional)
1/4 cup of Extra Virgin Olive oil (Give or take)
Kosher Salt and Black Pepper to taste
Salad Ingredients
Hearts of Romaine lettuce
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Crispy Italian Bread
Grilled Boneless Chicken

Place your chicken in your favorite marinade and allow it to marinade for about 30 minutes. That may not seem like long but since we're going to be tossing it with our dressing, we don't really have to have a lengthy marinade time.. My go to quick chicken marinade for slicing over a salad is simply some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, grated garlic, and some Dijon mustard. Whisk it together in a bowl and let the chicken soak in the bowl or a ziploc bag.

A microplane is going to be our best friend for making this dressing. Use it to finely grate the garlic into a paste and add the garlic to a mixing bowl. To that add our chopped basil, parmesan, balsamic vinegar, lemon zest and lemon juice, worcestershire sauce, and the Dijon mustard. Whisk the ingredients together to slightly combine. Now traditionally the dressing was thickened by using raw egg yolks - thankfully a little bit of mayo does the trick.

Now is also the step to where you would add the anchovy paste.

Whether you want to admit it or not, this really is in most Caesar dressings you've had before. That being said in making it at home, if you don't have any don't go out and buy a tube of it just for 1/2 teaspoon. I've made my dressing both with and without and it's not a big deal. All the anchovy paste does is add a little bit of a deeper saltier flavor to the dressing. So add the mayonnaise and optional anchovy paste and whisk together while slowly pouring in about 1/4 cup of Extra virgin olive oil. Start with the 1/4 cup and if the dressing seems a bit too thick add a bit more. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

For the romaine lettuce, cut the bottom portion off and discard (pictured above). Cut the remaining part of the lettuce into slices and thoroughly wash and dry. I typically plan on using one romaine heart per salad. Once the lettuce has been cleaned, place the lettuce back into the refrigerator to stay cool and crisp.

Grill the boneless chicken breast for about 8 to 10 minutes on each side over a medium heat on your grill. Drizzle some slices of the Italian bread with some olive oil and place them on the grill for a few minutes on each side to get nice and toasty. Once the chicken has been fully cooked, remove from the grill and let the chicken rest at room temperature for about 10 minutes. Once the chicken has rested, slice the chicken on a bias into nice slices.

While the chicken rests, place your serving plate and the lettuce in the freezer. Sound like a strange step? Ever order a Caesar salad at a restaurant and have it brought to the table in an ice cold plate or bowl? Adding the lettuce to the freezer for a few minutes will help it get extra crisp.

Take the lettuce out of the freezer and to the bowl add freshly grated parmesan cheese and some of our homemade Caesar dressing (as much as desired). Gently toss together to make sure the lettuce all has a coating of our dressing. Pile the lettuce onto our ice cold plate. Neatly arrange the sliced chicken over top the lettuce and hit it with a little bit more parmesan cheese and a little extra drizzle of the dressing. Place a few slices of our grilled bread on the side and serve. This to me is the ultimate Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad.

In the year 2000, when most people were looking towards the new millenium, visionary director Ridley Scott took the world back to Ancient Rome in the film Gladiator.

Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russel Crowe) is the brave and loyal General of the massive Roman Empire. Maximus is equally loved by the people of Rome, his soldiers, and the aging emperor of Rome - Marcus Aurelieus (Richard Harris). Aurelieus loves Maximus so much, he chooses him to be the heir of the Empire over his actual son Commodus (Joaquin Phoneix). The corrupt Commdus learns of his fathers choice and murders the emperor and orders Maximus and his family to be killed.

Maximus escapes his own execution but is unable to reach his family in time. With no will for life left, Maximus is captured be the empire that he once fought for and has become a slave. He soon finds himself a Gladiator fighting for the enterainment of the Roman people. Maximus is fueled now only by the desire to avenge his family, in this life or the next.

Along with winning best picture of the year, Russel Crowe was honored as best actor for his performance as Maximus. Gladiator is the most realistic vision we have at what life in the great city of Ancient Rome may have been like. Ridley Scott's direction in this film was nearly flawless and I still wish his named was called out as best Director that night of the Academy Awards. Gladiator is a film that no doubt will become a classic as it ages. The unforgettable performances by Russel Crowe and Joaquin Phoneix alone make Gladiator a must see film. Click here to watch the trailer for the film of YouTube.