If you have a better Caesar salad recipe, fire it up!

What you will need:
Good size head of romaine lettuce or 2 small heads
2 bulbs fresh-fresh-fresh garlic
red wine vinegar
mustard powder
anchovy paste (tube)
olive oil
one egg
1/2 grated parmesan cheese
small chunk hard parmesan
fresh lemon
croutons if you want them
fresh cracked pepper

Serves four

So take the romaine, remove the leafy green ends, cut the stock and head in half, v-cut the core out, then tear the leaves into roughly inch by an inch pieces.

In a glass dish, use about 2 ounces of olive oil. Add the egg and and whisk to blended. Add a solid teaspoon of mustard powder, the fresh garlic after you have peeled and diced finely, a tablespoon of red wine vinegar, half the lemon squeezed though the hand to catch seeds, 1 1/2 tablespoons of anchovy paste, and now whisk all together, making sure the anchovy paste is well blended.

(Note: anchovy paste gives the recipe great foundation without adding the fishy taste whole anchovies are known for.)

Next add 2 big tablespoons of grated parmesan and whisk again. Slowly add more until the dressing is thick but not pasty.

The worst thing you can do next is toss the salad well before serving. Soggy salad sucks.

When your guests are seated, add about half the dressing and toss gently. Continue to add until coated lightly. Once on serving bowls, add croutons and shaved fresh parmesan on top. Dust with fresh ground pepper.

I like this salad with an oaky chardonnay but go white with your choice.

If you want to add some heat, increase or double the garlic. Just make sure you are waking up with someone who also had the best Caesar salad ever!

Last point, this recipe is easy and so much better than any store bought Caesar dressing.

Chile con Queso and Frijole dip

Maria asked for this and Trips wanted more so here goes..

You'll need a double boiler or the ingenuity to make one. Think large pan with water, small, inverted oven-proof dish, and smaller pan with cover placed on top.

You'll also need: 8 oz. sliced yellow American cheese
4 oz. whole milk
cumin
coriander
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh garlic
1/2 small onion, finely chopped onion
one small can chopped green chiles
1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder

Heat the water in the double boiler, add milk, cayenne, onion, garlic, dust top with cumin, dust about 1/3 cover with coriander. Whisk ingredients and then add cheese. Cover pan and let sit, stirring every 15 minutes as cheese melts. After 45 minutes or so all the ingredients should blend into a thick soupy mixture. If cheese has melted and mixture is too thin for dipping, add a couple decent pinches of shredded cheddar cheese.

The queso will stay in the double boiler for some time, you'll just need to stir when ready to serve with corn tortilla chips

For frijole dip, you'll need heated refried beans or black beans that have been drained well. I like to dice a little onion and garlic, heat in teaspoon of oil, add beans, and then add a tablespoon of chopped fresh cilantro.

Puree one or two jalepenos with water to make bug juice.

Ladle a scoop of the beans into the queso dip along with a tablespoon of bug juice and fold mixture together and serve hot with my favorite store bought chips, Utz.

You can also add chopped, cooked chorizo, diced tomatoes, scallions, or whatever else you might like.

Either of these will be a great dish to serve while watching the Pats beat the Giants. (Sorry Trips but I had to!)