Lunch is a luxury.
Before the pandemonium, I would have said lunch is overrated. This can be attributed to either poor self-management skills (=a sad desk lunch, gobbled ahead of the inevitable crush of meetings) or lack of competitive drive (2 microwaves + 1 toaster oven X the workforce of 4-5 agencies over 2 floors / 1 kitchen). In any event. Not really worth the effort.
Anyway, now. Lunch, given the right environmental conditions (my own tools, my own kitchen, my own time) and material variety (last night’s dinner; this week’s groceries; a combination), a lunch can feel like a real nice thing to have. For those of us who love to make food (and, to be fair, aren’t saddled with children), home lunch has the absolute audacity to be leisure and splendor. What a concept!!!
MORE LEISURELY LUNCHTIME EXTRAVAGANCE
I can’t fully explain the appeal that an AGA stove has for me, but it is the stuff of my appliance dreams
A very fun piece about shopping for a Rolex
The slow-burn power of the world’s most misunderstood novel
Only two monks know the full recipe for Chartreuse:
“Nobody else knows the recipe. And each morning they drive together to the distillery. And they drive a very old car. And they drive it very badly.”
CAESAR SALAD IS THE CORRECT CHOICE
Are you going to be able to get away with true, decadent caesar salad breath when you have to go back to the office? Not likely. (She notes, to herself.) But, wow, what a nice thing to have in the middle of a sloggy workday: a homemade caesar salad, for you and you alone to bask in your anchovy cloud.
If you are squeamish about anchovies, I will first advise you to get over it, but then I will let you know that having no anchovies is a completely different salad dressing, and a very different lunch.
INGREDIENTS
1 lemon, zested and juiced
2-3 big cloves of garlic, minced
5-6 anchovy filets (preferably the kind packed in oil), chopped up as absolutely paste-like as you can make them
1 tbsp. grainy Dijon mustard
2 tbsp. Duke’s mayonnaise
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 egg yolk
1 cup olive oil (use more if it’s looking a little too thick by the end)
1 cup grated Parmesan (as high-quality as you can manage, it really makes a difference)
A quick dash of salt & pepper
Romaine lettuce, washed, dried, chopped up
WHAT TO DO
Zest the lemon and add its juice to a large mixing bowl. Add in garlic, anchovies, mustard, mayo, Worcestershire, salt/pepper dashes, and egg yolk. Beat all together until combined (the color will not look appetizing, this will change).
Slowly, and I mean with the patience of a Carthusian monk, drizzle in your cup of olive oil, whisking furiously and continuously. Stop halfway to do the same with the Parmesan. Then, alternate olive oil slow drizzle, whisk, cheese, whisk, olive oil, etc, until all are completely combined and emulsified and creamy. Dress your salad, and save the rest in a mason jar and refrigerate.