Caesar Cardini Chicken Club
“I am probably one of the few people around who saw the real Caesar Cardini making his salad.
I was about 9 when my parents took me to Tijuana, just the other side of the border from San Diego.
They were so excited when big jolly Caesar himself came to the table to make the salad, which had already been written up and talked about everywhere. And it was dramatic, I remember most clearly the eggs going in, and how he tossed the leaves so it looked like a wave turning over.”
-Julia Child
This double-decker sandwich was inspired by Caesar Cardini’s famous combination of ingredients from almost a century ago. Over the years, many have added chicken breast to the salad to make a more substantial meal. Here, I cook up moist and tasty chicken burgers from freshly ground thigh meat. Garlic toast stands in for the croutons. And a caesar aioli and hard boiled eggs replace the original egg-garlic-cheese dressing. I use two types of anchovies, of which unfortunately, Julia Child would disapprove. She said, “You don’t want herbs and anchovies and things like that – then you have adulterated it.” But fans of anchovies will agree that they add another layer of umami savoriness to the sandwich. Also included are lemon and parmesan cheese, in an effort to capture Mr. Cardini’s authentic flavor combination.
Caesar Cardini Chicken Club Recipe
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