Bacon Caesar Salad

Week 336. Summer 2022. I am 39 years old and standing in my kitchen — the Bench house kitchen, the one that held cancer and divorce and cinnamon rolls — and the stove is on and something is cooking and the house smells like grilled food and garden herbs and this is my life. This is the life I built.

I went for a run this morning — the Saturday routine, the greenbelt, the river, the particular meditation of feet on a path and lungs filling and the body doing what it was told it couldn't do. The running group meets rain or shine.

Mason is 11 and reading everything he can find and examining the world under a microscope with the intensity of a tenured researcher.

Lily is 9 and riding horses with the fearlessness of someone who has never considered the possibility of falling.

I made caprese salad this week. The food continues. The food always continues. It is the thread that connects every week to every other week, every year to every other year, every version of me to every other version — the woman on the kitchen floor, the woman at the chemo recliner, the woman at the grill, the woman at the outdoor table under the string lights. All of them, connected by the food they made with their hands. All of them, me.

The caprese I made that week was good — tomatoes from the garden, basil still warm from the sun — but the salad I keep coming back to on grill nights is this Bacon Caesar. It’s the one I set on the outdoor table under the string lights while the kids fill their plates and the evening stretches out long and unhurried, and I think: this is enough. This has always been enough.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 25 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

8 slices thick-cut bacon
2 large heads romaine lettuce, chopped
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup croutons

Caesar Dressing:

1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

Cook the bacon. Place bacon slices in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook, turning occasionally, until crispy, about 8–10 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and let cool slightly, then chop into bite-sized pieces.
Make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, minced garlic, and Worcestershire sauce. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking until smooth and emulsified. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Assemble the salad. Place the chopped romaine in a large bowl. Drizzle the dressing over the lettuce and toss until evenly coated.
Top and serve. Add the chopped bacon, Parmesan cheese, and croutons. Toss gently and serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Bacon Caesar Salad — The Food That Connects Every Version of Me