Caesar salad

Caesar salad (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

December 7, 2012, 11:00 a.m.
Rich and creamy Caesar dressing, crunchy lettuce, fried capers, crisp croutons, shredded parmesan and a little lemon vinaigrette. That's how Michael Mina does Caesar at American Fish at Aria in Las Vegas. Sure, the recipe calls for more than a few ingredients, but it can be assembled from start to finish in about an hour. And I must warn you: Try this once and you may want to fix it again another night this week.

For more quick-fix dinner ideas, check out our video recipe gallery here. Food Editor Russ Parsons and Test Kitchen manager Noelle Carter show you how to fix a dozen dishes in an hour or less.

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American Fish's Caesar salad

Total time: 1 hour

Servings: 4

Note: Adapted from American Fish in Las Vegas. Instead of the oil-cured olives suggested below, the restaurant assembles the salad with dried black olives it prepares by drying black (Taggiasca or Kalamata) olives in a 225-degree oven for 6 to 8 hours (depending on the size), then chopping.

Lemon vinaigrette

2 teaspoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons olive oil

Salt and pepper

In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

Caesar dressing

2 egg yolks

Juice from 1 lemon

1 cup olive oil

1 cup canola oil