Saturday Brunch with Marzetti Caesar and Butter Cheese Toasts

It's become a habit of mine. I open a bottle of supermarket salad dressing, taste it and start figuring out what I need to add to give it that freshly-made flavor. With Ranch salad dressing, I had given up on ready-made versions, because the fresh taste of lemon always eluded them. But then I came across Marzetti.

The Simply Dressed Ranch Salad Dressing had that restaurant flavor I always tried to capture at home. I decided to whip up an easy Saturday brunch with it as the guest of honor.

Intending to make cheese toast, I began by pre-heating my toaster oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Next, I sliced a dry baguette I had left over from Friday's evening meal. In a cup, I put 2 tsp. of butter and 4 tbsp. of Marzetti Caesar Salad Dressing. Covering the cup with a paper towel, I put it in the microwave for 10 seconds, to soften the butter. Then I mixed the thickened dressing.

I smeared the Marzetti Caesar and butter mixture on each slice of bread before sprinkling it with grated parmesan and mozzarella cheese. Then placing the slices on foil paper, I sprinkled them with the remaining butter and salad dressing mixture.

I baked the Marzetti Caesar and butter cheese toasts in my pre-heated toaster oven for 7 minutes. The aroma of garlic, lemon and cheese filled the kitchen within a few minutes, and my family suddenly emerged to help set the table.

I served the Marzetti Caesar and butter cheese toasts with fresh lettuce and Marzetti salad dressing for dipping. And to complete the gourmet appeal of our Saturday brunch, I paired the toasts with Muscat Canelli, a faintly sweet white wine.

My preparation time was 5 minutes, and with the 7 minutes of baking time the meal took 12 minutes to prepare. To simplify the preparation even more, the next time I prepared twice the mixture and kept the unused portion in the fridge for next time.

Instead of ordinary bread and melted cheese, the mixture of butter and salad dressing imparted a tangy, crispy flavor to the bread. I try to always use stale bread, because fresh bread tends to soak up too much of the mixture and ends up a little soggy. To avoid this, I use more butter for fresh bread, and more Marzetti Caesar and butter salad dressing for stale bread.