Slim Man Cooks Croutons
I know what you’re saying, Slim People. “I start making my own croutons, and pretty soon I’m making my own refrigerator. Where does it end?”Right here. These croutons take 5 minutes to make. That’s it. And they’re so good, you can eat them as is. Forget the salad. Eat the croutons!I don’t like store-bought croutons. They taste like chalk, and they’re so tough on the teeth it’s like eating a box of rocks.You could easily bust a bicuspid. Injure an incisor.So usually, when I make a salad, if I need some crunch, I’ll toast nuts instead.“Here’s to you, you nuts!”But when I was creating my incredibly incredible Hail Caesar salad, I needed croutons. My nuts were not cutting it. Caesar salad needs croutons, plain and simple.So I started my quest to make the best croutons in the world. I started with recipes that suggested using old, stale bread. I tried that. I wasn’t digging it. Old stale bread tastes…old and stale.So I said to myself…”Slim Poppa, Show Stoppa, why don’t you use fresh bread?”So I tried fresh bread. I used a half of a fresh sourdough baguette, and the croutons were…good.The next day I tried the day-old baguette, and they were even better.Slim CroutonsA couple days ago, I made croutons using half dark rye bread and half Italian bread. They were delicious and made a good-looking couple! Ebony and ivory!Whatever combination of bread you use, make sure you end up with 3 cups. Which should yield about…3 cups of croutons, if my math is correct.When I’m making croutons, I usually keep the spices to a minimum. Why? Because your salad dressing usually has a lot of stuff going on. For instance, in my Hail Caesar salad dressing, which has been hailed as the greatest in the world, I use garlic in the dressing.So I don’t want to use garlic when I’m making my croutons. It’s-a too much!A final note…you don’t need to add salt. Most bread already has salt in it. 
INGREDIENTS½ baguette (I used a day-old sourdough baguette) cut into cubes (about 3 cups)3 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces¼ teaspoon dried oreganoFresh-cracked black pepper Here we go…Put a large sauté pan on medium-high heat.Add the butter.When the butter melts and starts to bubble, add the cubed bread.Sprinkle the oregano on the bread.Grind some fresh-cracked black pepper on the bread.Toss!Let them brown for about 2 minutes. Don’t be shaking 'em all around, let ‘em brown.Toss!Let them brown on the other side or another 2 minutes. Make sure each cube is getting toasted on each side. Show some love to both sides, Slim Folks!Remove from heat. 
That’s it!Sprinkle on top of your salad, and…MANGIAMO!