Restaurant Dropout x Casey Elsass
featuring a Caesar Salad with Bouillon Crouton, Fluffy Pita, Silky Hummus, and more
Last year, I connected with Casey Elsass—a Brooklyn-based food writer, recipe developer, and cookbook author—and left our almost two-hour conversation with a feeling I seldom get.
It felt as if I could finally speak to someone in a language I rarely get to articulate, who not only spoke the same language but also shared a deeper understanding and passion for food. It’s rare you find someone who doesn’t judge or think you’re insane when rambling (and unapologetically speaking at 100 mph) about food and cooking.
At the end of our call, Casey had mentioned he was at the end of his journey for writing his very own cookbook, What Can I Bring? (releasing May 20, 2025).
Casey, known as “The Cookbook Doula,” has helped birth over twenty cookbooks as a co-author, ghostwriter, friend, and unlicensed therapist. But now, he’s taking the stress out of being a guest with his very own cookbook, What Can I Bring?, which helps answer the question we should all be asking before attending a function (“…what can I bring?”).
Upon hearing about his book, I’ve been eagerly waiting for this very day to come—I wholeheartedly believe this is a cookbook that not only advances the cookbook hemisphere but also brings life and soul to it.
You’ll find yourself smiling, oohing, aahing, learning, and so much more.
Now let’s dive right in (and pls preorder your very own copy NOW!!!!!!!!).
Photographs by Gentl and Hyers. Food Stylist: Tyna Hoang. Prop Stylist: Stephanie De Luca.
Sun-Dried Tomatoes
This week—and for the very first time—we’re sourcing sun-dried tomatoes.
Since tomato season is not quite here yet, our sun-dried tomatoes will help bring a summery punch of brightness and depth to our sauces and dressings.
If sourcing a 7-oz jar, you might have some leftover. Feel free to go heavy on the tablespoons if you want to end the week on a clean slate (no almost-empty jars in your refrigerator).
Potato Gnocchi
This is also our first time using gnocchi on the menu. I realized, after over a year of Restaurant Dropout, that potato gnocchi has become somewhat of an afterthought (which is shocking because I love gnocchi).
Tate (my husband) was extremely ambivalent about my suggestion of using gnocchi in our final dish of the week, but upon trying it, he took his mixed feelings back (he loved it).
While you can totally use pasta instead, I would still urge you to use gnocchi. I tested this recipe with both, and gnocchi was far superior.
French Loaf / Bouillon Crouton
You might think it’s a bit crazy that we’re making one whole loaf of bread's worth of croutons, but trust me, after the inevitable snacking, you’ll end up with the perfect amount.
We’ll use any leftover croutons for our salad served with the cutlets (on Day 4).
To reheat or bring the croutons back to life, pop them on a sheet tray and bake them in a 375ºF oven for roughly 3 to 4 minutes.
Grocery List
Printable Menu
Weekly Mini Menu
3-Meal Menu
Caesar Salad
Lemon Oregano Chicken Skewers
Parmesan Chicken Cutlets
Adapting Casey’s Recipes for Restaurant Dropout
We reformatted and made a few adjustments to Casey’s recipes to match our Restaurant Dropout format. Some recipes had larger serving sizes, which makes sense since his recipes are intended to serve a group of people. We also added grilled chicken for protein to his caesar salad.
That said, for his as-written recipes (in case you’d like to whip up the full amount for Memorial Day Weekend or perhaps you’re cooking for more than two people), you can find them below.
All of Casey’s Recipes
Recipes reprinted with permission from What Can I Bring? by Casey Elsass © 2025. Published by Union Square & Co., an imprint of Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group.
Ground Meat
As expected, I used ground chicken for the parmesan meatballs this week. I did happen to try them with ground turkey first and can confirm that chicken was better.
If you’d like to use pork or beef, please be my guest!
All Things Pita
Flour & Yeast
While Casey uses bread flour and instant yeast, I used all-purpose flour and active dry yeast (if you’re reading this, Casey, I’m sorry, it’s all I had!!!!).
That said, if you’ve been subscribed to Restaurant Dropout for a while and use all of our recommended essentials, you likely also only have these two ingredients on hand.
I found that the pita came out beautifully both times I made it, but I did have to use a touch more flour to get it to where I wanted it to be—don’t be afraid to use your intuition if you need to, by adding about 1 Tbsp more of flour to get it as described by Casey in the instructions.
If you’re using active dry yeast, too, add your yeast, water, and sugar (or honey) to the bowl, mix well, and let it sit until slightly foaming (just to ensure it’s alive). Once you’ve done so, you can add your first cup of flour as written and continue following Casey’s guidance.
Prep List
Prep Demo
Difficulty
While this prep list appears easier than normal, the amount of sauces and pita-making slightly increases the difficulty level.
If you’d like to save time, we did include some time savers in the grocery list; however, they’ll ruin your chance to try some of Casey’s recipes (like his hummus and pita).
That said, if you do swap the hummus and pita-making for store-bought versions, please, at the very least, make the Caesar Salad with Bouillon Crouton. It’s incredible and deserves to be tried.
Hummus
One of the changes we made to the hummus recipe was halving it, since I knew we’d likely not use all 2 1/2 cups throughout the week.
If you’d like to make the as-written version in WCIB to have extra hummus for lunch throughout the week, or again, for your family of more than two people, please do!
By the way, we’re using 1/2 cup of the hummus for the Caesar Dressing (hint: it’s the base, since his recipe excludes eggs).
Protein Substitutions
For the Caesar Salad…
🔄 86 Chicken, Halloumi, 8-minute Egg
For the Arayes…
🔄 Ground Impossible Meat, Ground Lamb, Ground Beef, Ground Pork
For the Lemon Oregano Skewers…
🔄 Extra-Firm Tofu, Falafel (86 Marinade), Steak
For the Parmesan Chicken Cutlets…
🔄 Halloumi, Extra-Firm Tofu, Boneless Pork Chops, Veal
For the Sun-Dried Tomato Gnocchi…
🔄 Ground Impossible Meat, Ground Turkey, Ground Pork, Ground Beef
Additional Substitutions
Bread Flour 🔄 All-Purpose Flour
Instant Yeast 🔄 Active Dry Yeast
Gnocchi 🔄 Pasta of your choice
Dill 🔄 Mint
Parsley 🔄 86
Elements
Bread
Fluffy Pita
Utilized in Arayes, and Lemon Oregano Chicken Skewers.
Meat
Parmesan Meatballs
Utilized in Sun-Dried Tomato Gnocchi.
Sauces & Marinades
Lemon Oregano Marinade
Utilized in Caesar Salad and Lemon Oregano Chicken Skewers.
Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette
Utilized in Lemon Oregano Chicken Skewers, and Parmesan Chicken Cutlets.
Silky Hummus
Utilized in Arayes, and Lemon Oregano Chicken Skewers.
Casey’s Caesar Dressing
Utilized in Caesar Salad, and Parmesan Chicken Cutlets.
Tzatziki
Utilized in Arayes, and Lemon Oregano Chicken Skewers.
Sun-Dried Tomato Velouté
Utilized in Sun-Dried Tomato Gnocchi.
Toppings
Bouillon Croutons
Utilized in Caesar Salad, and Parmesan Chicken Cutlets.
Dishes
Caesar Salad with Bouillon Crouton
Arayes (Meat-Stuffed Pita Pockets) with Tomato Cucumber Salad
Lemon Oregano Chicken Skewers with Sun-Dried Tomato Greens
Parmesan Chicken Cutlets with Sun-Dried Tomato Caesar Slaw
Sun-Dried Tomato Gnocchi with Parmesan Meatballs
Note: Grape tomatoes are not featured in the video, but should be included while making this dish.
Consolidated Lists
Consolidated Recipes
All Documents (Consolidated Lists and Recipes)
I hope, if anything, I’ve succeeded in making it blatantly obvious how excited I am for you to cook this week. This was an extra-special edition of cooking in Restaurant Dropout for me.
Finally, due to popular demand and the upcoming Memorial Day Weekend, next week will be a 1-ingredient, 3-meal week, which not only means vacation/busy time cooking, but also easier prep (no need to roll up your sleeves next week!). So stay tuned.
As always, thank you so much for being here. Ciao for now, and happy cooking! 💖
Xo,
Zoe
Looks great! Flipping through the recipes now. Any chance you’ll bring back the gram measurements for all recipes? I see it on some, but not all. That made cleanup so much easier by just using my food scale instead of using all my measuring spoons and cups! Thank you!
Calories/Macros:
Notes: Calories & macros listed are per 1 serving (1/2 recipe), assumptions are per 2 servings (full recipe). Assumes 1 tsp vegetable oil per 2 servings for each "neutral oil" or oil used to saute.
1. Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad: 1233 calories/69 P/107 C/55 F
-Notes: Only accounts for a portion of the marinade since there should be some leftover.
-Adjustments: I plan to cut parmesan in salad to 2 oz per 2 servings and only use 1/3 batch of croutons per 2 servings to reduce to 723 calories per serving.
2. Arayes: 638 calories/37 P/54 C/28 F
-Notes: Assumes 1/2 cup tzatziki per 2 servings and 1/4 cup hummus per 2 servings
3. Lemon Oregano Chicken Skewers: 988 calories/44 P/67 C/58 F
-Notes: Only accounts for a portion of the marinade since there should be some leftover, assumes 10 tbsp of sun-dried tomato vinaigrette per 2 servings, 1/4 cup hummus per 2 servings, and 1/2 cup tzatziki per 2 servings
-Adjustments: I plan to only use 5 tbsp of sun-dried tomato vinaigrette per 2 servings to reduce to 789 calories per serving
4. Parmesan Chicken Cutlets: 751 calories/46 P/56 C/35 F
5. Sun-dried Tomato Gnocchi: 1082 calories/52 P/94 C/54 F
-Adjustments: I plan to reduce butter used in the velouté to 1.5 tbsp and only use 0.25 cup of parmesan in the parmesan meatball recipe to reduce to 952 calories per serving