Salad Days

by Laura Donnelly — May 14, 2007

One night in 1937, Bob Cobb, manager of the Brown Derby restaurant in Los Angeles, rooted around in the kitchen's refrigerator and threw together a salad with all the leftovers he could find--a bit of lettuce, some-hard boiled eggs, a few strips of bacon, some chicken, a ripe avocado.

He tossed a little blue cheese on top and a bit of vinaigrette and discovered he had created quite a happy accident. Later he mentioned his concoction to the legendary promoter Sid Grauman (of Grauman's Chinese Theatre fame), who tried it and insisted he put it on the menu.

In the small resort town of Clayton, New York, a fishing guide named George LaLonde would take visitors out on the waters of the Thousand Islands to catch black bass and Northern pike. Afterward, he and his wife prepared shore dinners for the guests and served an unusual creamy dressing pepped up with chopped pickles, onions, and parsley. The actress May Irwin asked for the recipe and passed it on to George Boldt, owner of the Waldorf Astoria, who then added it to the hotel menu and named it Thousand Island dressing.

While there are several versions of how Caesar salad was invented, it is pretty obvious that it was made popular by Caesar Cardini, who had a restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico. During Prohibition, Hollywood royalty considered it quite naughty and exciting to go zipping south of the border for fun, booze, and a few other things. Running low on food one Fourth of July weekend, Caesar assembled some whole romaine leaves, garlicky croutons, softly boiled eggs, and ingredients for an impromptu dressing. Prepared tableside and meant to be eaten with the fingers, Caesar's version became a hit with the likes of Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, and W.C. Fields.

As these stories demonstrate, the salad course is an opportunity for creativity, experimentation, and artistry. Once you get a sense of what textures, flavors, and contrasts you want, you can play around with your combinations. And with summer on the way, you may have better things to do than turn on the oven. A composed salad makes a perfectly balanced meal.

Now forgive me for a moment while I step up onto my soapbox. There are so many bottled dressings on the market and I know they are convenient, but I urge you to make your own. The taste of fresh versus bottled should convince you. Stay away from the deceptively creamy-tasting low-fat or non-fat prepared dressings. Have you ever read the labels? A lot of them contain something called polypropylene glycol. And yeah, it's as gross as it sounds, derived from dinosaur fuel. If you want to cut fat, then substitute some buttermilk or yogurt for mayonnaise.

I am a huge fan of delicate greens like mesclun, mâche, and baby arugula. But sometimes a wedge of iceberg lettuce or a crispy romaine salad is the choicest accompaniment to a simple piece of grilled fish or a rich pasta.

Green Goddess Dressing

This salad was invented in the 1920's when the actor George Arliss was residing in San Francisco's Palace Hotel and performing the play Green Goddess. The chef created this zesty tarragon-infused dressing in his honor, and it became more famous than the play or the movie of the same name.

Makes 2 cups of dressing

1 cup mayonnaise (low-fat if desired)
1/2 cup low-fat sour cream
1/4 cup minced scallions, including green parts
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
2 Tablespoons fresh minced tarragon
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon tarragon vinegar
3 anchovy fillets, rinsed, patted dry, and minced
Salt and pepper to taste (be careful, even rinsed anchovies add a salty tang)

Stir all ingredients together until smooth. Let flavors blend in refrigerator for a few hours if possible before using. This is great on crunchy romaine lettuce.