The Inspired Cook

Submitted by Canton1 on
By Patty Kemp

May is National Salad Month, and there’s no denying I love salads. With a plethora of dressings from which to choose, an ordinary green salad can be transformed in numerous ways merely by changing the type of dressing that you drizzle on it.

Curious about the history of salad, I discovered it dates back to ancient times.  Here are some interesting facts I found online at www.dressings-sauces.org/history-salad-dressings.

I was surprised to learn that many of today’s leading brands of salad dressings appeared in the marketplace as far back as 1919. After opening a restaurant in Columbus, Ohio, in 1896, the owner began serving a variety of salad dressing formulated using old country recipes. In 1919, he started packaging and selling them to his customers. This man was Joe Marzetti.

 In 1912, a New York deli owner started selling his mayonnaise with a blue ribbon logo packaged in wooden containers. To keep up with consumer demand, he changed to glass jars a year later. His name was Richard Hellmann.

If you believed that Caesar salad derived its name from the famous Roman emperor, then you would be wrong. In fact, the salad bears its inventor’s name. In 1924, restaurant owner Caesar Cardini created the salad in Tijuana, Mexico. By the way, he was absolutely adamant about not including anchovies in his recipe because he believed the Worcestershire sauce—which actually contains those tiny fish—imparted that familiar hint of fishy flavor.

In 1926, restaurateur Bob Cobb created the Cobb salad at his restaurant in Los Angeles, known today as The Brown Derby. Ironically, his invention was born of his necessity to use up leftover food.

Green Goddess dressing is actually a play on words with star quality. In the 1920s, stage and film actor George Arliss created this spicy dressing while residing at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. At the time, he was performing in a play called “The Green Goddess”. While the play later became one of the first talking movies, Arliss became the first Englishman to win an Academy Award®.

Russian dressing acquired its name from its earliest versions that contained one ingredient of distinctly Russian origin: caviar.

Since I am particularly fond of ranch dressing, it inspired me to create this recipe. Not a fan of mayonnaise—Sorry, Mr. Hellmann!—I chose to use Greek yogurt and sour cream in my dressing instead.

                Cauliflower Ranch Salad

Ingredients:

  • 3-4 c. Cauliflower, about half a head
  • 1/3 c. each Yellow onion, celery, carrots, and red bell pepper
  • 3-4 slices Crisply-cooked bacon, crumbled
  • 1/2 c. Nonfat Greek yogurt
  • 1/3 c. Low-fat sour cream
  • 3 T. Hidden Valley Ranch Seasoning & Salad Dressing Mix, or 1 seasoning packet
  • 1/8 t. Black pepper
  • 1/4 t. Sea salt, fine grind
  • 1 T. Chives, freeze-dried or fresh
  • 1/2 t. Dried dill

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together except the bacon. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. Add crumbled bacon and stir just before serving.

Note: This salad also can be served alone or atop a bed of greens of your choice.

Yield: 4-6 servings