May 18, 2020
Why Are They Called “Salads”?
Today we picked a mix of beautiful greens for salads for our dinner guests. The bowl of colorful greens had us wondering about the origins of this dish.
These greens only need a drizzle of a flavorful dressing.
The word “salad” comes from the ancient Latin word “sal” for “salt”. In ancient times, salt was an important ingredient in dressing. You might be surprised to learn that ancient Romans and Greeks enjoyed raw vegetables with dressing. Typically the vegetables would be dressed with vinegar, oil, herbs, and salt. “Salata” literally means “salted herb”. The dish became more complex over time. In the 1700’s chef’s began to create composed salads with layers of ingredients.
Today any entrée or side dish that is composed of a mixture of ingredients and intended to be eaten cold is a salad. Some recipes are world famous. Master chefs of the International Society of Epicures in Paris voted Caesar Salad as the greatest recipe to originate from the Americas in 50 years. The Cobb was invented at the Brown Derby restaurant in 1937. Crab Louie began appearing on menus at the turn of the 20th century. Nicoise features garlic, tomatoes, anchovies, black olives, capers, and lemon juice. It is named for the city of Nice, France. A private party for the pre-opening of New York’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel on March 13, 1893 led to the first serving of Waldorf Salad. http://www.whatscookingamerica.net
The recipe below could be the start of your own famous salad! Fresh mixed greens and vine-ripened tomatoes. Just add a drizzle of lemon basil dressing and you will enjoy a taste of summer.
Lemon Basil Dressing for Salads
¼ Cup Diced onions
1 Tbl Minced garlic
1 Tsp Dijon mustard
½ Cup Fresh basil leaves
1 Tsp Salt
½ Tsp Pepper
1 Tbl Sugar
¼ Cup Mayonnaise
½ Cup Lemon juice
Combine the ingredients above in mixing bowl of food processor.
Add slowly while processing:
1 ½ Cups Combined Olive and canola oil
Chill and serve over salad greens.
Yield: About 2 cups
May 7, 2018
Spring Salad Days at Buckhorn Inn
The beautiful salad greens we have been growing in the Buckhorn Inn gardens have made us love our dinner salads even more! This spring we have been harvesting and serving a sweet mesclun mix from Burpee Seed Company http://www.burpee.com. The mix includes Beet Bull’s Blood, Spinach Bloomsdale, Black Seeded Simpson lettuce, Red Salad Bowl lettuce, and Mustard Tendergreen.
Your salad, from the garden to the kitchen to the table.
Soon we will be harvesting our Heatwave mix which includes a blend of crisphead, romaine, and looseleaf types that mature a bit later than the spring mix.
Caesar’s Salad Dressing
Guests love our Caesar salad. It was first made by restaurateur Caesar Cardini in Tijuana. In 1924 a rush of diners depleted his ingredient supply. He made do with what he had and added his own flair by making it tableside. Our version of the tangy dressing omits the raw egg. We recommend you serve it at room temperature on romaine with crisp croutons.
3 Anchovies
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T Chopped garlic
1 T Dijon mustard
1/3 C Mayonnaise
1 t Pepper
1 t Salt
1/2 C Lemon juice
1 1/2 C Olive oil
1/2 C Shredded Parmesan cheese
Combine the first 8 ingredients in a food processor. Slowly add the olive oil, processing until creamy. Stir in the parmesan cheese. Makes about 2 1/2 cups.
Lemon Basil Vinaigrette
This is one of Chef Bob’s most popular dressings. We especially like it over a bed of tender spring greens with grilled asparagus and tomatoes.
1/4 C Diced onions
1 T Minced garlic
1 t Dijon Mustard
1/2 C Fresh basil leaves
1 t Salt
1/2 t Pepper
1 T Sugar
1/4 C Mayonnaise
1/2 C Lemon juice
1 1/2 C Combined olive and canola oils
Combine in a food processor, adding the oil slowly at the last. Chill. Makes about 2 cups. We love using the fresh basil from our Buckhorn Inn herb garden for this recipe and many others. When making a basil-based dish, such as a pesto, blanching the basil will help it retain that sunny green color.
We hope you enjoy many salad days ahead!
Gatlinburg Weather
Click for weather forecast