Test Your Salad I.Q.

 

Now that spring and those “salad days” are almost here, how much do you know about classic salads? Test your Salad I.Q:

1.  Who coined the term, “salad days?”

a. Weight Watchers International, as a jump-start to the diet program.

b. Gwyneth Paltrow, when she went vegetarian after breaking up with Ben Affleck in 2000.

c. William Shakespeare’s character Cleopatra, referring to her days of youth and inexperience.

d. British economist John Maynard Keynes, meaning a strict budget.

 

2. Perfection Salad was invented by:

a. A home cook who won $100 in a national Knox gelatin contest.

b. Julia Child on her TV show, “The French Chef”

c. The 1950 Pillsbury Bake-Off winner

d. Fanny Farmer

3. Caesar salad is named for:

a. Roman emperor Julius Caesar  (hence, the romaine lettuce)

b. Caesar Cardini, a chef in Tijuana, Mexico

c. Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas

d. Comedian Sid Caesar’s requested dish before performances

4. Caprese salad (or Insalata Caprese) contains:

a. Caprese cheese

b. French sea salt

c. Buffalo mozzarella cheese

d. Cumin and green chiles

5. Nicoise salad is named for:

a. Nice, France

b. Julia Child’s daughter, Nicoise

c. Nicoise, Calif.

d. Chef Auguste Escoffier’s wife

6. Cobb salad is named for:

a. Alfred E. Cobb, chef at the Waldorf Astoria.

b. Bob Cobb, of Hollywood’s Brown Derby restaurant

c. Actor Lee J. Cobb

b. Baseball player Ty Cobb

7. Coleslaw is named for

a. Singer Nat King Cole

b. The nursery rhyme, “Old King Cole”

c. The Dutch term “koolsla.”

d. “Cold slaw” as opposed to “hot slaw,” or boiled cabbage.

8. Waldorf salad is named for:

a. Chef Waldorf Spencer

b. Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York

c. The Duke of Waldorf

d. The town of Waldorf, Maryland

9. Ranch dressing is named for:

a. The Ponderosa Ranch from the TV show, “Bonanza”

b. A fictitious Mrs. Ranch

c. A dude ranch called Hidden Valley Ranch

d. The movie, “True Grit”

10. Green Goddess dressing is named for:

a. Green Goblin’s girlfriend in Spiderman comic books

b. A play called “The Green Goddess”

c. Actress Loretta Young, who always wore green.

d. Cecilia Goddess, owner of the Delmonico

11. What gives Golden Glow salad its “golden glow?”

a. Sugar sprinkled with brandy and flamed

b. Fluorescent marshmallows

c. Orange- and/or lemon-flavored gelatin

d. Serving it outdoors at sunset

ANSWERS

1. C. In Shakespeare’s play, “Antony and Cleopatra,” Cleopatra says, ” My salad days,
When I was green in judgment: cold in blood…”

2. A. “Perfection Salad,” invented by Mrs. John E. Cooke, took third place in a 1905 recipe contest sponsored by Knox Gelatin. She won $100, quite a sum in 1905. The salad, which contains shredded cabbage, celery, green pepper, pimiento and olive slices suspended in Knox gelatin, was very chic in its day. But 21st century salad eaters have a different idea of “perfection.”

3. B. The Caesar salad was born at Caesar’s Place (NOT Caesar’s Palace) in Tijuana, Mexico, on July 4, 1924. The story goes that chef Caesar Cardini ran short on ingredients and improvised with what was on hand: romaine leaves, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, lemon juice, a raw egg, Worcestershire sauce, and croutons. The salad was a hit with the Hollywood set who frequently drove to Tijuana during the Prohibition era.

4. C. Insalata Caprese (salad in the style of Capri) is a salad from the Italian region of Campania, made of sliced fresh buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes and basil, seasoned with salt, and olive oil. It supposedly became popular after being served in Capri to the jet-setting King Farouk of Egypt during the 1950s.

5. a. Nicoise is a term for dishes that call for ingredients typically used in Nice, France. A classic recipe, from Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” contains tuna, anchovies, tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, olives and lettuce.

 

6. B. The Brown Derby restaurant was a favorite hangout of early Hollywood stars, such as Jimmy Durante and Katharine Hepburn. Late one night in the 1920s, hungry owner Bob Cobb created the salad from the kitchen’s leftovers. The original recipe included chopped avocado, celery, tomato, chives, watercress, hard-boiled eggs, chicken, bacon, and Roquefort cheese.

7. C. Food historians generally agree the term “cole slaw” comes from the Dutch term “koolsla” meaning “cabbage salad.”

8. B. Oscar Michel Tschirky (1866-1950), the long-time maitre d’ of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, is credited for creating this classic American fruit salad for the hotel’s opening March 9, 1896. His book, called “The Cook Book” by “Oscar of the Waldorf,” gave a recipe using only apples, celery and mayonnaise. In “The Waldorf-Astoria Cookbook” published in 1981 by Ted James and Rosalind Cole, the recipe includes walnuts.

9. C. According to the makers of  Hidden Valley Ranch dressing, the origin was the Hidden Valley Guest Ranch near Santa Barbara, Calif. Owners Steve and Gayle Henson made it from a blend of dry herbs and spices, then mixed it with mayo and buttermilk. The Hensons began marketing packets of the dry mix and eventually sold the salad dressing business to The HVR Co. in 1972. So many companies made copycat versions that “ranch” is now a generic term.

10. B. In the 1920s, a play, “The Green Goddess,” opened in San Francisco. A dinner party held in honor of the play was held at the grand Palace Hotel. Chef Philip Roemer served artichoke bottoms filled with shrimp, chicken or crab, mixed with “Green Goddess” dressing.

11. C. The once-popular recipe calls for orange and/or lemon-flavored gelatin, crushed pineapple and shredded carrots. I’m guessing the “golden” glow was more green in Utah, where lime-flavored gelatin is popular.

How many did you get right?

0-5 correct:  You are probably more interested in eating salads than in their genealogy.

5-8: You are pretty knowledgeable; you can probably tell a Caesar salad from a Cobb salad.

8-11: You must be a culinary historian, or else you cheated. Chill out with a bowl of lettuce.

Here are some recipes:

GREEN GODDESS DRESSING

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup snipped fresh chives or minced scallions

1/4 cup fresh minced parsley

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

3 anchovy fillets, rinsed, patted dry and minced

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Mix ingredients together. — “New Revised Joy of Cooking”

GOLDEN GLOW GELATIN SALAD

1 20-ounce can crushed pineapple

1 3-ounce package orange-flavored gelatin

1 3-ounce package pineapple-flavored gelatin

2 cups cold water

4 cups grated carrots

Drain pineapple; reserve. To pineapple juice, add enough water to make 2 cups total. Bring to a boil in a small saucepan. Place gelatins in medium bowl. Add the hot juice; stir until gelatin dissolves. Stir in 2 cups cold water. Refrigerate until gelatin thickens, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Fold in pineapple and carrots. Pour into an 8-cup mold or bowl. Refrigerate until set, about 3 hours. — Adapted from the “New Revised Joy of Cooking”

TRADITIONAL COBB SALAD

8 slices cooked, crumbled bacon

3 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

1 head lettuce, shredded

3 cups chopped, cooked chicken

2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped

3/4 cup blue cheese, crumbled

1 avocado, peeled and diced

1 cup chopped green onions

1 8-ounce bottle ranch or vinaigrette dressing

Divide lettuce among 4 to 6 individual plates. Arrange rows of chicken, eggs, tomatoes, blue cheese, bacon, avocado and green onions on the lettuce. Drizzle with dressing.

RANCH-STYLE DRESSING MIX

6 teaspoons minced onion

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

3 tablespoons parsley flakes

1 1/2 teaspoons MSG, optional

Combine all ingredients. Divide into thirds, wrap in foil packets or seal in plastic bags. Makes 3 packets. To use, combine 1 packet of mix, 1 cup mayonnaise and 1 cup buttermilk. Makes 2 cups. — Utah State University Extension