Playboy At The Salad Bowl

Never ask a woman to come up and see your salad bowl. If you do, don't let her go near it. There are some things a woman can toss around fairly well, but a salad isn't one of them. Consider, for instance, such forms of feminine bunny food as Frozen Tomato Salad in Cucumber Boats, Jellied Ginger Ale and Grape Salad, Firecracker Salad and salads in the shape of flower pots, hyacinths and lilies of the valley—all of the savorless fabrications originating in the minds of congenital spinsters, Home Economics teachers and amateur food demonstrators. A woman, in fact, who may be an otherwise skillful cook and an unaffected creature invariably becomes coquettish when she makes a salad. When your back is turned, she'll come up with Prunes and Cottage Cheese, or Pea and Walnut Salad or an elaborate bowl of mixed greens tasting exactly like a bale of wet hay. You may intimate to the young lady that you like radishes. Will she let you bite into a plain hard radish? Will she put simple crisp radish slices in the salad? Oh, no. You'll have to wait until she surprises you with her "radish roses." For centuries now the petals of these damned radish roses have been getting into men's mustaches, falling into their vests and killing the enjoyment of an ancient, honest garden vegetable.

If you absent-mindedly happen to praise her radish roses, you're really down for the long count. She'll pout for a moment or two, then scurry into the kitchen, and while you sit helplessly marking time at the table, she'll present you with a succession of cheese roses, tomato roses, orange roses, grapefruit roses and apple roses–all designed to make flimflam out of good natural food.

Professional cooks are sometimes guilty of the same offense in their elaborate chaud froid dishes and aspic salads, made solely for show-off purposes on buffet tables. But in the privacy of their own homes, they wouldn't think of eating such nonsense.

When a man's tired and hungry at the end of a broiling summer day, he yearns for a nice cold lobster salad as fresh and keen as the cold Maine water itself. He wants the very first taste of tangy mayonnaise to send him into a shiver of lascivious delight. When a bowl of romaine is brought to his table, he wants the dark leaves to glisten with real olive oil and wine vinegar, like droplets clinging to the cold limbs of a swimmer. He wants the beefsteak tomatoes to be so sweet that they taste as though someone had sprinkled them with sugar. He wants the French dressing to bite and yield at the same time.

Actually a good salad maker must have many of the traits and skills that we sometimes think of as feminine — meticulousness, patience, cleanliness and a very alert sense of touch and taste. But, after all, these are not exclusively feminine virtues, and for some reason it takes a man to master the really fine art of the salad bowl. One of the most noted salad makers of all time was Henri d'Albignac, a French nobleman who fled the revolution and went to live in London. Unlike modern emigres who become doormen and dishwashers, the Frenchman took up the art of salad making. He became known as the Salad King, and fabulous sums were paid to him to prepare the "sallets" for prominent dinners held in Grosvenor Square. In America at about the same time-when salads were relatively unknown-two famous Frenchmen, Brillat-Savarin, the noted food philosopher, and Collete, a Parisian chef, were teaching New Yorkers the subtleties of French dressing and Sauce Vinaigrette.

The kind of bowl that you use will affect the salad that finally comes forth. Several decades ago there was a rage for wooden salad bowls that's only now subsiding. The wooden bowls were peasantish, informal and bohemian. You were told that if you used the bowl often enough, the garlic, pepper and other seasonings would become impregnated into the wood. In time these flavors would be transferred to any salad mixed in the bowl. You were told not to wash the bowl but merely wipe it clean after each use.

Wood is porous and therefore absorbent. When you rub it with garlic often enough, it may eventually acquire a built-up garlic odor. But it also absorbs the oil of the salad dressing. Oil in time turns rancid. No legerdemain will remove the unclean, off-flavor of many of these wooden bowls. At the present time you can buy a number of wooden salad bowls made of extremely handsome hard wood, less absorbent than the old fashioned wooden chopping bowl.

The part the bowl plays, however, is negative. It should give no flavor whatever to the salad. If you want to give a garlic scent to your salad, it's very easily done by merely rubbing the bowl with a cut clove of garlic, or using a garlic press, or placing in the salad a piece of French bread previously rubbed with garlic. Then there are a number of salads in which you don't want a garlic flavor to predominate. For instance, if you're making a crabmeat salad, garlic has no place whatever in the scheme of things. Finally, the bacteria that collect in the unwashed wooden bowl make for unsanitary food handling.

Obviously, the best type of salad bowl is one made of glass, china or pottery. Bright crystal glass is especially nice for showing the sorcery of the saladman.

The old Spanish saying that to be a good salad maker you must be a miser with vinegar, a spendthrift with oil and a madman in mixing is cute — but not entirely true. The advice about oil and vinegar is sound as far as it goes. You should use four parts of oil to each part of vinegar in making a salad. But you must take especial care that the total amount of dressing should only be enough to coat the greens with a thin film of dressing. You shouldn't be such a spendthrift that the salad is drowned in dressing, leaving a lazy pool of liquid on the bottom of the salad bowl. When you mix the salad, you should do it thoroughly but with a light hand all the time. A madman will beat the tender leaves until they droop with despair. It takes a sage—not a madman—to mix a salad.

Much of the skill in conjuring up a slick salad is merely choosing the right raw material. If you buy the plump beefsteak tomatoes adorning the summer vegetable stalls, your salad will automatically be better than one made with dull winter hot house tomatoes. If the avocado is soft, ripe and oily, it will seem almost a different fruit than an avocado that is hard, astringent and tasteless. When you make French dressing with imported (and expensive) olive .oil, it will have a richness, body and superb olive flavor that you can't possibly create with domestic cotton-seed oil or corn oil.

A good saladmaker must be a tyrant in insisting that fresh things be really fresh. He refuses to go to work if lettuce leaves are tired, tomatoes are wrinkled with age and cucumbers are shriveled. Perhaps the most fanatical people in this respect are the Danes. In Danish restaurants when a customer orders salad, the waitress brings a tray of watercress still growing in the soil. The customer watches as the waitress carefully cuts off the small leaves into the salad bowl.

People eat salad with their eyes. The mere sight of white cabbage and shredded green peppers dropped into a big bowl for cole slaw will set the taste currents buzzing. This doesn't mean you must have screaming reds contrasting with loud greens just to create eye appeal. Even a salad of all greens—provided the greens are fresh and crisp—will set up a whole range of subtle but distinct notes on the green theme: the deep sea green of the watercress, the pale taffeta green of the lettuce, the sturdy burgher's green of the romaine and the fresh girlish green of the parsley. Let these delightful hues remain in the bowl au naturel. Don't pretty them up with carrot curley-cues, celery canes or spiraled beets.

Salads, like other cold summer dishes, must be ice cold and not served at tepid room temperature. Even the bowl, the mixing spoon and fork, and the plates on which the salad are served should be cold.

Everything in a salad must be as clean as a new spoon. A tiny grain of sand will spoil an otherwise delightful salad. Some greens which are grown in sandy soil—like spinach and certain kinds of lettuce—may have to be washed in six clear cold waters before all sand is removed. All salad greens must be thoroughly drained and dried before going into the bowl. After washing the greens, place them between clean cloth towels or paper towels, and press gently to blot out all trace of water. Excess water will not only dilute the dressing but keep it from clinging to the greens.

If you're making a meat, poultry or seafood salad with a thick dressing of the mayonnaise type, the dressing should be added several hours before serving so that the dressing Can actually penetrate into, and blend with, the chunks of cold food. Russian dressing must not merely pet the shrimp but marry it. If you're making a green salad, however, the light French dressing should be added just before serving, or the salad leaves will soon be played out and dragging.

Since most salads include lettuce, savants of the salad bowl know that there are two principal kinds of lettuce —iceberg and Boston. Iceberg is crisp, solid and heavy for its size. Boston lettuce is light, soft and tender. Of the two types Boston has the more delicate flavor. French dressing will cling more readily to the Boston than to the iceberg. Iceberg lettuce is the more plentiful of the two, and in the winter time Boston lettuce is only obtainable in fancy fruit stores. Iceberg lettuce has always appealed to gourmets who eat with their jaws rather than with their taste buds. No matter what lettuce you use, be svire to remove any rust, slime or discolored pieces. To separate lettuce leaves from the head, cut a cone-shaped piece about one-inch deep out of the core. Hold the lettuce under cold running water to wash. Press the head of lettuce and it will separate easily into leaves.

Playboy would like to puncture one more old wives' tale before presenting its repertory of hot weather salads. This is the theory that salad greens should never be cut with a knife .but should only be torn with the fingers. According to old cook books, the rusty color of the knife would stain the tender greens and spoil their natural appearance. The answer to this dictum is not to use a rusty knife. Whether you cut or tear such greens as chicory, escarole or romaine won't make much difference. They will be informal and natural looking either way. If you do tear them, you must be careful to tear them into fairly uniform sizes. You don't want pieces of lettuce big enough to choke a cow alongside other pieces that can only be seen with a magnifying glass. Then, there are "some salad materials such as chives, parsley and green peppers which can only be cut with good sharp steel.

[recipe_title]Ham Salad A La Playboy[/recipe_title]

[Serves 4]

The partnership of ham and salad greens is a light but satisfying main course. Deliver a big basket of French bread or Italian bread to the table with this salad. A generous wedge of fresh blueberry pie topped with vanilla ice cream and a tall glass of iced coffee should satisfy the hungriest noonday warrior. Be sure the spinach is free of all root ends and sand. Use only the smallest spinach leaves.

2 cups spinach leaves

2 cups Boston lettuce

3/4 lb. sliced boiled ham

4 tablespoons salad oil

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

2 teaspoons French Dijon mustard 2 teaspoons chopped chives or scallions

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

4 hard-boiled eggs

Cut the eggs lengthwise into quarters. Cut the ham into small pieces about l/Q-inch wide and 1-inch long. Cut or tear the lettuce into small pieces. In the salad bowl put the mustard, oil, vinegar, chives and Parmesan cheese. Stir well until blended. Add the spinach, lettuce and ham. Toss thoroughly. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add more vinegar or oil if desired. Turn salad onto 4 cold dinner plates. Place hard egg wedges around salad.

[recipe_title]French Dressing[/recipe_title]

This dressing, after it has been stored in the refrigerator a day or two, will look something like mayonnaise. Many French dressings made with olive oil are not stored in the refrigerator. But since egg is included in this recipe, the dressing should be refrigerated. When this dressing is mixed with a tossed salad, it will melt and yet cling to the leaves. Use imported French or Italian olive oil. If a garlic flavor is desired, smash two or three large cloves of garlic and add to vinegar. Let the garlic remain in the vinegar overnight. Strain the vinegar before adding it to the other ingredients.

1 pint olive oil

1/2 cup red or white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon powdered mustard

1 teaspoon prepared French Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1 egg. slightly beaten

In a deep mixing bowl combine the powdered mustard, French mustard, salt, sugar, pepper and beaten egg. Mix well. Very slowly add the oil. Pour by half teaspoons at first, beating with a wire whip or electric mixer so that all ingredients cohere. Continue to add oil in a very slow stream. Add vinegar. Store in a covered wide-mouth jar in the refrigerator until used. To make Roquefort Dressing, add 1/2 cup crumbled Roquefort cheese to above basic recipe. To make Anchovy Dressing, add 3 tablespoons anchovy paste to above basic recipe.

[recipe_title]Tossed Green Salad[/recipe_title]

[Serves 4]

This is the great all-purpose salad which may be used as the prologue or epilogue to the dinner, playboy lists one combination of greens, but obviously you can make hundreds of variations to suit your own taste. Remember to cut or tear the salad greens into small uniform pieces.

2 cups Boston lettuce

1 cup chicory

1/2 cup watercress

14 cup sliced scallion

1 cup sliced cucumber

1 cup romaine

6 to 8 tablespoons French dressing

Combine all ingredients, adding dressing to taste. Toss lightly but thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

[recipe_title]Beef And Tomato Salad[/recipe_title]

[Serves 4]

This classical Parisian salad must be prepared the day before it is eaten so that all ingredients can marinate thoroughly. The beef must be cold boiled beef or potted beef – roast beef is not suitable.

2 cups boiled beef cut into 1/4-inch cubes

2 medium size boiled potatoes

2 medium size tomatoes

2 tablespoons minced parsley

1/2 cup dill pickle, thinly sliced

1/3 cup French dressing

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons grated onion

Lettuce leaves

Peel the potatoes. Cut the potatoes and tomatoes into the same size as the beef cubes. Mix all ingredients except the lettuce leaves. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Let the salad remain in the refrigerator one day. Serve on cold dinner plates lined with lettuce leaves.

[recipe_title]Caesar Salad[/recipe_title]

[Serves 4]

Caesar salad from California has become a national institution. The original version included coddled egg, a tasteless affectation that can be omitted.

2 cloves of garlic

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon tarragon vinegar

2 small-to-medium size heads of romaine

3 slices of white bread, toasted

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Combine the lemon juice and vinegar in a small glass. Smash the garlic and add to the lemon juice mixture. Let the garlic remain in the liquid at least two hours. Remove garlic from liquids. Rub the salad bowl with the garlic. Cut or tear the romaine into 1-inch pieces. Cut the toast into 1/2-inch squares. Put all ingredients into a large salad bowl. Toss thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper.

[recipe_title]Shrimp Salad, Avocado Dressing[/recipe_title]

[Serves 4]

The delicate flavor of both the shrimp and avocado are here combined without losing the identity of either flavor. To mash avocado, force it through a fine wire strainer.

2 pounds cooked shrimp

2/3 cup mayonnaise

2/3 cup mashed ripe avocado

1 cup diced celery

1 teaspoon grated onion

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 medium size tomatoes

12 large ripe olives

Lettuce leaves

Cut the tomatoes into quarters or sixths. Remove shells and veins from shrimp. Combine mashed avocado, mayonnaise, celery, grated onion and lemon juice. Mix well. Add shrimp. Season with salt and pepper. Line four cold dinner plates with lettuce leaves. Turn salad onto plates. Surround it with tomato wedges and ripe olives.

Cool, crisp, crunchy summer eating