SC - Random excursion in to salad recipes - oop

[Cathy Harding]

nanna wrote:

But - on a bulletin board I frequent someone was just asking for a recipe
for
Watergate Salad to serve at Thanksgiving - please tell me this is not a part
of a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Any dish that can be served either as a
side dish to turkey or as a dessert has me completely baffled.


I wonder if they were looking for a Waldorf Salad? My housemate is ruling in
the kitchen today, I merely tell her where everything is.  (she doesn't cook
very often.)  So I went looking in the cookbook collection....

My copy of the Boston cooking school cookbook (original c. 1886 last C.
1924) gives a recipe:

mix equal parts of finely cut apples and celery and moisten with mayonnaise
dress ing (recipe in  book). Garnish with curled celery and canned pimentos
cut in stripd or fancy shapes. An attractive way od serving this salad is to
remove tops from red or green apples, scoop out inside pulp, leaving just
enough adhering to skin to keep apples in shape. Refill shells thus make
with the salad, replace tops, and serve on lettuce leaves.

This is certainly not a dessert type of salad.  nor is it like the Waldorf
salad I remember from childhood. That one had celery, raisens, apples,
grapes, nuts and mayonaisse.

This question got me started looking up this recipe in several cookbooks  (I
have a few, but I don't have nearly as many as my mom)

The everyday cook book (C 1890) doesn't have any such recipes.  The salads
here are mostly salmon, lobster and shrimp, there is one recipe for coleslaw
and one for a lettuce salad.

The White house cookbook (original 1887, c 1915) doesn't have one either.

The Gimbels cook book (and kitchen guide for the busy woman) c 1932. has a
recipet that calls for an apple, celery, nut meats and mayonaise.

James Beard says that the jello and mayonaise salads came in to vogue in
1905 from a cooking contest."...unleashing a demand for congealed salads
that has grown alarmingly..."

So does the Watergate salad have gelatin in it?  That sounds like it fits
the side or dessert dish more than a Waldorf salad.

Curious,
Maeve


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