Tossed Salad (you know what I'm talking about)

[Chris Amirault]

And from somewhere in there, I remember a Good Seasons called Exotic Herbs.  Though it was made from a packet of powder, in the little glass "cruet" provided in the special box, and one of the main ingredients was water carefully measured "up to the line," I STILL wish they made that wonderful flavor combination in their present market.  I CRRRRRRave to taste that dressing again.

←

Ahh, yes, Good Seasons dressing, with the herb mixture taken from exotic "Italy." I'm not sure I've got the proportions exactly right, racheld, but a combination of thyme, oregano, sage, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, salt, and (crucial) crushed celery seed approximates that mix.

Of course, it's not like I've spent lots of time sitting around the kitchen trying to figure this out. I mean, that would be obsessive.

[mhadam]

My mom almost always made a salad for dinner: iceburg, wedges of tomatoes, dice of unpeeled cucumbers, diced onion and herbage: in the summer it was basil or parsley and dill from the garden, in the winter it was always chopped parsley and dill from the freezeer.

She alternated between two dressings

One: 1 serving spoon of mayo, 1 tbs sour cream and a glop of ranch dressing from the fridge. Add salt and a healthy crank of pepper and toss.

Two: homemade herb vinegar with oil and mustard or horseradish.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Ahh, yes, Good Seasons dressing, with the herb mixture taken from exotic "Italy." I'm not sure I've got the proportions exactly right, racheld, but a combination of thyme, oregano, sage, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, salt, and (crucial) crushed celery seed approximates that mix.

←

the clone for this dressing mix in a packet .. scroll down ...

[lcdm]

We always had a tossed salad with dinner. Iceberg lettuce (later Romaine). During the summer lettuce from the garden. Usually had tomatoes, cucumber, shredded carrots, celery, sometimes bell pepper. My grandmother would have red onion and radishes added to the mix. Salad dressing would be a choice, good seasons, thousand island, russian..... what ever was in fashion, (I remember we were on a tomato bacon ranch kick for a while). At my grandmothers it was always oil and vinegar.

Sometimes for a special treat we would garnish with croutons (from a box) or Baco's.

During the summer when we had an over abundance of tomatos and cucmbers we would alternate between cucumber salad, and quartered tomatoes with salt & pepper.

[Gifted Gourmet]

all these salads are PMS, no? Pre-mesclun salads ...

[Oceangroveguy]

I grew up in Brooklyn in the 50's and 60's - My mother, who was a hospital dietician and later a NYC public school Home Ec teacher always served a tossed salad with dinner. Iceberg, tomato, cuke and radish tossed with Good Seasons Italian was the norm.

As soon as I began preparing my own dinners, salad was a necessary component and still is, although after years of Romaine and Radiccio these days I am likely to use the Wegman's bulk spring mix or the bagged versions of that, along with cucumbers and, at my wife's insistence, tomato regardless of the season. When my wife is out, I'll make salads with frisee or Boston lettuce or redleaf, none of which she likes. Dressings are usually EVO and seasoned rice vinegar for my wife, a lesser OO and red wine vinegar for me.

But I have to have a salad with dinner at home - or else it doesn't feel like it's dinner at home.

[Megan Blocker]

But I have to have a salad with dinner at home - or else it doesn't feel like it's dinner at home.

←

Exactly! Well put, Oceangroveguy!

[acautrell]

I grew up in rural Nebraska in the 80s. Salad was somewhat rare for dinner. When it appeared, it was often nothing more than iceberg lettuce with dressing. Anyone familiar with Dorothy Lynch dressing? I can't remember exactly what flavor it was supposed to be. It was orange with lots of black specks and made somewhere in the state.

That was my parents' preferred salad-drencher, while I rotated among the many flavors of Kraft. In the summer we had homegrown tomatoes on top.

When I was 14 I stayed for dinner at a new friend's house. They had spinach salad, with homemade dressing. I fell in love.

In the past ten years I've convinced my parents to give up iceberg for romaine and spinach leaf experimentation, but they still love their bottled dressing.

[racheld]

I've made all our usual salad dressings for many years...don't think we've purchased a bottle since we got married. Honey French is made in the blender, to attain the proper alignment and amalgamation of oil, honey, vinegar, and paprika. All others are stirred up with a whisk and stored away in those cute pop-top Glad disposables. Even the lids sometimes match the color of the dressing.

Chris' favorite is a very sweet 1000, beginning with a vinegar/sugar/spices mixture which began life in the 40's as the juice that our family's sweet pickles were canned in. I still make the odd case or two of lime pickles now and again, depending upon the supply of those little fat cukes, but occasionally just put on a quart of the mixture by itself, a simple syrup, almost, with just the merest THOUGHT of the fragrance of allspice and clove. It boils away for a few minutes before decanting into the jar, filling the house with the scent of summer cannings.

This, too is stored in the fridge, in a nice glass jar, and is pulled out every couple of weeks when the supply of "pink dressing" runs low. It's a simple stirring together of the juice, a squirt of ketchup, a crushed/minced clove of garlic or two, and a hearty glop of Hellman's--just enough to make a lovely satiny pourable dressing. It can segue into "Oriental' with the drop of a bit of dark sesame oil stirred in, and perhaps a disc or two of ginger, to lend its exotic air to chicken salads with water chestnuts and those crispy little noodles, or to duplicate but improve those Benihana salads with the ultra-crisp lettuce and pool of pink water in the bottom.

Dill dressing is made ditto with the salty, vinegary tang of the brine poured from dill pickles, with added garlic, mayo to the proper consistency, and a great shower of fresh snipped dill. We've even been known to add a good handful of Maytag crumbs to this mixture, for dip or for dressing a nice romaine or even a plebeian old iceberg wedge.

Regular blue cheese dressing is salt, pepper, lemon juice, a bit of vinegar, the ubiquitous Hellman's, thickened to taste with as much cheese as desired. Lovely with celery sticks, snow peas, grape tomatoes for dipping on a summer evening porch.

Vinaigrette is vinaigrette, with as many recipes are there are cooks---we keep several, with more grainy mustard, or less oil, or balsamic, or a teensy drib of maple syrup or orange zest.

There must be ten containers in the fridge at this moment, each homemade, each somebody's favorite. They will disappear over the next few weeks, to be replenished with a fresh box of whatever strikes our fancy. It may be poppyseed, with a nice cut of onion, some oil, sugar and vinegar, whirled an extravagantly long time in the blender, its whirlpool thickening into a humming, slurping syrup, a smooth, unforgettable dressing with its little punctuation marks of tiny dark seeds.

Or Italian, with blender-whizzed roasted red peppers, garlic bits, and cracked pepper, heavy on the vinegar. There's even a sour cream or cream cheese recipe or two (one calling for minced shrimp and horseradish); another starts with finely chopped hard-boiled egg yolks, into which lemon juice and oil are beaten until it's thick and falling in ribbons from the whisk, or your arm wears out, whichever comes first. (I suspect that this one came from the same woman whose cook was expected to beat a particular pound cake batter for four hours. I'm sure she saw the error of her ways---cake is just cake; a good cook is beyond price).

We are all salad people--some of us like just a glisten on the leaves; others are of the glop-it-on persuasion. There is an onion-in-everything camp and a no-cukes- in-mine, please, contingent. We like vegetables raw, steamed or roasted, served cold or room temperature or warm, dressed with whatever dressing serves them best. We like meat salads and egg salads, fruits and fish; handfuls of herbs and great tearings of greens. In the South, there's ALWAYS something green or crisp or tartly pickled or brined on the table, even if it's just a bowl of cold cucumbers in a little splash of vinegar.

Uh-huh. Toss it or not---I like salad.

[snowangel]

I grew up in rural Nebraska in the 80s.  Salad was somewhat rare for dinner.  When it appeared, it was often nothing more than iceberg lettuce with dressing.  Anyone familiar with Dorothy Lynch dressing? I can't remember exactly what flavor it was supposed to be.  It was orange with lots of black specks and made somewhere in the state.

That was my parents' preferred salad-drencher, while I rotated among the many flavors of Kraft.  In the summer we had homegrown tomatoes on top.

←

Dorothy Lynch. Served up at my grandmother's house. The head of iceberg was brought home from the grocery store, that plastic wrapper removed. It was whacked on the counter, core side down, core removed, and place in some green tupperware thing with prongs on the end. Ripped into chunks and put in plastic salad bowls. The bowls were brown and shallow. Sort of tossed with the hands (no other ingredients, mind you) before being drenched with this stuff. For a change, there was "Western" dressing.

In contrast, my kids like salad with all kinds of greens and "interesting bits" be they nuts, cheese, fruit, other vegetables, and they like a variety of greens in a salad. They also like vinagarette. I like the contrast during a meal with hot food of a cool salad with contrast -- textural and taste.

[saskanuck]

We had the requisite tossed salad with iceberg, tomatoes cut into eighths, chunks of unpeeled cucumbers, and lots of onions, topped with either Miracle Whip or bottled 1000 island dressing.

Or my mom's other specialty was thinly sliced peeled cucumbers and white onions, dressed with a mixture of cream and sugar.

Blech. I never liked either of these salads.

The salads I make now consist of some kind of fresh greens (not iceberg), whatever fresh veggies are around, sometimes cheese, toasted pine nuts, and anything else that looks good. I usually make a vinaigrette that is quite acidic as well, because we like the tangy stuff.

Me likey salad.

[nacho]

...thickly sliced cucumbers (later in life she would cut them into very thick dice, but they were always peeled), quartered or eighthed (?) tomatoes, lettuce cut into chunks (iceberg for years, then romaine), all topped with "Italian" dressing (Ken's and Wishbone were the house favorites, with Good Seasonings "homemade" on occasion). On truly special occasions, we'd have storebought, packaged croutons tossed in too.

... Where did these things come from? What variations are there?

←

I grew up in a family of mostly German-American heritage in South Texas, and mom and granny would both serve the same salad you describe above. No clue where it came from, but we ate it A LOT. For many years, mom made one with every dinner...and often she would just cut up a few new veggies and top off the uneaten salad from the night before. Man that was nasty when day-old chopped avocado was involved.

Every now and again, we would get a break from the tossed salad and mom would make a 7 Layer Salad. If memory holds, the layers were (from bottom to top): spinach, celery, carrots, frozen peas, maybe bell peppers, miracle whip, bacon bits, and parmesan cheese from a green can. It was a welcome change from the daily tossed salad. However, my brother and father have since renamed it One-o'clock-Three-o'clock Salad, since after they eat it with dinner, they have to get up around 1am to go to the bathroom and then again around 3am (must be all the spinach ).

[Chris Amirault]

We had the requisite tossed salad with iceberg, tomatoes cut into eighths, chunks of unpeeled cucumbers, and lots of onions, topped with either Miracle Whip or bottled 1000 island dressing.

←

Miracle Whip? By itself?

[MarketStEl]

Miracle Whip? By itself? 

←

On a tossed salad? Yeah, maybe a little strange.

On a tomato slice? It's almost as good as eating it with nothing but salt.

[lesfen]

Oh man... yeah. I still have a tossed salad once a week at my mom's houae. Iceburg lettuce, fork scored (sp) cucumber, tomatoes (they grow their own in the summer but go mealy in the fall/winter/spring), onions on the side. Everyone has their favorite dressing tho'... mom and I go for the Good Seasons made in the caraffe, dad and hubby for for French, and brother, sister, and BIL go for the ranch. I'm not going to front... I love it. There's something about the crunch of iceburg that I love. Their leaf lettuce is used exclusively for wilted lettuce salads with the bacon grease/vinegar dressing.

[annanstee]

We also started most meals with a half of a grapefruit - did anyone else do that??

←

We had same neighbors when I was a kid who had half a grapefruit to begin every meal, without fail. I remember finding it astonishing. They were Finnish, and with infallable childish logic, I thus concluded that it was a Finnish thing.

Salad in my house for at least my first decade consisted of a few pieces of iceburg and a wedge of tomato with "salad cream" i.e. mayo. Later, my mum got more experimental- but basically she was a meat and two veg kind of gal.

Edited October 12, 2005 by annanstee (log)

[snowangel]

Anyone else remember those "composed" salads from the Betty Crocker Boys and Girls cookbooks?

The pear half with the raisin eyes and spoon of cottage cheese tail? Or the slice of canned pinneapple with the half of a banana (cut crosswise) with a cherry on top? I think that the latter was called the Rocket Salad, but I could be wrong. And, there might have been one with a peach half and celery arms and legs. Fruit, outside of the banana was canned, of course. Back in the days when canned fruit came only in heavy syrup.

[mizducky]

Anyone else remember those "composed" salads from the Betty Crocker Boys and Girls cookbooks?

The pear half with the raisin eyes and spoon of cottage cheese tail?  Or the slice of canned pinneapple with the half of a banana (cut crosswise) with a cherry on top?  I think that the latter was called the Rocket Salad, but I could be wrong.  And, there might have been one with a peach half and celery arms and legs.  Fruit, outside of the banana was canned, of course.  Back in the days when canned fruit came only in heavy syrup.

←

Thankfully, my mother never inflicted those on us, but I recall leafing through her Betty Crocker cookbook and seeing them ... even as a kid, they made me shudder.

But the 50s-era Jewish cookbook my mom bequeathed to me goes Betty Crocker one better--it sports a Hanukkah "recipe" for a composed salad in the shape of a menorah.

[Rebecca263]

Wow, this has been a great fun friendly thread! you're all wonderful posters! I feel better now. Friday I'm buying some kosher blue cheese ( allergic to 'real' blue cheese, penicillins blah blah blah, 'ya know) and anchovies and making an updated version of Dad's salad... don't think I could stomach the Good Season's though. Kiddle will gag, I'm sure, she eats neither blue cheese nor anchovies....mwahahahaha! Evil Mommy? But no, I'll make her a nice albeit tamer version.....

[Megan Blocker]

But the 50s-era Jewish cookbook my mom bequeathed to me goes Betty Crocker one better--it sports a Hanukkah "recipe" for a composed salad in the shape of a menorah.      

←

That is fantastic! Can you imagine serving that? I think it might be worth the work, just to see the looks on the guests' faces.

[santo_grace]

Hello All - I don't post much since I am much more of lurker, but I will post when I feel strongly about something. Salad is one of those things that I feel passionate about. I also grew up on the iceberg lettuce with carrots, tomatoes and cukes. Good seasons or other bottled dressings. Sometime in high school my mother switched to romaine after she declared it healthy, which was fine with me.

I once had to attend a presentation skills class for work, and one of the topics to get you comfortable with presenting was to talk about your favorite food. When it was my turn, I announced that salad was my favorite food and I heard a gasp from the crowd (all 15 of them). Some people at Dale Carnegie would say that getting a reaction from the audience is a good thing, but I was quite surprised by this. Once I said it was because I love salad dressing, they seem to gasp a sigh of relief. I had now managed to gain some respect, since apparently they felt salad wasn't a worthy favorite food choice. I think they pictured me glopping on some Thousand Island, Western or Hidden Valley Ranch and breathed a little easier. And while I like some ranch dressing now and then, I prefer a nice vinaigrette (possibly, even Good Seasons).

I approached the topic with a "if you were stranded on an island" mentality and all I could think of was salad. Seriously, would you want lobster bisque everyday? For me it would be salad...all kinds of lettuce, all types of dressings, vegetables and meat.

[eJulia]

Its so surprising to me how consistent the memories are - I too grew up with a salad at every dinner - iceberg, tomatoes, cukes, Good Seasoniing made in that little carafe.

i eat much more interesting salads nowadays - using a mixture of differrent greens, but I will occasionally go back to the beloved iceberg.

My mom has gotten more adventorous, too. Last time I was home, she announced we would be having a baby spinach, dried cranberry, goat cheese and vinagerette salad. I was so impressed until she actually got out a recipe and started measuring ingredients! Who needs a recipe for such a simple salad!

[nacho]

This thread is making me miss those salads for two reasons...

1.) My family (parents, grandparents, etc.) have all jumped on the convenience bandwaggon and buy those pre-bagged salads. They just don't taste right, even if doctored with the tomatoes and cukes, etc.

2.) I learned from my mom that "Salads always taste better when someone else makes them!" So I can't just go make my own.

[Megan Blocker]

2.)  I learned from my mom that "Salads always taste better when someone else makes them!"  So I can't just go make my own. 

←

Just like sandwiches, eh?

[Chris Amirault]

Its so surprising to me how consistent the memories are - I too grew up with a salad at every dinner - iceberg, tomatoes, cukes, Good Seasoniing made in that little carafe.

←

A bit too consistent, if you ask me. Was there some required citizenship course that assigned this salad? Or perhaps a conpiracy that can explain it? Why these three, and these three vegetables only? Surely some X-Files fan out there can help with this....