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~ The Real and True Adventures of Remarriage at Life's Midpoint

The Midlife Second Wife ™

Tag Archives: Salads

The Silver Grille’s Maurice Salad

31 Friday May 2013

Posted by themidlifesecondwife in Food for Thought, Nostalgia

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

Bergdorf Goodman, Cleveland, Higbee, Nostalgia, Recipe, Ritz-Carlton, Salads

SilverGrille

From THE SILVER GRILLE: MEMORIES AND RECIPES, Copyright © 2000. Images used with permission.

My morning’s ritualistic reading of the New York Times unexpectedly transported me to my childhood, thanks to “A Lunch that Tastes Like Nostalgia,” Alex Witchel’s lively account of a midday repast at Bergdorf Goodman’s. Her article pays homage to a fading rite—the department store lunch—and shuttled me back to the 1960s, when my Aunt Helen would occasionally take me with her on the bus to downtown Cleveland, where she had standing Saturday appointments at Higbee‘s hair salon with Miss Rose.

Higbee’s was one of the late, great urban department stores, where you could get your nails done, buy furniture, browse through books and greeting cards, try on dresses, and—oh yes—have lunch. Back in the day Cleveland boasted four such retail havens: Besides Higbee’s there was Halle’s, the May Company, and Sterling Lindner-Davis.

At the Higbee salon I idled away the time looking at fashion and movie magazines, with the promise of lunch afterwards at the terribly sophisticated Silver Grille, followed by a visit to the girls’ clothing department, where Aunt Helen always bought me a dress.

So comforting were my memories of lunch with Aunt Helen at the Silver Grille that when Cleveland Landmarks Press published The Silver Grille: Memories and Recipes a number of years ago, I snapped up a copy at Walden Books.

Higbee‘s and the other stores are gone, now. (So, for that matter, is Walden’s.) The sturdy but elegant Higbee building still stands kitty-corner to the landmark Terminal Tower on Public Square (flanked, on the tower’s other side, by the Ritz-Carlton Hotel). The grand old store is now home to the Horseshoe Casino, and has been for exactly one year to the day that I’m posting this. Fans of A Christmas Story, filmed primarily in Cleveland, will remember Higbee’s; its iconic display windows feature prominently in the film and contained Ralphie’s holy grail—the Red Ryder BB gun.

But I digress. Nostalgia will do that to you. Witchel’s article inspired more than this reverie: It compelled me to pull out my copy of the Silver Grille cookbook.

SilverGrilleCoverThe first recipe I turned to, for Maurice Salad, had become a longstanding favorite of mine long after I outgrew the creamed chicken, which arrived in its own cardboard oven.

Silver Grille cardboard oven

The book notes that Higbee’s Silver Grille began serving meals to little tykes in this cardboard oven in 1974, but my memory (which could be faulty) suggests that I opened the oven doors to retrieve my creamed chicken and whipped potatoes in the 1960s.

Large cities with renowned department stores invariably opened satellites in suburban shopping malls, and Higbee’s was no exception. I often ordered this salad when my mother and I ate at the “Attic” in the Elyria Higbee’s. It was a charming place, but it was no Silver Grille. There could only be one. Happily, the food—if not the name—was the same.

Lunch is ready!

Lunch is ready!

The Silver Grille’s Maurice Salad with Classic Maurice Dressing
Adapted from The Silver Grille: Memories and Recipes. Used with permission.

—Serves four

Six cups diced iceberg lettuce
4 ounces julienned cooked ham
4 ounces julienned cooked turkey or chicken
4 ounces julienned Swiss cheese
4 teaspoons chopped sweet pickle

Combine all ingredients. Mix with one cup of classic Maurice dressing and place in a bowl lined with lettuce leaves.

FOR THE DRESSING (makes one cup):

One cup mayonnaise
One hard-boiled egg, chopped
Two tablespoons chopped parsley
One teaspoon vinegar

Combine salad ingredients with the dressing and mix.

Note: The Silver Grill made the original Maurice Dressing with a commercial base not currently available, according to the cookbook. A recipe former Silver Grill employee devised this recipe.

Two more things you should know:

1. James A. Toman, publisher of Cleveland Landmarks Press, tells me that they are reissuing all of the previously published Silver Grille recipes in a new volume, Recipes from the Silver Grille. The book is forthcoming sometime in late summer; be sure to check out the publisher’s website for details.

2. The Silver Grille underwent an award-winning restoration in 2002 by the Ritz-Carlton Cleveland. Although no longer a restaurant, the hotel uses the spacious tenth-floor room as a “function space,” according to Kelsey Williams, senior marketing and PR coördinator of the Ritz-Carlton, which is the venue’s exclusive caterer.

The Silver Grille today, in its current incarnation as an event venue of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

The Silver Grille today, in its current incarnation as an event venue of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Photo courtesy of the Ritz-Carlton.

Do you have department store lunch memories of your own? Share them in the comments section below!

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Blossom’s Cleveland Orchestra Pasta Salad

25 Wednesday Jul 2012

Posted by themidlifesecondwife in Food for Thought

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Blossom Festival, Cooking, Food, Pasta, recipes, Salads, Severance Hall, The Cleveland Orchestra, WCLV

From the name I’ve given this recipe, you’d expect to see edible flowers or musical notes dotted throughout the bowl, wouldn’t you? Actually, the name comes from the recipe’s original source—the Blossom Seasons Cookbook. The spiral-bound book’s title, in turn, comes from the summer home of the glorious Cleveland Orchestra. Ranked among the top ten orchestras in the world—a fact to which I can attest, having heard the orchestra many times not only at the Blossom Festival, but also at its exquisite main venue, Severance Hall, the Cleveland is a must for lovers of classical music. If you can’t get to northeast Ohio to experience their incomparable sound live (or to Miami, where, like so many snowbirds, they winter in residency), by all means get your hands on one of their many recordings. Or listen on the web via WCLV, Cleveland’s classical FM station. The beauty of listening at home is that you can crank up the sound while you prepare this delicious pasta salad.

I’ve owned this little book for what seems like forever—sticklers for the truth will want to know that “forever” in my chronology harks to the early 1980s. The actual title of the recipe, found on page 32, is “Judy and Ann’s Antipasto Salad.” But since I don’t know who Judy and Ann are, and the world has heard of the Cleveland Orchestra, I’ve taken the liberty of retitling it. The person who contributed this particular recipe to the book appears to be one Marilyn Heinl of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, the one-time assistant treasurer of the Blossom Women’s Committee. Ms. Heinl, wherever you are, thank you for sharing this delicious salad. It’s one of my favorite summertime recipes. I should point out that although the original recipe calls for 3 or more tomatoes, I omit them in my version. (You don’t mind, do you Ms. Heinl?)

Blossom’s Cleveland Orchestra Pasta Salad
—Serves 6 to 8

1 pound small macaroni shells (I use fusilli pasta)
1/2 pound provolone cheese
1/4 pound hard salami
1/2 pound pepperoni
1 onion
1 green pepper
3 stalks celery
1 small can pitted black olives
1 small jar pimento-stuffed green olives
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1-1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 tablespoon crushed basil
1 teaspoon pepper

Cook and drain pasta. Cut cheese, salami, pepperoni, and vegetables into small pieces. Place all ingredients (except tomatoes, if you are using them) in a large bowl. Combine oil, vinegar, and seasonings. Pour over salad and toss. Chill for 24 hours and add tomatoes (if you are using them) just before serving.

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You Say Tomato, I Say Tabouli …

20 Wednesday Jun 2012

Posted by themidlifesecondwife in Food for Thought

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Cook, Food, Herbs, Home, Middle East, Olive oil, recipes, Salads, Tomato

… or Tabooley. Or Tabbouleh. No matter how you spell it, this Middle Eastern salad is an incredibly delicious and refreshing addition to any summer meal. Vine-ripened tomatoes are abundant in Central Virginia now, and I’m looking forward to making my first tabouli of the season to accompany baked kibbee, the recipe for which I’ve already published on the blog. I took this photo last summer, before I had any idea I’d be a blogger. I suppose I could postpone this until I make it again and can take new pictures, but I hate to keep you waiting. So, as I’ve been known to say in my kitchen, “please pardon the mess.”

This recipe is a hybrid of what I could decipher from my Lebanese grandmother’s handwriting and an old community cookbook from Ohio. My best advice to you as you plan your shopping list is to make sure you’re buying fresh, vine-ripened tomatoes. If you can get them from a local farm stand or farmer’s market, that’s even better. In my list of culinary sins, nothing is worse than serving up a bland, pale, pithy tomato that traveled thousands of miles to land on your plate. And that’s today’s sermonette from the MSW. Now go, shop, prepare, and enjoy!

Tabouli

2 cups bulgur wheat
3 cups boiling water
3 teaspoons Kosher salt
1/2 to 3/4 cup lemon juice (approximately 4 lemons)
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 bunches (2 cups) fresh mint leaves, chopped (I prefer using spearmint)
3 bunches fresh, curly parsley, chopped
2 bunches green onions, including tops, chopped
8 large tomatoes, cut into chunks
additional salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Pour boiling water over bulgur wheat, cover, and let rest for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, using a food processor, chop mint leaves. Remove from processor bowl with a scraper and place in a large bowl. Add parsley to the food processor and repeat the procedure, scraping the chopped parsley into the bowl with the mint. Using either the processor or a sharp knive, chop the green onions with tops and add them to the mint and parsley mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

After the bulgur wheat has been soaking in the water for 30 minutes, squeeze handfuls of it over an empty bowl, until all the excess water has drained away. Next,  add the lemon juice, olive oil, and salt, stir well, and refrigerate the wheat/dressing mixture for two to three hours.

Once the wheat mixture has chilled, add—in batches—the mint, parsley, and green onions. Cut up the tomatoes and add those to the mix. By this point I’ve abandoned all decorum and use my bare (very clean) hands to mix the salad. Adjust the flavor to your taste—additional salt, some freshly ground pepper, and perhaps more lemon juice.

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Catalina Spinach Salad

31 Thursday May 2012

Posted by themidlifesecondwife in Food for Thought

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Farm Markets, Food, recipes, Salad Dressings, Salads, Spinach

I absolutely love this time of year—late spring, when the lure of the Farmers’ Market beckons. It’s one of our favorite ways to spend a Saturday morning, poking around the richly diverse offerings at the South of the James Market in Richmond. I found a vendor selling fresh organic spinach, and knew straightaway what we’d be having for dinner that night.

This recipe has been in my files for more than three decades. (Sheesh. That makes me sound old. If I said I started making it when I was eight I doubt you’d believe me. Nor should you.) I no longer remember the recipe’s provenance, and I’ve tweaked it enough over the years that I feel comfortable claiming it as my own. Crisp, flavorful, and eminently nutritious, this is the perfect salad for those days when it’s too hot to do anything with the stove other than boil some eggs and fry up some bacon. Enjoy!

Catalina Spinach Salad

1 pound fresh spinach
4 ounce can water chestnuts (optional)
4 ounces fresh mung bean sprouts
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
3 to 4 hard-boiled eggs, cut into eighths
5 to 6 slices cooked bacon, crumbled

For the Dressing:
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons ketchup
1/4 cup sugar
1 scant teaspoon kosher salt

Wash, rinse, and dry the spinach, then remove the stems and tear the leaves into bite-sized pieces. Wash and dry the bean sprouts. Toss the ingredients (except for the bacon) together about one-half hour before serving; when ready to serve, add the bacon.

Combine the dressing ingredients in a jar or container with a tight-fitting lid. Shake well. Pour over salad and toss.

Note: If I’m making this salad for just two people, I find it best to toss only what we’ll eat, keeping the remainder of the ingredients unassembled in the refrigerator, since this salad is best when served shortly after preparation. The dressing keeps well in the refrigerator for about a week.

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Sally Field of Greens

02 Wednesday Nov 2011

Posted by themidlifesecondwife in Food for Thought

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Cooking, Daniel Day-Lewis, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Food, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, recipes, Salads, Sally Field, Steven Spielberg

The stars are out here in Richmond, Virginia, where filming got underway last month for Lincoln, directed and co-produced by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Steven Spielberg. The film, based on Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book Team of Rivals, stars Academy Award winners Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln and Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln. And although I haven’t seen any bold-face names yet, John and I did have a bite to eat last Sunday at Lift Coffee Shop & Café, which features such charming additions to its menu as a HAM-iel Day Lewis sandwich (grilled on sourdough bread with ham, pineapple, and provolone, and topped with honey and barbecue sauce); a delicious BLT—the Joseph Gordon Lettuce—named in honor of actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who portrays Robert Todd Lincoln; and a tasty-looking salad, the Sally Field of Greens. Lift also serves up a wonderful cup of coffee.

My thanks to Stephanie Garnett, manager of Lift, for her generosity in sharing this recipe with The Midlife Second Wife!

For more information about film production in Virginia, please visit the website for the Virginia Film Office.

Sally Field of Greens
Serves 2

1 package field greens or spring mix, washed and dried
3 ounces diced ripe pear (peeled)
2 ounces Craisins
1-1/2 ounces crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
Balsamic vinaigrette
Crumbled Gorgonzola

Fill a salad bowl with the greens. Toss with pear, Craisins, and 1-1/2 ounces of crumbled Gorgonzola. Drizzle with Balsamic vinaigrette and top with additional crumbled Gorgonzola.


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