On 21 Sep 2005 17:09:46 +0200, Wayne Boatwright wrote:

> One of my favorite simple salads is a wedge or thick cross section of
> iceberg lettuce with a good chunky blue cheese or homemade 1000 island
> dressing on it.


Good God, Wayne. Do you eat this in your "vintage" kitchen? My
kitchen is OLD, but I'm not trying to pretend it isn't.

On 21 Sep 2005 14:31:40 -0700, Sheldon wrote:

>
> sf wrote:
> > On Wed, 21 Sep 2005 02:44:26 GMT, Phred wrote:
> >
> > > G'day mates,
> > >
> > > My "traditional" salad (i.e. the only one I ever make for myself)
> > > consists of chopped lettuce (strips about... lemme see, better
> > > translate... 3/8" to 1/2" wide by 1/2" to 1" long, cut with a knife)
> > > and the other usual ingredients for a tossed salad (chopped tomato and
> > > onion, grated carrot, diced spuds, sometimes chopped hard boiled eggs,
> > > and so on). So when someone says to use "torn lettuce" I'm left
> > > wondering how much it should be torn.
> >
> > I tear Bibb/Butter lettuce, but I chop Romaine.
>
> With an oriental dressing I like romaine finely shredded, for a
> sieze-her I use the smaller inner leaves whole, for tossed with a
> creamy dressing I tear the green off the ribs, the ribs make a nice
> cooks treat with whatever dip is going, clam is my fav. I grow my own
> romaine... yoose would be amazed at how huge they grow... 18" wide and
> 3' tall is normal, I kid you not. Romain is one of the easiest
> lettuces to grow... the trick is to start teh plants early in a cold
> frame and put them in teh ground as soon as therre's no chance of a
> hard frost... lettuce does not like hot weather, two days over 80ºF it
> starts to bolt.
>
You sound like a real gardener. My grandfather did that sort of thing
and my brother does it now.

<sniffle>
sf
feeling nostalgic

On Wed, 21 Sep 2005 00:23:44 -0500, notbob wrote:

> On 2005-09-21, Wayne Boatwright > wrote:
>
> > Supposedly, tearing lettuce reduces oxidation of the edges and retards
> > wilting.
>
> Horse pucky! While "tearing" gives illusion the salad is the latest
> trendy organic/free range/whatever greens, the fact is most salads are
> crisped in ice water and dried just prior to serving. Any salad green
> can be cut, shot, or mandolined and preserved for 2-3 days in ice
> water with little or no degradation and most wouldn't have a clue.
> This is common practice.
>
Bob, there is some validity to cut edges browning... but I don't keep
"cut" (or torn) lettuce for days, so it doesn't apply to me.

On 20 Sep 2005 22:36:24 -0700, aem wrote:

>
> Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> >
> > Supposedly, tearing lettuce reduces oxidation of the edges and retards
> > wilting.
>
> More than 'supposedly' and easily shown by experimentation. Take two
> pieces of lettuce, cut one in half, tear the other in half. Put them
> down on your cutting board and go away. Come back in half an hour and
> look closely at the edges of each piece. The torn edges will be less
> wilted and less discolored than the cut edges.
>
> Whether the difference matters is up to you.
>
> > [snip] Many people find torn lettuce more esthetically pleasing.
>
> I do, but again, it's a personal thing. -aem

Tear not cut? LOL! Oh, my god... you're an iceberg lettuce snob!

On 21 Sep 2005 18:05:33 +0200, Wayne Boatwright wrote:

> On Tue 20 Sep 2005 11:42:30p, cathyxyz wrote in rec.food.cooking:
>
> to go for "bite-sized". I am sure that really helped
>
> I agree with "bite-sized".
>
> >
> > Like your new sig, Wayne, BTW. heh heh
> >
>
> Thanks, Cathy

WAIT.... did you recently steal it from someone? I've seen it a lot
in the past couple of years - not sure if it was you or not.

On Wed, 21 Sep 2005 08:36:32 -0500, Melba's Jammin' wrote:

> The theory about tearing vs cutting is that a metal knife will cause the
> sliced edges to brown, whereas tearing it will not cause browning. FWIW.
> --
> -Barb, <http://www.jamlady.eboard.com> Updated 9-19-05


Blah! How long do you have to keep that lettuce before it browns?

In article >,
Wayne Boatwright > wrote:


> One of my favorite simple salads is a wedge or thick cross section of
> iceberg lettuce with a good chunky blue cheese or homemade 1000 island
> dressing on it.


About once a year I do the following:

hard boil an egg or two and chop, but not too fine
finely chop a couple of tablespoons of onion
add a few heaping tablespoons of Best Foods mayo
add about a third as much catsup

mix well and let sit for an hour or so

serve over big wedges of iceberg lettuce, and eat with knife and fork


I think it's about time for this again!

Dan wrote:

> About once a year I do the following:
>
> hard boil an egg or two and chop, but not too fine
> finely chop a couple of tablespoons of onion
> add a few heaping tablespoons of Best Foods mayo
> add about a third as much catsup
>
> mix well and let sit for an hour or so
>
> serve over big wedges of iceberg lettuce, and eat with knife and fork

I make an old-fashioned steak dinner about once a year. The salad I have
with it consists of wedges of iceberg lettuce, hard-boiled egg wedges,
halved grape tomatoes, avocado chunks, and one of these two dressings:

Thousand Island Dressing (adapted from Wayne's recipe, amounts are
approximate)

1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons chili sauce
2 teaspoons lemon juice -- grate some of the zest into it, too
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1 teaspoon sugar
2 finely chopped green onions, both green and white parts
1 finely minced stalk celery
1 tablespoon sweet relish, or finely chopped sweet pickle
1 tablespoon finely chopped stuffed green olives
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
4 dashes Tabasco sauce
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl and refrigerate at least
2 hours before serving. (The resting time is important for the mustard to
mellow.)


Basic French Dressing (from _Judy Zeidler's International Deli Cookbook_)

3/4 cup safflower oil
1/3 cup white vinegar or lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried basil, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon, crumbled
2 cloves garlic, minced

In a 1-pint jar, combine all ingredients. Cover tightly and shake well.
This will keep up to 1 week in the refrigerator. Makes about a cup.


Bob

Nancy wrote:

> At home I have the habit of eating my salad with my fingers so it's not
> that big a deal. Yes, another guilty secret.

Apropos of that, did you know that the original Cesar salad was meant to be
eaten with your fingers? The salad wasn't tossed; the dressing was poured on
whole romaine leaves. The diners were supposed to pick up the whole leaf and
eat it.

Bob

"Bob Terwilliger" > wrote in message
...
> Nancy wrote:
>
>> At home I have the habit of eating my salad with my fingers so it's not
>> that big a deal. Yes, another guilty secret.
>
> Apropos of that, did you know that the original Cesar salad was meant to
> be
> eaten with your fingers? The salad wasn't tossed; the dressing was poured
> on
> whole romaine leaves. The diners were supposed to pick up the whole leaf
> and
> eat it.

Isn't that funny! No, I did not know that. Sounds pretty good to me,
now that you mention it.

nancy

Sheldon wrote:
> [snip] Romain is one of the easiest
> lettuces to grow... the trick is to start teh plants early in a cold
> frame and put them in teh ground as soon as therre's no chance of a
> hard frost... lettuce does not like hot weather, two days over 80=BAF it
> starts to bolt.
>
Here in SoCal lettuces are started now and succession planted all
winter. We can usually enjoy lettuces until June. One of our most
rewarding crops. -aem

sf wrote:
> On 21 Sep 2005 14:31:40 -0700, Sheldon wrote:
>
> >
> > sf wrote:
> > > On Wed, 21 Sep 2005 02:44:26 GMT, Phred wrote:
> > >
> > > > G'day mates,
> > > >
> > > > My "traditional" salad (i.e. the only one I ever make for myself)
> > > > consists of chopped lettuce (strips about... lemme see, better
> > > > translate... 3/8" to 1/2" wide by 1/2" to 1" long, cut with a kni=
fe)
> > > > and the other usual ingredients for a tossed salad (chopped tomat=
o and
> > > > onion, grated carrot, diced spuds, sometimes chopped hard boiled =
eggs,
> > > > and so on). So when someone says to use "torn lettuce" I'm left
> > > > wondering how much it should be torn.
> > >
> > > I tear Bibb/Butter lettuce, but I chop Romaine.
> >
> > With an oriental dressing I like romaine finely shredded, for a
> > sieze-her I use the smaller inner leaves whole, for tossed with a
> > creamy dressing I tear the green off the ribs, the ribs make a nice
> > cooks treat with whatever dip is going, clam is my fav. I grow my own
> > romaine... yoose would be amazed at how huge they grow... 18" wide and
> > 3' tall is normal, I kid you not. Romain is one of the easiest
> > lettuces to grow... the trick is to start teh plants early in a cold
> > frame and put them in teh ground as soon as therre's no chance of a
> > hard frost... lettuce does not like hot weather, two days over 80=BAF =
it
> > starts to bolt.
> >
> You sound like a real gardener. My grandfather did that sort of thing
> and my brother does it now.
>
> <sniffle>
> sf
> feeling nostalgic

No reason you can't garden too. Right now is bulb planting time in the
northeast. I already put in 300 daffodils, another 300 to go. And I
found a great way to dig the holes:

http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page...3D2,2200,33263

http://tinyurl.com/3zmxc

Sheldon

In article >, "Ms
Leebee" > wrote:
>Phred wrote:
>>
>> Onya, Bob! I should have thought more about it myself -- clearly an
>> American recipe would call for pieces small enough to eat with a fork
>> without the aid of a knife, so that would set an upper limit. Around
>> here, Iceberg is the only type commonly available, so I'm afraid I'll
>> have to give the more exclusive salad clubs a miss. ;-)
>
>Where do you live, Phred ?

As I've said here previously, in the deep north of the deep south --
the hills inland from the tourist ghetto of Cairns.

>Nothing wrong with iceberg, it's a very adaptable lettuce. I like it's
>'icy' crunch

Given that I've hardly ever had the chance to try much else, Iceberg
is "lettuce" to me. :-)

>I tend to use it, and rocket, mainly, depending on recipe, and will only buy
>cos if making a proper ceasar.
>Baby spinach too, I guess .. hmm... now I think about it ... I love butter
>lettuce - but getting the dirt out - ugh !

At $25/kg I'm not into eating babies.

>Lamb's tongue is nice too ... i'm an omnivore, can you tell ?

Now, lambs... that's different! ;-) Used to eat one of those small
Tom Piper tins of lamb tongues as a regular constituent of work
lunches years ago. Still splurge on one occasionally; but at going on
$4/tin these days, it's getting to be a somewhat rare treat.

Cheers, Phred.

--
LID

In article >, "Ms Leebee" > wrote:
>Phred wrote:
>> "Ms Leebee" <> wrote:
>>
>>> Nothing wrong with iceberg, it's a very adaptable lettuce. I like
>>> it's 'icy' crunch
>>
>> Given that I've hardly ever had the chance to try much else, Iceberg
>> is "lettuce" to me. :-)
>>
>>> I tend to use it, and rocket, mainly, depending on recipe, and will
>>> only buy cos if making a proper ceasar.
>>> Baby spinach too, I guess .. hmm... now I think about it ... I love
>>> butter lettuce - but getting the dirt out - ugh !
>>
>> At $25/kg I'm not into eating babies.
>>
>>> Lamb's tongue is nice too ... i'm an omnivore, can you tell ?
>>
>> Now, lambs... that's different! ;-) Used to eat one of those small
>> Tom Piper tins of lamb tongues as a regular constituent of work
>> lunches years ago. Still splurge on one occasionally; but at going on
>> $4/tin these days, it's getting to be a somewhat rare treat.
>
>lol. Lamb's tongue is ( also ) another lettuce variant

As I said elsewhere -- I'm unlikely to ever be a member of
those exclusive lettuce clubs, and you can see why. ;-)

Cheers, Phred.

--
LID