Green
Goddess Salad Dressing...
WHO
COOKED THAT UP?
J.J.Schnebel
wonders...
Green Goddess Salad
Dressing is credited as having been created as a tribute to an English
actor,
George Arliss (1868-1946), who was appearing in San Francisco in a
stage play entitled "The Green Goddess" by a Scotsman,William
Archer (1856-1924).
Arliss, a prominent
stage star, was staying at The
Palace Hotel
during the run of the play there in 1923. In preparation for a banquet
in Arliss's honor, the Executive Chef of the hotel, Philippe Roemer, created
a totally original salad dressing with an assortment of finely chopped
green herbs which subtly suggest the name of the play. The dressing, especially
delicious with the seafood for which San Francisco is famous, is regarded
as the hotel's signature salad dressing and for decades has been served
in the hotel's magnificent Garden Court Restaurant. Today it is most
often served with the Dungeness Crab Salad and is the number one selling
item at lunch time there. It has also been adopted by cooks all over
the world who enjoy its distinctive flavor and intriguing name.
Arliss went on to repeat
his performance in a film version of the play and received an Academy Award
nomination for the role. In a rarity in Hollywood history, he lost
to himself in another role that same year (1930) when he played the legendary
British prime minister, Benjamin Disraeli.
The original - or classic
-- recipe for the salad dressing always includes the following ingredients
in one form or another: anchovies, mayonnaise, vinegar, green onion,
garlic, parsley, tarragon and chives. Sometimes the anchovies are
in the form of anchovy paste, and often the tarragon flavor comes in tarragon
vinegar. Some cooks add sour cream, others substitute yogurt.
It is now often prepared in a blender or food processor. Sometimes
it is served as a dressing for steamed artichokes, sometimes as a sauce
over broiled fish. However, here is a very simple and very traditional
way to prepare
GREEN GODDESS SALAD
DRESSING
(4 servings)
Rub the salad bowl
with a garlic clove, then add
2 cups of mayonnaise
4 minced anchovy fillets
1 green onion, chopped
2 teaspoons chopped
parsley
2 teaspoons chopped
chives
1 Tablespoon tarragon
vinegar (or to taste)
!/4 teaspoon dried
OR 1 teaspoon cut, fresh tarragon
Stir well and pour
over salad greens, watercress, or seafood salad.
INTERESTING LINKS
Pay
a Panoramic Visit to the Garden Court Restaurant
Read
a Synopsis of the play, "The Green Goddess"
Note: The color photograph
above of George Arliss was taken from a former website of the Episcopal
Actors' Guild, of which Arliss was the first president. The Guild
is associated with Broadway's "actors' church," often known as "The
Little Church Around The Corner."
Who
Cooked That Up? is copyrighted 1999 by J.J. Schnebel
Revised February 2002,
November 2005
all rights reserved
for your pleasure and enlightenment
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