Cyetta’s Superb Spinach Salad

Anytime we have a gathering of friends and Cyetta asks what she can bring, I always request this superb salad:

First the most delicious salad dressing (Makes about one quart of dressing. Can be cut by ½ or 2/3rds. Remainder can be stored for months in the refrigerator.)

Ingredients:
1 cup ketchup
1 cup salad oil (canola oil is good)
2/3 cup good sharp cider vinegar
2/3 cup sugar
1 small onion or shallot, grated (optional)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp celery seeds (Cyetta's choice, but I substitute poppy seeds)
½ tsp paprika
Juice of 1 lemon
1 minced garlic clove (or equivalent in garlic powder)
A pinch of dry mustard
½ tsp Worcester sauce

Shake all these ingredients together in jar of sufficient size.

Use this dressing on a salad made from a package of baby spinach, a good amount of crumbled fried or broiled bacon (at least 1/2 a pound), a small cold can of Mandarin orange sections (or cold navel orange sections), and toasted slivered almonds. (The almonds can be toasted in the bacon grease … but are optional.)

You Devil You

I love deviled eggs, but the rest of my family doesn’t. So, as a consequence, if I make a batch, I have to eat them all … no problem. I guess I relish them so much because they remind me of my childhood picnics … and I also enjoy their taste and convenience. So here is my take on them.

First the eggs … place six eggs in a pot of cold water to cover. Bring this water up to a rolling boil and then turn off the heat. Let stand and cool in this water for at least 15 minutes. Then run cold water in the pot, cracking the eggs on the side so that some of the cold water gets inside the shells. This should make the job of peeling the eggs a breeze … and also keep the yolks from forming a green ring. Now cut the eggs in two longitudinally and ease out the yolks into a separate bowl … placing the 12 half eggs on a serving plate. Mash the yolks well with a fork and add:

- two well-minced shallots
- a tablespoon of good Dijon mustard
- a heaping tablespoon of Hellmann’s mayonnaise
- a tablespoon of chopped capers
- a big pinch of salt
- five grinds of fresh pepper
- a few squirts of Tabasco sauce (optional, but they are called “deviled” eggs)
- a tablespoon of sweet pickle relish (optional)
- a teaspoon of well-chopped parsley (optional)

Now mix well, taste for seasoning, and spoon into the yolk craters in the egg whites. (There is no need to use a pastry bag for this process unless you double or triple this recipe.) Finally, sprinkle some paprika on top and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Pop them in your mouth in between bites of crispy fried chicken.

For the Walrus in Us

Every time I was perambulating through Grand Central Station and had a few extra minutes and a good appetite, I used to stop at the Oyster Bar and have their famous Oyster Pan Roast. They had numerous steam-heated copper pans at the bar itself which, it seemed, were dedicated to this concoction. There is a recipe for this dish in the old New York Times Cookbook which I have pretty much memorized to use when I find a pint or more of good, plump, shucked oysters for sale. All these figures are approximate so experiment yourself until you come up with your ideal proportions.

Assemble some (2 or 3) toasted French bread rounds in the bottom of two wide soup bowls. Now, get a good heavy enameled medium-sized but high-sided pan and heat it up well over a high flame. Next melt a good quarter of a stick of butter in the pan. Squeeze about a half a fresh lemon through your fingers into the butter. Then add the oysters, liquor and all. Give this mixture about 5 squirts of Worcestershire sauce (don’t skimp, use Lea and Perrins). Add about a half bottle of Heinz chili sauce and about 1/2 a teaspoon of celery seeds. Top this off with about a cup of heavy cream (OK, half and half if you are dieting). Stir well and heat until some large bubbles appear on top. Immediately ladle into the soup bowls and sprinkle with good quality paprika. The parsley leaf shown would be fluff.

You will not be hungry again for at least a day ... but you will talk of many things.