Friday, December 1, 2017

Old Classic: Louie Salad and Its Scrumptious Dressing







When we visited San Francisco this past September, one of the places several people recommended as a "must see" was the Cliff House. It's been a part of local history since 1858 and is located on Point Lobos Avenue near the Ocean Beach neighborhood. The building has been rebuilt at least five times due to fires and renovations. It was once a destination for movie stars and the rich but is now owned by the National Park Service as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The two restaurants inside are managed by a private contractor and the menus are old school traditional.
I ordered the Louie Salad and was blown away by how delicious the accompanying dressing was - and I usually don't even like thousand island! Of course I had to try to duplicate it and what I came up is not only good on this salad, but also as a different take on shrimp cocktail or even mixed into to chopped seafood as a sandwich filling. 



Ingredients and Directions




Yields four servings:

1 pound medium cooked shrimp or 1 pound cooked lump crab meat
 1 head of lettuce, washed and torn into bite sized pieces
1 cucumber, washed and cut into slices
1 bunch asparagus
2 or 3 tomatoes, cut into slices
4 eggs


Hard boil the eggs. (Here's the way I do it: place the eggs in a pan filled with enough cold water to cover them. Place the pan on the stove and turn the heat to high. Set the timer for 20 minutes. When the timer goes off, take the pan off the heat, drain the water, and run cold water over the eggs until they are cool enough to handle.) Peel and slice in half.


Wash asparagus and cut the woody ends off. Cook by placing the asparagus spears in a skillet with enough water to barely cover them. Turn heat to high and allow to come up to a boil. Then, turn heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes or until spears are tender and easily pierced with a fork.


If using shrimp, rinse and remove the tails.


Place lettuce on four serving plates or one large platter. Arrange the cucumber slices, asparagus spears, tomato slices, and halved hard boiled eggs on each plate or platter. Top with the shrimp or crab meat.


Serve with the dressing below:



Yields about one cup of salad dressing

1 cup mayonnaise
1 garlic clove, put through a press or finely minced
2 tablespoons Heinz chili sauce
1 tablespoon chopped bread & butter pickles
1 teaspoon country style Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Franks hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper


Whisk all ingredients together in small bowl until well blended. Serve along side salad.