Growing Food on the White House Lawn

Presidents throughout history have tried to grow their own food, and there was even a White House greenhouse that was torn down to make room for the West Wing.

Growing Food on the White House Lawn – Well Blog – NYTimes.com.

History’s True Glutton, or a Tall Tale?

DIAMOND JIM BRADY was famous for three things: making millions selling railroad supplies, wearing flashy jewelry and eating enormous amounts of food.

This last distinction has made Brady, whose real name was James Buchanan Brady, a celebrated figure in culinary history.

History’s True Glutton, or a Tall Tale? – NYTimes.com.

All Hail the Green Goddess!

There’s nothing more retro than the Green Goddess Salad. This dish calls to mind the Rat Pack, Singapore Slings, and simple, arresting food.

The Green Goddess of old is a far cry from the watered-down version of today. In its original incarnation, it was a garlicky, tear-inducing mash-up for which the romaine acts as a soothing counterpoint. There is no eating the salad casually, because it commands your attention with bursts of chives, vinegar, anchovies and cracked black pepper (Suffice to say, it’s not a salad to have for lunch at work.)

The Green Goddess salad was originally made famous at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco in 1923 as a tribute to George Arliss, the star of the play “The Green Goddess.” Today’s recipes vary, although most, including James Beard’s in “American Cookery,” rely on a foundation of tarragon, anchovies, chives and scallion. Some include garlic, parsley and chives, some sour cream. In a more recent version by Ina Garten, found on the Food Network Web site, she replaced the tarragon with basil (The salad remained green, so no harm done.)

The bottled Seven Seas version of the dressing, so popular in the 1970s, went the way of moon boots as ranch and balsamic dressings elbowed their way onto shelves. Now produced in limited quantities by Kraft, it’s sold at upscale gourmet food markets like the Vermont Country Store — purveyors of “the practical and hard-to-find” — for about $7.50 a bottle.

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Green Goddess Salad

1 clove garlic, minced.

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons minced chives

6 anchovy fillets (in oil), drained and finely chopped

1 tablespoon oil from the anchovy tin

Cracked pepper

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1 large head romaine, washed and thoroughly dried.

1. Place the garlic in a large salad bowl. Using a whisk, blend in the mayonnaise, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, chives, anchovies and anchovy oil. Add cracked pepper to taste. Let stand at room temperature for an hour or longer to help meld the flavors.

2. Just before serving, add the parsley and half of the romaine leaves, torn into bite-size pieces, to the bowl. Toss until the dressing is well distributed and coats all of the leaves. Add the remaining romaine leaves as needed and toss until completely coated with the dressing. Serves 4 to 6.

(Source, New York Times)