Thursday, November 25, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!

By Tony Adams

When I married the Baad Lamb, I married into a family just 13 generations from the Mayflower. They don't do lasagna as a first course on Thanksgiving, but the BL's Nana who is sadly no longer with us made a wonderful Waldorf salad that was anticipated more than the turkey.

In order to provide the BL with the essence of the holiday when he flies into Fort Lauderdale, I have dared to recreate it. I found this recipe which comes with a few dozen helpful comments that suggest or veto various modifications.

The basics are grapes, apples, celery and walnuts dressed in mayo and lemon juice.

The BL's mother and sister were also consulted. They said that Nana always sliced the grapes to get out the seeds. Even though I used seedless grapes, I sliced them anyway to honor the particulars of tradition. The ladies said that Nana used only Delicious apples and only Hellman's mayonnaise. She would sometimes dredge the grapes in egg white and roll them in sugar and place them on the top because some family members wanted to avoid them. Whipped cream was also part of the tradition, but when I tasted the mayo mixture, it was so good that I kept the whipped cream as a topping with the remembered sugared grape and half walnut garnish. If the BL wants to mix in the cream, it is right there on top. I am now officially a DAR!

2 comments:

  1. mmm frosted grapes...just made mine for the pumpkin flan. The BL and I are probably related

    ReplyDelete
  2. That looks so delicious as I eat stale airport pizza for lunch.
    See you (and that salad) in about 4 hrs!

    ReplyDelete