June 2010

A Santa Barbara couple started their own dude ranch in the 1950s, where visitors could take home a sample of the proprietary sauce. The combination of herbs and spices with mayonnaise and buttermilk became so popular that the consumer products giant Clorox purchased the rights to what is now known as Hidden Valley Ranch.

The origins of Thousand Island dressing are disputed. Some tales stem from the Waldorf Astoria in New York; others from Chicago’s Blackstone hotel. The most common version of the story credits Sophia LaLonde, a fisherman’s wife native to the Thousand Island region between New York and Canada. In the first decades of the 20th century, LaLonde reportedly served a mixture of ketchup, mayonnaise, and chopped pickles over a salad for shore lunch. The names Russian dressing and Thousand Island are often used interchangeably.

Steakhouse restaurants in the ’60s popularized blue cheese dressing over iceberg lettuce. To make a smooth dressing, use a blender, or whisk the dressing in a bowl so you get delicate chunks of cheese, which lend the mixture tangy interest. Serve this over wedges of iceberg lettuce, sprinkle it with crumbled bacon, and garnish with quartered cherry tomatoes.

Traditional Spanish gazpacho was once the food of field workers made on the spot with bread, olive oil, vinegar, garlic, and water. It has evolved and now there are numerous versions. This one, without the bread, is at once refreshing from crisp cucumber and bell pepper, creamy from avocado, sweet and crunchy with corn, and tangy from vinegar, lime, and cilantro. It also makes good use of leftover corn on the cob. You can stir a few ice cubes into the soup to thin or chill it just before serving. Remove them before you ladle the soup into bowls.

A light herb dressing pairs nicely with spicy radishes and sweet peas — both in season right now — in this colorful, crunchy summer salad.

Layers of homemade mixed herb pesto lend a fresh brightness to this vegetarian main.

Vodka is essential to the texture of the crust and imparts no flavor—do not substitute. This dough will be moister and more supple than most standard pie dough and will require more flour to roll out (up to 1/4 cup). The tapioca should be measured first, then ground in a coffee grinder or food processor for 30 seconds. If you are using frozen fruit, measure it frozen, but let it thaw before making the filling; if you don’t, you run the risk of partially cooked fruit and undissolved tapioca.

Asian sesame oil, which is made from toasted sesame seeds, has a deep amber color and rich flavor. You'll find it in the Asian foods section of the supermarket and at Asian markets.

A soft chewy bread roll about the size of a golf ball infused with cheesy flavor, pão de queijo is Brazil's favorite savory snack and an excellent recipe to add to your repertoire. The manioc starch is what gives the cheese bread an incredible gooey and chewy texture, so try your best to use both types of manioc starches. I always buy manioc starch in big quantities when I find it so whenever I decide to make pão de queijo, and that is quite often, I don't have to go hunting for it.