The Senate Tosses Its Budget Salad: Hold the Dressing

Gee, the suspense is killing me. Will the Senate pass a Continuing Resolution with a whole $5 billion earmarked for a border wall? Allow me to end the speculation: no, they won’t. And I can’t even believe we’re talking about “shutting the government down” over a rounding error in the federal budget.

So despite being in favor of border security before they were against it, the Democrats will vote, as a block, against it and the majority Senate Republicans, as blockheads, will ensure its defeat. The world has gone mad.

 

So once we “shut down the government” – as if anyone could actually do that – we’ll take the fight to troop withdrawal. Again, remember when the democrats were for troop withdrawal in the Middle East before they were against it? They don’t.

Considering the general tenor of the world at large and the proximity to Christmas I suggest that today might be a good day to highlight Famous Recipes from Previously Famous But Now-defunct Department Stores. For my contribution I submit the dish the once grand Hudson’s was most famous for: the Maurice Salad.

It was suspiciously similar to my favorite Maurice Salad that which came from the Buhl Cafe on the corner of Griswold and Larned, just a few blocks from the Woodward Avenue spot where the mighty J.L. Hudson flagship department store once stood and where their chef allegedly created it sometime in the 1930’s.

J. L. Hudson's Maurice Salad

(serves 6-8)

2 tsp. white vinegar

1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice

1 1/2 tsp. onion juice (grate onion with fine grater)

1 1/2 tsp. sugar

1 1/2 tsp. dijon mustard

1/4 tsp. dry mustard

1 cup mayonnaise

2 tbspns. chopped fresh parsley

1 hard cooked egg, finely chopped (I use 3-4, I like eggs)

salt to taste

14 oz. ham, cut into strips

14 oz cooked turkey breast

14 oz Swiss cheese

1/2 cup slivered sweet gerkins

1 head Iceberg lettuce, shredded

12-16 pimento stuffed olives

Combine the first 6 dressing ingredients and stir to dissolve the sugar. Add remaining dressing ingredients and mix well.  Combine the ham, turkey, cheese and pickles together in a large bowl.  Toss together with the dressing.  Divide lettuce among the plates, top with salad and garnish each plate with 2 olives.  Serve with fresh bread.

As I mentioned previously, garnish with tomato wedges, hard boiled egg wedges, radishes and olives and you have The Buhl Cafe version. 

While post-modernists like to deconstruct it and serve the dressing on the side like so:

I assure you a properly prepared Maurice requires it to be well tossed, by the chef, in the kitchen. Is it as pretty? Well, art is in the eye of the beholder. But to me this looks as divine as it tastes.

As an added feature it makes use of leftover Christmas ham and turkey, and is very low-carb diet friendly.

So what’s your favorite Famous Department Store dish?