Cobb salad
Template:Foodbox The Cobb salad was a signature menu item of the legendary Brown Derby, a landmark restaurant in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. Variations of the salad are now served in restaurants world-wide.
History
The salad was presented to the customer on a plate, then chopped fine with knives before serving.
In 1937, Brown Derby owner Robert H. Cobb went into the restaurant's kitchen to fix a late night snack for Sid Grauman, operator of the Chinese Theater of the same name. He combed the refrigerator for what ingredients he could find and chopped them up finely because Grauman was suffering from a terrible toothache. Thus, the Cobb salad was born. From then on, Grauman would always request that a Cobb salad be prepared for him. The news about this wonderful creation spread quickly throughout Hollywood making it an instant hit, therefore it was added to the menu.
The single greatest legacy recipe of the Brown Derby is the Cobb Salad. It was invented by and named after Bob Cobb, one of the owners of the Brown Derby. According to Bob's wife Sally, Bob basically raided the fridge late one night at the restaurant and chopped up some left-overs for his dinner. Some of his Hollywood friends, including Jack Warner, Sid Grauman, Wilson Mizner, and Gene Fowler stopped by the restaurant that night and, curious about Bob's creation, joined him. They then began to ask for it on later visits, and the rest was history.
Recipes
Original recipe
The original recipe contained:[1]
- Lettuce (head lettuce, watercress, chicory, and romaine)
- Tomatoes
- Crisp bacon
- Chicken breast
- Hard-cooked eggs
- Avocado
- Roquefort cheese
- Chives
- Special Cobb salad vinaigrette
Salad dressing
Although there are many variations on the dressing used for a Cobb salad, this one is purported to be the one originally used at the Brown Derby.[1]
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon dry English mustard
- 1 small clove garlic, finely minced
- 1/4 cup full-flavored olive oil
- 3/4 cup salad oil
References
- ^ a b "The History Cobb Salad". Kitchen Project. Retrieved 2008-04-04.