According to the American Century Cookbook, the first Waldorf salad was created in New York City in 1893, by Oscar Tschirky, the maître d'hôtel of the Waldorf Astoria. The original recipe consisted only of diced red-skinned apples, celery, and mayonnaise. Chopped walnuts were added later to this now American classic. Some prefer their Waldorf salad made with yogurt, instead of mayo.
Knowing my love for the apple, my mother would serve Waldorf Salad as part of our family’s Thanksgiving tradition. As she would say each year; “It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without Waldorf Salad, would it?” It would be helpful to insert here that I was the only one in our family who professed to like Waldorf Salad, although I think my sister dutifully consumed some. But maybe it wasn’t Waldorf Salad that the rest of the family didn’t like; maybe it was mom’s version of it.
My mom took great pride in her ability to cook. She also boasted that she seldom if ever used recipes. She cooked to taste. As a kid, I remember that mom was a fantastic cook. The combined girth of our family testified to that. But as she grew older and the effects of decades of smoking dulled her taste buds, cooking to taste took on an entirely new meaning. In her later years, everything she made was “over the top.” This included Waldorf Salad.
I may have enjoyed it when I was younger, but as the years progressed, the Waldorf Salad digressed. The last batch she made was probably 2 years before she died. It was a labor of love because she was really too weak to be peeling apples (though she probably made dad do it). But this was a sacrifice of love for her son because “It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without Waldorf Salad, would it?”
With that as the background, I feel somewhat guilty writing about Waldorf Salad, but I am compelled to do so. Again, my therapist thinks this will be good for my recovery. I’m not sure if he is concerned about my recovery or about the book he’s planning to write, but I’ll take his advice. So now I will admit the naked truth: when we brought home the leftover Waldorf Salad from mom’s on Thanksgiving (and Christmas too, for that matter), I would package several samples and send them by courier to the CDC in Atlanta, the FBI in Quantico, and to Area 51 in the Nevada desert. Interestingly, I have never heard from any of them nor I have seen published test results of the material sent to them. From this I surmise that it has been classified “Eyes Only” and the results are known only to the President. Yes, the stuff was that toxic.
Since the Federal government has ignored my requests to publish the results of their testing, my conscience compels me to disclose this information for the sake of public safety. Since no recipe exists for mom’s Waldorf Salad, I will reproduce the formula to the best of my memory:
Mom’s Waldorf Salad – because it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without it, for cryin out loud.
- 8-10 apples of any variety peeled (you have to peel them because the peels get stuck in your dentures).
- 1 to 2 cups of celery, chopped
- 1 cup of raisins
- 1 cup of walnuts (you could also use the black walnuts that fall from the neighbor’s tree because they are free and walnuts are so blamed expensive anymore. Black walnuts provide an interesting coloration to the formula, a sort of marbling effect that adds to the mystique of the dish).
- 1 – 55 gallon drum of Salad Dressing (some people use mayonnaise, but we have to watch the cholesterol intake).
Allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for several days (this applies if you have made the salad several days prior to the meal because you have so much else to do).
As the salad dressing evaporates, add more dressing to maintain the buoyancy of the ingredients. Periodically break the skim that forms on the surface.
Just prior to serving, add paprika because that gives it a festive, holiday color.
Serves as many as will eat it.
I don’t know if those in heaven waste their time reading blogs, but if they do, I hope mom’s sense of humor is intact.
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