HAVE A LITTLE 'CHELSEA' WITH YOUR 'CAESAR'
In 1946, newspaper columnist Dorothy Kilgallen (whom hopefully many of you remember)
wrote daily column, the "Voice of Broadway", the following :
"The big food rage in Hollywood - the 'Caesar salad' -
will be introduced to New Yorkers by Gilmore's Steak House.
It's an intricate concoction that takes ages to prepare and contains
(zowie!)
lots of garlic, raw or slightly coddled eggs, croutons, romaine, anchovies,
parmesan cheese, olive oil, vinegar and plenty of black pepper."
22 years prior - on a busy hot July 4th night in 1924 -
the first 'Caesar salad' was 'concocted'
by Italian immigrant and restaurant owner
Caesar Cardini
at the Hotel Caesar in Tijuana, Mexico.
It seems chef Cardini’s kitchen sort of ran short of supplies,
and he just used what was available to make this salad .
"adding the dramatic flair of the table-side tossing ... 'by the chef.'"
(Caesar's Restaurant exterior, featuring the Hotel’s poster saying
"Home of the legendary Caesar's Salad"- 2018)
According to Cardini’s daughter Rosa, the original recipe included as primaries only
whole lettuce leaves (meant to be lifted by the stem and eaten with the fingers),
coddled eggs, and Italian olive oil – no anchovies!
However, you will note that Gilmore’s New York version of this ‘intricate concoction’
indeed stated ‘anchovies’, differing thereby from the original.
The first salty taste had actually come from Worcestershire Sauce,
the now standard salty anchovies being later added by Caesar’s brother Alex,
at his own restaurant in San Diego
(...and quite fortunately for my tastes, as even my pizza requires anchovies!)
By 1948, the popularity of chef Cardini’s salad had grown to the extent that
the Cardini's began to commercially bottle their Caesar salad dressing.
This dressing (Cardini's, The Original Caesar Dressing) remains available today,
with more than a dozen versions of available, (now through Marzetti’s).
Or ... you can try your hand at making your own.
Recipes abound!
A good suggestion (close to the original - without ‘anchovies’) is detailed below,
from, "Espinosa's Guide of Baja" 1989,
(a tour and cultural guide to the upper Baja California area).
And may we suggest ...
‘A LITTLE CHELSEA’ with your ‘CAESAR’,
accompanied by, of course, by a bit of ‘FINE SILVER’
The Details Below :
For those of you not too familiar with Chelsea porcelain :
The Chelsea porcelain factory was among the first and most significant factories
of soft-paste porcelain established in England.
In 1745 ... 179 years before that hot July 4th in Tijuana ...
a young Huguenot silversmith, Nicholas Sprimont,
interested in producing naturalistic forms in silver,
began to overlap his interest in the making silver with that of porcelain.
Sprimont founded the Chelsea Porcelain Works in that year,
within the Chelsea district of London - already a garden district, famous for its plants and nurseries,
including the famous Hans Sloane's 'Physick Gardens'.
Of particular interest here is Sprimont’s naturalistic moulded and painted botanic wares,
interpreted in porcelain - and perfect for 'Caesar Salad'!
A Pair of Chelsea White Leaf & Basket-Moulded Stands
England, 1752-54
The white-glazed oval lobed Chelsea stands, each with a plain center surrounded by basket-moulding,
the ends with deeply moulded grape stems and overlapping serrated leaves
sided by crabstock handles; raised on low footrims
Each, 11" Diameter
Raised Above the Table by :
A George III Adjustable Silver Dish Cross
William Abdy I, 1789, London
A particularly pretty dish cross, with detailed piercing beading and bright cutting,
the central round support beaded and centering a pierced
and bright cut open rosette of acanthus leaves;
the pierced and beaded bright cut acanthus motif also on the dish and feet as well
12.25" Long / 15.8 oz.
For Those Additional Ingredients :
A Rare Chelsea Red Anchor Moulded Polychrome Bowl
London, c1760
A rather large bowl for this date, spirally lobed form,
the base with further spiral moulding
and painted in green and puce with a band of upright acanthus leaves,
red anchor mark verso, painted inside the footrim
7.25" Diameter
And Dished Up, of Course, With :
A Fine Pair of William IV Silver Salad Servers
William Theobalds, London, 1834
Of exceptionally heavy gauge silver, double struck in the ‘Fiddle / Thread’ pattern,
and consisting of a fig shaped spoon, and a 6-tine fork,
each crested : on a torse, a lady standing, holding in the sinister hand a sword erect,
and in the dexter a pair of scales
11" Long / 13.1 oz.
THE RECIPE, from "Espinosa's Guide of Baja", 1989 :
2 medium heads of Romaine lettuce (use only the inner leaves)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
6-8 teaspoons Parmesan cheese (freshly grated is best)
2 coddled eggs (coddled eggs are eggs put into boiling water for exactly one minute)
8-10 drops Worcestershire sauce
Juice of 2 medium lemons
4 ounces garlic-flavored olive oil
(to flavor the oil, crush several garlic cloves and leave in the oil about an hour )
1/2 cup croutons from French bread
The lettuce should be cold, dry, crisp, and broken into into 2-inch lengths, leaving the inner leaves whole.
Pour the garlic-flavored oil over the lettuce, sprinkle with freshly ground pepper and salt,
and toss lightly a few times.
In a separate bowl, combine the coddled eggs, Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice;
mix and pour over the lettuce leaves.
Toss gently a few more times.
Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, add croutons, and toss lightly one again.
Serve immediately on chilled plates.
Caesar Cardini, 1896-1956)
credited as creator of Caesar salad
Click Here or the Image Below for 2021 New & Incoming Page
Since January, we have acquired quite a large number of pieces,
both large, and small, and of varying genre.
These will be photographed and mounted as time allows.
The majority are listed at the bottom of the New & Incoming Catalog.
(As well, a few special acquisitions are being held ‘in secret’ for our Christmas catalogs).
Do not hesitate to ask about anything of interest.
As long as the listing is in stock, I can give you a price.
Thanks for looking!
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