Netherland Salad

Fresh Lettuce growing in the field.

Helen's sister, Carrie (Carolyn Agnus Peard, whom grandma was named after), was an opera singer who often performed in Cincinatti, Ohio. The family would go down to Cincinanti, take the ferry and ride in the Ohio River, and enjoy the sites. Carrie died in April 1910, at the younf age of 33, of pneumonia. Grandma would be born a little over 2 years later and named after this semi-famous aunt.

Carrie's sisters, Helen and Delphine, continued to go to Cincinatti as the city offered a lot of culture for these women who had grown up enjoying the arts. They often ate at The Netherland Plaza, in Cincinnati, and this was one of this grand hotels featured dishes of which Helen had placed in her book. This recipe is an original that patrons could take copies of and replicate at home. The Netherland Plaza was a grand hotel that opened up in 1931, and is today on the historic register. It was completely renovated in 2004, and in its heyday when Helen and Delphine would take a trip to Cincinatti this hotel must have been one lush and exotic place to visit. Here is a link that will take you to this historic hotel and give you some more background:

http://www.historichotels.org/hotel/Hilton_Cincinnati_Netherland_Plaza

This is an exact copy of the wording on the recipe sheet that I found safety-pinned inside of Helen's cook book, and is an original copy of what The Netherland Hotel gave out to its patrons. Notice at the end of this recipe that the cost of this salad was $1.00, which would have been quite a lot of money back in 1931, which would have been during the Great Depression. Also notice that the recipe gives the calorie count as women of leisure must have been worried about their weight even way back then.

Recipe for Netherland Salad

As Featured At The Netherland Plaza, Cincinnati

(2 Portions)

3/4 head hearts of lettuce, cut julienne

1/2 cup julienne of chicken

1/2 cup julienne of ham

1 Tbls. chopped pickle

1/3 cup julienne of tomato

(395 calories to one portion)

Salad Dressing

1 tsp. fine chopped chives

1 cup hard-boiled egg

3 Tbls. mayonnaise

2 Tbls. vinegar

3 Tbls. olive oil

1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

Mix well and serve chilled on dinner plate. Do not use leaves of lettuce to serve on, but put directly on plate. Sprinkle with fine chopped chives. Garnish with two pieces of quartered tomatoes and two slices of hard-boiled egg. (A touch of garlic can be added).

(If you wish a copy of this recipe please ask your waiter.)

Restautrant Continentale

$1.00