I also like Russian dressing, but I haven't been to a restaurant that serves it. Maybe because it's considered anti-American? Hal
When I have salad, it's usually at a restaurant, and the only one that I can think of that they always have is Thousand Island, so that's usually what I ask for. I've had Russian Dressing, and like it well enough.
Bleu Cheese (actually Gorgonzola) was originally a trick played by monks in Italy who had lost an entire season of cheese to mold. They didn't know what they were going to do with it until one of them decided to market it as a delicacy to traveling cattlemen. They succeeded in the deception, and a fine market for spoiled food was developed. I don't know of a market for moldy bread yet, but there is moldy meat that is marketed as a delicacy.
That was salad dressing at my house when I was a kid. You got a wedge of iceburg lettuce with a dollop of Miracle Whip on it. I had no idea salad dressing came in bottles.
One of my most favorite salads was what my mom called “peas and cheese”, but she said it was actually called “Hunter’s Salad” (although I have no idea why that was). It consisted of lettuce, cubes of yellow cheese (cheddar or sometimes Velveeta), and a can of peas. For the dressing, she would take some of the juice from the can of peas, and thin the Miracle Whip ( we had some that was called “Tang” back then), and that was what we had for a salad dressing. Occasionally, she would make this salad without the lettuce, but I preferred it when it had lettuce in it. I still make it, but since we usually have plain mayonnaise now, I make my own Miracle Whip by adding a little vinegar and sweetener to the mayonnaise, and it comes out to be about the same taste.
I'm the only one here who has no idea what Miracle whip is !.... When we were kids a salad was a large lettuce leaf, a quarter of a tomato, perhaps a slice of cucumber and a dollop of heinz salad cream ( if we were lucky)
The original Russian Dressing that was / is served in the more prestigious restaurants has black or red caviar in it. There are a few lower grade houses that serve some sort of knock-off stuff that they call Russian but it’s nothing like the real recipe. It’s kind of like getting a Caesar salad with no anchovies in it. I once ordered a Caesar salad and whilst the captain was making it (table side) he didn’t have any anchovies nor coddled egg on the cart. I mentioned it before he finished the salad and he told me that they didn’t make it that way so I told him that I wasn’t going to be charged for something I didn’t order. I ordered a Caesar, not a handful of Romaine with oil and vinegar and garlic adorned with a few croutons and some parmaesan on top. In short, if the recipe isn’t correct, they shouldn’t give it the name.
Yep, Miracle Whip is basically mayo with sugar added to make it sweeter. It seems to be more popular on the u.s. East Coast than elsewhere here, but one of my daughters-in-law will only use "salad dressing" in her stuff and she has never lived anywhere but Alaska.
When I make mayo, it has lots of vinegar AND lemon juice. It is really tangy, and you can add garlic to make aioli if you choose...or any other herb/spice you wish. I add NO sugar to my mayo, however.