"Lisa, one of your divorce vignettes reminds me of someone I knew -- Linda. Linda was married for many years to an utter and total cad. When they had been married for about 10 years, her MIL shared with her The Totally Secret Family Recipe For Some Damned Salad Dressing with the admonition "this recipe will NEVER go outside the family; do you understand." Actually, the dressing was quite good (a lot of anchovies and garlic).

Anyway, some years after the sharing of said recipe, the Total and Utter Cad got worse and worse and worse and it was divorce court (he had 9 Other Women on the Leash). Lots of fiscal stuff involved, and actually, the Total and Utter Cad ended up going to jail (fraud), but his parents still blamed Her.

The first thing she did was distribute said recipe to every person she had ever met. She said it felt almost better than The Day In Court."

I did call Linda, and she gave me permission to put this on e-Gullet, and she did so with pride.

8 oz softened cream cheese
1 c Salad oil
1/3 c Tarragon vinegar
1/4 c Sliced scallions (including some of the green part)
6 Slices Bacon
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 Anchovies
Salt and pepper to taste

Fry bacon until crisp, drain on paper towels, crumble and reserve. I like to use thick-sliced bacon for this.

If I'm using oil-packed anchovies, drain. If salt-packed, rinse and remove bones.

Reserving bacon and scallions, whiz everything in the blender until smooth. Add bacon and scallions.

Use with a sturdy green like romaine. If you've made it just before serving, it is thin enough to toss with forks or salad thingies. If it has been fridged, you'll need to dig it out with your fingers and use your fingers to coat the leaves.

Date User Comment

Thu 06/10/04 19:50:20 snowangel Initial entry of recipe.