Tossed Salad

Yesterday, in discussing that rascal Washington Irving, we mentioned that he was the editor of a humor magazine in New York in the early 1800s. That magazine was called "Salmagundi."

Now, salmagundi is a word that we stole  got from the French. It means a hodgepodge, a salad of various ingredients. In food terms, it means a cold dish with meat, seafood, whatever protein, and some vegetables or fruit.

There is a theory that holds that the word Salmagundi is related to the word salami, a type of sausage that reminds of the old saying about there being two things we don't want to see being made: laws, and sausages.

Today we would call that a Cobb Salad, but back in the day when people had more time to write and read, Mary Kettiby published her recipe for salmagundi in her book  A Collection of Above Three Hundred Receipts in Cookery, Physick, and Surgery: For the Use of All Good Wives, Tender Mothers, and Careful Nurses.

To make a Cold Hash, or Salad-Magundy. TAKE a cold Turkey, two cold Chickens, or, if you have neither, a piece of fine white Veal will do; cut the Breasts of these Fowls into fair dices, and Mince all the rest; to the Quantity of two Chickens you must take eight or ten large Anchovies, wash and bone them, eight large pickled Oysters, ten or twelve fine green pickled Cucumbers, shred the Oysters, the Anchovies, the Cucumbers, and one whole Lemon small, mix them with the shred Meat, lay it in the middle of the Dish, lay the Dices of the white part round the Dish, with halv'd Anchovies, whole pickled Oysters, quarter'd Cucumbers, sliced Lemon, whole pickled Mushrooms, Capers or any Pickle you like; cut also some fine Lettice, and lay round among the Garnish, but put not Oil and Vinegar to the Minced Meat, till it comes to Table.

Let's see:  Turkey, chicken, anchovies, oysters, cucumbers, a lemon, mushrooms, lettuce.  

Sounds like my dinner on many a night!