Popular Salads and Cold Appetizers at the Columns Hotel One of the popular menu items at the Columns Hotel in the mid-1980 period were the salads and this is where I started out working the pantry the first six to eight months during my final year of apprenticeship. Featured in this entry include a salad [...]

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When working the Garde Manger station it was not unusual to spend the entire day peeling, seeding and slicing or dicing fruit, cases of fresh watermelons, cantaloupes, honeydew, Crenshaw, oranges, grapefruit, pineapple, kiwi, star fruit, and washing pounds of grapes, strawberries and blueberries.

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I have and continue to prepare many items from the book, but one that has stood out over all these years is a simple cucumber salad that Jeff included on page 24 and he noted that its origins are from Israel. Jeff also mentions that this salad has a flavor very close to what New York Jews call a “new pickle.”

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…found on many a restaurant menu as either an appetizer in a neatly arranged presentation or as a similar salad this perennial favorite takes on an easy and quick preparation as a marinated salad with fresh grown heirloom tomatoes and fresh basil both harvested from our front garden. With the addition of some sliced mozzarella string cheese, this salad is marinated with just enough balsamic vinaigrette dressing to coat the tomatoes, basil and cheese.

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This is the height of summer time tomato crops in back yard gardens, decks and patio containers across the Americas. We got a hold of some fresh backyard garden tomatoes and I immediately put together this summertime tomato salad using some fresh basil from our herb garden. Tomatoes pare well with soft cheese and fresh [...]

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