Thousand Island Dressing & an Act of Desperation
Last Sunday I was going to the grocery store, so I asked my husband if there was anything he wanted me to get for him while I was there. Yes, he said, get me some Thousand Island Dressing, the one that sits upside down on its cap. He couldn’t remember the brand. So I found the one he was talking about and brought it home. It sat on the counter and the more I looked at it, I realized I hadn’t eaten Thousand Island Dressing for about thirty years. However, I did have fond memories about it, especially the black pepper sprinkled on top, so I thought maybe I would have some the next day.
Monday at work, I continued to think about that salad I was going to make, and by the time I was driving home, I was really looking forward to it. I went to the market and bought a nice big, fresh head of iceberg lettuce, one of those heads that feel solid and you know will be crisp and sweet.
When I got home I got out my salad bowl and chef’s knife. I ground some fresh black pepper. I unwrapped the head of lettuce. I looked over on the counter expecting to see the Thousand Island Dressing bottle, but it wasn’t there. I looked in the refrigerator, thinking he might have used some and put it in there. No sign. I looked in all the cupboards. I looked in the garage. I felt a little panicky. Maybe I was having a Senior Moment and had just missed it. It had to be around here somewhere.
So I called up my husband and asked where he’d put the Thousand Island Dressing. Oh, he said, I brought that to work with me so I can put it on my salads for lunch. Cr*p! Foot stomping. Teeth gnashing.
The Act of Desperation
Well, I stood there with this profound feeling of disappointment. I was so looking forward to that salad. I wanted it bad. And then it came to me that, guess what, I am a chef. I know how to cook and make things from scratch. It was a Eureka Moment. By golly, I would make my own Thousand Island Dressing and never have to depend on some huge corporate entity for my dressing fix again. So there, you guys.
I went online and looked at about 30 recipes for Thousand Island Dressing. I checked a few of my cookbooks. They were all similar. I checked my fridge and, lo and behold, I had all the ingredients. So I recorded the amounts I used as I made it and it was indescribably delicious. So much better than any bottled or restaurant memories of mine. And I hope you enjoy it, too.
Yields 1 1/2 cups
1 cup mayonnaise (Best or Hellmans)
1/4 cup ketchup (Heinz)
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish (Heinz)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Thai sweet chili sauce or 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon milk or more for consistency
1 tablespoon minced onion
2 tablespoons Italian parsley, minced
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
Optional: one hardboiled egg chopped fine
Freshly ground black pepper for sprinkling over salad
- Mix all ingredients together, except black pepper, in a bowl. Store in airtight container.
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Welcome to Cook & Be Merry
Hello! My name is Lynne Hemer, and I am a woman obsessed with food and cooking, in search of new, unusual, exotic, and sublime ingredients and recipes. I love reading cookbooks, taking cooking classes, going to restaurants, photographing food, and blogging about it all! I hope you enjoy my website as much as I enjoyed creating it.
Feel free to contact me at lynne@cookandbemerry.com
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This post got me thinking about two things: 1) it is true, there are just things one assumes have to be bought in a store…to then only discover they are simple to make and so much better home made (anything from bechamel to ketchup etc.) 2) in Italy we only dress salads with olive oil, lemon/vinegar and salt and pepper, not even a mustard based vinaigrette is used…forget all those dressings you get in the States. Never really thought about it.
i love it when you realise the things you normally buy in a bottle/can/box can actually be homemade….with much better ingredients as well 🙂
this salad looks so simple and delicious…
Great recipe, thanks!
I, too, am not overly interested in the corporate versions of household condiments. The reason mostly, is because I tend to avoid added sugar wherever possible; yet white sugar & corn syrup are in just about everything. Even most varieties of canned diced tomatoes contain sugar nowadays.
Hey Lynne,
I laughed out loud at this post.. have had similar “episodes” with my husband!! When I was growing up, we always had Thousand Island on shrimp salads – which were reserved for those days when it was simply too hot to cook!!
Your version has more in it than the one I made growing up and I bet it beats mine so guess what? Your recipe will now be my official “Thousand Island dressing”!!!
Can’t wait to whip up a batch!!
I’m printing this and putting it next to my home made mayo recipe. wait a sec, can I use home made mayo in this recipe for extra tasty goodness!?
Ha ha. Well I haven’t had it in about ** years either, and that was our main dressing growing up. Kraft, Wishbone, or one of those greedy corporate types. I figured it was mayo, ketchup and relish, but I had no idea what else was in it. Kudos to you for making your own and for deconstructing it for me!
I too have fond memories of Thousand Island Dressing. My older sister loved the stuff, and we would always pour it on our salads when we went to visit her. I love making salad dressing at home…it always tastes so much better. Thank you for sharing. I hope your day is full of a lot laughter and joy!
Wow, this looks really delicious! My husband actually likes Thousand Island dressing on his burgers, so I think I’ll have to try this!!
I haven’t had TI dressing in forever also at least 10 years…. thank you for reminding me to make it sometime soon.
I loved this story. The power of food is amazing and I am glad you saw the big picture and whipped up your own. GREG
[…] used mayonnaise and Thousand Island salad dressing (if you want to make your own this is the blog that started my craving) as my base and built it from there. I added mustard powder and salt and pepper and then let it chill […]
Yes! we used to make it from the Joy of Cooking when I was a teenager. I used to love it with Chef’s Salad- another retro, but wonderful, dish. When I first moved to New York City in the mid-70’s, I served (and enjoyed myself) many a Chef’s Salad with 1000 Island dressing as a young waitress.
so funny… desperation= creativity- i know what you mean, when you get something in your head and you REALLY want it. gorgeous photos, salad is hard to shoot.
Sometimes you just need a little inspiration…or a husband that just happens to mess with your best laid plans 😉
So enjoyed this post! And I have to agree that anything one makes from scratch is always so much better!
I’m laughing too. Interesting, because I always make Thousand Island dressing at home, with equal parts (more or less) of mayo, ketchup and pickle relish. And then I stop there. I bet yours is better than mine!
Way to make the best out of a sitation! Very much an Iron Chef moment on your part. 🙂
Thousand Island is my brother’s favorite dressing – wonder if he could tell the difference if I made this for him???
[K]
Saw this featured in the latest Easy Reader. Congrats!