Living on the Wedge | Ep. 280

The classic wedge salad with homemade blue cheese dressing, and the whole 110-year story of how a hunk of iceberg lettuce became a fine dining institution. The trail runs from a 1916 cookbook (lettuce hearts, Roquefort dressing, and hard-boiled egg white rings) to Delmonico's in New York, where Oscar Tucci put "Hearts of Lettuce Salad" on the menu in the 1930s, to the steakhouse boom that made the wedge a signature by 1955. Along the way: the wedge's whole family tree (the Cobb, the seven-layer salad, buffalo wing blue cheese dip, and how ranch stole the throne), why iceberg is named iceberg, why it is the correct engineering choice and not a compromise, and a side-by-side pour that shows exactly why the mayo-based dressing beat the vinaigrette. Physics picked the winner. The dressing is built from scratch: mayo, buttermilk, sour cream, and six ounces of blue cheese going in two ways, half mashed for flavor, half crumbled for texture. Fifteen minutes, better than any bottle, and you pick the cheese. The drink is the Delmonico: gin, cognac, sweet and dry vermouth, and Angostura, stirred cold. The house cocktail of the same restaurant that invented the wedge. It's basically a perfect Manhattan in a tuxedo. JOIN THE CHAOS Website: https://sidedishcooking.com Discord:   / discord   Instagram/Socials: @sidedishcooking Subscribe for more:    / @sidedishcooking   WHAT'S IN THIS EPISODE The Dish: The Classic Wedge Salad + Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing Cold iceberg quartered through the core, from-scratch blue cheese dressing (rested 20-30 minutes so the flavors marry), thick-cut oven bacon, heirloom tomato, shaved red onion, chives, extra crumbles, cracked pepper. Plus the story of the 1916 original with its egg white rings, talked through so you can build it at home. The Drink: The Delmonico 1 1/2 oz London dry gin, 1/2 oz cognac, 1/2 oz sweet vermouth, 1/2 oz dry vermouth, dash of Angostura. Stirred, chilled coupe, orange twist. ABOUT SIDE DISH Side Dish is a live cooking show, new episode every Saturday at 7 PM Pacific. We cook side dishes, appetizers, bar snacks, cocktails, desserts, and everything that isn't the main course. 280 episodes and counting. Website: https://sidedishcooking.com Discord:   / discord   Instagram/Socials: @sidedishcooking Subscribe for more:    / @sidedishcooking   #WedgeSalad #BlueCheeseDressing #HomemadeDressing #IcebergLettuce #SteakhouseSalad #FoodHistory #FoodScience #SaladRecipe #DelmonicoCocktail #ClassicCocktails #FromScratch #LiveCooking #CookingShow #SideDish #SideDishCooking