San Francisco Night Out in Portland

After a long pause in posts, here's a fun one from Peg...

We were recently invited to a friend’s wine and dine group with a San Francisco theme. All dishes were to have originated in SF, or ingredients be indigenous to the area. Hence, the menu included everything from a bay shrimp and artichoke appetizer (among others), seafood cioppino as the main course, homemade sourdough bread, and two delectable desserts. Since I had a variety of salad greens available in my garden, I opted to make a salad and did some online research to find a dressing that might have originated in SF. I usually opt for a simple olive oil and vinegar or lemon type dressing, but I discovered that Green Goddess dressing was created by the chef of the Palace Hotel in SF back in 1920. He named it in honor of the actor George Arliss who had a healthy appetite and was performing in the most popular Broadway play of that year’s season The Green Goddess.

The name is appropriate as the various herbs give it a light green color, and combined with the creamy ingredients it makes a heavenly dressing for most any vegetable. I had full heads of various types of lettuce as well as some spicy baby greens but I didn’t want to mix them in case someone didn’t like the spicy greens. So I filled two large bowls accordingly and dressed both with the Green Goddess and both were equally delicious.

Green Goddess Dressing

1 tsp anchovy paste (or more to taste)

1 medium clove garlic, minced

½ up plain yogurt (low fat ok)

½ cup mayonnaise

½ cup sour cream (low fat ok)

¼ cup loose packed snipped fresh chives

¼ cup loose packed tarragon leaves

½ cup loose packed Italian parsley leaves

2 Tbsp lemon juice (or more to taste)

½ tsp salt

Fresh ground pepper to taste

Place ingredients in food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Adjust lemon and seasonings, etc. to taste. Refrigerate in jar with lid for up to one week. 

Note: You can use other herbs (basil, cilantro, chervil) for a little different flavor, although I think parsley and chives (or green onion tops) are a must.