[1] A beautiful layered salad in a wine tumbler (photo courtesy Riedel Japan). [2] Riedel’s O series tumbler for red wine (photo courtesy Riedel). [3] How many different ways can you use them? See our list (photo Riedel | Facebook). [4] A classic layered salad (photo courtesy Kraft). [5] The most recent layered salad trend: in a Mason jar (here’s the recipe from the California Avocado Commission).

Yesterday’s tip was to use salad as a soup garnish.

Today we’re taking a slightly different turn.

Serve an elegant layered salad in (photo #1) a wine tumbler, like Riedel’s O Red Wine Tumbler (photo #2).

In fact, when you’re not drinking wine from the tumblers, you can variously use them:
 
At Breakfast

 
At Lunch

 
At Dinner

 
 
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A WINE TUMBLER & A WINE GLASS?

Like its entire line of fine glassware for wine and spirits, Riedel’s wine tumblers are sophisticated glassware engineered for different grape varietals, to deliver the maximum flavors and aromas. The shape of the bowl and mouth direct the wine to different areas of the palate.

Now, to the stemmed wine glass that has been around for many centuries. It is meant to be held by the stem, not by the bowl.

Stemware was created for elegance, so the heat from one’s hand didn’t warm the wine in the bowl, and so one’s sticky fingers didn’t leave grease marks on the glass.

But, with the increasing casual that has developed over the last 30 years, few people know or care about etiquette, and most people hold their stemware by the bowl.

If you can’t lick ‘em, join ‘em; so Riedel, the world’s greatest wine glass maker, decided to give people what they want: a bowl with no stem.

The O Stemless Tumblers line did so well, that Riedel has added lines with etched designs and colored bottoms.

They’re an affordable gift. Check out the choices at Amazon.

THE HISTORY OF LAYERED SALAD

Try as we did, we couldn’t find a detailed reference to layered salad before the 1970s. A 2000 article in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel refers to a seven layer salad as a fat-laden salad that “helped give salads of the 1950s a bad name” [source].

Ingredients are layered in a glass bowl, with the varied layer colors and textures providing eye appeal. Made for barbecues, parties, picnics, potlucks, it was/is assembled ahead of time and is easy to transport. It can feed a crowd, and was very popular with said crowd.

The layers—as few or as many as the cook desires—commonly include:

 
The original dressing may have been mayonnaise-based or a mayo-sour cream combination. Depending on the cook, bottled Italian or ranch dressing can be employed.

Personally, we skip the shredded cheddar and use a mayo-sour cream-chunky blue cheese dressing.