[1] Our latest version of Cobb Salad has a Thai influence. The recipe follows (photo: The Nibble).

[2] Add peanut butter to Asian-style sesame dressing for peanut dressing. The recipe follows (photo: The Nibble).

[3] Pick up a rotisserie chicken (Freepik photo).

[4] Crunchy snow peas are always a treat. We’re happy to have recipe that uses them (photo: The Nibble).

Before National Salad Month (May) draws to a close, we want to give a shout-out to one of our favorites: the Cobb Salad (photo #5).

It’s one of our favorites, and it happened to be an impromptu pull-together using ingredients in the kitchen of the Brown Derby restaurant (the story).

The original combined iceberg lettuce, romaine, avocado, bacon, watercress, chicken breast, a hard-boiled egg, tomatoes, chives, blue cheese, and the “original” French dressing—i.e., a Dijon vinaigrette. See the *footnote for the sad evolution of “French” dressing.

Fun note: The original ingredients can be remembered by the mnemonic EAT COBB, representing the first letters of egg, avocado, tomato, chicken, onion (chives), bacon, and blue cheese.

There are so many variations beyond the original ingredients and dressing, that we’re adding this one to our list: Thai Cobb Salad.

Given our love of Thai peanut sauce (originally from Indonesia, to give credit where it’s due) and Asian salad ingredients—carrots, cilantro, peanuts, red bell pepper—this recipe now competes with variations of the original Cobb for our affections.

Below:

> Thai Cobb Salad recipe.

> Asian salad dressing recipe.

> The origin of America’s “French” dressing.

> More yummy Cobb Salad recipes.

Elsewhere on The Nibble:

> The history of Cobb Salad.

> The history of salad.

> The year’s 40+ salad holidays.
 
 
RECIPE #1: THAI COBB SALAD

Prep time is 15 minutes. You can substitute another protein for the chicken: beef, duck, lamb, pork, grilled tofu or plant-based meat, or turkey.

While this recipe can be made with bottled Asian dressing (Kraft, Trader Joe, etc.), it doesn’t take long to make your own, better-tasting version from scratch (recipe #2).
 
Ingredients For 6 Servings

 
Preparation

1. PLACE the romaine on a large serving platter. Arrange chicken, eggs, avocado, vegetables and peanuts over romaine; sprinkle with cilantro.

2. WHISK the salad dressing and peanut butter in a small bowl until smooth. Drizzle over the salad or serve separately in a pitcher or ramekin.
 
 
RECIPE #2: ASIAN SALAD DRESSING

We always make a double batch because we love Asian-style dressing, with and without the peanut butter.

Dark sesame oil provides a much deeper sesame flavor.
 
Ingredients

 
Plus

1. PLACE all ingredients except the peanut butter in a jar with a tight-fitting lid; shake well. Whisk in the PB. Refrigerate until serving.

2. SHAKE the dressing again just before serving.

TIP: We warm the peanut butter in the microwave for 30 seconds to make it easier to whisk.
 
MORE COBB SALAD RECIPES

 

[5] The classic Cobb salad dressing is a tangy mustard vinaigrette made with red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, garlic, and Worcestershire sauce. It’s the Brown Derby “Old-Fashioned French Dressing” recipe from 1937 and it’s entirely unrelated to the sweet, creamy, orange-colored “French dressing” sold in the U.S. today. See the *footnote for what happened to “French dressing” in America.
 
________________
 
*How “French dressing” became orange glop: Originally in the U.S. during the 19th century, “French dressing” referred to what the French actually used—a simple vinaigrette of oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and sometimes Dijon mustard. Then came the shift in American taste preferences to sweeter foods, including, by the early 20th century, sweeter, thicker, dressings that were more of a sauce. “Plain” vinaigrette became seen as a bit sharp and austere.

When commercial salad dressings took off beginning in the 1920s, manufacturers created bottled dressings that appealed to mass tastes. They modified “French dressing” into something that emulsified more easily—often with tomato paste or ketchup, hence the orange/red color—and added sugar to meet the desire for sweetness. Unfortunately for the French and francophiles, they chose “French” as the name for a dressing that had no resemblance to the original.

Calling something “French” brought a cachet that helped sell the product, so the name was co-opted. By mid-century, the orange, sweet, tomato-based version became so common that it defined “French dressing” in the U.S. Interestingly, in 2022 the FDA revoked its Standard of Identity established in 1950, that had legally defined “French dressing” as that orange bottled style. They acknowledged that the term had become meaningless. (However, this also means that any combination of ingredients can be sold as “French dressing.”)
 

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It was tough deciding what to make for National Cherry Dessert Day (May 26th). But in the end, this cherry tiramisu recipe (photos #1 and #6) was calling our name.

If your taste buds prefer something less creamy, check out the 25 other cherry recipes that follow.

Below:

> Cherry tiramisu recipe.

> More cherry dessert recipes.

> The different types of cherry liqueur.

> More uses for Kirsch.

Elsewhere on The Nibble:

> The history of tiramisu.

> The history of cherries.

> The two species of cherries: sweet cherries and sour (tart) cherries (and see photo #7, below).

> The year’s 15+ cherry holidays.

> What is mascarpone?

> Cordial, eau-de-vie, liqueur, and schnaps: the difference.
 
 
RECIPE: CHERRY TIRAMISU

Plan to make the recipe the night before, to allow the flavors to meld. Note that if you have a glass or ceramic baking dish (photo #8 below), it looks better at the table than a metal baking pan.

We use Kirsch, a cherry fruit brandy‡ that’s a staple for cheese fondues and cherry desserts. If you’re considering buying a bottle, see the †footnote for what other recipes you can make with it.

Beyond Kirsch, there are other options for the cherry liqueur, which you’ll see in the section below. If you want to use cherry liqueur but don’t have any, see the *footnote for a hack.

For a non-alcoholic option, substitute cherry juice for the cherry liqueur (our favorite is Knudsen’s).

If you can’t get hold of mascarpone, substitute cream cheese. The tiramisu will be slightly tangier but still delicious.
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. MAKE the cherry mixture. Combine the cherries, sugar, and cherry liqueur in a bowl. Let the mixture sit for 15-20 minutes to release the juices.

2. MAKE the mascarpone filling. In a mixing bowl, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. In another bowl, beat the mascarpone, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth. Gently fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture until fully combined.

3. LAYER the tiramisu. Dip each ladyfinger briefly into the cherry juices in the bowl. Line the bottom of an 8×8 inch baking dish or pan with a single layer of dipped ladyfingers. Spread half of the mascarpone mixture over the ladyfingers, then add a layer of cherries. Repeat the layers with the remaining ingredients, finishing with mascarpone on top.

4. COVER the baking dish and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or preferably overnight. Just before serving, dust the top generously with cocoa powder and garnish with fresh cherries. TIP: If you’re using frozen cherries, soak them in the liqueur overnight for an extra hit of cherry brandy.
 
 
MORE CHERRY DESSERT RECIPES

Cakes & Cheesecakes

 
Other Cherry Desserts

 
Cookies & Bars

 
Frozen Desserts

 
Pies, Tarts, Pasties, & Cobblers

[1] A yummy cherry tiramisu. The recipe is below and there’s another view of it in photo #7 (photo: The Nibble).

[2] For comparison, the classic tiramisu, which uses Marsala wine to soak the ladyfingers. Some preferred the flavor of coffee liqueur, and substitute it (photo: The Nibble).

[3] The most famous cherry cake is the chocolate-cherry Black Forest Cake from Bavaria, where Kirsch cherry liqueur also originated. Here’s the recipe (photo: The Nibble).

[4] For something lighter, a dish of cherry sorbet. Here’s the recipe (photo: The Nibble).
 

[5] Delicious with a cup of tea: cherry-lime shortbread cookies. Here’s the recipe (photo: The Nibble).

[6] Who wants cherry cobbler? Here’s the recipe (photo: The Nibble).

[1] Sugar-free tomato tang on everything from burgers to omelets (photos #1 #2, #3, and #5 © G. Hughes Sauces | Industries Lassonde Inc.).

[2] We gave bottles to certain friends for the holidays.

[3] America’s #1 favorite ketchup food.

[4] While there’s already ketchup in most barbecue sauces, some people like to dip their ribs in ketchup (photo © Easy Buy 4U | iStock Photo).

[5] G. Hughes’ sugar-free ketchup’s Nutrition Facts label, commonly referred to as the nutrition panel, nutrition label, or nutrition box.

America will consumes a lot of ketchup over Memorial Day Weekend, so we deemed it appropriate to spotlight the sugar-free ketchup we’ve been using for a couple of years: G Hughes Sugar Free Ketchup.

Why sugar-free? We’re not keto, nor diabetic, nor dieting, nor in any other mode where one might want ketchup made with sucralose (the zero-calorie sweetener branded as Splenda*.

When we use ketchup, we use a lot of it; and we decided after tasting this product at a trade show that we should cut all that added sugar health professionals warn you about.

Below:

> The ketchup quandary: hidden sugar.

> G. Hughes Zero Sugar Ketchup.

> The top ways Americans use ketchup.

Elsewhere on The Nibble:

> The history of ketchup.

> 50+ artisan ketchup brand reviews.

> The year’s 18 condiment holidays: dips, dressings, and sauces.

> The different artificial sweeteners: a photo glossary.
 
 
America consumes a lot of ketchup over Memorial Day Weekend, so we deemed it a good time to share the sugar-free ketchup we’ve been using.

Why sugar-free? We’re neither keto, nor diabetic, nor dieting, nor in any other mode where one might need something sugar-free.

But when we use ketchup, we use a lot of it; and we decided after tasting G. Hughes Zero Calorie Ketchup at a trade show that we chould cut all that hidden sugar that health professionals warn you about.
 
 
THE KETCHUP QUANDARY

Ketchup is one of those foods that seems harmless because we use it in “small” amounts—on fries, burgers, and eggs, among other foods.

But it’s also a classic example of hidden sugar in processed foods.

Use enough of it, and the result is that a seemingly savory condiment can quietly become a source of added sugar.

Added sugar shows up in so many packaged items—bread, sauces, salad dressings, snacks—that “a little here and there” can really add up, on top of the sugar you’re already consuming deliberately in coffee and desserts.
 
 
We Did The Math

We looked at the amount of ketchup we ate and found that all of those level tablespoons at 20 calories and 4 grams of total sugar each, easily added up to 100 calories whenever we used ketchup. And we thought:

Let’s try ketchup with 5 calories per tablespoon and zero grams of total sugar.

While 20 calories per tablespoon doesn’t seem enormous, why consume sugar we didn’t ask for? Plus, we have to admit that the sweet allure of the ketchup made us eat much more of it.

That’s why sugar-free ketchup made sense for us.

Our fries are still our fries, our burger is still our burger; we’re just not automatically pouring extra sugar on top of them.
 
 
G. HUGHES ZERO SUGAR SAUCES, MARINADES, & SALAD DRESSINGS

With a mother who was a great cook, Guy Hughes’s own passion for cooking flourished. As an adult, he loved to entertain, and became known for his neighborhood parties and picnics where his zero-sugar homemade sauces were the stars.

Friends, family, and neighbors asked if he could make sugar-free sauces for them. Encouraged, he started to manufacture them.

Today, G. Hughes makes some 50 sauces: barbecue sauces (12 flavors), dipping sauces (12 flavors), marinades (7 flavors), salad dressings (11 flavors), wing sauces (4 flavors), and three spice rubs—all with zero sugar.

We’ve tasted five of the sauce, and all deliver bold flavor. They’re they’re gluten-free, dairy-free, preservative free, and low carb. The sweetening agent is sucralose, which is marketed commercially as Splenda®.

The Sugar-Free Ketchup

Made with vine-ripened tomato concentrate, distilled vinegar, salt, garlic powder and other spices—plus sucralose—the ketchup clocks in at just 5 calories a tablespoon and zero total sugars.

It’s made with vine-ripened tomato concentrate, distilled vinegar, salt, garlic powder, spices—and the sucralose.

Unlike the big-brand conventional ketchups that taste like tomatoes and sweetener, G. Hughes tastes like tomatoes and vinegar.

There’s a puckery tang. Unlike sweet ketchup, the tang adds sophistication. And, we use less of it because we’re not shoveling in the sugar.

Now, for the contrarian view:

We came across a review on another food site where the team of reviewers totally trashed G. Hughes ketchup as “the worst ketchup brand” that “completely fails at being edible.”

“Starting with the color,” the review continues, “it has a weird orange hue to it…The color alone is enough to make you question your purchase because ketchup should never be confused with a bottle of buffalo sauce.”

Huh? Our G. Hughes ketchup, in color and texture, has been indistinguishable from any conventional ketchup. Those reviewers must have gotten a bottle that sat next to a furnace for too long.

Try it again, guys.
 
 
Get Your Sugar-Free Ketchup

For the nearest bottle:

 

[7] Please pass the ketchup (photo: The Nibble).
 
THE TOP WAYS AMERICANS USE KETCHUP

Most popular foods Americans use ketchup with aren’t much of a surprise, although the “less standard choices” below were not on our list.

In order of use, we add ketchup to:

 
Less Standard Choices

 
In the words of Henry James:

“Americans will eat garbage provided you sprinkle it liberally with ketchup.”
________________

*Splenda is the largest of the sucralose-based brands. Others include Walmart’s Great Value store brand; Signature Select, the private-label brand found at grocery stores like Acme, Albertsons, and Safeway; Canderel Yellow (note that Canderel Original is an aspartame-Acesulfame-K blend and Canderel Stevia Blend has stevia and sucralose). Other market-specific or international brands that use sucralose as their primary ingredient include Nevella, SucraPlus, Sukrana, and Zerocal.

Sucralose was discovered in 1976 by British food giant Tate & Lyle and researchers at Queen Elizabeth College, University of London. The story is one of the funnier accidents in food manufacturing. While researching new insecticides, Shashikant Phadnis of Queen Elizabeth College misheard the instruction of his advisor, Leslie Hough. Instead of “test” the chemical, he heard “taste” the chemical. So he tasted it—and found it to be extremely sweet (sucralose is 600 times sweeter than sugar).

Tate & Lyle subsequently developed sucralose-based Splenda® brand products in partnership with Johnson & Johnson subsidiary McNeil Nutritionals. The brand is now owned by Heartland Food Products Group of Indianapolis, Indiana.

†Ketchup is both a primary ingredient in the barbecue sauce used to baste the meat, and a condiment served alongside the cooked ‘que. Many Americans, especially in casual or home settings, use ketchup as a primary side sauce for grilled or barbecued chicken and pork.
 

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