Shanghai Surprise
Sometimes you just have to break the rules! Throughout the centuries, there have been recipe rebels that have pushed the pancake and defied the dumpling.
In the early 1930’s, Ruth Wakefield , owner of the Toll House Inn went into her kitchen to make a batch of Butter Drop Do Cookies, but found she had no baking chocolate. She did have a Nestles milk chocolate candy bar stashed away. (I can relate to that). Ruth chopped up the chocolate and added it to the dough. Much to Ruth’s surprise, it did not melt. But, thanks to her experimentation, the Toll House Cookie was born, and the world is a better place. Lucky Ruth made a deal with Nestle, allowing them to print the recipe on their wrappers in exchange for a lifetime supply of chocolate!
Sometimes it’s frustration that spurs a new recipe. Take for example, Chef George Crum, of Saratoga Springs, New York, and how he dealt with an annoying patron, that fateful night in 1853. When the fried potatoes came back, along with a critique that they were “too thick”, Chef Crum, aiming to please, prepared another portion of potatoes, thinner, as requested. These also were sent back, with the same criticism.
That pushed Crum over the edge. He sliced another batch of potatoes as thin as a piece of paper, fried them, and then, furiously over-salted them. Much to his surprise, the complaints turned into compliments. Welcome the potato chip.
Accidents happen, and some are fortunate. Oakland, CA, 1905. 11 year old Frank Epperson mixed up a bucket of some soda pop powder and water. He got distracted, and left the mixture outside overnight… The next morning, it had frozen in the bucket, with the wooden spoon sticking out of the center. It tasted good! He had mixed himself up a Popsicle and a promising career.
In 1954, an anonymous cook is credited for creating California Onion Dip, a simple blend of onion soup mix and sour cream. Dried onion soup was a relatively new product, and sour cream was the new hot ethnic ingredient. Onions and sour cream are a classic culinary combination in many eastern European nations, so perhaps our inventor was just updating tradition. Whatever the intent, the result was revolutionary, especially when teamed up with Chef Crum’s culinary contribution. America was nearly drowned in dairy dips for the next few decades.
Then along came salsa. The history of this recipe, more accurately know as salsa cruda – or uncooked sauce, goes back to the Aztecs. Fortunately, it was a recipe and moreover a technique, that was not lost to history. It is a condiment that has found its way around the world. I was shopping in a Parisian market a few years ago, and found an entire aisle of salsas and tortilla chips!
Last week I was planning to make a batch of salsa to bring to a potluck. Alas, I didn’t have any good looking tomatoes. I decided to make salsa anyway – using something else.
I explored the refrigerator for ingredients. I had some cilantro, aka Chinese parsley. Ideas flew around my head like a popped balloon. “I’ll make an Asian “salsa and some wonton chips!”
I did, and a new recipe was created. Hope you like it. I don’t think it will get me a lifetime supply of chocolate however. Some people have all the luck.