For supper a few nights ago, my wife (Favorite Minion) prepared a surprise side dish for us--pear salad. Pear salad may sound kinda mundane to you, but this just wasn't any pear salad, it was pear salad, Heart of Dixie style. If you are a child of the late sixties or early seventies and grew up in the in the South, you had this at home or at grandma's house, maybe even both! Just thinking about it as I write this article brings back all kinds of fond memories of my youth. I was lucky, my mom made it and my grandmothers did too!
For those who haven't had this rare delicacy, it doesn't look like much, but the way flavors combine in your mouth is pure heaven. It is easy to make, here's everything that you need:
For those who haven't had this rare delicacy, it doesn't look like much, but the way flavors combine in your mouth is pure heaven. It is easy to make, here's everything that you need:
You will need canned pear halves, in heavy syrup, none of that sissy - fu - fu lite syrup or "packed in own juice" stuff, remember we did not even know about a pancreas in the 70's. Lettuce, purists will insist that it has to be iceberg, but romaine works just fine. I think that in the 70's, iceberg lettuce was the only lettuce that you could get in the South and I am almost certain that it was illegal to possess or sale any other kind of lettuce, here, in the 70's. Next we have mayonaise, we like Duke's, but I imagine that any kind will work, just make sure, for Pete's sake, that it is not light mayonaise. I mean what's the point, who in their right mind eats light mayonaise? Following the mayonaise is shredded mild cheddar cheese, any brand will do, just make sure it is real cheese. Rounding it all out is that other little taste of heaven, maraschino cherries. How many grew up eating these out of their parent's cocktails? Come on, be honest. And then there is that other right of passage, learning to tie a knot in the cherry stem, with your tongue. It was a useful skill that comes in handy later in life, but that is another story... I miss the 70's!
Putting it all togehter is pretty easy:
Putting it all togehter is pretty easy:
Now, all you need is a fork! Or, just pick it up like a deviled egg and have at it, then savor the flavor as you take a walk down memory lane! If you are new to this concoction, make some new memories!