05 May 2025 Dad, dressings and Great-Grandpa Don
By Chef Don Bingham
It’s the time of year to celebrate Mom with time-honored traditions that mean food, flowers and candy! There really are no adequate expressions for our love and deep gratitude for our mothers, whether they are living or living in our hearts and memories. There are so many fun ways to say “we love you”! This Mother’s Day, we would like to share a one-dish idea for a celebration — an idea that originated with our grandson and great-grandson, Nate and Caden Newton!
To thank me for assisting with Nate’s wedding to his lovely bride Ashlynne, he designed a custom-made wooden bowl and utensils of mammoth proportions made of indigenous Arkansas pecan wood with the help of Urban Timbers and his father, Jeremy Newton. What better way to use this “over-the-top” piece than to create a chef’s salad with some delectable dressing choices, made with Mother’s Day in mind and complete with cooking lessons and a group culinary class with my grandson and great-grandson, all to honor Mom! We added the touch of candy for dessert and a lovely flower arrangement by Tipton & Hurst to complete the Mother’s Day tribute. As the state’s oldest and most experienced florist, Tipton & Hurst curates floral favorites that will make mom and grandma feel extra special on Mother’s Day.
Just to make sure we cover all the bases, we managed to prepare a buffet choice of dressings for the dining experience: Chef Glen Williams’ Lemon Vinaigrette; my favorites, Thousand Island and Blue Cheese; and one that will be new to most of you — New Orleans Dressing. It’s always safe to have the favorite of most connoisseurs on hand as well — RANCH!
What better time than Mother’s Day to pull in the grandkids and great-grandkids to celebrate the multifaceted beauties and graces of our moms? Even with the simplicity of her favorite salad and those time-honored dressings from generations before, a day of lunch, flowers and candy is a great way to celebrate Mom!
All moms love salads and dad can make a chef’s salad with their kids to surprise her! Almost “everything but the kitchen sink” composes the salad, made with darker greens such as romaine, spinach, kale, Boston, and touches of iceberg lettuces for a variety of foundations. Add to that tomatoes, purple cabbage, celery, carrots, parsley, onions, cucumbers, squash, green onions — almost everything from the produce section — plus smoked julienned Petit Jean ham and turkey from the deli for protein. Extraordinaire!
Thousand Island Dressing
2 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup ketchup • 1/2 tsp. paprika
2 Tbsp. sweet pickle relish
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
Mix all ingredients. Makes 2 1/2 cups.
Blue Cheese Dressing
2 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 Tbsp. lemon juice • 2 tsp. grated onion
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
Mix all ingredients. Makes 2 1/2 cups.
Chef Glen Williams’ Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing
Juice of three lemons
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
Medium shallot, minced
Salt to taste • Dash of sugar
Combine ingredients and whisk together. Set aside for 15 minutes. Add 1/4 to 3/8 cup of olive oil. Whisk together to combine. Makes 2 cups.
New Orleans Dressing
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
1 cup oil • 1 tsp. salt • 1 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. dry mustard
2 cloves garlic (or equivalent in garlic juice)
Shake or blend all ingredients. Makes 2 cups.
- Dad, dressings and Great-Grandpa Don - May 5, 2025
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- Bingham’s Buono Bistro - March 1, 2025
