Caesar Salad cites

[Bapopik at AOL.COM]

"The first cite Merriam has is from the Britannica Book of the Year, 1950,
from the article Fads of 1949."
--Jim Rader, 27 May 1998 "Caesar Salad" posting on ADS-L (from archives)

     GOURMET, April 1947, pg. 78, col. 3:

Q.  If it is possible, could you please tell me where I might locate the
recipe for Caesar salad?
_Atherton, California  Mr. Earl S. Douglas_
A.  A real product of the West, this salad was created in Hollywood by the
chef of the same name.
     _Caesar Salad._  Be sure to mix this salad where everyone can see, and
only immediately before serving.  Prepare 2 cups croutons by frying cubes of
bread over a low flame, in olive oil previously flavored with a split clove
garlic.  Into a garlic-rubbed wooden bowl tear two heads chilled
romaine,endive, or escarole into not-too-small pieces and sprinkle with 1/4
teaspoon each powdered mustard and black pepper and 1/2 teaspoon salt, more
or less according to taste, and 4 ounces cheese, grated or crumbled.
(Parmesan type or blue cheese.)  Pour over 6 tablespoons olive oil and the
juice of 2 lemons.  Break 2 eggs on the greens and toss enough to mix
thoroughly, but not so vigorously as to bruise the greens, and until no trace
o egg is to be seen.  The leaves should be marinated, but there must not be
excess liquid in the bowl.  Taste for seasonings.  An instant before serving,
add the croutons, tossing the salad again enough to mix it with the croutons
without making them soggy.

     GOURMET, July 1947, pg. 2, col. 3:

     SIRS:  Have been an ardent reader and fan for a number of years, and
have gotten some of the best recipes out of your replies.  So herewith a
little history and checkup on a recipe you gave, what you and some people out
here call "Salad Caesar."
     There were two brothers, Alex and Caesar.  Alex, the older, had a
partner named Paul, and Paul and Alex's restaurant in Tijuana was far-famed,
particularly during the prohibition era.  One of them invented a salad.
Caesar, Alex's younger brother, at this time worked for them.  He got angry
one day, took his "blue dishes" and left, and opened up another restaurant in
Tijuana.  He also took with him, as far as he could remember, some of their
dishes.  Somehow a salad got up into Los Angeles, probably hitchhiked, and is
served in several restaurants in this area--nearly all of them "very."
     Your recipe for Salad Caesar is nearly right.  Here is the real recipe
of Paul and Alex's salad:
     Prepare--preferably a day or two ahead of time--a jar of olive oil with
two or three cloves of garlic sliced up in it.
     Now to start the salad.  Wash and dry and cut up as many heads of
romaine as needed to serve.  Let's say for four people, two heads of romaine.
 And when I say "cut up," I mean don't let that old wives' tale about tearing
it up matter.  Over this in the wooden salad bowl sprinkle 1 heaping teaspoon
salt, ditto black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard.  The bowl is _not_ rubbed
with garlic.  Then add approximately 3 tablespoons wine vinegar, 6
tablespoons olive oil, not salad oil.  Meantime, boil an egg (pg. 3, col.
1--ed.) 1 1/2 minutes and crack and drop the half-cooked egg on top.  Having
toasted French bread croutons, pour over these in a separate dish as much of
the olive oil garlic as desired.  Over all several (according to taste)
tablespoons fresh grated Parmesan.  Last but not least, toss well.
     This salad with two roasted quail stuffed with wild rice and onion
dressing, toasted French bread, and a bottle of cold Liebfraumilch is
something that would make even Iles Brody's mouth water. (...)
JAMES GLEASON
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

     GOURMET, November 1947, pg. 4, col. 3:

     _Caesar-Rendering_
     SIRS:  I am not one to quibble with anyone as delightful as Jimmy
Gleason, or enter any controversy, but for your benefit, I would like to tell
you that a dozen years ago, when I first came to this divine spot, I met the
gentleman in TIjuana named Caesar and went out to lunch with some charming
members of his family.
     I still have the recipe he gave me, slightly stained with garlic oil,
and since it varies a bit, I thought you might be interested.  WIth slight
variations, it is featured all over southern California, and the variations
make very little difference, with one exception, according to my lights.
     As he gave it to me, there was 1 egg, boiled 1 minute, for each head of
romaine, lemon juice instead of vinegar, oil, a dash of Worcestershire sauce,
quite a lot of grated Parmesan cheese, lots of black pepper _and_--instead of
pouring the garlic oil over the croutons--the croutons were sauteed in garlic
oil, drained, and tossed in at the last minute, to retain their crispness.
They are (pg. 5, col. 1--ed.) the best part of it.  The salad is often served
as a first course out here.  (...)
MRS. F. T. ANON
LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA

     SIRS:  As one who has delighted in the famed Caesar salad for more than
a spate of local years, and discussed their manufacture with chefs and
captains all over this southland, I want to take serious issue with Jimmy
Gleason's version which you printed in July.
     First off, you must designate freshly ground pepper and a generous dash
of Worcestershire sauce.  However, where he fell down completely is in
advocating the use of vinegar.  Never!  Caesars, from the first, have always
been made with the juice of lemons, only!
    An important aspect of the dish--and which might mean the difference in
the salad--is the addition of the grated cheese.  Parmesan, or the tangier
Romanello, can be used, but certainly not "several teaspoons."  Toss on a
good saucerful!  SPrinkle it on thickly until the top of the bowl is
delicately yellow with the stuff.
     Some _aficionados_ advocate the tossing in of cut-up anchovies.  Bravos
to this school, too.  I've never entered into one of these "cat-and-dog"
magazine battles before, and I suppose you have been swamped with other
versions.  However, this is my attempt to keep the record straight!
BENN F. REYES
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA
_We're so drooling hungry at this point that we'd eat anybody's salad--even
Caesar's._

    I haven't checked 1948, so there could be more letters.  With such an
extended writeup in GOURMET, it's no wonder the salad was a hit.
    However, how much of the success lies in the guy's name?  Suppose Mrs.
Cardini had called him...Jesus?
CARIDINI CUSTOMER:  Jesus!  What is this salad called?