This recipe is pure serendipity. I tried to recreate it from the memory of taste of what was served to my wife Pat and me in 1968 at the Poor Richard’s Inn® restaurant in Wilmington, DE. It’s too bad that our children, Ray, Jr. and Patty, ages four and three, were too young to enjoy the salad.

Recently, Janet and I tried different recipes from the Internet and we wound up blending two different recipes to hit exactly on the right taste. Who would ever guess that would work? The credit goes to Janet for the recommendation to combine the dressings.

Well, this is one fine salad dressing. Two of my pre-teen grandchildren (Ray’s sons Matthew and Andrew) came back for seconds and then third servings so you know it has to be good. No, there is no candy in this recipe! Deep down inside I am very pleased to bring back something great from the past for the enjoyment of those I love.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups of soybean oil

1 cup of sugar
3/4 cup of rice vinegar
1/4 cup of maple syrup

¼ cup of ketchup

½ cup of sweet onion, chopped
3 tbsp. of soy sauce
1 tbsp. of Dijon mustard
1 clove of garlic, minced

1 tsp. of sea salt

1/8 tsp. of black pepper
1/8 tsp. of cinnamon
1/8 tsp. of ginger
1/8 tsp. of cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp. of ground cloves
1/4 tsp. of grated orange peel

Directions:

Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth, about one to two minutes.

I prefer to make my own croutons for the salad, unseasoned, by simply cubing slices of bread and baking the cubes at 350ºF on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with Pam®. Stir every few minutes until golden brown.

This dressing is best served on chopped celery/Chinese cabbage (Napa) with light crisp croutons and a generous amount of grated white cheddar cheese, which is how it was served to me at Poor Richard’s Inn®. It is great on other salad greens as well.

Makes about a quart of salad dressing.