Cobb Salad

Nobody knows for sure who inspired the name
for the Brown Derby restaurant, but
we have chosen to credit Wilson Mizner, a
Hollywood screenwriter who once said
"If you know anything about food,
you can sell it out of a hat."

One night in 1937, Bob Cobb, the president of the Brown Derby restaurant chain, was rooting around in the restaurant kitchen looking for something to eat. He pulled a random selection of salad greens out of the fridge and added some bacon and a mélange of other ingredients. He tossed it all together with some of the restaurant's French dressing, and the Cobb salad was born—a colorful tumble of chicken, bacon, avocado, egg, blue cheese, tomato, and greens.

The first Brown Derby restaurant—originally called the Little Hat—was built in 1926 on Wilshire Boulevard, with a neon sign inviting people to "Eat in the Hat." Because this was a boom time in Hollywood, the Brown Derby soon spawned four more branches (none hat-shaped). The most famous one opened in 1929 in a building commissioned by Cecil B. DeMille, and quickly became the celebrity hangout of Hollywood's golden age—complete with a telephone at each booth so that the agents and stars could remain in constant contact.

Soon after its debut, the Cobb salad became a signature dish of the chain. Sadly, there are no Brown Derby restaurants left (the one remaining branch, in Los Feliz, is a nightclub now), but the rest of the nation has claimed the Cobb for its own. What follows is the original version (with one or two tweaks), but it's a recipe that invites improvisation, so go ahead—have fun with it.

Classic Cobb Salad

Makes 6 servings
These days, a restaurant Cobb salad is usually presented with the ingredients finely diced and arranged in neat strips over a bed of chopped lettuce. Bob Cobb's original presentation was much more casual, which we prefer. We have, however, tinkered with his recipe, simplifying the salad greens and adjusting the dressing to more modern (less bland) tastes.

Dressing
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
3/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 clove garlic, minced

Salad
7 cups chopped or shredded crisp lettuce (such as iceberg or romaine)
5 cups chopped or shredded bitter greens (such as watercress and/or chicory)
2 medium tomatoes, sliced, or 3 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
3/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked and shredded
1 Hass avocado, sliced
3 hard-boiled eggs, cubed
6 slices bacon, cooked until crisp, then broken into pieces
1/2 cup crumbled Roquefort cheese
2 tablespoons minced chives

1. Make the dressing: In a screw-top jar, combine all the ingredients and shake well.
2. Assemble the salads: For each individual salad, make a bed of the greens on a large plate. Arrange the tomatoes, chicken, avocado, eggs, bacon, and cheese in separate groups over the greens. Sprinkle with the chives.
3. Just before serving, drizzle some of the dressing over each salad.

Mexican Cobb Salad: Add a bunch of chopped cilantro to the salad greens. Use Monterey Jack or jalapeño jack instead of Roquefort. Make the dressing with fresh lime juice instead of vinegar, and 1 teaspoon cumin. (For more flavor, toast the cumin briefly in a small ungreased skillet.)

[This article first appeared in the September/October 2006 issue of Hallmark magazine.]