Mimi’s Recipe Box: Misbehavin’ Waldorf Salad

Mimi’s Misbehavin’ Waldorf Salad

Back in the 80s, when we all had tiny TVs and subscribed to cable, I remember watching “Ain’t Misbehavin’” on NBC. I wasn’t necessarily a big fan of musicals, but this one caught my eye.

It’s a revue of the music of Fats Waller, the influential American jazz pianist, composer, and singer. He was a giant of the Harlem stride piano style and the swing era, and he wrote timeless standards like "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "Honeysuckle Rose.” The TV special was my first introduction to his music, and I especially enjoyed his song “Lounging at the Waldorf.”

For some reason, I was thinking about the song this morning, because I had decided to make a Waldorf salad. And yes, the recipe for the salad was created by the maître d’hôtel at the Waldorf-Astoria, the legendary luxury New York hotel. It originally consisted of only three ingredients: apples, celery and mayonnaise, but current recipes often include other ingredients, like nuts and grapes.

I’ve developed my own version of this. It calls for Granny Smith apples, but you can pick another type if you prefer. Give it a try. It’s really quite healthy, despite all the mayo!

Ingredients

1 cup mayonnaise (you can use the lower fat mayo)

1 t. grated lemon peel and 1 t. lemon juice

6 Granny Smith apples, unpeeled, cored, cut in 1/2” pieces

1 1/2 c. Chopped celery

1 1/2 c. Thinly sliced radishes

3/4 c. Dried cranberries

1/2 c. Finely chopped red onion 

1 1/2 c. Toasted, chopped pecans

Large lettuce leaves, washed and patted dry, such as Romaine, Radicchio, or Leaf Lettuce

Salt and pepper

Instructions

In a small bowl, mix mayonnaise, lemon peel, and lemon juice. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix apples, celery, radishes, cranberries, onion, and pecans. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add the mayo mixture to the apple mixture and mix gently.

Serve on top of whole lettuce leaves.