Did you ever wonder how Thousand Island dressing got its name? I didn’t either. All I cared about was how much of the salmon-coloured creamy concoction with tiny bits of dill pickle I could ladle on to my garden salad without tormenting my guilty conscience and the weighing scale too much. But a day trip to the Thousand Islands and the tour guide’s tale about the man who was responsible for introducing this particular salad dressing to the world piqued more than just my appetite.

Located on the Saint Lawrence River, this beautiful collection of more than one thousand tiny islands was known to the Native Peoples as Manitoana or the “Garden of the Great Spirit.” Today, most of these small bits of land are privately owned by individuals and families who have built their summer homes on them. Boats are needed to reach the mainland and tourists from New York and Ontario must hop on to cruise boats to take a peek at these floating estates.

One of these islands was known as Heart Island. At the turn of the 20th century Heart Island was purchased by George Boldt, the millionaire proprietor of the world famous Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. Boldt hired a crew of 300 workers to build a 120-room castle on the island; the grandiose structure was to be a display of his love for his wife, Louise Kehrer Boldt. But in 1904, while construction was still underway, Louise suddenly took ill and died. Devastated, George immediately ceased work on Boldt Castle and never returned to the island.

There are at least a thousand ways to enjoy Thousand Island dressing

Heartbroken George Boldt died in 1916. For many decades the half-finished structure, a monument of his love, stood exposed to the weather and vandals. Then in 1977 the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority acquired the island for one dollar, with the agreement that all revenues obtained from the castle operation would be applied towards restoration and the island would be preserved for future generations. The castle and the island are now open for visits by members of the public.

George Charles Boldt was a self-made millionaire. Born in Prussia in 1851, he arrived in America at age 13 and got his first job as a kitchen worker in New York. At age 25 he was hired by William Kehrer — his future father-in-law — to manage the dining room of Philadelphia’s most exclusive gentlemen’s club, The Philadelphia Club. The connections he made here among the city’s elite helped him to get both finance and guests for his first hotel, the Bellevue. Two decades later he expanded the Bellevue and turned it into the largest hotel that Philadelphia had ever seen — the 1,090-room Bellevue-Stratford Hotel (now known as Hyatt at the Bellevue).

Among Boldt’s guests, who comprised of the city’s new super-rich class, were the Astors and the Vanderbilts. When William Waldorf Astor built the Waldorf Hotel in New York City, Boldt was its founding proprietor. And when John Jacob Astor IV built the adjoining Astoria Hotel, Boldt mediated between the feuding millionaire cousins by leasing the Astoria himself. Under George’s management the two buildings were merged into one and became known as the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.

It was at the Waldorf-Astoria that Boldt first popularised Thousand Island salad dressing when he instructed the maоtre d’, Oscar Tschirky, to include it on the menu. The dressing was named in honour of the beautiful area where it was first prepared in the early 20th century by a fishing guide’s wife, Sophie Lalonde, who mixed together mayonnaise, ketchup, and vinegar with onion, dill pickle, garlic, and salt.

Boldt made a significant contribution to the development of the urban hotel as a civic social centre and luxury destination. He was also a trustee of Cornell University. Boldt had told employees at his hotels that his door was always open to them if they were having monetary problems. After his death it was revealed that Boldt had put at least 75 young men through college. His daughter donated 50,000 dollars to Cornell for the construction of Boldt Tower to honour her father’s memory, while his son established a scholarship programme there bearing his father’s name.

CUCUMBER CANAPES

Crunchy and hydrating, this simple appetiser has only three ingredients and takes less than 10 minutes to put together.

INGREDIENTS

Cucumbers
Thousand Island dressing
Finely chopped mint for garnish

Method

Cut cucumbers into about one-inch thick slices. Make a little well in the cucumber pieces using a small teaspoon. This will remove some of the seed area and leave a nice little hollow to deposit some delicious thousand island dressing. Fill each little hollow with a quarter teaspoon of dressing, add mint garnish and serve.

SHELL PASTA SALAD

Summer salads don’t get simpler than this. Perfect for picnics, it can be served cold or at room temperature.

INGREDIENTS

1 red pepper, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 red onion, diced
5 spring onions, thinly sliced
2 carrots, grated
420 g canned corn, drained
330 ml Thousand Island dressing
500 g shells pasta shapes
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Cook pasta according to package instructions. Rinse through with cold water when draining to stop cooking process. Add pasta to a large bowl along with prepared vegetables, stir through the dressing. Add salt and pepper to taste.

THOUSAND ISLAND CHICKEN

This easy-peasy chicken recipe is good anytime. Serve with steamed rice and stir-fried vegetables to make a complete meal.

INGREDIENTS

4 chicken breasts with skin
1 8-ounce bottle of Thousand Island dressing Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and pat dry the chicken breasts. Arrange in a shallow baking dish and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Pour dressing evenly over the top of chicken breasts. Bake uncovered for about 40 minutes, until the chicken is tender and juices run clear.

TACO SALAD

Simply delicious and deliciously simple to make, this Tex-Mex-inspired salad is sure to be a hit.

INGREDIENTS

Ѕ kg ground beef, browned and drained
1 head lettuce, chopped
3 or 4 tomatoes, diced
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 can dark kidney beans, drained and rinse
6 oz sharp Cheddar cheese
1 tender avocado, diced
1/2 lb Doritos
Olives
Hot sauce to taste
1/2 to 3/4 cup Thousand Island dressing

Method

Combine all the ingredients and serve.

Published in Dawn, EOS, May 28th, 2017