the friday feed: anchovies

The other day late in the afternoon, I hit a brick wall and couldn't think of anything that sounded good to fix for dinner. Todd suggested a few things - chili, tacos, hamburgers - but those weren't doing it for me. He mentioned taco salad, too, but no. Then he asked, "Do you want me to grill steaks? I wasn't in the mood for just steak but the taco salad got me thinking and so "What do you think about a steak salad?" It would have the steak he wanted and the salad element I wanted and Voila! The idea had been born.

What kind of dressing to put on the salad? Something to complement the steak but not overwhelm the lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes. And for whatever reason, I thought about my mom's Green Goddess dressing recipe. It's an old recipe and as a kid, I loved it. Its taste is bold, seasoned with garlic, Worcestershire, and anchovy paste, but the sour cream and mayonnaise tone down those flavors. It would be perfect for our steak salad dinner.

Anchovies. From that moment Mom put a little anchovy paste on my finger to let me taste it, I was hooked. I think she thought she would get a "Ewwww. Yuck!" reaction. Nope. I loved it.

When Todd and I celebrated our 30th anniversary, we took a trip to Italy. One of our stops was in Lerici, a lovely town on the Gulf of Poets. For our first dinner we ordered an appetizer plate with a variety of nibbles, one of them being fresh anchovies straight from Lerici's fishing docks. Ohmygosh. Heaven. You've heard of farm to table. This was sea to table. One day we hiked in the Cinque Terre, stopped for lunch, and I ordered pasta with anchovies. I was hooked! When we got home, I went to the local fish store, Foremost Seafood, and asked if they could get fresh anchovies. Yes, they could but it would be very expensive. I don't eat anchovies that often, but every time I do, that taste takes me back to those lovely seaside villages.

Despised by many,

Belov'd by a select few

Anchovy, you're mine.