Loving Luby's...Waldorf Salad


This "Loving Luby's" post will mark the last one in my little series.    Recipes on the weekends was just a phase I went through and have now emerged from, my friends.  Luby's was kind enough to send me their "Luby's Recipes & Memories: A Collection of Our Favorite Dishes & Heartwarming Stories" after I wrote a song in tribute to their lovely cafeteria ladies that can be found under the "Today, We Salute You" tab.  For the past 4 or so Saturdays, I have featured recipes from the book.  Some of you have said in the past that you have never heard of Luby's.  It is a cafeteria chain but it features really great food.  I know sometimes when the word "cafeteria" is mentioned, people think of unrecognizable stuff passed off as food.  Luby's is definitely different.  The cookbook is really great and I encourage you to buy one of your own if you are a fan of really good, classic, not-so-difficult-to-prepare recipes and inspiring stories!  You can find it here on the Luby's website. 

Today I decided to feature the Waldorf Salad we made recently.  Whenever I heard someone talking about Waldorf Salad growing up, I assumed they were related to the queen.  It just sounds so fancy.  If you are a kid and you take Waldorf Salad in your lunch, a limo is probably picking you up from school.  I always liked feeling fancy when I was little.  I would often imitate my grandmother by sipping coffee (Coke!) ever so slowly with a raised pinky finger while offering a kind laugh at the right intervals about this and that.  I imagine I was also smoking a fake cigarette (no one in my family smoked, I just liked acting like I did) while dressed in one of her flowing, way-too-big-for-me nightgowns.  I am sure if I was eating Waldorf Salad during my little charade, I would have pretended I had maids and butlers.  Because everyone should feel like royalty from time to time, I am sharing this recipe with you.  Everyone really liked it in my family.  It was very refreshing and made enough to be able to enjoy it as a part of dinner and lunch.

Andy Blythe with Blythe Observations told me about Waldorf Salad being mentioned in a famous episode of Fawlty Towers.  I found it on YouTube and have been cracking up!  You can see why I felt so fancy eating it!  Don't pay attention to the Arabic subtitles, unless you speak Arabic, of course.


LUBY'S WALDORF SALAD
 
 Waldorf Salad, please accept my apologies for sticking
you in a plastic container.  You deserve only the finest crystal. 
I willforever regret this mistake.
 2 cups canned pineapple tidbits, drained

1 cup chopped celery


1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup whipping cream

1 TBS powdered sugar

1 drop vanilla extract

1 TBS chopped walnuts


 In a large bowl, combine apples, pineapple, celery and mayonnaise. Toss lightly to coat evenly. In a small chilled bowl using chilled beaters (I didn't chill anything), beat whipping cream at high speed on electric mixer just until stiff peaks form. Do not overbeat. Blend in sugar and vanilla. Fold into apple mixture. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Garnish with walnuts. Makes 9 servings. (Tip: Two cups cubed Granny Smith apples may be substituted for 2 cups of the Winesap apples. Pecans may be substituted for walnuts.)
If you missed the story yesterday about my friend with Multiple Sclerosis and the harsh ways we can sometimes judge each other, please click here.  Her story has already been shared 39 times on Facebook since yesterday afternoon.  Thank you!