RANCH DRESSING - IT CAME IN FROM THE COLD
The world may have come close to a culinary catastrophe on June 6, 1951. According to the Anchorage Times, local plumber “Steve” Henson was buried up to his chest by a cave-in while working at the Fifth Avenue Trailer Courts. The trailer park owner and local firemen dug him out. Uninjured, he went back to work repairing a broken water line.
It was a close call! Without Kenneth “Steve”Henson there wouldn’t be any ranch dressing to smear on your pizza or pour on your French fries.
A lot of foodies think Henson’s famous recipe originated in California. Nope, it was a big hit in the Klondike when he was a plumbing contractor in the Alaskan bush. Henson was born in 1918 in Thayer, Nebraska, a wide spot in the road three blocks wide and two blocks long, a perfect boot camp for life in remote places. Spotting opportunity in an even lonelier location, the 31-year-old Henson and his wife, Gayle, moved to the Alaska Territory in 1949. Still a decade away from statehood with a population of less than 120,000, (Anchorage’s elementary school, 1949, below) and winter temperatures frequently plummeting to minus 70, plumbers were scarce and frozen pipes weren’t.
Hoping to keep his work crews at isolated job sites, if not happy, at least on the payroll, he tried to liven up their meals. His most successful panty save was mayo and buttermilk mixed with a handful of dried herbs. After three years of digging through permafrost Steve cashed out and moved to California, rich enough to retire at the ripe old age of 35. Purchasing a ranch in picturesque San Marcos Pass, he christened it Hidden Valley, (below) opened it up to paying guests and discovered his bush concoction was as popular in chic Santa Barbara County as it had been in Poker Creek.
Neighbor and fellow restaurateur, Audrey Ovington, was wowed by the dressing and became his first commercial customer, serving it at her Cold Spring Tavern. The Tavern, already a legend and a California landmark, started out as a stagecoach stop a hundred miles north of Los Angeles way back in 1865. It underwent a re-branding by the Ovingtons, the mother-daughter team of Audrey and Adalaide, into a world-famous rustic and romantic get-away. (Below)
Inspired by his initial success, in 1957 Henson began selling packets of dry mix through the mail for 75 cents. And the rest, as they say, is history. His second retirement at 54 came 15 years later in 1972. (Steve and Gayle, happily retired, below) He moved to Sparks, Nevada, eventually selling his Hidden Valley recipe for $8 million to an unlikely company, bleach giant, Clorox.
Grocery biggies, Kraft and General Foods noticed, ordering up seasoning packets labeled “ranch style,” just in time to both get sued for copyright infringement by the Texas manufacturer of canned “ranch style beans.” Owned today by another food giant, ConAgra, the bean guy won. The court, however, failed to limit others from slapping “ranch style” on chips, dips, spreads and sprinkles in endless varieties. All this ranchifying has added up to more than two billion (with a B) in annual sales. Six decades later Hidden Valley is still the one to beat. Not only the best selling ranch dressing, it’s the number one salad dressing, period. The burning question now? Can ranch overtake ketchup? The jury is still out.
Standard ranch morphs into a popular Southwest Ranch dip or dressing with add-ins like chili powder and cilantro. Pair it with a big batch of Cold Spring Tavern Chili with the recipe below. An easier cheater version is included in case you’re fresh out of buffalo. Will it be as good as the Tavern’s original? Probably not, but you’ll still be good to go most places east of the Mississippi.
SOUTHWEST RANCH SEASONING
1Tbls. buttermilk powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. dry parsley or cilantro
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. dill weed
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/8 to 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (or to taste)
Yield: Approx. 2 Tbls.
Dressing or Dip
1/2 cup sour cream
1Tbls. lemon juice or white vinegar
2 Tbls Rotel tomatoes
Diced jalapeños to taste (optional)
Splash of milk for desired consistency
Blend sour cream mixture until smooth. Stir in all dry seasoning mix for spicy, 1 Tbls. for mild.
COLD SPRING TAVERN CHILI FOR A CROWD
Original recipe and cheater directions for home cooks
24 oz. dry black beans (1-1/2 lbs dry or 2-1/2 cans black beans, drained )
40 oz. meat (2-1/2 lbs)*(Chopped or ground beef, ground turkey, pork or chicken)
24 oz. fresh pasilla chiles (three 2-oz pkgs. dried chilies)
24 oz. onions (2 large onions, diced)
12 oz. diced tomatoes (2 medium fresh or approx 1 can of diced)
3 oz. chili powder (6 Tbls. or to taste)
2 oz. cumin seed (6-3/4 tsp. ground cumin)
Salt, pepper to taste
For dry beans, cook according to package directions. For canned beans, drain and rinse and reserve.For dry pasilla chilies, soak according to package directions and dice fresh tomatoes
Brown meat and reserve. In same pot, saute the onions and chilies until the onions are transparent, adding more oil if necessary.
Combine the beans, meat, onions and chili; add tomatoes. Add seasonings, salt and pepper to taste and water for preferred consistency. Simmer one hour, covered.
*Cold Spring is famous for dishes prepared with game as is their chili. Substitute chopped or ground meat of choice