Stan Horwitz said...

> Andy, here's how I make that 2nd Avenue Deli cucumber salad that I
> mentioned when we ate lunch at the Reading Terminal farmers market last
> Sunday.


Stan,

Thanks for remembering. BTW folks, at the RTM (acronym) Stan's cup of
cucumber salad had some red bell pepper in it, mine was plainer!

They didn't have carrot in their version either! Did the 2nd Avenue Deli
have red bell pepper?

I'm going to have to have a word or a few with those cute Amish girls next
time. I'm gonna get to the bottom of this, hopefully. Just the facts,
girls! Are you married?

I should probably also swing by Chocolate by Mueller and put in a few good
words for myself to the "could be my granddaughters" babes. Ask for some
recipes and that kinda stuff!


> Unfortunately, I can't find my copy of the 2nd Avenue Deli cookbook.
> Fortunately, the recipe's very easy and I am pretty sure I remember it.
> If you want the official recipe, you can buy the 2nd Ave. Deli cookbook
> on amazon.com. I just checked and it is in stock.
>
> Anyway, slice four large kirby cucumbers (I prefer regular cukes
> though). Slice them as thin as you can. Slice a small or medium size
> onion and shred one carrot (or finely dice it). I use a $20 vegetable
> slicer; its a poor man's mandolin, but it works fine.
>
> Then I put the cucumber, carrot, and onion in a large zip lock bag and
> mix them up so the onion and sliced cucumbers are evenly distributed.
> The original recipe says to add in half a teaspoon of white pepper, but
> I don't like that stuff (it has no flavor), so I use a bit of regular
> ground pepper instead. Then I add in one cup of Splenda (the recipe
> calls for regular sugar). Next, goes in four cups of Heinz white
> vinegar. Close the bag tightly and mix up the ingredients thoroughly by
> shaking the bag vigorously.



> Note that I am not sure about the amounts of sweetener and vinegar. The
> idea with the vinegar is to have enough to cover the sliced vegies, but
> not drench them. I would start with half a cup of sweetener and just see
> how it looks after you add in everything else.
>
> Let this sit in your refrigerator over night so the flavors have time to
> blend and the cucumbers get slightly pickled. I also give the bag a
> rigorous shaking two or three times at least an hour apart, in order to
> make sure all the sweetener and vinegar get evenly distributed.
>
> I made a big batch of this salad for my sister's engagement party a few
> years ago. It turned out fantastic and every bit of it was eaten. I also
> received lots of compliments on it.
>
> There's also a health salad recipe in the same cookbook, which is really
> the same as the cucumber salad recipe, except you substitute one head of
> shredded cabbage. It is very good and I also made a big bowl of that for
> my sister's engagement party and it was a big hit. The 2nd Avenue Deli
> serves this health salad free at their deli, which is located in
> Manhattan on 33rd Street just west of 3rd Avenue.


Stan, a Jack of all trades!

Like my boss used to tell me, "Andy, you do good work. Not much of it but
you do good work!" I told him once I was going on break and he said "you
got a break when you got the job, get back to work."

Keep my day job! I know!

I'm looking forward to making your recipe. I also have Margaret's recipe
which was delicious, too!

I've never been to the 2nd Ave. Deli, either locations. Did the recipe
change from the old to the new place? Just out of curiosity.

Thanks for the recipe and the photographs!

Best,

Andy