I know you are either too young to remember or never even heard of Spero's Restaurant in Texarkana, Ar, but they had a salad dressing to die for. Gary would go there just to put the dressing on Captain's Wafers and eat that until he ran out of crackers in the little plastic baskets. Who cared what food they served! He wanted the appetizer! ha Today I opened the Texarkana Gazette to see the Holiday Cookbook (a yearly thing they publish right before the holidays). The first recipe I see is for Spero's Dressing! That perked my day up! The restaurant has long closed so I guess now the recipe can be shared. It is very close to our favorite dressing at Park Place Restaurant. I thought I would share it with you. Beware tho - if you make it and start eating it with captain's wafer crackers, it is VERY addicting. Who cares about using it on a salad! That might be too nutritious! ha
Spero's Dressing
1 large jar of mayonnaise
1 small onion
2 boiled eggs
1 T paprika
1 T garlic powder
Place all ingredients in a blender and puree to desired consistency.
Now, does anyone have Park Place Restaurant's salad dressing recipe! ha
Have a Blessed day!
How to Make a Bow
15 hours ago
I can vividly remember eating captain's wafers & dressing and shrimp cocktail at spero's. haven't thought about that in years!
ReplyDeleteMy brother & I used to eat the dressing on Captains Wafers also. My mom said she was always afraid they would come & take it off our table. We almost always ate there on Friday evenings. The folks that owned the restaurant were friends of our family. I think some of them went to school together. I have tried duplicating that dressing recipe ALL of my adult life. What I ended up with was glorified 1000 Island or a creamy galicky something. Both were very good, but not Spero's!
ReplyDeleteMy aunt(82yrs. old)has been in touch with one of the family members even tho' both have relocated several times. She suggested I call Carolyn Pappas Duncan to see if she could give me the recipe. I was telling my brother's girlfriend about this dressing one day as we were talking on the phone. She googled it & viola!!! There it was on your web site! Now why didn't I think of that?! I've made it many times & it doesn't last too long! Thank you, thank you, for posting this. It sure brings back lots of great memories. It just doesn't get any better than that! I moved back to Texarkana in 1984 (w/my 2 daughters). We lived in the old Shipp (my grandparents)homeplace off of Hwy 82 on FM RD 2148 right next to Rawleigh Farren who owned Raleigh Burgers. I worked for my Uncle Earl & Aunt Emily Sabo @ their store in Nash. Thank you for letting me share my memories. It sure made my mouth water just thinking about Spero's dressing. Think I'll make a batch tomorrow. Blessings
I almost forgot..we ALWAYS got a piece of ooey gooey goodness that they kept in the glass case where the cash register was. It was called baklava...OH MY was it forever good. Do any of you remember that? I've never tasted any that can begin to compare!
ReplyDeleteI remember my Great Grandfather's resturant very well, still miss him terribly a lot, wonderful man and a lot of integrity.
ReplyDeleteI was so excited to find this recipe! I made it Friday night and have to say I was just a teeny bit disappointed. While it was good...it wasn't quite right. Something was wrong. (I used fresh garlic instead of powdered. Everything else was as in the recipe.) Ate it anyway. But, lo! The next day the flavors had apparently had a party in the fridge overnight - and it was SPOT ON! Absolutely perfect! I went right out and bought Captain's Wafers - and some big black olives for the top of my salad - and immediately took a 45-year trip back in time. Thanks for sharing this. I will have this wonderful salad dressing in my fridge forever.
ReplyDeleteI remember the dressing. But I was told he ordered special Greek fish and the oil that went into the salad dressing. That's the secret ingredient that is being left out
ReplyDeleteI have the original receipt that was made. The original recipe makes a HUGE amount. Had a cafeteria lady adjust the measurements for a household batch..WONDERFUL...
ReplyDeleteI would love to have your version, as well as the original. Thanks!
DeleteI would love to have your version, as well as the original. Thanks!
DeleteI would love to have your version, as well as the original. Thanks!
DeleteDid anyone ever post the original recipe?
DeleteYes it would be nice to make a smaller batch!
ReplyDeleteWell I would think you could 1/2 everything for a smaller version. I will try and let you know if it works.
ReplyDeleteAs all attested, the dressing was the bomb! I also loved the fried oysters! Would love to have that recipe, too. My father took me every Friday and he ate the Tbone, I devoured the oysters...both loved the salads!
ReplyDelete