Salads seem to be on everyone's menu these days. This is the point in the year where we all try to recover from holiday feasting and resolve to shed a few pounds. Salads work well in that plan, and combined with protein, create a great meal.

It is always fun to try new salad recipes. There are many with very different combinations. One salad that is interesting and uses widely available ingredients is the Cobb salad.

Typically a Cobb salad consists of chopped chicken or turkey, bacon, hard cooked eggs, tomatoes, avocado, cheddar cheese and lettuce.

It is served with crumbled blue or Roquefort cheese and vinaigrette dressing.

Cobb salad is one of the most famous dishes in American culinary history, and it was created on the spur of the moment. It was created at the Brown Derby in Hollywood.

One night in 1937, Bob Cobb, then owner of The Brown Derby, prowled hungrily in his restaurant's kitchen for a snack.

Opening the huge refrigerator, he pulled out this and that: a head of lettuce, an avocado, some romaine, watercress, tomatoes, some cold breast of chicken, a hard-boiled egg, chives, cheese and some old-fashioned French dressing.

He started chopping. He added some crisp bacon. He put it all together and the Cobb salad was born.

Sid Grauman of Grauman's Chinese Theatre fame, who was with Cobb that midnight, loved it.

The next day, he asked for a “Cobb salad.” It was so good and became so popular that it was put on the menu.

Cobb's midnight invention became an overnight sensation with Derby customers. People like movie mogul Jack Warner, regularly dispatched his chauffeur to pick up a carton of the mouth-watering salad.

The Cobb salad and the Caesar salad were the first modern “main course” salads in the United States.

Up until that time most salads were side dishes composed of greens with a simple dressing of salt, vinegar and oil.

You can create your own variation by substituting cooked shrimp or turkey for the chicken. You may also use ham, Canadian bacon or cooked pancetta instead of bacon.

Ingredients like roasted vegetables, nuts or hearts of palm can add new flavors and textures. Substitute any cheese for blue. Cobb salad is a great way to use up leftovers.

Here is the original recipe for the Brown Derby Cobb salad and dressing.

I have also included a recipe for a lighter Cobb salad with a bit of a twist. Enjoy.

This column has been a collaborative effort between Auburn natives chef Max

Hitchcock and his mother, Susan Silverman. They can be reached at Birdscapes@adelphia.net

Original Brown Derby Cobb Salad

1/2 head lettuce, about 4 cups

1 bunch watercress

1 small bunch chicory, about 2 1/2 cups

1/2 head romaine, about 2 1/2 cups

2 medium peeled tomatoes

6 strips of crisp bacon

2 breasts of boiled chicken

3 hard cooked eggs

1 avocado

1/2 cup crumbled Roquefort cheese

2 tablespoons chopped chives

1 cup (approximately) Original Cobb Salad Dressing

Cut lettuce, half the watercress, chicory and romaine in fine pieces and arrange in a large salad bowl. Cut tomatoes, bacon, chicken, eggs and avocado in small pieces and arrange, along with the crumbled Roquefort cheese, in strips on the greens.

Sprinkle finely cut chives over the Cobb salad and garnish with the remaining watercress.

Just before serving mix the salad with the Cobb salad dressing.

Orange-Soy Vinaigrette

Yields 1 1/3 cup

1/2 cup orange juice

1/2 cup pineapple juice

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon dark sesame oil

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon lemon pepper

Combine all ingredients in a jar; cover tightly and shake vigorously.

Original Cobb Salad Dressing

Makes 1 1/2 cups

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 teaspoons salt

3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon dry English mustard

1 small clove garlic, finely minced

1/4 cup full-flavored olive oil

3/4 cup salad oil

Blend all ingredients together, except oils. Add olive and salad oils. Mix well.

Blend well again before mixing with salad.

Note from the Brown Derby: “The water is optional, depending upon the degree of oiliness desired in the dressing.”

Caribbean Cobb Salad

Makes 4 servings

4 cups torn romaine lettuce

1 pound medium shrimp, cooked and peeled

1 cup cubed peeled papaya

1 cup cubed fresh pineapple

1/2 cup chopped peeled avocado

1/2 cup chopped red or green bell pepper

1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese

Cup Orange-Soy Vinaigrette

1/4 cup chopped unsalted cashews, toasted

Arrange lettuce on a serving platter.

Spoon the shrimp down center of platter; arrange papaya, pineapple, avocado, bell pepper, black beans and cheese in rows on either side of shrimp.

Drizzle Orange-Soy Vinaigrette over salad.

Sprinkle with cashews.

- From “Cooking Light” Magazine