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Anchovies key in
classic dressings

I maintain a file for recipe requests that I call "Hope Springs Eternal," into which this note was recently placed: "There was a Japanese yakiniku restaurant in the '60s near the intersection of Kapiolani, Kapahulu and Waialae ... where a storage place now sits. ... I'm not sure of the restaurant's name, but it may have been Wako ..."

What Liddy Higa yearns for after all these years is the restaurant's anchovy dressing, or something similar. Requests like this involving long-closed restaurants are a hurdle, even when we know their names, but as Higa was willing to settle for a reasonable facsimile, the old college try was in order.

Anchovies used to be high on my hate list, but now that I am older and wiser, I am enamored of them. One of my favorite meals -- do not be alarmed -- is anchovies and poi. So I was willing to dig in for some trial and error.

Higa did some further research (she asked her sister) and came up with the name of the restaurant (Chaco's) and the owners (the Hashimoto family). Not that I was able to find them, but if YOU know the recipe or the Hashimotos, please get in touch. There's a reward of a new cookbook in it for you.

Anchovies are the basis of two classic dressings, Caesar and Green Goddess. But Higa says the dressing she remembers was a vinaigrette, so I waved my magic wand (google.com), downloaded a bunch and started whisking.

The common ingredients were oil, vinegar, mustard powder and lemon juice, plus anchovies in greater or lesser quantities. Basic Caesars are similar, although the classics also have a raw egg and lots of garlic. The version below adapts what I found. It makes about enough for a dinner's worth of salad for a family of four.

The basic formula is easily modified to add your favorite fresh herbs, a splash of wine -- or maybe some poi.

Anchovy Salad Dressing

3 anchovy fillets, minced
1 teaspoon anchovy oil
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced onion
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon sugar

Whisk ingredients together until oil is emulsified. Or place in covered jar and shake. Makes 1/2 cup.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per 2- tablespoon serving: 150 calories, 15 g total fat, 2 g saturated fat, 10 mg cholesterol, 110 mg sodium, 2 g carbohydrate, no fiber, 2 g sugar, 2 g protein.