The 100 Year Old Sandwich You've Never Heard Of
The story of the Benedictine Spread and Sandwich
This sandwich is over 100 years old and you’ve probably never heard of it.
Introducing the Benedictine Sandwich.
Invented by Jennie Carter Benedict, at the turn of the century, in Louisville, Kentucky (my hometown!). Benedict came from a well-off family living in Harrod’s Creek, just outside of Louisville. She built a one room kitchen attached to her parent’s home where she began here career. She rose to fame as the premier caterer in Louisville, lending her expert touch to Derby parties around the city. Soon, Jennie outgrew her small kitchen and expanded to downtown Louisville opening the famous restaurant and tea room “Benedict’s”. Her fame and impact on the culinary fabric of the bluegrass were seen in her weekly column for the local newspaper and with cooking for presidents like Theodore Roosevelt and William Taft.
What began as a small catering operation quickly grew into an empire of both business and philanthropy. Pioneering business clubs for women, nursing schools and advocating for women's suffrage. Benedict’s legacy lives on in her seminal work on southern regional cooking and hospitality, “The Blue Ribbon Cookbook” originally published in 1902. In her words: "I have tried to give the young housekeeper just what she needs, and for more experienced ones, the best that can be had in the culinary art."
Famously, the recipe for the Benedictine was excluded from the original publication. Thankfully, five editions later, we finally have the original recipe for the Benedictine spread, as she would have made it.
Ingredients:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons cucumber juice
1 tablespoon onion juice
1 teaspoon salt
A few grains of cayenne pepper
2 drops of green food coloring
Procedure:
Peel and grate the cucumber, then wrap it in a clean dish towel and squeeze the juice into a dish. Discard the pulp. Peel and grate the onion, then wrap it in a clean dish towel and squeeze the juice into a dish. Discard the pulp.
Combine three tablespoons of the cucumber juice, one tablespoon of the onion juice, cream cheese, salt, pepper and food coloring in a bowl. Mix with a fork until well blended. Serve as a dip or as a sandwich filling.
Here’s my take on this classic: