St. Patrick's Day Treat - Watergate Salad

Happy St. Patrick's Day!! 

St. Patrick's Day is always associated with the color green.  I remember when I was a kid in 2nd grade and I forgot to wear green to school on St. Patrick's Day - that meant the kids all got to pinch me - I remembered when I was in 3rd grade !! Ouch!!

A few years ago, I made green Lucky Charm Cupcakes for my co-workers.  I was thinking of a green food to make for today and I remembered .... last weekend, I went to The Blue Willow Inn and they serve a delicious Watergate Salad on their salad bar.  It is soooo good and I thought - hey, that is green, I will make that to honor this special holiday.

What?  You've never had Watergate Salad.  How did it get its strange name, you ask?  Well....

In 1975, just 3 years after the famous Nixon Watergate Scandal, Kraft came out with a new product called "Instant Pistachio Pudding".  As Kraft generally does, they put a recipe on the box and called it "Pistachio Pineapple Delight". 

In 1976, The Denver Post, in Empire Magazine, published a recipe that was supposedly created by the sous chef of the Watergate Hotel.  Guess what?  Same recipe as Kraft's Pistachio Pineapple Delight.  Hmmm - sounds a bit nutty, right?

I guess people thought "Watergate Salad" sounded more interesting to eat than "Pistachio Pineapple Delight" (plus it is easier to spell). 

Still...this is know by other names as well.  You may have heard it referred to as:
The Green Stuff
Green Fluff
Pistachio Delight
Green Goop
Golden Gate Salad

Watergate Salad

Recipe Source: Blue Willow Inn
Preparation Time: 1 minutes
Cook Time: 1 minutes
Servings: 1

Ingredients:

1 3-ounce package instant pistachio pudding
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1 20-ounce can crushed pineapple, do not drain
1 9-ounce package Cool Whip
1/3 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Mix all pudding, marshmallows and crushed pineapple
2. Fold in Cool Whip 
3. Refrigerate at least 3 hours and serve cold