Salads and Salad Dressings

Green Salads

Lettuce, cress, endive, and similar greens intended for use as salads should be carefully washed in very cold water, wrapped in a cloth, and placed in the ice-box for several hours before serving. When ready to dress and serve the salad, take it from the ice-box, wipe each leaf on a clean dry cloth, place the leaves in a salad-bowl, and pour French Dressing over the leaves. With a salad-fork and spoon toss the leaves about in the bowl until each leaf is well coated with the dressing.

Vegetable Salads

Tomatoes, cucumbers, Spanish onions, celery, and cabbage are served uncooked as salads, and should be peeled, sliced, chopped, or shredded, and thoroughly chilled before using. French Dressing is generally used with these salads, sometimes with the addition of a little Mayonnaise placed on the top of each portion. For cabbage, Boiled Dressing is commonly used.

Asparagus, beets, cauliflower, beans, peas, potatoes, etc., should be boiled and allowed to cool, and then chilled in the ice-box before being used in salads. They are generally served with a little French Dressing to moisten the vegetable, and then Mayonnaise is placed on each portion. Boiled Dressing is commonly used for potato salad.

Two or more vegetables may be used together, and cooked and uncooked vegetables are often combined.

Fruit Salads

Apples, cherries, pineapples, oranges, grapefruit, melons, bananas, etc., when used for salads should be prepared by peeling, removing stones or cores, and slicing or cutting into small cubes or dice, depending upon the kind of fruit. These salads are ordinarily served with French Dressing, sometimes with the addition of Mayonnaise, and whipped cream in equal parts. Combinations of fruits are often served, and occasionally fruit and uncooked vegetables are combined. Apples, celery, and nuts are frequently served together; and oranges and celery are sometimes combined. A bed of lettuce leaves is nearly always used for fruit salads.

Meat and Fish Salads

Cold cooked fowl of any kind, and cold roast veal, pork, or ham, when used for salads, should be cut or chopped into small pieces or cubes. Chopped celery should be added to the meat in the proportion of one part celery to two parts meat; and after moistening with French Dressing, the meat and celery should be thoroughly mixed with Mayonnaise. Sweetbreads that have been parboiled may be used in combination with any of the above-mentioned meats. Cold cooked fish or canned fish intended for a salad should be shredded with two forks, and then used in the same way as meat for a salad. Nuts, hard-boiled egg, capers, onion, pickles, olives, pimentos, parsley, etc., may be added in finely chopped form to any kind of meat or fish salad.

Tomato-Jelly Salad

Ingredients

1 cup tomato juice
1 teaspoon chopped parsley
1 teaspoon onion juice
½ teaspoon salt
Pepper
½ tablespoon granulated gelatine

Utensils

Bowl
Tablespoon
Saucepan
Vegetable-knife
Small cups or moulds

Directions

Soak the gelatine in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of cold water for twenty minutes.
Put all the other materials in a saucepan, set over the fire, and bring to a boil.
Take the saucepan from the fire, add the gelatine, and stir until the gelatine dissolves.
Pour into small cups or moulds, and set in a cool place to stiffen.

Remarks

The jelly should be prepared six or eight hours before serving time, and set in the ice-box to chill. When ready to serve, wrap a cloth wrung out of very hot water around each cup or mould, and let the jelly slip out of the mould onto a lettuce leaf.

Serve with a teaspoon of French Dressing poured over each portion, and a tablespoon of Mayonnaise put on the top. A few slices of cucumber, a piece of hard-boiled egg, or a few olives, capers, etc., may be used with this salad.

French Dressing

Ingredients

½ teaspoon salt
Few grains cayenne
⅛ teaspoon white pepper
⅛ teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons vinegar
6 tablespoons olive-oil

Utensils

Bowl or cup
Silver fork

Directions

Put all the dry materials in a bowl or cup, and slowly add the vinegar, then the oil, stirring constantly with a silver fork. Beat with the fork for two or three minutes.

Remarks

Part of the vinegar used may be taragon, if desired.

A piece of ice the size of a marble may, with good results, be put in the cup while mixing the dressing; in any case, the oil should be very cold.

Any of the following may be added to the dressing, according to individual taste:

¼ teaspoon mustard
½ teaspoon onion juice
⅛ teaspoon finely chopped parsley
1 teaspoon chopped pimento
2 chopped olives
1 small pickle—chopped
½ hard-boiled egg—chopped.

If any of the dressing is left over, it should be put in the ice-box, and then beaten again with a fork before using.

Mayonnaise

Ingredients

1 egg—yolk only
½ teaspoon salt
Few grains cayenne
¼ teaspoon mustard
¼ teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 cup oil

Utensils

Small bowl
Cup
Silver fork

Directions

Put the salt, cayenne, mustard, and paprika in a bowl.
Add the egg-yolk, and mix thoroughly with a fork.
Add one teaspoon of the vinegar, and mix.
Add part of the oil, drop by drop, beating with the fork until the mixture is so thick that it is difficult to stir it.
Stir in a little more of the vinegar, until the mixture is again thin enough to beat.
Add more oil, drop by drop, and then in larger amounts, beating constantly.
Alternately beat in the remaining oil and vinegar, until all is used.

Remarks

The egg, oil, and bowl should be very cold—this is one of the secrets of success.

Should the dressing curdle while mixing, beat another egg-yolk in a clean bowl, and add the curdled dressing to it in the smallest possible amounts, beating constantly with a fork.

Mayonnaise may be kept for several days in the ice-box if tightly covered in a small fruit jar.

Boiled Dressing

Ingredients

1 teaspoon dry mustard
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon paprika
2 eggs—yolks only
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons vinegar
½ cup thick cream
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Utensils

Bowl
Fork
Small saucepan
Lemon-squeezer
Double-boiler
Dover beater

Directions

Mix the mustard, salt, and paprika in a bowl.
Add the egg-yolks, and beat with a fork.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan, and add it slowly while stirring the egg-yolks.
Add the vinegar and lemon juice slowly while stirring, and then put the mixture in the double-boiler.
Set the boiler over the fire and cook, stirring constantly, until the dressing is thick like custard.
Take the boiler from the fire, and at once pour the dressing back into the bowl.
When the dressing is cool and ready to serve, whip the cream with a dover beater and stir it into the dressing.

Remarks

This dressing will keep several days in the ice-box.

Vegetables

The Plain Sailing Cook Book

Pastry

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BY

Book Cover The Plain Sailing Cook Book Beige Minimalistic Cookbook Digital Notebook Cover (3D) 2.png

Susanna Shanklin Browne

SOURCE

Public Domain

Salads and Salad Dressings

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