Civic League Cook Book Part 6

Salads

"How in the name of thrift does he rake this together?"--Shakespeare.

SALAD DRESSING.--One cup sugar, one tablespoonful salt, pinch cayenne pepper, one tablespoonful mustard, stir all together. Add four eggs beaten, one cup cream, add one cup b.u.t.ter, put on fire in double boiler. When it boils remove and beat in one half pint vinegar a little at a time. This will keep till used.--Mrs. C. C. Mackenroth.

SALAD DRESSING.--Yolks of six eggs, two tablespoons b.u.t.ter, three fourths cup sugar, two thirds cup vinegar, two teaspoons mustard, one half teaspoon salt. Mix sugar, salt and mustard then add b.u.t.ter. Mix until smooth. Lastly add beaten yolks and vinegar. Cook until thick.--Mrs. F. Kleinsorge.

SALAD DRESSING.--Yolks of four eggs, one half cup vinegar, two tablespoons sugar, b.u.t.ter the size of walnut, salt and pepper to taste.

Beat yolks until light, add sugar and beat again, then add vinegar, b.u.t.ter, salt and pepper. Cook in double boiler until quite thick stirring all the while. When cold thin with cream. A very little flour may be added while cooking. This will keep for several days. Adding cream only as you use it.--Mrs. McGuiness.

A Group of Salad Dressings

OIL MAYONNAISE.--Mix the yolk of one raw egg, one half teaspoon of salt, a little mustard and a few grains of cayenne, add one cup of oil in small portions, and two tablespoons lemon juice. Make as you would any mayonnaise dressing, and when ready to serve stir in one half cup of sour cream.--Contributed.

SOUR CREAM SALAD DRESSING.--Stir one tablespoon of sugar, one half teaspoon of salt, one fourth teaspoon of pepper and one tablespoon of lemon juice into one cup of sour cream. Serve it on cuc.u.mbers, onions, cabbage or lettuce.--Contributed.

FRENCH DRESSING.--With many people the French dressing is usually hit or miss. There is, however, a set formula that ensures having the proportions right every time. Put into a bowl or bottle a half teaspoonful salt, and a salt spoonful of pepper. Add four tablespoonfuls olive oil, stir with a fork or shake it in a bottle. Add one tablespoonful of lemon juice or vinegar, mix thoroughly and pour over the salad. Tarragon vinegar may be subst.i.tuted in whole or part of the cider or white wine vinegar.--Contributed.

ENGLISH SALAD DRESSING.--Mash the yolks of two hard boiled eggs to a paste. Add a saltspoonful of salt, a scant teaspoonful of powdered sugar, a few grains cayenne; a teaspoonful of cold water and mix it well. Stir in by degrees a half cupful of cream, then stirring very rapidly, add a tablespoonful of strong Chili vinegar and one of cider vinegar. Six tablespoonfuls of olive oil may be used instead of cream, adding gradually.--Contributed.

CHICKEN SALAD.--Boil a chicken tender in salted water, cut the meat into small pieces; add half as much diced celery or chopped cabbage.

Mix with salad dressing. Add one cupful of broken English walnuts just before serving.

SALAD DRESSING.--Yolks of five eggs and one whole one, beaten with one large tablespoon of sugar, one teaspoon of mustard, dash salt and cayenne pepper. Cook thick in one half cup of hot vinegar and three tablespoons of b.u.t.ter. Remove from fire and beat smooth. When ready to serve thin with half a cup of sweet cream.--Mrs. Fred Southard.

APPLE SALAD.--One cup chopped celery, two cups of chopped apples, one half cup of nuts. Mix and serve with salad dressing.--Mrs. Southard.

SALMON SALAD.--One large can of salmon, four hard boiled eggs minced with salmon. Mix with salad dressing.--Mrs. Southard. (Editorial note.--Above recipes for salads were demonstrated by Mrs. Southard in her paper on "Salads" for Domestic Science club.)

CHICKEN SALAD.--Cut cooked chicken into dice and add half as much diced celery. Mix with half of salad dressing and pour the balance over it at serving time. Dressing: Yolks of four eggs, one teaspoon of salt, one heaping teaspoon of sugar, one teaspoon mustard, one cup weak vinegar and speck of cayenne. Cook thick in double boiler. When cold add one cup of whipped cream.--Mrs. W. S. Davidson.

SHRIMP SALAD.--One can of shrimps, wash thoroughly, then pick to pieces; two cups cabbage sliced fine; two cups chopped celery, one cup English walnuts cut quite fine. Mix together and serve with salad dressing.

SALAD DRESSING.--Yolks of five eggs and one whole egg well beaten, one tablespoon sugar, six tablespoonfuls of vinegar and three of b.u.t.ter boiled together and turned slowly over beaten eggs, one tablespoonful of dry mustard, one teaspoonful of salt, dash of red pepper. Cook in double boiler until thick. When wanted for table add whipped cream.--Mrs. T. A. McKay.

LOBSTER SALAD.--One cup of chopped celery, five hard boiled eggs coa.r.s.ely diced, one large or two small cans of lobster coa.r.s.ely shredded, season with salt and a dash of cayenne, mix lightly with fork. Dressing for above: One half cup vinegar, one teaspoon mustard, one half teaspoon salt, three tablespoons melted b.u.t.ter, three level tablespoons of sugar. Cook in double boiler. When well heated add well beaten yolks of four eggs and one whole egg, stirring continuously till thick and smooth. When ready to mix with salad thin to proper consistency with sweet or sour cream, place salad on lettuce and pour dressing over it.--Mrs. Harry McKay.

SHRIMP SALAD.--One can shrimps, one small head celery, one cuc.u.mber, cut all into dice. Dressing: Yolks of two eggs; pinch of salt; dash of cayenne pepper. Beat well. Have olive oil very cold and pour it in and keep beating until it gets thick. Then add either vinegar or lemon juice. Mix with shrimps, just before serving.--Mrs. Will Lynch.

HAZELS HERRING SALAD.--Take equal quant.i.ties of cold boiled potatoes and herring and two or three small onions. Cut potatoes in cubes, remove bones from herring and cut in small pieces or pick to pieces, add onions and let stand on ice till ready to serve, cover with sweet cream and season with salt and pepper.--Mrs. Schollander.

POTATO SALAD.--I do not know much about salads different from the every day style, with the exception of an old fashioned German potato salad.

Boil your potatoes with the jackets, peel and slice while hot; heat bacon drippings in which glaze onions which must be cut very fine, then add flour, brown, add diluted vinegar, let it come to a boil, cool, add a little sweet cream, turn it over your potatoes, which were previously seasoned with pepper and salt. Garnish with either sliced or chopped hard boiled eggs and green parsley.

STRING BEAN SALAD.--Cut ends of tender green beans, string them, cut them either lengthwise, or just break them, boil until tender, add salt, drain. Slice onion very fine, mix with beans, season with pepper, and another pinch of salt, pour diluted vinegar over them, turn diced fried bacon quite hot over this mixture.

CABBAGE SALAD OR DUTCH SLAW.--Select a nice clean cabbage, slice very fine, something like sauer kraut; place in a stew pan, pour boiling water on, let stand for half hour, then drain, slice onion fine, mix with cabbage, season with salt and pepper, turn over this hot bacon grease, with bacon dices in diluted vinegar. Above vegetable salads were given by Mrs. Bruegger in her German Cookery demonstration.

BEET AND CHEESE SALAD.--Make cottage cheese into b.a.l.l.s, stick on either side half English walnut. Slice small sweet beets and put two cheese b.a.l.l.s and three beet slices on lettuce leaf. Keep on ice until just before time to serve. Add French dressing just before serving. This is a simple salad and so tasty that you will be sure to like it.

FRENCH DRESSING.--Mix three teaspoonfuls of cider vinegar with three and one half tablespoonfuls of olive oil, one large pinch of salt, one tiny pinch of black pepper and red pepper.

TOMATO SALAD.--Choose smooth, red tomatoes, peel; cut into halves, set on ice. Dip each piece into vinegar, lay on lettuce leaf. Drop a spoonful of mayonnaise on each and garnish with nasturtiums.--Mrs. R.

J. Walker.

SPINACH SALAD.--Chop cold boiled spinach fine, season well with salt and pepper, and a little nutmeg and mould into small cups. When cold and formed, turn out on lettuce leaves and garnish with hard boiled eggs sliced or the yolks of hard boiled eggs run through a ricer. Serve with mayonnaise. Strips of Spanish red peppers may be used for garnishing in place of the eggs. The nutmeg can be omitted if distasteful, but most people find it an attractive addition.--Contributed.

SHRIMP AND TOMATO SALAD.--Add to the contents of one can of shrimps, an equal amount of crisp white celery cut in small pieces. Mix with a cream or mayonnaise dressing. Place a thick slice of tomato on a crisp lettuce leaf, and a mound of the salad mixture on the tomato. Decorate with a few stuffed olives on each serving, and top with a spoonful of the mayonnaise. If ripe tomatoes are too expensive or not obtainable at this season the salad may be served on tomato jelly cut in thick slices or else molded in the form of cups.--Contributed.

TOMATO JELLY.--To make the tomato jelly salad, soak a quarter cupful of gelatine in the same amount of water. When softened put into a sauce pan with a cupful of strained tomato, a quarter cupful cold water, a teaspoonful of salt, the same amount of onion juice, a tablespoonful of tarragon vinegar, and a quarter teaspoonful of white pepper. Stir over the fire until the gelatine is dissolved, but not a moment longer, turn at once into egg cups or small molds and set away to harden. Serve on lettuce leaves with mayonnaise.--Contributed.

TOMATO SALAD WITH MAYONNAISE.--Have as many hallowed out tomatoes or molded tomatoes as there are guests to serve and set each in a crisp lettuce leaf. Upon this lay half of an egg that has been deviled and with this three little silvery sardines. Sprinkle with pieces of green pepper, cut fine and dress with mayonnaise.--Contributed.

FANCY EGG SALAD.--Select perfect lettuce leaves and arrange in circles on a large platter or on individual plates. Cut hard boiled eggs into halves, remove the yolks and cut the whites into petals shaped like water lilies. Arrange these strips in the center of the lettuce leaves (which simulate lily pads) to form a circle, leaving a small circular opening in the middle. Then put in a second row of petals, placing the pieces between those in the first circle. Lastly press the egg yolks through a ricer, heaping them in the center of the white petals, to represent the heart of a lily. Pa.s.s a bowl of mayonnaise with the salad or heap lightly on the surface.--Contributed.

POTATO SALAD.--Boil six medium sized potatoes in jackets, until done but do not let them break into pieces. They should be firm and dry.

Peel them and cut into thin slices or small dice; mix with two small onions chopped and two hard boiled eggs, sliced. Mix thoroughly with boiled salad dressing, after dressing the potatoes first with lemon juice or vinegar and salt. Let stand on the ice an hour or more.

Garnish the salad bowl with shredded lettuce, diced, boiled or pickled beets or radish roses or olives, sweet peppers or any favorite garnish.--Contributed.

FRENCH DINNER SALAD.--The dinner salad should always be delicate and light. Heavy meat or fish salads are reserved for luncheon or buffet suppers, where they form the main dish of the meal. The most popular dinner salad is lettuce dressed with oil and lemon juice or vinegar.

Cress is often used and of late years bleached dandelions are much in favor. Sliced cuc.u.mbers and onion, or sliced tomatoes with shredded lettuce or chopped celery, and the typical spring salad of shredded lettuce, sliced young onions and sliced radishes are all liked. In France the French dressing of oil and vinegar or lemon juice is always used but in America many prefer the richer mayonnaise dressing. In any case the salad is never mixed until time to serve it, and then the dressing should be lightly tossed in when all of the ingredients must be crisp and cold.--Contributed.

PIMENTO SALAD.--Select sweet, red or green peppers, steam them till the skin cracks, then skin and seed. Place on the ice and shred with cold boiled fish, or sh.e.l.l fish or with a mixture of cold, cooked and diced potatoes, green peas or beans and sliced cuc.u.mbers or celery. The canned sweet red peppers or pimentos may be subst.i.tuted. Spiced or pickled green peppers are also nice with a crisp green salad.--Mrs.

Whitehead.

Vegetables

"Dyspepsia is largely the result of trying to force square meals into round stomachs."

TIME FOR BOILING VEGETABLES.--Turnips should be peeled and boiled from forty minutes to one hour. Beets; boil from one to two hours then put in cold water then slip the skin off. Spinach; boil twenty minutes in uncovered kettle if green color is to be retained. Parsnips; boil from twenty to thirty minutes. String beans should be boiled one and one half hours, covered. Sh.e.l.led beans require one hour to cook. Onions should be boiled from forty minutes to one hour, covered. Green corn; boil ten to twenty minutes. Green peas should be boiled in very little water, boil twenty minutes. Asparagus should be cooked the same as peas. Serve on toast with cream gravy or melted b.u.t.ter. Cabbage should be boiled from one to two hours in plenty of salted water. Carrots should be boiled from forty minutes to one hour. Whole potatoes should be put in boiling salted water and boil rapidly in covered kettle from fifteen to thirty minutes according to size and age. Test with the tines of a fork. Drain as soon as tender, remove the cover and set on back of range to dry. If they are to be mashed do not let them stand long.

VEGETABLES.--Vegetables of all kinds should be thoroughly picked over and well washed, and it is good sometimes to lay them into cold water a short time before cooking. Salt should not be added until partly cooked, as it has a tendency to harden them; they should cook steadily, do not allow them to stop boiling or simmering until they are thoroughly done. Drain, take some b.u.t.ter, heat it, add a little flour, mix smooth in the b.u.t.ter, add milk enough to make a smooth gravy, turn over vegetables, and let it heat through, then serve. This sauce is nice for many kinds. For asparagus, carrots, peas and a few others I keep some of the liquid they were boiled in, as it gives them a better flavor than milk alone.

GERMAN CABBAGE.--Another way of preparing cabbage in a German way: Cut up a cabbage and pick over carefully, wash well, heat some lard, drop cabbage into the hot grease, stir, so as to get it all heated, then let fry for a short time, but watch carefully to avoid burning, then add a quartered cooking apple; now when it gets too dry add hot water from the tea kettle, and let it simmer for three or four hours, the longer the better, add salt when almost tender, and about half hour before serving add quarter cup of sugar, quarter cup of vinegar, and let simmer the last half hour. This is the real German way.

GREEN STRING BEANS.--Select tender green string beans, cut the ends and remove strings, dice and wash thoroughly, put on in cold water to cover, add salt when partly cooked, then diced potatoes, and boil with beans about half an hour. Then heat either bacon drippings or common lard, add flour and brown, when ready turn the beans, potatoes, liquor and all into the hot mixture, add a little vinegar and pepper. Summer savory sprigs added to above give it a fine flavor.--Mrs. George Bruegger, German Cookery demonstration of vegetables.

CREAMED POTATOES.--Cut cold boiled potatoes into one half inch cubes, put these in a sauce pan. Add white sauce and finely cut parsley.

Serve.