Woman's Institute Library of Cookery Volume IV Part 2

Melt the b.u.t.ter in the upper part of a double boiler, add the flour, sugar, salt, vinegar, and sour cream. Cook together over the flame until the mixture thickens. Beat the egg yolks and add them to this. Place in the lower part of the double boiler and cook until the egg yolks thicken. Beat the egg whites and fold them with the whipped cream into the salad dressing. Cool and serve.

44. CREAM DRESSING.--A simple dressing that requires very little time or skill in preparation and that affords a means of using up cream that has soured is the one given in the accompanying recipe. Sweet cream may also be used in the same way if desired, and this makes an excellent dressing for cabbage salad, plain cuc.u.mber salad with lettuce, or fruit salad. If the dressing is to be used for fruit salad, lemon juice may be used in the place of vinegar.

CREAM DRESSING

1 c. sour cream 1/2 tsp. salt 2 Tb. sugar 1/4 c. vinegar

Whip the cream with a rotary beater until it is stiff. Then add the sugar, salt, and vinegar, and continue beating until the mixture is well blended. Cool and serve.

VARIETIES OF SALADS AND THEIR PREPARATION

VEGETABLE SALADS

45. With the knowledge already obtained of the food value of the vegetables that are generally used as ingredients in vegetable salads, the housewife ought to have no difficulty in determining whether she is giving her family a salad that is high or low in food value. For instance, she should know that the food value of a plain lettuce or cuc.u.mber salad is lower than that of one made from potatoes because of the different values in the vegetables used.. In addition, she ought to be familiar with the fact that the dressing added to salads has, in most cases, greater food value than the other ingredients of the salad.

Equipped with such knowledge, she will observe that the vegetable salads here given are comparatively low in food value. Consequently, nearly every one of them will lend itself nicely for use with a dinner or a comparatively heavy meal.

46. In these recipes, as well as in those for the other kinds of salad, the proportion of ingredients may be varied according to the quant.i.ty of the particular food in supply. For instance, if a recipe for a salad of peas and celery calls for 1 cupful of each of these vegetables and only 3/4 cupful of celery can be obtained, there is no reason why the difference cannot be made up by using 1 1/4 cupfuls of peas. But if such a change is to be made, the ingredients should be increased or decreased in the correct proportion. Then the quant.i.ty of salad that the recipe is intended to produce will not be altered and the housewife will know just how many the salad will serve. In the various recipes, about 1/2 cupful of salad is the quant.i.ty allowed for each person. This may be enlarged or made smaller in order to suit the quant.i.ty of other foods served at the same meal.

47. ASPARAGUS SALAD--Salad in which asparagus is the chief ingredient is one that may be served during the entire year, for either freshly cooked or canned asparagus may be used; in fact, the canned asparagus is considered by many persons to be better than that which is freshly cooked. It may be cut into inch lengths or the tips may be cut down about 4 inches from the top or even farther.

ASPARAGUS SALAD (Sufficient to Serve Five)

Lettuce 1 pimiento 1 can asparagus Salad dressing

Garnish salad plates with the lettuce. Place the asparagus tips in an orderly pile on the lettuce leaf. Cut a thin strip of the pimiento, and place this across the tips in the center. Just before serving, pour a spoonful or two of any desired salad dressing over this or place the salad on the table and serve the dressing, allowing each person to take what is desired.

48. BEET-AND-BEAN SALAD.--An excellent winter salad and one that may be made from canned or left-over vegetables is beet-and-bean salad. If string beans happen to be left over or only part of a can remains, they may be combined with beets that are canned or freshly cooked for the purpose. This salad should be carefully combined just before serving, since the beets will discolor the rest of the ingredients if it is allowed to stand any length of time.

BEET-AND-BEAN SALAD (Sufficient to Serve Four)

1 c. string beans Lettuce 1 c. beets Salad dressing

Cut the string beans into half-inch lengths and cut the beets into half-inch dice. Season each well with salt and pepper. Just before serving, garnish salad plates with lettuce, combine the two vegetables, and place in a heap on a lettuce leaf. Pour French dressing or any other salad dressing desired over them, but do not mix the salad dressing with the vegetables.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 2]

49. CABBAGE SALAD.--A salad that always finds favor is made by combining cabbage with a boiled salad dressing or with an uncooked sour-cream dressing. Salad of this kind may be served in any desired way, but a rather novel way to serve it is ill.u.s.trated in Fig. 2. The contents of a head of cabbage is removed, leaving four or five of the outside leaves intact. The sh.e.l.l thus formed is cut into points around the top and then filled with shredded cabbage and the dressing that is to be used. When this is placed on a bed of lettuce, an attractive dish is the result.

To make cabbage salad, select a firm head of cabbage, pull off the outside leaves, and wash. Cut the head in half down through the heart and root and cut each half into quarters. Then, as shown in Fig. 3, place each quarter on a cutting board and with a sharp knife shave off the cabbage. If desired, however, the cabbage may be shredded with a cabbage cutter. If the cabbage, upon being cut, is found to be wilted, place it in cold water and let it stand until it becomes crisp. Drain off the water carefully and allow the cabbage to drip in a colander or dry it between pieces of old linen. With the cabbage thus prepared, season it with salt and mix it with the desired dressing. Serve on lettuce in a salad dish, on individual salad plates, or in the manner shown in Fig. 2.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 3]

50. CABBAGE-AND-CELERY SALAD.--Cabbage and celery combine very well, for they are similar in color and crispness. They can be procured at the same time of the year, and while celery is not cheap, cabbage is a comparatively inexpensive food and the two combined make an inexpensive salad. Because the color of both is very much the same, pimiento is added to give a contrasting color.

CABBAGE-AND-CELERY SALAD (Sufficient to Serve Four)

1 c. cabbage 1 c. celery 1 pimiento or green pepper 1/2 tsp. salt 2 Tb. vinegar Lettuce Salad dressing

Cut the cabbage in the manner just explained, cut the celery into thin pieces across the stem, and dice the green pepper or pimiento or both into very small dice. Measure each of these, combine them, season with the salt and vinegar, and just before serving drain carefully. Serve on lettuce with any desired salad dressing.

51. WINTER SALAD.--A salad made entirely of winter vegetables may be prepared when there are no fresh vegetables in supply. If any of the vegetables are left over, the others may be prepared to use with the left-over ones. A good plan to follow when carrots, turnips, or potatoes are being prepared for a meal is to cook more than is necessary for the one meal and then set aside part of them for a salad to be served at another meal.

WINTER SALAD (Sufficient to Serve Six)

1 c. turnips, diced 1 c. carrots, diced 1 c. potatoes, diced 1 Tb. chopped onion French dressing Lettuce Salad dressing

Cook turnips, carrots, and potatoes whole in boiling water until tender enough to be pierced with a fork. If they have not been peeled before cooking, peel and cut into small dice. Mix, add the onion, marinate with French dressing, and allow to stand for a short time. Garnish salad plates with lettuce leaves, pile the salad on the lettuce, and serve with any desired salad dressing.

52. CAULIFLOWER SALAD.--Cauliflower makes a rather unusual salad, and for a change it will be found to be delightful. It does not combine with other vegetables very readily, but a cooked floweret or two may often be used to garnish another vegetable salad.

CAULIFLOWER SALAD (Sufficient to Serve Six)

Cauliflower Lettuce Salad dressing

Prepare a head of cauliflower for cooking according to the directions given in _Vegetables_, Part 1. Cook in boiling salted water until tender, but quite firm. Drain and cool. Arrange the flowerets on a salad plate garnished with lettuce and serve with French dressing or any other desired salad dressing.

53. CAULIFLOWER-AND-TOMATO SALAD.--A salad in which cauliflower and tomatoes are combined is attractive in appearance if it is nicely made.

It also has the advantage of being simple to prepare. When cauliflower is cooked for salad, care must be taken not to cook it so long as to discolor it or cause it to fall to pieces.

CAULIFLOWER-AND-TOMATO SALAD (Sufficient to Serve Six)

3 tomatoes Lettuce 6 cauliflower flowerets Dressing

Select firm, ripe, medium-sized tomatoes. Place them in boiling water to scald them, and then dip them quickly into cold water and remove the skins. Cut out the stem ends and slice each tomato half way between the stem and blossom ends. Place each half tomato on a salad plate garnished with a lettuce leaf, stick a stem of the cauliflower into the center, and serve with boiled salad dressing or mayonnaise.

54. CELERY SALAD.--One means of using stalks of celery that are just a little too coa.r.s.e to serve nicely on the table is to combine them with radishes and make a salad. The more tender celery, of course, makes a better salad. If the radishes selected for the salad are of the red variety and they are used without peeling, they add a touch of color to the dish.

CELERY SALAD (Sufficient to Serve Five)

1-1/2 c. diced celery 1/2 c. diced radishes 2 Tb. chopped onion Salad dressing Lettuce

Cut the celery into fine dice, and dice the radishes more finely than the celery. Mix the two together, add the onion, and just before serving mix with any desired salad dressing. Serve on salad plates garnished with lettuce.

55. SLICED CUc.u.mBER-AND-ONION SALAD.--An attractive way in which to serve sliced cuc.u.mbers and onions is shown in Fig. 4. A single large cuc.u.mber should be selected for this salad, and Bermuda onions with a mild flavor will be found to be best.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 4]

With a sharp knife, peel the skin from the cuc.u.mber in narrow strips back to the stem end, but do not cut the strips loose from the end.

After the peeling has all been removed, place the cuc.u.mber on a board and cut it into thin slices. Place on a small platter, as shown, arrange slices of onion around the edge, and pour French dressing over the whole. Dust with paprika and serve. A number of slices of cuc.u.mber and one or two slices of onion should be served to each person.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 3]

56. CUc.u.mBER SALAD.--Besides serving plain slices of cuc.u.mber on a lettuce leaf, as may be done at any time, cuc.u.mbers may be used as an ingredient in the making of many salads. A rather attractive way in which to use cuc.u.mbers is shown in Fig. 5 and is explained in the accompanying recipe.

CUc.u.mBER SALAD (Sufficient to Serve Six)