SALADS
FRENCH DRESSING
3 tablespoonfuls of oil,
1 tablespoonful of vinegar,
½ teaspoonful of salt,
¼ teaspoonful of pepper.
Mix the salt and pepper with the oil, then add slowly the vinegar, stirring all the time. It will become a little white and thickened.
MAYONNAISE DRESSING
To the yolk of an egg add oil very slowly until the mixture becomes very thick, then add alternately vinegar and oil. Lastly add salt and pepper.
The proportions are one cupful of oil to one yolk, one half teaspoonful of salt, a dash of pepper, and one and a half tablespoonfuls of vinegar or lemon juice. More or less oil may be used, but it must be added very slowly at first or the mixture will curdle. Have all the ingredients cold before beginning to mix the dressing. (See “Century Cook Book,” page 288.)
CREAM DRESSING
Add whipped cream to mayonnaise or plain cream to French dressing at the moment of mixing them with the salad. The proportions need not be exact: a little more or less cream can be used as convenient.
Note.—An onion rubbed on the dish in which lettuce is to be served improves the salad.
PREPARING SALADS
It is essential that leaf salads and celery be dry. Oil and water do not mix, and if the salad is wet the dressing will run off it and also lose its flavor. They should also be crisp and clean. Divest them of imperfect portions and wash to free them of dust and grit. Examine lettuce for a small green insect and celery for a small white worm which infest them, then place them in cold water to refresh and crisp them.
Dry them carefully, shaking lettuce or watercress in a wire basket, or carefully dry each piece in a clean napkin. Celery may be drained or wiped. The salad may be dried sometime before using it, and if kept near the ice will retain its crispness, but the dressing must not be put on until the moment of serving, as it wilts the leaves. The same rule applies to vegetables used as salads: they should be dry and cold.
There need be no waste in lettuce. The imperfect and hard leaves may be boiled and used as directed on page [55] for green eggs. The rejected outside leaves of one head will be enough for one or two eggs, or they may be used with other odds and ends of vegetables to give a macedoine garnishing to a meat dish.