CHAPTER VIII.
SALADS AND SALAD SAUCES.
"The very herbs of the field yield nourishment, and bread and water make a feast for a temperate man," says Plato; and indeed the healthfulness of fresh vegetables is well enough known in our day; we include under this term not only the edible roots, but the young shoots of succulent plants, rich in nitrates and mineral salts, which play an important part in the preparation of salads. Americans are beginning to realize the wealth of green food abounding in their gardens and fields, which they have too long abandoned to their beasts of burden. We are wise in letting the ox eat gra.s.s for us, but with the gra.s.s he too often consumes tender herbs which might find a place on our own tables, to the advantage of appet.i.te and digestion. Dandelion, corn-salad, chicory, mint, sorrel, fennel, marshmallows, tarragon, chives, mustard, and cresses, and their numerous kind, grow wild, or can be cultivated with but little trouble; and should find their way to favor in every family, for with the oil and vinegar employed in dressing them, they promote digestion, and purify the system; while the condiments used with them are of decided medicinal value.
There is some degree of truth in the idea that a salad-maker is born, not made, and yet with due care and delicate manipulation, almost any deft-handed and neat-minded individual may become an expert salad dresser. Most careful preparation of the green vegetables is imperatively necessary to the production of a good salad; they must be freshened in cool water, cleaned of all foreign matter, well drained upon a clean napkin; and, above all, torn with the fingers, and not cut with a knife. Then the various ingredients should be very delicately and deliberately compounded, and withal by a quick and cunning hand, and the result will be perfection. Below we give the receipts for a cla.s.s of salads best adapted for general use.
In the preparation of all salads only good oil should be used, as none other will produce invariably satisfactory results. The very best salads are often the result of the inspiration of the moment, when the necessity arises for subst.i.tuting some ingredient near at hand for one not to be obtained, as in the case of the shad-roe salad mentioned below. The formula called for Russian caviare, but Russian caviare was not to be had, and a cold shad-roe was; the consequence was its subst.i.tution and the alteration of one or two other ingredients, and the result, we do not hesitate to say, was the production of one of the most delicious salads ever invented. Let careful housekeepers not given to these "foreign dishes" remember that they are not only appetizing but economical.
120. =Spring Salad.=--Break one pint of fresh mustard tops, and one of cresses, tear one good-sized lettuce, and chop two green onions; place all lightly in a dish, and ornament it with celery and slices of boiled beet. Use it with a cream dressing.
121. =Watercress Salad.=--Serve one quart of watercresses with one chopped green onion, one teaspoonful of ground horseradish, one tablespoonful of lemon juice, and two of oil, simply poured over.
122. =Mint Salad.=--Wash and clean the tender tops of one quart of spearmint, lay them in a bowl with one tablespoonful of chopped chives, and dress them with brown sugar and vinegar, or _sweet sauce_. This is an excellent accompaniment for roast lamb.
123. =Cauliflower Salad.=--Place in a salad bowl one underdone cauliflower, broken in branches, six small silver onions, six radishes, ornament with the hearts of two white lettuces, and one dessertspoonful each of chopped olives and capers; dress it with cream sauce, or plain oil and vinegar.
124. =Dandelion Salad.=--This salad is a favorite European dish; one pint of the plants are carefully washed and placed in a salad bowl with an equal quant.i.ty of watercresses, three green onions or leeks sliced, a teaspoonful of salt, and plenty of oil or cream dressing. This is one of the most healthful and refreshing of all early salads.
125. =Asparagus Salad.=--Cut the green tops of two bunches of cold asparagus one inch long, mix them with the leaves of one lettuce, a few sprigs of mint, and a teaspoonful of powdered sugar, ornament with tufts of leaves, and serve with a Mayonnaise.
126. =Shad-roe Salad.=--Boil two roes, separate the grains by washing them in vinegar, place them in a salad bowl, with one head of tender lettuce and one pint of ripe tomatoes cut thin; dress them with two tablespoonfuls each of oil, lemon juice, and strained tomato pulp, seasoned with cayenne pepper.
127. =Green Pea Salad.=--Place one pint of cold boiled peas in a bowl with one tablespoonful of powdered sugar; pour over them two tablespoonfuls of oil and one of vinegar, and garnish with two cuc.u.mbers delicately sliced. This salad is excellent with a Mayonnaise.
128. =Orange Salad.=--Divest four under-ripe oranges of all rind and pith, slice them into a dish, season with a little cayenne pepper, add the rind of one minced, the juice of one lemon and a tablespoonful of oil if desired; decorate with tarragon tops.
129. =Spinach Salad.=--Place one pint of lettuce leaves, and one pint of tender spinach tops in a bowl with a few fresh mint leaves, dress them with oil and vinegar plain, and decorate them with sliced hard boiled eggs. A ravigote sauce is excellent with this salad.
130. =Tomato Salad.=--Slice one quart of ripe tomatoes, sprinkle with cayenne pepper, garnish with chervil or fennel, and dress with oil or lemon juice three tablespoonfuls of each.
131. =Nasturtium Salad.=--Tear two white lettuces into the salad bowl, sprinkle over them one tablespoonful of pickled nasturtiums, or capers, dress with simple oil and vinegar, and garnish with fresh nasturtium blossoms.
In mixing salad dressings, first, carefully stir together all the ingredients except the oil and vinegar, and add these gradually and alternately a few drops at a time.
132. =Cream Dressing.=--Where oil is disliked in salads the following dressing will be found excellent. Rub the yolks of two hard boiled eggs very fine with a spoon, incorporate with them a dessertspoonful of mixed mustard, then stir in a tablespoonful of melted b.u.t.ter, half a teacupful of thick cream, a saltspoonful of salt, and cayenne pepper enough to take up on the point of a very small pen-knife blade, and a few drops of anchovy or Worcestershire sauce; add very carefully sufficient vinegar to reduce the mixture to a smooth creamy consistency; and pour it upon lettuce carefully prepared for the table.
133. =English Salad Sauce.=--Break the yolk of one hard boiled egg with a silver fork, add to it a saltspoonful of salt, a teaspoonful of dry mustard, a mashed mealy potato, two dessertspoonfuls each of cream and oil, and one tablespoonful of vinegar; mix until smooth and firm.
134. =Remolade.=--Beat a fresh raw egg, add to it a teaspoonful of mixed mustard, and three tablespoonfuls of oil; when smooth add just enough vinegar to change the color slightly.
135. =Sweet Sauce.=--Mix well two tablespoonfuls of oil, the raw yolk of one egg, a saltspoonful of salt, a half that quant.i.ty of pepper, one tablespoonful of vinegar, and a dessertspoonful of moist sugar.
136. =Piquante Salad Sauce.=--Mix together the yolks of two hard boiled and two raw eggs; add one tablespoonful each of cream and oil; and, when smooth, enough Chili or tarragon vinegar to season sharply, about two tablespoonfuls.
137. =Green Remolade.=--One dessertspoonful each of chopped tarragon, chives, and sorrel, pounded in a mortar; add a saltspoonful of salt, half that quant.i.ty of mignonette pepper, one tablespoonful of mixed mustard, a gill of oil, and the raw yolks of three eggs; when pounded quite smooth, dilute it with a little vinegar, and strain it through a sieve.
138. =Oil Sauce.=--Pound in a mortar one shallot or two b.u.t.ton onions, the yolks of two hard boiled eggs, a saltspoonful of herbs, a tablespoonful of vinegar, and enough oil to thicken it, about one gill.
139. =Ravigote Sauce.=--Clean and chop a few salad herbs, put one teaspoonful of each into a small pan with a tablespoonful of meat jelly or thick stock, and a little pepper and salt; stir till the jelly is hot, and then add one tablespoonful of vinegar, and two of good oil; when thoroughly mixed set the sauce-pan into a cool place, or pour out the mixture on a dish until it is wanted for use.
140. =Egg Dressing.=--Chop the yolks and whites of two hard boiled eggs separately, but not fine; strew them upon any salad after having dressed it with two tablespoonfuls of cream, and one of white vinegar.
141. =Anchovy Salad Sauce.=--Mix until smooth two raw eggs, one teaspoonful of the essence of anchovy, one tablespoonful of vinegar, and two of oil.
142. =Swiss Dressing.=--Pound two ounces of old cheese in a mortar, add one tablespoonful of vinegar, a little salt and pepper, and dilute to the consistency of cream with oil.
143. =Spring Dressing.=--Beat the yolks of two raw eggs, add a teaspoonful of salt, and a saltspoonful of dry mustard, chop one leek or two new onions, and mix them in, then add three tablespoonfuls of oil and one of vinegar and mix thoroughly; tear up two heads of lettuce, putting thin slices of boiled beets upon it, and pour the dressing over all.
144. =Mayonnaise.=--Place in the bottom of a salad bowl the yolk of one raw egg, a level teaspoonful of salt, the same quant.i.ty of dry mustard, a saltspoonful of white pepper, as much cayenne as can be taken up on the point of a very small pen-knife blade, and the juice of half a lemon; mix these ingredients with a wooden salad spoon until they a.s.sume a creamy white appearance; then add, drop by drop, three gills of salad oil, stirring the _mayonnaise_ constantly; if it thickens too rapidly, thin it with a little of the juice from the second half of the lemon, until all is used; and towards the finish add gradually four tablespoonfuls of tarragon vinegar. Keep it cool until wanted for use.
145. =Hot Salad Sauce.=--This sauce when cold is an excellent and economical subst.i.tute for the more expensive _mayonnaise_.
PART 1.--Put one ounce each of b.u.t.ter and flour into a sauce-pan over the fire, and stir until it is melted, add gradually half a pint of boiling water, season with a teaspoonful of salt, and quarter of a saltspoonful of white pepper, stir till smooth, and set a little away from the fire, while you make the following sauce.
PART 2.--Put the yolk of one raw egg in a salad bowl, add a quarter of a saltspoonful of salt, half that quant.i.ty of grated nutmeg, as much cayenne as you can take up on the point of a very small pen-knife blade; mix these ingredients with a wooden salad spoon thoroughly, and then add, a few drops at a time and alternately, three tablespoonfuls of oil, and one of vinegar. Pour the preparation marked _part 1_, into this, gradually stirring until the sauces are thoroughly mixed; cool and use.
This sauce will keep for weeks in a cool place.
146. =Romaine Salad Dressing.=--Grate half an ounce of onion, mix it with a teaspoonful of lemon juice, a saltspoonful each of salt and powdered sugar, a level saltspoonful each of white pepper, and dry mustard, then gradually add three tablespoonfuls of oil, and one of vinegar. Use for lettuce or tomato salad.
CHAPTER IX.
VEGETABLES.
Soft water is the best for boiling all vegetables. Fresh vegetables boil in one-third less time than stale ones. Green vegetables should be put into plenty of boiling water and salt, and boiled rapidly, without covering, only until tender enough to pierce with the finger nail; a bit of common washing soda, or of carbonate of ammonia, as large as a dried pea, put into the boiling water with any of the vegetables except beans, counteracts any excess of mineral elements in them, and helps to preserve their color. A lump of loaf sugar boiled with turnips neutralizes their excessive bitterness. Cabbage, potatoes, carrots, turnips, parsnips, onions, and beets, are injured by being boiled with fresh meat, and they also hurt the color of the meat, and impair its tenderness and flavor. When vegetables are cooked for use with salt meat, the meat should first be cooked and taken from the pot liquor, and the vegetables boiled in the latter. The following table will be a guide in boiling vegetables, but it must be remembered that the youngest and freshest boil in the least time; and that in winter all the roots except potatoes require nearly double the time to cook, that they would take in summer, when they are new; spinach, ten to fifteen minutes; brussels sprouts, peas, cauliflowers, and asparagus, fifteen to twenty minutes; potatoes, cabbage, corn, and string-beans, twenty to thirty minutes; turnips, onions, and squash, twenty to forty minutes; beets, carrots, and parsnips, about one hour.
147. =Asparagus with Melted b.u.t.ter.=--Trim the white tough ends from two bunches of asparagus, tie it in packages of about a dozen stalks each; put them into three quarts of boiling water, with three tablespoonfuls of salt, and boil them gently until done, about twenty minutes; meantime make some drawn b.u.t.ter according to receipt for caper sauce, omitting the capers; fit two slices of toast to the bottom of the dish you intend to use, dip it for one instant in the water in which the asparagus has been boiled, lay it on the dish, and arrange the asparagus in a ring on it with the heads in the centre; send the b.u.t.ter to the table in a gravy boat, with the dish of asparagus.
148. =Green Peas.=--Boil two quarts of freshly sh.e.l.led peas in two quarts of boiling water with half an ounce of b.u.t.ter, one bunch of green mint, and one teaspoonful each of sugar and salt, until they begin to sink to the bottom of the sauce-pan: drain them in a colander, season them with a saltspoonful of salt, and a quarter of a saltspoonful of pepper, and send them to the table hot.
149. =String Beans.=--These beans are generally marketed while they are unripe, and cooked in the sh.e.l.l; in that condition two quarts of them should be stringed, split in halves, cut in pieces two inches long, and thrown into boiling water with a tablespoonful of salt, _but no soda or ammonia should be added, as its action discolors them_; a few sprigs of parsley and an ounce of pork can be boiled with them to their improvement; when they are tender, which will be in about half an hour, they should be drained, and served with melted b.u.t.ter, made as for caper sauce, but without the capers.
150. =Baked Beets.=--Clean eight smooth beets with a soft cloth or brush; bake them in a moderate oven about one hour; rub off the skin, baste them with b.u.t.ter and lemon juice, return them to the oven for five minutes, and serve them hot.
151. =Brussels Sprouts.=--Trim two quarts of Brussels sprouts, wash them thoroughly, put them in three quarts of boiling water with two tablespoonfuls of salt, and boil them gently until tender, about fifteen minutes, shaking the sauce-pan occasionally; then drain them in a colander, being careful not to break them; put them again into the sauce-pan with one ounce of b.u.t.ter, a teaspoonful of lemon juice, a saltspoonful of salt, and quarter of a saltspoonful of white pepper; toss them gently over the fire, while you make some rounds of b.u.t.tered toast for the bottom of a platter; when this is ready shake the Brussels sprouts upon it, and serve hot. Some persons like the addition of two ounces of grated Parmesan cheese; and others serve them with the _Bechamel_ sauce named in receipt No. 84.
152. =Stuffed Cabbage.=--Cut the leaves of a large white cabbage as whole as possible, cut out the stalks, wash the leaves well, and boil them _only until tender_, in three quarts of boiling water and salt, with a piece of soda as large as a dried pea; have ready some sausage meat highly seasoned, and as soon as the cabbage is tender carefully drain it in a colander, run cold water from the faucet over it, and, without tearing the leaves, lay them open on the table, two or three upon each other, making eight or ten piles. Divide the sausage meat, and lay a portion in the centre of each, fold the cabbage over it in a compact roll and tie it in place with cord; lay the rolls on a baking sheet, season with salt and pepper, put over each a tablespoonful of any rich brown gravy and brown a little in a quick oven; serve at once, on small rounds of toast.
153. =Red Cabbage.=--Cut a firm head of red cabbage in shreds, lay it in a sauce-pan with the following ingredients; one gill of vinegar, one teaspoonful each of ground cloves and salt, half a saltspoonful of pepper, two ounces of b.u.t.ter, and two ounces of sugar; stew it gently until tender, about one hour, shaking the pan to prevent burning, and serve it hot.
154. =Baked Cauliflower.=--Thoroughly wash a large cauliflower, boil it in plenty of boiling water and salt, until tender, about twenty minutes; drain it whole; pour over it one gill of _Bechamel_ sauce, made as in receipt No. 84, dust it thickly with cracker dust, or bread crumbs, and Parmesan cheese, mixed in equal proportions, and brown it ten minutes in a quick oven.