HOT SLAW.
Cut the cabbage as for cold slaw; put it into a stewpan and set it on the top of the stove for half an hour, or till hot all through; do not let it boil. Then make a dressing the same as for cold slaw, and, while hot, pour it over the hot cabbage. Stir it until well mixed and the cabbage looks coddled. Serve immediately.
TOMATO SALAD.
Peel and slice twelve good, sound, fresh tomatoes; the slices about a quarter of an inch thick. Set them on the ice or in a refrigerator while you make the dressing. Make the same as "Mayonnaise," or you may use "Cream dressing." Take one head of the broad-leaved variety of lettuce, wash, and arrange them neatly around the sides of a salad bowl. Place the cold, sliced tomatoes in the centre. Pour over the dressing and serve.
ENDIVE.
This ought to be nicely blanched and crisp, and is the most wholesome of all salads. Take two, cut away the root, remove the dark green leaves, and pick off all the rest; wash and drain well, add a few chives. Dress with "Mayonnaise dressing."
Endive is extensively cultivated for the adulteration of coffee; is also a fine relish, and has broad leaves. Endive is of the same nature as chicory, the leaves being curly.
CELERY SALAD.
Prepare the dressing the same as for tomato salad; cut the celery into bits half an inch long, and season. Serve at once before the vinegar injures the crispness of the vegetables.
LETTUCE SALAD.
Take the yolks of three hard-boiled eggs, and salt and mustard to taste; mash it fine; make a paste by adding a dessertspoonful of olive oil or melted b.u.t.ter (use b.u.t.ter always when it is difficult to get _fresh_ oil); mix thoroughly, and then dilute by adding _gradually_ a teacupful of vinegar, and pour over the lettuce. Garnish by _slicing_ another egg and laying over the lettuce. This is sufficient for a moderate-sized dish of lettuce.
POTATO SALAD, HOT.
Pare six or eight large potatoes, and boil till done, and slice thin while hot; peel and cut up three large onions into small bits and mix with the potatoes; cut up some breakfast bacon into small bits, sufficient to fill a teacup and fry it a light brown; remove the meat, and into the grease stir three tablespoonfuls of vinegar, making a sour gravy, which with the bacon pour over the potato and onion; mix lightly. To be eaten when hot.
POTATO SALAD, COLD.
Chop cold boiled potatoes fine, with enough raw onions to season nicely; make a dressing as for lettuce salad, and pour over it.
BEAN SALAD.
String young beans; break into half-inch pieces or leave whole; wash and cook soft in salt water; drain well; add finely chopped onions, pepper, salt and vinegar; when cool, add olive oil or melted b.u.t.ter.
TO DRESS CUc.u.mBERS RAW.
They should be as fresh from the vine as possible, few vegetables being more unwholesome when long gathered. As soon as they are brought in lay them in cold water. Just before they are to go to the table take them out, pare them and slice them into a pan of fresh cold water. When they are all sliced, transfer them to a deep dish; season them with a little salt and black pepper, and pour over them some of the best vinegar. You may mix with them a small quant.i.ty of sliced onions, not to be eaten, but to communicate a slight flavor of onion to the vinegar.
CELERY UNDRESSED.
Celery is sometimes sent to the table without dressing. Sc.r.a.pe the outside stalks, and cut off the green tops and the roots; lay it in cold water until near the time to serve, then change the water, in which let it stand three or four minutes; split the stalks in three, with a sharp knife, being careful not to break them, and serve in goblet-shaped salad gla.s.ses.
To crisp celery, let it lie in ice-water two hours before serving; to fringe the stalks, stick several coa.r.s.e needles into a cork, and draw the stalk half way from the top through the needles several times and lay in the refrigerator to curl and crisp.
RADISHES.
All the varieties are generally served in the same manner, by sc.r.a.ping and placing on the table in gla.s.ses containing some cold water to keep them fresh looking.
PEPPERGRa.s.s AND CRESS.
These are used mostly as an appetizer, served simply with salt.
Cresses are occasionally used in making salad.
HORSE-RADISH.
Horse-radish is an agreeable relish, and has a particularly fresh taste in the spring; is sc.r.a.ped fine or grated, and set on the table in a small covered cup; much that is bottled and sold as horse-radish is adulterated with grated turnip.
LETTUCE.
Wash each leaf separately, breaking them from the head; crisp in ice-water and serve the leaves whole, to be prepared at table, providing hard-boiled eggs cut in halves or slices, oil and other ingredients, to be mixed at table to individual taste.
CATSUPS.
TOMATO CATSUP. No. 1.
Put into two quarts of tomato pulp (or two cans of canned tomatoes) one onion, cut fine, two tablespoonfuls of salt and three tablespoonfuls of brown sugar. Boil until quite thick; then take from the fire and strain it through a sieve, working it until it is all through but the seeds. Put it back on the stove, and add two tablespoonfuls of mustard, one of allspice, one of black pepper and one of cinnamon, one teaspoonful of ground cloves, half a teaspoonful of cayenne pepper, one grated nutmeg, one pint of good vinegar; boil it until it will just run from the mouth of a bottle. It should be watched, stirred often, that it does not burn. If sealed tight while _hot_, in large-mouthed bottles, it will keep good for years.
TOMATO CATSUP. No. 2.
Cook one gallon of choice ripe tomatoes; strain them, and cook again until they become quite thick. About fifteen minutes before taking up put into them a small level teaspoonful of cayenne pepper, one tablespoonful of mustard seed, half a tablespoonful of whole cloves, one tablespoonful of whole allspice, all tied in a thin muslin bag. At the same time, add one heaping tablespoonful of sugar, and one teacupful of best vinegar and salt to suit the taste. Seal up air-tight, either in bottles or jugs. This is a valuable Southern recipe.
GREEN TOMATO CATSUP.
One peck of green tomatoes and two large onions sliced. Place them in layers, sprinkling salt between; let them stand twenty-four hours and then drain them. Add a quarter of a pound of mustard seed, one ounce allspice, one ounce cloves, one ounce ground mustard, one ounce ground ginger, two tablespoonfuls black pepper, two teaspoonfuls celery seed, a quarter of a pound of brown sugar. Put all in preserving-pan, cover with vinegar and boil two hours; then strain through a sieve and bottle for use.
WALNUT CATSUP.
One hundred walnuts, six ounces of shallots, one head of garlic, half a pound of salt, two quarts of vinegar, two ounces of anchovies, two ounces of pepper, a quarter of an ounce of mace, half an ounce of cloves; beat in a large mortar a hundred green walnuts until they are thoroughly broken; then put them into a jar with six ounces of shallots cut into pieces, a head of garlic, two quarts of vinegar and the half pound of salt; let them stand for a fortnight, stirring them twice a day. Strain off the liquor, put into a stewpan with the anchovies, whole pepper, half an ounce of cloves and a quarter of an ounce of mace; boil it half an hour, skimming it well. Strain it off, and, when cold, pour it clear from any sediment into small bottles, cork it down closely and store it in a dry place. The sediment can be used for flavoring sauces.