Bouquet Salad. Four hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped; one head of lettuce, or one pint of water cresses; a large bunch of nasturtium blossoms or buttercups, the French dressing, with the addition of one teaspoonful of sugar. Wash the lettuce or cresses, and throw into ice water. When crisp, take out, and shake out all the water. Cut or tear in pieces. Put a layer in the bowl, with here and there a flower, and sprinkle in half of the egg and half the dressing. Repeat this. Arrange the flowers in a wreath, and put a few in the centre. Serve immediately.
Cauliflower Salad.
Boil one large cauliflower with two quarts of water and one table-spoonful of salt, for half an hour. Take up and drain. When cold, divide into small tufts. Arrange on the centre of a dish and garnish with a border of strips of pickled beet. Pour cream dressing, or a cupful of mayonnaise dressing, over the cauliflower. Arrange a star of the pickled beet in the centre. Serve immediately.
Asparagus Salad.
Boil two bunches of asparagus with one quart of water and one table-spoonful of salt, for twenty minutes. Take up and drain on a sieve. When cold, cut off the tender points, and arrange diem on the dish. Pour on cream salad dressing.
Asparagus and Salmon Salad.
Prepare the asparagus as before directed. Season a quart of cooked salmon with one teaspoonful of salt, one-third of a teaspoonful of pepper, three table-spoonfuls of oil, one of vinegar and two of lemon juice. Let this stand in the ice chest at least two hours. Arrange the salmon in the centre of the dish and the asparagus points around it. Cover the fish with one cupful of mayonnaise dressing. Garnish the dish with points of lemon. Green peas can be used instead of asparagus.
Cucumber Salad.
Cut about one inch off of the point of the cucumber, and pare. (The bitter juice is in the point, and if this is not cut off before paring, the knife carries the flavor all through the cucumber.) Cut in thin slices, cover with cold water, and let stand half an hour. Drain, and season with French dressing. If oil is not liked it can be omitted.
Tomato Salad.
Pare ripe tomatoes (which should be very cold), and cut in thin slices. Arrange on a flat dish. Put one teaspoonful of mayonnaise dressing in the centre of each slice. Place a delicate border of parsley around the dish, and a sprig here and there between the slices of tomato.
Cabbage Salad.
One large head of cabbage, twelve eggs, two small cupfuls of sugar, two teaspoonfuls of salt, one table-spoonful of melted butter, two teaspoonfuls of mustard, one cupful of vinegar, or more, if you like. Divide the cabbage into four pieces, and wash well in cold water. Take off all the wilted leaves and cut out the tough, hard parts. Cut the cabbage very fine with a sharp knife. Have the eggs boiled hard, and ten of them chopped fine. Add these and the other ingredients to the cabbage. Arrange on a dish and garnish with the two remaining eggs and pickled beets.
Hot Cabbage Salad.
One quart of finely-shaved cabbage, two table-spoonfuls of bacon or pork fat, two large slices of onion, minced very fine; one teaspoonful of salt, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper, half a cupful of vinegar, one teaspoonful of sugar. Pry the onion in the fat until it becomes yellow; then add the other ingredients. Pour the hot mixture on the cabbage. Stir well, and serve at once. Lettuce can be served in the same manner.
Vegetable Salad.
A spoonful of green parsley, chopped fine with a knife; six potatoes, half of a small turnip, half of a carrot, one small beet. Cut the potatoes in small slices, the beet a little finer, and the turnip and carrot very fine. Mix all thoroughly. Sprinkle with a scant teaspoonful of salt--unless the vegetables were salted in cooking, and add the whole French dressing, or half a cupful of the boiled dressing. Keep very cool until served.
Red Vegetable Salad.
One pint of cold boiled potatoes, one pint of cold boiled beets, one pint of uncooked red cabbage, six table-spoonfuls of oil, eight of red vinegar (that in which beets have been pickled), two teaspoonfuls of salt (unless the vegetables have been cooked in salted water), half a teaspoonful of pepper. Cut the potatoes in thin slices and the beets fine, and slice the cabbage as thin as possible. Mix all the ingredients. Let stand in a cold place one hour; then serve. Red cabbage and celery may be used together. Use the French dressing.
Potato Salad.
Ten potatoes, cut fine; the French dressing, with four or five drops of onion juice in it, and one table-spoonful of chopped parsley.
Potato Salad, No. 2.
One quart of potatoes, two table-spoonfuls of grated onion, two of chopped parsley, four of chopped beet and enough of any of the dressings to make moist. The sardine is the best for this. Pare and cut the potatoes in thin slices, while hot. Mix the other ingredients with them, and put away in a cool place until serving time. This is better for standing two or three hours.
Cooked Vegetables in Salad.
Nearly every kind of cooked vegetables can be served in salads. They can be served separately or mixed. They must be cold and well drained before the dressing is added. Any of the dressings given, except sardine, can be used.
Dressed Celery.
Scrape and wash the celery. Let it stand in ice water twenty minutes, and shake dry. With a sharp knife, cut it in pieces about an inch long. Put in the ice chest until serving time; then moisten well with mayonnaise dressing. Arrange in the salad bowl or on a flat dish. Garnish with a border of white celery leaves or water-cresses. When served on a flat dish, points of pickled beets, arranged around the base, make an agreeable change.
Lettuce Salad.
Two small, or one large head of lettuce. Break off all the leaves carefully, wash each separately, and throw into a pan of ice water, where they should remain an hour. Put them in a wire basket or coarse towel, and shake out all the water. Either cut the leaves with a sharp knife, or tear them in large pieces. Mix the French dressing with them, and serve immediately. Beets, cucumbers, tomatoes, cauliflower, asparagus, etc., can each be served as a salad, with French or boiled dressing. Cold potatoes, beef, mutton or lamb, cut fine, and finished with either dressing, make a good salad.
