SALADS not so many years ago that salads were considered a luxury only to be found on the tables of the wealthy; to-day a wider knowledge of cookery has taught the housewife who has to set a table with a small in come that there is no more economi cal, wholesome dish than a well-made salad. She is beginning to realize, as the French do, that almost anything can be put into a salad, and that even cheap materials with a mayonnaise or a simple French dressing make a palatable as well as a cheap and most sightly dish. There are four essen tials to a good salad; everything that goes into it must be ice cold, the green vegetable used must be per fectly clean and crisp, the ingredients of a mayonnaise must be properly proportioned and thoroughly blended and the salad materials should be well mixed just before the dish is served. If these rules are followed, a simple head of lettuce with a plain French dressing is a perfect dish. No nicer way can be found to serve a vegetable salad than to bring the materials to the table crisp, fresh, and green, and dress it at the time it is to be served. For this purpose a large salad bowl, accompanied by a wooden knife and fork, and small tray containing a cruet of oil and vinegar with pepper and salt, are a necessity.
For nearly every salad, lettuce is used as a base. If a whole head is not required at once, it may be kept fresh for several days. As soon as it comes from the market, sprinkle it and put it away tightly covered in the refrigerator. A good receptacle to keep for lettuce is a 5-pound lard 166 pail with a tight lid. When required, clip off with shears the ragged, with ered ends of the outside leaves, for often the portion nearest the stem is good enough to put into the base of the salad, to eke out quantity even if it is not to be eaten. Separate the rest of the leaves, wash thoroughly, and leave them for fifteen minutes to crisp in ice-cold water. Look over each leaf carefully in search of dirt or any of the insects that are to be found clinging to green stuff. Dry by shaking lightly in a wire basket, see ing that none of the leaves are bruised or broken.
Cold cooked vegetables or any left over that is to be utilized in a salad, such as string beans, potatoes, or peas, are best if marinated for an hour or two before being used in a French dressing, leaving them in a cold place. If the salad is to be Macedoine, make a blend of various vegetables, marinate each one by it self, and only put together before sending to the table. Meat that is to go in a salad is much improved by standing for a short time in French dressing before using. Fish should be flaked or cut in neat cubes.
There is a strong prejudice among many people against oil. This is owing largely to the fact that some times one may have tasted a mayon naise made of strong rancid oil. If you appreciate a salad, it pays to be come a judge of good oil. Our Cali fornia oils are now of the finest qual ity and are sold at a more moderate price than Italian oils. Good oil has a fresh, pleasant odor and a pale green tinge. For people who really find the taste of oil obnoxious, there are various recipes for a boiled dress ing in which butter takes the place of oil and makes very good salad. A
cook can make a blend of boiled dressing with a tablespoonful oil mayonnaise in which it is almost im possible to detect any taste of oil. An excellent way is to make a pint of each dressing (if a salad comes to the table once each day, as it should) and keep them in the refrigerator tightly corked. Sometimes a few ta blespoonfuls cream, whipped stiff, add a certain deliciousness to a mayon naise that nothing else can give. It is especially nice where sour apples or celery are blended. Do not use " any old vinegar " in a salad; the best is none too fine; a colorless white-vvine vinegar is required for any sort of mayonnaise.
During the summer, when all sorts of fresh green vegetables are abun dant, it is a good plan while cooking what is to be used for dinner to dou ble the amount needed and have something left for the next day's sal ad. This applies to such vegetables as green peas, string beans, cauli flower, turnips, carrots, new pota toes, spinach, asparagus, artichokes, beets, Okra, or Brussels sprouts. In winter there need be no dearth of salads, for we have constantly with us cabbage,' celery, and many of the boiled vegetables, as well as apples.
Every salad must be gently han dled. It cannot be stirred as one would do when cooking a dish nor should it be molded or pattied. To break lettuce leaves makes them not only unsightly, but renders them tough. Pour the dressing over what ingredients are to be served in salad fashion, and toss with two forks till each particle is coated with mayon naise or a French dressing, still not made mussy or broken. A variety of flavorings is a boon to the housewife who has not a great number of ma terials within her reach. Day by day even a plain potato- or lettuce salad may be made a different dish by the use of some small addition as a flavor, such as chives or tiny pickled onions strewn over it, or make a dif ference in the seasoning, a mere hint of garlic one day, tarragon vinegar the next, or mint which can be, added to a salad or two. The cook can make very cheaply for herself a num ber of flavored vinegars which will serve for a long time. To obtain any flavor, put the herb desired in a bot tle, cover with white-wine vinegar, cork, and set the bottle in cold water, bringing it to a boil. Tarragon, cher vil, nasturtium, cucumber, sweet ba sil, chives, onion, celery, summer sav ory, garlic, or peppers can be used in this way.
Oil Mayonnaise.
Yolk 1 egg, 1 teaspoonful salt, 1 teaspoonful powdered sugar, 1 tablespoonful lemon juice, I cupful olive oil, 1 teaspoonful mustard, 1 tablespoonful vinegar, Dash McIlhenny's Tabasco Sauce.
Rub a bowl with the cut side of an onion, set in a pan of ice water, put in the dry ingredients and stir them together, then mix to a paste with a teaspoonful vinegar. Blend with the yolk of egg, stirring till perfectly smooth. Now, begin to put in the oil, a few drops at a time, beating con stantly with a Dover egg beater. Al ternate the oil with a little vinegar and lemon juice, until all ingredients have been used. When finished, the mayonnaise ought to be like a thick j elly.