The Aunts' Cook Book

Aunt Emery's Tomato Salad Scoop out centres of peeled tomatoes and refill with chopped sardines and olives mixed with mayonnaise or French dressing. Serve on lettuce, very cold. Aunt Robbie's Sweetbread Salad Cut up a cooked sweetbread, add to it a cupful of fresh peas, cooked. Mix with mayonnaise dressing and serve on lettuce. Aunt Elinor's Celeriac Salad Peel and cut celery roots into cubes. Boil till tender in salted water. Drain and blanch. Serve on beds of water-cress with any preferred dressing. This is good with cold chicken or ham. Aunt Elinor's Tomato Pat6 and Aspic Salad Peel and chill small, perfect tomatoes. Pour enough aspic in tea-cup or small mold to cover bottom. Chill till firm. Fill the tomatoes with pate de fois gras, place a slice of truffle on top of each one. Place carefully (truffle side down) on jelly in cup and gently pour in more aspic to cover. Unmould on little nests of cress and surround with a ring of green mayonnaise. 72 Salads and Sauces Aunt Robbie's Green Salad Select the pale inside leaves of head-lettuce. Arrange them on plates with curly endive or escarolle.Lay across them strips of French endive or cut it crosswise to form circles. Put a small bunch of water cress in the middle. Serve with French dressing. The virtue of this salad is that it is not heavy and that is attractive in appearance on account of the various shapes of leaves and the different shades of green. Aunt Gertrude's Pineapple and Marshmallow Salad Cut up canned pineapple and marshmallows. Mix with mayonnaise to which plenty of whipped cream has been added, also powdered sugar if sweeter dressing is preferred. Serve on lettuce leaves. SALAD DRESSINGS Aunt Elinor's French Dressing 3 tablespoonsful olive oil 2 tablespoonsful Darwin's Salad Vinegar Salt to taste. Aunt Virginia's Mayonnaise Dressing Put 3 yolks of eggs into a bowl, beat it well, then add 2 salt spoons of salt and 1 of mustard, then add a few drops of oil alternated with a few drops of vinegar, or better, the juice of 2 lemons. When you have put in about 6 tablespoons of oil, put in a pinch of cayenne pepper and J^ teaspoon of vinegar. Salads and Sauces 73 Aunt Robbie's Roquefort Dressing I Into 4 tablespoonsful of olive oil work half a pound of grated Roquefort cheese until perfectly smooth. Add one tablespoonful I of Tarragon vinegar, 1 teaspoonful of salt, 1 of pepper and a k teaspoonful of onion juice. Aunt Virginia's Aunt Amanda's Chicken Salad Dressing 3 heaping teaspoons of mustard 1 teaspoon of sugar 1 heaping teaspoon of cornstarch 2 tablespoons of olive oil 1 level teaspoon salt or melted butter Mix these well together, beat 1 raw egg white and yolk, and add to the mixture, after which 1 cup of sweet milk, and 1 cup of vinegar. Let it come to a scald, so as to thicken, and take quickly from the stove. Aunt Dell's Boiled Salad Dressing Yolks of 4 eggs H cup warm water Juice of 1 lemon 1 cup oil Beat yolks, add a little cold water and lemon juice in double boiler and cook until as thick as a custard, stirring constantly. Set away to cool. Then beat in gradually 1 cup of oil, season with cayenne and salt while beating. Beat thoroughly for 20 minutes. 74 Salads and Sauces Aunt Dell's Sour Cream Dressing 1 cup sour cream 2 teaspoonsful salt 1 egg 2 teaspoonsful mustard J^ cup vinegar J^ teaspoon pepper To cream add egg slightly beaten and remaining ingredients thoroughly mixed. Cook, in double-boiler, stirring constantly until mixture thickens. This dressing is very good for potato salad. SAUCES Aunt Robbie's Hard Sauce J^ cupful butter 2 cupsful sifted powdered or confectioners sugar 1 dessert spoonful Sherry Beat the butter to a cream and gradually work in the sugar and flavoring. Aunt DelPs Strawberry Hard Sauce J^ cup butter ^ cup strawberries }4 cup confectioners sugar