Original White House Cookbook

Take cold boiled ham, fat and lean together, chop it until it is thoroughly mixed and the pieces are about the size of peas ; then add to this an equal quantity of celery cut fine; if celery is out of season, lettuce may be substituted. Line a dish thickly with lettuce leaves and fill with the chopped ham and celery. Make a dressing the same as for cold slaw and turn over the whole. Very fine. CRAB SALAD. Boil three dozen hard-shell crabs twenty-five minutes ; drain and let them cool gradually ; remove the upper shell and the tail, break the remainder apart and pick out the meat carefully. The large claws should not be forgotten, for they contain a dainty morsel, and the creamy fat attached to the upper shell should not be overlooked. Line a salad bowl with the small white leaves of two heads of lettuce, add the crab meat, pour over it a “ Mayonnaise ” garnish with crab claws, hard-boiled eggs and little mounds of cress leaves, which may be mixed with the salad when served. COLD SLAW. Select the finest head of bleached cabbage — that is to say, one of the finest and most compact of the more delicate varieties ; cut up enough into shreds to fill a large vegetable dish or salad bowl — that to be regulated by the size of the cabbage and the quantity required ; shave very fine and after that chop up, the more thoroughly the better. Put this into a dish in which it is to be served, after seasoning it well with salt and pepper. Turn over it a dressing made as for cold slaw ; mix it well and garnish with slices of hard-boiled eggs. PLAIN COLD SLAW. Slice cabbage very fine ; season with salt, pepper and a little sugar ; pour over vinegar and mix thoroughly. It is nice served in the centre of a platter with fried oysters around it. 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 SAUCES AND DRESSINGS — SALADS. 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. CELEEY 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.