My best 250 recipes

Put half a teaspoonful of salt and a saltspoonful of pepper in a bowl; add slowly, mixing all the while, four tablespoonfuls of olive oil. When the salt is dissolved add one tablespoonful of tarragon vinegar or lemon juice. Mix and use at once. ITALIAN DRESSING Put in a bowl half a teaspoonful of salt, a dash of cayenne, a teaspoonful of tomato paste, or a tablespoonful of tomato ketchup; add gradually, My Best 250 Recipes 61 mixing all the while, four tablespoonfuls of olive oil. Add one clove of garlic that has been mashed to a pulp, and a tablespoonful of tarragon vinegar. LETTUCE SALAD Cut the lettuce in four quarters, beginning at the bottom. Remove the leaves carefully without mashing or pressing them. Carefully wash each leaf and put it on a clean, soft napkin; dry and arrange them loosely in the salad-bowl. Sprinkle over chopped chives, parsley or onion, as you like. At serving-time have this brought to the table, also the oil and vinegar. Dust the salad with salt and pepper. Rub the spoon with garlic, measure the oil, pour it over the lettuce, mix and toss with a salad fork and spoon until the oil is evenly distributed. Then pour over the vinegar, toss again, and serve. MY FAVORITE SALAD Select a white, crisp head of lettuce; cut at the base, break it apart, and throw the leaves in cold water for an hour. Cut in very thin slices a carefully boiled beet; shave sufficient cabbage to make a pint; throw it in ice water. At servingtime shake and dry the lettuce and the cabbage. Put a layer of lettuce leaves in the bottom of a salad-bowl, put over a portion of the cabbage, then some beets, a half teaspoonful of celery seed; then 62 My Best 250 Recipes another layer of cabbage and garnishing of beets. Peel two tomatoes, cut them in halves, press out the seeds, and cut the flesh in cubes of an inch. Put these around the edge. Put in the centre of the bowl the heart of the head of lettuce, and stand it aside until serving-time. To dress, dust with a teaspoonful of salt, a saltspoonful of pepper, sprinkle over all four tablespoonfuls of mint sauce, add a tablespoonful of onion juice, a teaspoonful of soy, or Worcestershire sauce, and the same of mushroom ketchup that has been well mixed with a clove of garlic thoroughly mashed. Add eight tablespoonfuls of olive oil, and mix until each leaf of the lettuce is thoroughly covered with the dressing. Add four tablespoonfuls of grape and tarragon vinegar mixed; mix again, and serve immediately. CHICORY SALAD This, to me, is the most delightful of all dinner salads. Wash the chicory, trim the ends, leaving each piece about a finger's length. Put in a bowl half a teaspoonful of salt, a teaspoonful of grated onion, a saltspoonful of pepper; mix, and add four tablespoonfuls of olive oil ; rub until the salt is dissolved ; add a tablespoonful of tarragon vinegar; mix, pour over the chicory, and serve at once. My Best 250 Recipes 63 ASPARAGUS SALAD Trim neatly one bunch of asparagus, stand it in a kettle of boiling, salted water, cover, and cook for forty-five minutes. Drain and cool. Arrange neatly upon a flat dish and serve very cold, with French dressing. STRING BEAN SALAD Select young, tender beans; string and cut each one in three pieces lengthwise. Cover with boiling, salted water ; boil for twenty minutes, and drain. Throw them in cold water for ten minutes; then put them in boiling, unsalted water, and cook for fifteen minutes longer. Drain and cool. Arrange them neatly on a small platter, cover with French dressing, sprinkle with chopped parsley, and serve at once. CAULIFLOWER SALAD