Elements of the theory and practice of cookery

402. Arranging the salad. — If only lettuce is to be served, put it in a pretty bowl, either glass, or of some color that looks well with the green of the leaves. Arrange these to form a frill above the edge of the dish, and let the centre be a nest of cool, shadowy green. The arranging of salads gives a girl a chance to dis- play artistic skill no less than does the embroidering of a doily, or the making of a sketch. How satis- factory to be able to combine those few spoonfuls of peas, beets, potatoes, and what not, left from two or three dinners, into a pyramid of pretty colors, wreathed with green and blossoming with radish " rose-buds " I (Macedoine Salad.) Or, starting with fresh mate- rials, what pleasure may be found in bringing out the PLATE XI. Macedoine Salad. Home-made Pasteurize] For description, see p. 292. ACID AND SALT SUPPLYING FOODS 255 beauty of glowing tomatoes nestled in palest green, and crowned with golden Mayonnaise ! (Stuffed Tomato Salad.) Nor do thrift and taste and judgment alone come into play in salad-making ; use your originality and invention, and you can produce many a salad not described in cook-books, but delightful to eye and taste. 403. To dress lettuce at the table, mix oil and season- ings in the salad spoon, pour them over the lettuce, and toss and turn this till every leaf is coated. Then add the vinegar, and toss again. To vary the flavor, have the salad bowl rubbed with a " clove of garlic," or have a piece of bread rubbed with garlic at the bot- tom of the bowl. 404. Reasons why salads should be eaten more than they are. — While the food value of a green salad is not large, the salts it supplies and its refreshing, appetizing qualities make it a most wholesome food. The oil or butter used in dressing it furnishes fat in a digestible form. The acid vinegar is believed to help digest the cellulose. Salads are prepared with little trouble and with no expense for fuel. Some vegetable suitable for salad can be obtained all the year round, even canned ones making, with fresh greens, an acceptable dish. If you cannot have salad every day, have it as often as you can. Some people now have salad instead of dessert, and if you cannot have both at the same dinner, it is well to substitute salad for pudding two or three times a week, at least. 256 THEOEY AND PKACTICE OF COOKERY Recipes Mixed Vegetable or Macedoine Salad (Plate XI) Cold cooked peas, carrots, beets, string beans, almost any cold vegetables may be combined in this salad. Cut beets and carrots in half-inch cubes, string beans and celery in short lengths, mix each vegetable sepa- rately with French dressing, and arrange them in sections, forming a circular mound. Let vegetables of contrasting colors come next each other. Garnish with radishes, celery tips, lettuce leaves, etc. Potato Salad Hot boiled potatoes cut into _j4-inch cubes, 3 cupfuls. Salad oil, 9 tablespoonfuls. Pepper, }4- teaspoonful. Vinegar, 3 teaspoonfuls. Onion, chopped fine, % cupful. Salt, 1 teaspoonful. Parsley, cut fine, 1 tablespoonful. Mix these ingredients thoroughly, heap the salad on a dish, and garnish with radishes, sliced, or cut in rose form (§ 394), and sprigs of parsley. Cooked Salad Dressing (without oil) Mustard, J4 teaspoonful. Sugar, 1 teaspoonful. Salt, ^ teaspoonful. Yolk of 1 egg.