Page:Everyday Luncheons.djvu/177

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Simple Salads
167

abundantly to serve six people. Packed in jelly glasses, and covered with wax paper, or the cover of a jelly glass, mayonnaise will keep a week or more in a cool place.

A quick mayonnaise can be made by putting into a bowl half a teaspoonful of salt, a dash of red pepper, half a teaspoonful of dry mustard, the yolk of an egg, four tablespoonfuls of olive-oil, one tablespoonful of lemon-juice or tarragon vinegar, and beating all together with the egg beater. If it fails to thicken, it is because the egg is not strictly fresh, but even if it does not thicken, it is palatable. A small jar of mayonnaise dressing, kept upon the ice, is an ever present help in time of trouble.

All vegetables used for salads must be in prime condition. Lettuce must be crisp, and only the perfect leaves used. Ragged edges may be trimmed off with the scissors. The head lettuce is best for all salads, but the leaf lettuce may be used if the other is not obtainable. It is sometimes shredded into ribbons with a sharp knife or scissors, but lettuce should be torn rather than cut, as cutting breaks and bruises the fibres.

Salads with mayonnaise dressing are too rich to serve at dinner, and hence are relegated to luncheons, Sunday-night suppers, and hot-weather dinners, where no other meat is served.