Various salad dressings may be made to serve with salads. The kind of dressing to select depends both on the variety of salad served and on the personal preference of those to whom it is served. Some of these contain only a few ingredients and are comparatively simple to make, while others are complex and involve considerable work in their making. Whether simple or elaborate, however, the salad dressing should be carefully chosen, so that it will blend well with the ingredients of the salad with which it is used.
A number of recipes for salad dressings are here given. They are taken up before the recipes for salads so that the beginner will be familiar with the different varieties when they are mentioned in connection with the salads. As many of the recipes as possible should be tried, not only for the knowledge that will be gained, but also for the practical experience.
FRENCH DRESSING -1
Mix 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/8
teaspoon pepper or few grains cayenne pepper in bowl; add 3 to 4
tablespoons olive oil, beating constantly. Place on ice until ready to
serve.
FRENCH DRESSING -2
A dressing that is very simply made and that can probably be used with a greater variety of salads than any other is French dressing. For instance, it may be used with any vegetable salad, with salads containing almost any combination of fruit, and with meat, fish, and egg salads.
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. mustard
1/4 tsp. pepper
3 Tb. vinegar
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/2 c. oil
Measure the dry ingredients and place them in a bowl. Measure the
vinegar and oil and add them to the dry ingredients. If possible, place
a piece of ice the size of a walnut in the bowl. Beat with a fork until
the ingredients are thoroughly mixed and the oil and vinegar form an
emulsion that will remain for a short time. The ingredients will
separate if the dressing is allowed to stand, but the colder they are,
the more easily will the emulsion form and the longer will it remain. If ice cannot be used, have the ingredients as cold as possible before
mixing them.
CREAM SALAD DRESSING -1
A simple dressing that requires very little time or skill in preparation and that affords a means of using up cream that has
soured is the one given in the accompanying recipe. Sweet cream may also be used in the same way if desired, and this makes an excellent dressing for cabbage salad, plain cucumber salad with lettuce, or fruit salad. If the dressing is to be used for fruit salad, lemon juice may be used in the place of vinegar.
1 c. sour cream
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tb. sugar
1/4 c. vinegar
Whip the cream with a rotary beater until it is stiff. Then add the
sugar, salt, and vinegar, and continue beating until the mixture is well blended. Cool and serve.
Cream Salad Dressing -2
Two eggs, three table-spoonfuls of vinegar, one of cream, one
teaspoonful of sugar, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of salt, one-fourth
of a teaspoonful of mustard. Beat two eggs well. Add the sugar, salt
and mustard, then the vinegar, and the cream. Place the bowl in a
basin of boiling water, and stir until about the thickness of rich
cream. If the bowl is thick and the water boils all the time, it will
take about five minutes. Cool, and use as needed.
SOUR CREAM DRESSING -1
Sour-cream dressing is not a very economical one to make unless there happens to be sour cream on hand. It is, however, a very good dressing for both fruit and vegetable salad.
2 Tb. butter
1/3 c. vinegar
3 Tb. flour
1 c. sour cream
2 Tb. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. salt
1 c. whipped cream
Melt the butter in the upper part of a double boiler, add the flour,
sugar, salt, vinegar, and sour cream. Cook together over the flame until the mixture thickens. Beat the egg yolks and add them to this. Place in the lower part of the double boiler and cook until the egg yolks thicken. Beat the egg whites and fold them with the whipped cream into the salad dressing. Cool and serve.
SOUR CREAM DRESSING -2
Mix one cup of sour cream and three eggs, well beaten. Dissolve two
tablespoons of sugar and one tablespoon of mustard in one-half cup of
vinegar; salt, pepper and paprika to taste, and then stir this slowly
into the cream and eggs. Put in double boiler, cook until thick, then
add butter the size of an egg and cook about five minutes longer. Take
from fire and bottle; this dressing will keep for months.
MAYONNAISE DRESSING -1
Although mayonnaise dressing is prepared without the application of heat, it is not one of the simplest dressings to prepare. It meets with much favor, being used almost as extensively as French dressing, but it is perhaps less desirable with fruit salads than with others. It is also much used as a basis for numerous other dressings. Before serving, it may be thinned by beating either sweet or sour cream into it. It may be made fluffy and light and its quantity may be increased by beating whipped cream into it.
1/2 tsp. salt
2 egg yolks
1/4 tsp. pepper
1-1/2 c. oil
1/4 tsp. mustard
4 Tb. vinegar or lemon juice
Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Separate the eggs and add the yolks
to the dry ingredients. Beat these with a rotary egg beater until they
are well mixed. To this mixture, add a few drops of oil and continue to
beat. Add a drop of the vinegar or lemon juice, a few more drops of oil, and beat constantly. Gradually increase the quantity of oil added each time, but do not do this rapidly. As the oil is added and the beating is continued, it will be noted that the mixture grows thicker, but when vinegar is added the mixture is thinned. The quantity of vinegar is so much less than that of oil that the oil may be added in small amounts two or three times in succession before vinegar is added.
This process is rather long and slow, but if the mixing is done correctly, the result will be a thick, smooth mixture that will not
separate for possibly 6 or 7 days. Mayonnaise mixers, which may be
procured for making this dressing, make the work easier, but they are
not at all necessary. Mayonnaise may be made as successfully with a bowl and a rotary beater, if it will just be remembered that the liquid
ingredients must be added slowly and that they must be as cold
as possible.
MAYONNAISE DRESSING -2
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/16 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup salad oil
2 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice
Utensils and ingredients should be very cold. Put egg yolk into
shallow bowl; add, seasoning and mix well; add oil slowly, almost drop
by drop, beating continually until very thick. Thin with vinegar;
continue adding oil and vinegar until all is used.
MAYONNAISE DRESSING -3
1 egg
juice of 1 lemon or 4 tablespoons vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
few grains cayenne
2 cups salad oil
Put egg with vinegar or lemon juice and seasoning into bowl and beat
with rotary egg beater. Add oil a tablespoonful or more at a time,
beating constantly. Well covered, this mayonnaise will keep for three
or four weeks.
COOKED MAYONNAISE.
A dressing that is very similar both in texture and taste to the mayonnaise just explained and perhaps a little easier to make is known as cooked mayonnaise. This dressing, as will be noted from the accompanying recipe, may be made in larger quantities than the
Uncooked mayonnaise.
2 Tb. oil
1/4 tsp. mustard
4 Tb. flour
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/2 c. vinegar
2 eggs
1 c. boiling water
2 c. oil
1 Tb. salt
Mix the 2 tablespoonfuls of oil and the flour and pour in the vinegar.
Add the boiling water and stir the mixture until it is perfectly smooth
and well mixed. Place over the fire and cook for about 5 minutes.
Remove from the fire and cool. When completely cooled, add the salt,
mustard, and paprika. Separate the eggs and beat the yolks and whites
separately. Add the egg yolks to the mixture. Add the 2 cupfuls of oil a little at a time, beating thoroughly with a rotary beater each time oil is added. When all of this is completely mixed and thoroughly beaten, fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites.
MAYONNAISE WITH WHIPPED CREAM
When you are in want of a large quantity of dressing, mayonnaise or
French, add one pint of whipped cream to your prepared dressing,
stirring thoroughly, just before ready to serve.
WHITE MAYONNAISE
To make white mayonnaise, follow the ordinary directions, using lemon
juice instead of vinegar, omitting the mustard and adding, when
finished, a half cup of whipped cream or half an egg white beaten very
stiff.
Red Mayonnaise Dressing.
Lobster “coral” is pounded to a powder, rubbed through a sieve, and
mixed with mayonnaise dressing. This gives a dressing of a bright
color. Or, the juice from boiled beets can be used instead of “coral.”
Green Mayonnaise Dressing.
Mix enough spinach green with mayonnaise sauce to give it a bright
green color. A little finely-chopped parsley can be added.
RUSSIAN SALAD DRESSING
Make one-half pint of mayonnaise dressing and add to it the following:
Two hard-boiled eggs chopped fine, two to four tablespoons of tomato
catsup, one tablespoon of finely chopped parsley, one teaspoon of finely
chopped or grated white onion or shallot, after these ingredients are
mixed, fold them into one cup of mayonnaise and serve. Enough for ten
people.
BOILED SALAD DRESSING -1
1/2 tablespoon salt
1-1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon mustard
1/2 tablespoon flour
few grains cayenne
1/2 cup vinegar
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter or other shortening
Mix dry ingredients in top of double boiler; add vinegar and beaten
egg yolks and mix; add milk and butter. Cook in double boiler until
thick and smooth. Take from fire and add beaten egg whites. Cool and
serve.
BOILED SALAD DRESSING -2
Although boiled salad dressing is not so great a favorite as the uncooked mayonnaise dressing, it has the advantage of being less expensive. Then, too, it is one of the dressings that may be made without oil, and so finds favor with those to whom oil is not agreeable. However, oil may be substituted for the butter that is
given in the recipe. It will be noted that the preparation of this
dressing is similar to that of a custard with the addition of flour.
Since the flour requires longer cooking than the eggs, they are added
last so that there will be no danger of overcooking them. If the
dressing curdles, it may be known that the eggs have cooked too long,
but this condition may be remedied by placing the pan containing the
dressing in a pan of cold water as soon as the curdling is observed and
then beating vigorously with a rotary beater.
2 Tb. butter
1 tsp. mustard
2 Tb. flour
1 c. milk
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
2 tsp. sugar
1/4 c. vinegar
Melt the butter in the inner pan of a double boiler, add the flour,
salt, sugar, mustard, and milk. Cook over the flame until the mixture is thickened. Beat the eggs, stir them into the mixture, and add the
vinegar, beating rapidly. Place in the large pan of the double boiler
and allow this to cook until the eggs have thickened. Cool and serve.
THOUSAND ISLAND DRESSING.
By using the cooked or the uncooked
mayonnaise dressing as a basis and adding to it the ingredients listed
here, a very delightful salad dressing, called Thousand Island dressing, is the result. All the ingredients need not be added if it is
inconvenient to do so, still the dressing is better when they are all
used. This dressing is particularly good when served with plain lettuce
salad, with lettuce and tomatoes, with lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers, or with any other plain-vegetable salad.
1 c. mayonnaise dressing
2 Tb. chopped green pepper
1/4 c. chilli sauce
1 Tb. chopped onion
2 Tb. chopped pimento
1 hard-cooked egg
Into the mayonnaise stir the chilli sauce, pimiento, pepper, and onion,
and lastly, add the hard-cooked egg chopped into fine pieces. Chill and serve.
MUSTARD DRESSING
Take yolk of one hard-boiled egg and rub smooth in a bowl. Add two
teaspoons of French mustard, salt, pepper, and little sugar. Add a
little oil, and then a little vinegar. Garnish top with the white, cut
in pieces.
Salad Dressing Without Oil.
The yolks of four uncooked eggs, one table-spoonful of salt, one
heaping teaspoonful of sugar, one heaping teaspoonful of mustard,
half a cupful of clarified chicken fat, a quarter of a cupful of
vinegar, the juice of half a lemon, a speck of cayenne. Make as
directed for mayonnaise dressing.
Salad Dressing made with Butter.
Four table-spoonfuls of butter, one of flour, one table-spoonful of
salt, one of sugar, one heaping teaspoonful of mustard, a speck of
cayenne, one cupful of milk, half a cupful of vinegar, three eggs. Let
the butter get hot in a sauce-pan. Add the flour, and stir until
smooth, being careful not to brown. Add the milk, and boil up. Place
the sauce-pan in another of hot water. Beat the eggs, salt, pepper,
sugar and mustard together, and add the vinegar. Stir this into the
boiling mixture, and stir until it thickens like soft custard, which
will be in about fire minutes. Set away to cool; and when cold,
bottle, and place in the ice-chest. This will keep two weeks.
EAST INDIAN SALAD SAUCE
2 Eggs.
1 teaspoonful Curry Powder
1/2 gill Oil
1/4 gill Vinegar
Boil the eggs hard; put the yolks into a bowl and work them till they are quite smooth. Work in gradually the curry powder, oil, and vinegar. Blend well, and it is ready. It may be used sometimes instead of mayonnaise or ordinary salad dressing.