Come Into My Kitchen
by

The Spanish have a saying that it takes four men (what happened to WOMEN) to make a good salad dressing:

I'd be inclined to add a fifth member to the team, responsible for standing over the madman and telling him when to stop mixing. As my art-teacher sister used to say,

The search for new salads has led me down many a fascinating little byway, for salads can be anything you choose to make them. Back in the eighteenth century Louis Phillippe pontificated that:

I hope some of the following will bear out that Frenchman's observation.
 

JONESBORO SALAD DRESSING

1 medium onion, grated
1/4 cup of vegetable oil
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/3 cup of catsup
1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Combine in jar and shake well. This is a slightly sweet dressing and very, very good.
 
 

FIRE-AND-ICE TOMATO SALAD

6 to 8 medium firm ripe tomatoes
1 large green pepper, sliced into rings
1 red onion sliced into very thin rings
1 cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced

Dressing:
3/4 cup vinegar
1-1/2 teaspoons celery salt
1-1/2 teaspoons mustard seed
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1/8 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoons black pepper
1/4 cup cold water

Peel tomatoes and quarter them only 3/4 the way through. Place pepper & onion rings in saucepan. Add dressing ingredients; bring quickly to a boil and boil only one minute. Pour immediately over tomatoes. Chill thoroughly and add cucumber slices. Serve in lettuce cups.
 
 

TEDDY'S RASPBERRY RING

1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen raspberries, thawed
2 pkgs (3 oz.) raspberry gelatin
2 cups boiling water
1 pint vanilla ice cream
1 can (6 oz.) frozen pink lemonade concentrate, thawed
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Drain raspberries, reserving syrup. Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Add ice cream by spoonfuls, stirring until melted. Stir in lemonade concentrate and reserved syrup. Chill until partially set. Add raspberries and pecans. Turn into 6-cup ring mold. Chill until firm. Yields 8 to 10 servings.

Lovely for luncheon with center filled with chicken salad.
 
 

BUFFET SALAD

1 head firm lettuce
2 onions, sliced
Salt and pepper
1 pound bacon, fried crisp and broken into pieces
1 head cauliflower (raw), shaved with sharp knife as for slaw
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1-1/4 cup good mayonnaise
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

In large bowl layer ingredients order listed above, adding salt and pepper to onion and cauliflower layers. Use all of each ingredient to form each layer. Cover and refrigerate 24 hours.

Toss before serving. Serves 12 to 16.
 
 

FRESH FRUIT SALAD

Arrange large pieces of fresh fruit on a bed of torn salad greens. Cantaloupe and pineapple slices are especially good.

Sprinkle with dressing made by shaking together:

1/2 cup orange juice
3 tablespoons salad oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon salt
 
 

RUBY'S SALAD

1 (3 oz.) pkg cherry or raspberry gelatin
1 cup cranberry juice cocktail
1/2 cup boiling water
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 can (1 lb.) whole berry cranberry sauce
2 teaspoons grated orange rind
1 cup seedless white grapes, cut

Bring cranberry juice to boil; pour over gelatin; add boiling water and stir until dissolved. Add lemon juice chill until partly set. Stir in cranberry sauce, orange rind and grapes. Turn into a l-quart mold or 6 individual molds and chill until firm.

An excellent dressing for this salad is sour cream thinned with orange juice, a teaspoon of fresh lemon juice and 2 teaspoons of grated orange rind.

Note: This seems to be a good time to remind you that you can freeze orange rinds after juicing so you'll never be caught without citrus peel.