A SALAD should be light, fresh, and crisp; no matter what it is made of, it should never be “mussy.” Much decoration or handling will produce a heavy-looking dish.

Celery, lettuce, tomatoes, etc. should be thoroughly chilled before being combined in a salad. All meats and fish that are to be served in a salad must be seasoned with salt, pepper, vinegar, and oil before being combined with the green vegetable and the dressing. It is well to have this seasoning added several hours before the salad is to be served.

Mayonnaise Dressing.

Put the yolks of the eggs into a bowl, being careful not to let any of the white go in. Add the dry ingredients to the yolks, and place the bowl in a flat pan. Put a little cold water and ice in the pan. Beat these ingredients until light and thick; then begin to add the oil, a few drops at a time. Beat well between each addition of oil. When the mixture gets thick and ropy, a larger quantity of oil may be added each time. When the dressing is so thick that the beater turns hard, add a few drops of vinegar to thin it. When all the other ingredients have been used add the lemon juice, and beat for a few minutes longer. This sauce will keep for three or four weeks, if covered and kept in a cool place.

The secret of success in making a Mayonnaise dressing is to have everything cold, to beat the yolks of eggs and dry ingredients until thick, and at first to add the oil only in drops. It is also essential that the beating should be regular, and always in one direction.

If a milder flavor of the oil be liked, a gill of whipped cream may be stirred into the dressing when it is about to be used.

Cooked Salad Dressing.

Beat the eggs well, and stir into them the sugar, salt, and mustard, which should first be mixed together. Now add the vinegar, and place the bowl on the range in a saucepan of boiling water. Beat constantly with an egg-beater until the dressing becomes thick and light. Take from the fire at once, and turn into a cold bowl to prevent curdling; or the bowl in which it was cooked may be placed in a pan of ice water, and the mixture be stirred until cool.

Beat the cream to a thick froth, and stir it into the cold dressing. If you have no cream stir a tablespoonful of butter into the hot mixture. When cold, if too thick, add a few tablespoonfuls of milk.

French Dressing.

Mix these ingredients together and the dressing is made. French dressing is particularly good for lettuce and cooked vegetables.

Have tender cooked chicken, free from fat, skin, and bone, and cut into cubes. Season it with the vinegar, salt, pepper, and oil, and let it stand in the refrigerator for an hour or more. Clean the celery and cut it into thin slices. Put this in a napkin and surround it with ice. It should stand for ten or twenty minutes in the ice bath, and will then be crisp.

Mix the celery, seasoned chicken, and half the dressing. Heap in a dish and mask it with the remainder of the dressing. Garnish the dish with some of the tiny, bleached celery leaves.

In summer the salad may be made with lettuce. Put two or three tender bleached leaves together, and place a spoonful of chicken in the centre of the leaves. Drop a teaspoonful of dressing on the chicken. Arrange these lettuce nests on a flat dish, and serve at once.

Lobster Salad.

Make the same as chicken salad, substituting lobster for chicken and lettuce for celery.

Fish Salads.

Any kind of cold fish may be combined with lettuce and the Mayonnaise dressing or cooked dressing.

Oysters to be used for a salad should be heated to the boiling point in their own liquor; then skimmed, drained, seasoned, and thoroughly chilled before being combined with the celery or lettuce.

Any kinds of vegetables may be used in salads. They may be seasoned with the French or cooked dressing. A single vegetable may be used, or several kinds be combined.

Lettuce Salad.

Have the lettuce washed clean, and then let it remain for a little time in ice water to become crisp. Drain well, and dress it with the French, Mayonnaise, or cooked dressing. Serve at once.

If you prefer, the lettuce may be served plain, each one dressing it to please himself.

Tomato and Lettuce Salad.

Soak the gelatine in the cold water for two hours. Heat the tomatoes to the boiling point, and stir the gelatine, sugar, and salt into the vegetable. Turn this mixture into a mould, and set away to harden. Have the lettuce washed and chilled. Arrange it in a flat dish, and turn the mould of tomatoes out upon it. Heap the dressing at the base of the mould. This salad may be made in winter when it is impossible to get the fresh tomatoes.

Beet Salad.

Cold boiled beets may be cut into thin slices, and the slices into small pieces; or the beets may be cut into small cubes. Season with Mayonnaise sauce or the cooked salad dressing, and serve.

Have the potatoes cut into cubes. Mix the oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and onion juice together, and sprinkle over the potatoes. Stir lightly with a fork and set away in a cold place for several hours. At serving time add the celery and dressing, stirring lightly with a fork. Turn into a deep dish, and garnish with celery leaves or parsley.

Potato Salad, No. 2.

Mix the seasonings and dressing with the potato cubes. Turn into a dish, and garnish with parsley. Let the salad stand for an hour or more before serving, that the seasonings may strike through the potatoes.