Boston Cooking-School cook book

To Curl Celery. Use a sharp knife and, beginning at end of stalk, make five cuts parallel with each other, extending one third the length of celery. Put in cold or ice water and let stand over ‘night or for several hours, when cut ends will curl back and celery will be very crisp. Both ends may be curled. To cut celery for salad, cut lengthwise in narrow strips, then crosswise in fine pieces or short strips. Cucumbers. Pare or not. Slice thinly, dice, or cut in fancy shapes. If slices with fancy edge are desired, pare with fluted knife or make parallel grooves lengthwise of cucumber with silver fork. Radishes. Remove tip, leave only such parts of leaves and stem as make an attractive-garnish. Cut to represent tulips or roses or remove even strips at intervals. (See page 501.) Keep in ice water until serving time. Tomatoes. Hold on fork over gas flame for a moment until skin wrinkles and splits, then peel. Or drop into boiling water for 2 minutes, remove, peel, and chill. Or rub entire surface with back of knife and peel. Cooked Vegetables. Cut in pieces of attractive size and shape. Marinate and chill thoroughly before combining. Cooked Meat. Free from skin, gristle, and bones and cut in small cubes. Cooked Fish. Flake or cut in cubes. Use thoroughly ripe but firm and unblemished fruit, thoroughly chilled. Cut in even pieces. Prepare as required by recipe. Apples. Cortland and Delicious are superior apples for salad. — Do not pare apples with bright red skin. Wipe, core, and cut in pieces. ‘To make very crisp and white, cut apples in pieces and soak in salted ice water. Avocados or Alligator Pears. To select, see p. 50. Cut in half and remove seed. Peel and cut as desired. Bananas. Peel, scrape with silver or stainless steel knife, and cut in pieces as desired. Sprinkle with lemon juice or cut just before using. Orange or Grapefruit. To remove sections, see pp. 51-52. Dried Fruit, Raisins, Candied Orange Peel, etc. If to be used with canned fruit, combine and let stand several hours before draining juices from canned fruit. TERMS USED IN SALAD MAKING Chapon. Remove a small piece from end of French loaf and rub over with a clove of garlic, first dipped in salt. Place in bottom of salad bowl before arranging salad. A chapon is often used in vegetable salads and gives an agreeable additional flavor. To Marinate. Let stand in French Dressing until well seasoned. Also used in meat cooking, etc., to improve flavor. To Mask. Cover whole surface of a salad with Mayonnaise or a similar dressing. Masking is usually done as a base for garnishing. Julienne-shaped pieces are the size and shape of small matches. SALAD GARNISHES Parsley, chives, green pepper, or pimiento, cut fine. Sprays of watercress, mint, or parsley. Strips of pimiento or green pepper. Grated raw carrot. Cucumber, diced or in thin slices. Radishes whole, in thin slices, or cut to represent tulips or roses. Stuffed olives, whole or sliced. Truffles, chopped or cut in fancy shapes. Capers. Ripe olives, whole or chopped. Aspic cubes, plain or colored red or green. Jelly cubes. Tiny bottled grapes, colored red, green, or orange. Red or green cherries, whole or cut in petal-shaped pieces. | Cream cheese or whipped cream put on with pastry bag. Candied orange peel, chopped fine. Candied fruits of various colors, chopped or cut in shapes. Radish Flowers, Curled Celery, and a Cheese Carrot CHEESE CARROTS Shape cream or pimiento cheese in form of small carrots. Insert 3 parsley to represent tops. If desired, roll in grated raw carrot. _s FRIED CHEESE BALLS 11% cups grated mild cheese Few grains cayenne 1 tablespoon flour 3 egg whites V4 teaspoon salt Cracker dust