Our Caesar Salad Sauerkraut Salad
Avocado with Fresh Tomato Relish JoAnn's Broccoli Salad
Wilted Spinach with Hot Bacon Dressing
Blueberry Gellatin
Vegetable Stuffed Tomato
Turkey Day Jello
M. A.'s Special Gelatin with Dressing
Strawberry and Spinach Salad with Lemon Dressing
Turkey Day Jello
We have this for Thanksgiving and Christmas. . . .not much variety in our Holiday fare. . . it is set in stone!!!
2 oranges, sectioned diced and drained (save juice
for jello)
you can substitute 1 can mandarin oranges
6 oz. strawberry jello
1 1/2c. boiling water
16 oz. jellied cranberry sauce
2/3 c. chopped nuts
1T. grated orange peel
Dissolve jello and 1/4t. salt in water. Stir in cranberry sauce until smooth. Add orange rind. Chill until slightly thickened. . . add orange and nuts. Pour into 5 cup mold . Chill.
Blueberry Gellatin
This is a good dish to take to a 'carry-in' as it serves as a salad or a dessert. We cut the topping in half. Nice and fruity in the uck of winter.
8 oz. crushed pineapple
6 oz. black cherry jello
1 can blueberry pie filling
1 c. chopped walnuts
topping: 1 c. sour cream
8 oz. cream cheese
1/4 c. sugar
Drain pineapple and add enough water to make 2 cups of liquid. Bring this to a boil and dissolve jello. Add 1 cup of cold water, blueberry pie filling, nuts and pineapple. Pour into a 9x13x2" pan and chill to set. Mix topping ingredients together and spread on gellatin.
JoAnn's Broccoli Salad
1 head fresh broccoli, cut into flowerets
8 oz. sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 small onion, diced
1 c. diced celery
1/2c. raisins
3 slices bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled
1 c. Miracle Whip
1/2 c. sugar
2 T. vinegar (basil or tarragon)
Combine broccoli, chestnuts, onions, celery, raisins, and bacon. Mix salad dressing, sugar, and vinegar. Pour dressings over broccoli mixture and refrigerate. Serve chilled.
Sauerkraut Salad 
1 qt. Vallasic Sauerkraut, drained
1 c. celery, sliced very thin on the diagonal
1 green pepper, chopped (or 1/2 green and 1/2
red bell pepper)
1/2 bunch of scallions, chopped
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. oil
1/4 c. vinegar
Mix together and let set overnight in the refrigerator.
This
is good for a pot luck or large summer buffet.
Robin's Pasta Salad
Have friends bring hamburgers or brats, and have a picnic any time of the year.
12 oz. pasta twists (tri colored is nice)
1 small can sliced black olives
1 stalk celery, diagonally sliced
1/2 c. sliced radishes
1/4 c. sliced scallions
1 small cucumber, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 bottle Italian Dressing (Olive Oil vinaigrette
is nice)
Cook pasta according to package directions (most 9 minutes). Drain and toss all together.
I add
1 cup of crumbled feta cheese or blue cheese.
M. A.'s Waldorf Salad
When I was growing up, we had this salad with Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. Every one had 'something' to chop.
3 red delicious apples, cored and coarsely chopped
1/2 c. thinly sliced celery
1 c. grapes, 1/2'd and deseeded
12-15 marshmallows, cut in 1/4's
1/2 c. chopped walnuts
optional - drained mandarin oranges
cool whip (beats whipping the cream and sugar)
Mix together the apples, celery, grapes, marshmallows, and nuts. Stir in enough cool whip to lightly coat.
I thought this sounded so odd, but it is wonderful, and lead us to all new ways to think of berries and salads. From the Willow Inn, in Waynesbury, PA, as printed in Bon Appetit, August 1983, page 8.
10 oz. fresh spinach, rinsed, drained, stemmed
and coarsely chopped
1 lb. fresh strawberries, hulled and halved or
sliced
Place spinach in a bowl and top with strawberries. Chill.
Lemon Dressing (makes about 3/4c.)
1/4 c. sugar
juice of 1 large lemon (3 scant T.)
1 egg yolk
6 T. vegetable oil
Place sugar in medium mixing bowl. Add lemon juice and whisk until most of sugar is completely dissolved. Add yolk and whisk until sugar is completely dissolved. Add oil 1T. at a time, whisking constantly until dressing is thick and creamy. Cover and refrigerate.
To serve, rewhisk dressing if necessary. Pour over salad and toss gently.
A
poppy seed dressing works well too. We have also used raspberries,
with a raspberry vinaigrette, and blueberries, or mandarin oranges and
kiwi fruit. What ever is in season!
Our Caesar Salad
After years sampling Caesar's, we took what we liked from several and ended up with the following. (We didn't like the big croutons!)
1/4c. olive oil and canola (mixed)
1/4-1/2 t. minced garlic
3T. lemon juice
1t. worcestershire sauce
1 egg, coddled 1 minute
8-10c. romaine lettuce, cleaned and cut in bite
size pieces, rolled in a towel and refrigerated
1t. dijon mustard
1/4c. bread crumbs, toasted
1/4c. freshly grated parmesan
salt and freshly ground pepper
6-8 anchovies
In a wooden salad bowl, mash three or four anchovies.
Whisk together in bowl the oils, garlic, lemon, worcestershire, dijon,
salt and pepper, and egg.
When ready to serve, put the lettuce in the bowl
and toss well. Sprinkle with the bread crumbs and parmesan and toss
lightly. Serve topped with additional anchovy if you like them.
(Bob and I do, kids don't, that is why we mashed them in the first place.)
Serves 4 generously.
Robin's favorite summertime salad, fresh from our garden!
3 ripe tomatoes
2T. onion, chopped fine (or 1 large scallion)
1/4c. cucumber, peeled and chopped
1/4c. celery, chopped
3T. sour cream
1T. fresh basil (1/4t. dried)
1/8t. salt
Cut off top of tomato and scoop out centers, chopping
pulp. Drain tomatoes. Mix tomato pulp with the onion, cucumber, celery,
basil and salt. (This may all be done ahead of time.)
To serve mix the sour cream with the mixed vegetables,
and stuff into tomatoes.
Serves 3.
M. A.'s Special Gelatin with Dressing
Although my Mother was not a 'great' cook, she did have some winners.
1/4c. cold water
2T. Knox gelatin
2c. crushed pineapple
Juice of one lemon
1c. sugar
1c. grated cheddar cheese
1/2 pt. whipping cream, whipped
Heat pineapple, sugar, and lemon juice. Add gelatin and refrigerate. When it is starting to jell, about 1 hour, add cheese and fold in whipped cream. Refrigerate in a square of rectangular dish until ready to serve.
Dressing:
1/2c. mayonnaise
2T. onion, chopped
2T. green pepper, chopped
2T. celery, chopped
a few chopped pecans
Serve squares of gelatin topped with the dressing. Serves 4.
Wilted Spinach with Hot Bacon Dressing
A winter favorite.
1 1/2-2c. spinach per person
1 slice bacon per person
2 slices onion per person
1/4t. brown sugar per person
1 1/2T. vinegar per person (I use my tarragon
vinegar)
1/8t. dijon mustard per person
1/4t. worcestershire per person
1/4t. salt per person
Cook bacon until crisp and crumble. Sauté
onions in bacon fat. Turn off heat and add remaining ingredients.
Place spinach in a serving bowl. Pour dressing over, and toss lightly.
Garnish with the crumbled bacon and chopped hard
boiled egg. (Or try garnishing with sliced ripe olives, chopped scallions,
or minced ham.)
This
is the same dressing I use on brussel sprouts.
Avocado with Fresh Tomato Relish
Talk about a great recipe, this makes the list!
2c. diced tomato
1 large scallion, chopped
1/4c. fresh parsley, chopped
3T. green pepper, minced
2T. wine vinegar (I use my basil vinegar)
1 1/2T. canola oil
1T. olive oil
1/4t. tabasco
1/4t. chili powder
1T. fresh basil, chopped (1/4t. dried)
3 ripe avocados
shredded lettuce
Mix all (except avocado and lettuce) and let stand
at room temperature for 1 hour. Refrigerate.
Place a peeled avocado half on the shredded lettuce.
Spoon tomato mixture in pit cavity.
Serves 6.
Tomato Aspic
This is a constant request from Robin. It
goes well with her favorite dinner: Crab Stuffed Chicken Breasts, with
wild rice, and this!
This recipe came from a friend of my Mother's,
Geno Cline. I adapted it by adding the celery and olives, for texture
and crunch.
Put 1/2c. cold tomato juice in a bowl.
Add 1 pkg. of Knox gelatin, stir until dissolved. Add 1c. boiling
tomato juice, 1/2 t. salt and 1t. worcestershire sauce. ( Kick in a few
drops of your favorite hot sauce.) Add 1/2c. cold tomato
juice and stir.
Now, I throw in one diagonally sliced celery stalk and about
1/2 a small can of sliced black olives.
Pour into mold. Chill.
I serve
this in individual custard dishes - no big mold to undo at dinner
time, just serve!