Dave Stamper

An ingredient list with no method, in the manner of a recipe copied straight out of a household notebook. The proportions are sound; the technique is left to the cook.

• The missing instructionNothing here tells you what to do. Combine everything in a jar and shake hard, or whisk the oil into the mayonnaise a little at a time; the mayonnaise is what holds the oil and vinegar together, so add the oil gradually rather than dumping it in.
• The run-together title"Popovers" appears to be a stray heading from a neighbouring recipe rather than part of this one. What follows is a salad dressing credited to Claire, and there is no popover batter anywhere in it.
• Chili sauceIn this period this means the sweet, thick, tomato-and-onion bottled condiment sold beside ketchup, not a hot sauce. Substituting sriracha or a chile paste will throw the dressing badly out of balance; ketchup with a pinch of allspice is closer.
• A-1 sauceStill on shelves and still recognisably the same tamarind-and-raisin brown sauce. A teaspoon is doing the savoury, vinegary work that Worcestershire would do in other dressings.
• Powdered sugarFinely ground sugar of the period, which may or may not have been cut with starch. Half a teaspoon of granulated sugar dissolved in the vinegar works as well, and dissolves more reliably in a cold dressing.
• Vinegar strength"White vinegar" then covered a range of distilled and white wine vinegars, of varying strength. Modern distilled vinegar is a standard 5 percent acidity; taste before adding the full tablespoon.
• Yield and useA little under half a cup, enough for a head of lettuce or two large salads. It is a Russian-style dressing, best on crisp lettuce, cold shellfish or a wedge of iceberg.
• KeepingMade with commercial mayonnaise it will hold three or four days covered in the refrigerator. It separates on standing; shake again before serving.