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Shrimp Salad in Cucumber Boats
Pare the cucumbers, which should be rather short, and cut them in halves lengthwise; remove the seeds and steam until tender; chill, and arrange on lettuce leaves, or on a bed of watercress. Clean and marinate the shrimps. If large, divide into two or three pieces. Mix with mayonnaise and place in the cucumbers. Decorate with stars of mayonnaise and whole shrimps.
A composed salad from the era when nearly every luncheon dish was served in an edible container. The recipe assumes you already know two things it never states: that the shrimp are cooked, and that "marinate" means a spell in French dressing.
- Marinate means French dressingIn books of this period "to marinate" generally means letting the cooked, shelled shrimp stand a while in an oil-and-vinegar dressing seasoned with salt and pepper, then draining well before mixing with mayonnaise. The recipe gives no proportions or timing. Leaving the shrimp wet makes the mayonnaise slide off.
- The shrimp are already cookedThe recipe assumes shrimp that need only cleaning, so canned or previously boiled shrimp were likely intended. Use cooked, peeled shrimp; if starting raw, poach them in salted water just until opaque and no longer, as overcooked shrimp turn tough.
- Steam the cucumbers lightlyTender here means yielding but still holding its shape; the recipe gives no timing, so steam only a few minutes and test. Too long and the shells collapse when filled. Chill them thoroughly and pat dry, or the water they shed will thin the mayonnaise.
- Choosing the cucumbers"Rather short" simply signals a cucumber short enough to make a manageable boat; two 6-inch cucumbers give four boats. Long English cucumbers work if cut into 4-inch lengths.
- Stars of mayonnaiseThis means piped rosettes from a star tube, which requires mayonnaise stiff enough to hold a shape. Homemade mayonnaise beaten thick, or commercial mayonnaise straight from the jar, will pipe; anything loosened with cream or lemon juice will not.
- Raw egg in the mayonnaiseMayonnaise made from scratch is uncooked egg yolk and stays uncooked in this dish. Use pasteurized eggs or commercial mayonnaise if serving anyone pregnant, elderly, very young or immune-compromised.
- Yield and servingFigure one filled half per person as a first course, two as a luncheon plate. Assemble no more than an hour ahead and keep refrigerated; the cucumber weeps and the greens wilt if it stands.
Salads, Sandwiches and Chafing-Dish Dainties belongs to the turn-of-the-century American vogue for the cold luncheon, a meal served without a joint of meat. The book is generally attributed to Janet McKenzie Hill, longtime editor of the Boston Cooking School Magazine, and it reflects that school's twin enthusiasms: mayonnaise on nearly everything, and food presented in a shape. Hollowed vegetables as containers were everywhere in this period, tomato cases and pepper cups and cucumber boats alike. That shrimp appear at all in such a salad book is striking; shrimp canning did develop on the Gulf Coast in the later nineteenth century, though how far that shaped the pantry of a New England hostess is a matter of inference rather than record.