Home › Salads and Salad Dressing › Oyster Salad

Oyster Salad

Take one quart of oysters; one-half cup of mayonnaise; one tablespoon of oil; one-half teaspoon of salt; one pint of celery; two tablespoons of vinegar; one tablespoon of lemon juice; one-eighth teaspoon of pepper. Place the oysters in a stewpan on the fire, adding no water; and when they are boiling, turn them into a colander to drain. Place them, when drained, in an earthenware dish, and add the oil, salt, pepper, vinegar and lemon juice; when cold, set the dish in the ice-box for at least two hours. Cut the white part of the celery into very thin slices, and place it in a bowl in the ice-box, adding a piece of ice to the celery to keep it crisp. When ready to serve, drain the celery, mix it with the oysters and half of the mayonnaise, turn the whole into a salad bowl, and pour over it the rest of the dressing. Garnish with tufts of white celery leaves, and serve at once. If preferred, lettuce leaves may be arranged on a large platter in groups of two or three to form cups, and in each cup may be dropped four or five oysters and one spoonful of mayonnaise poured over them. A tiny spray of parsley may be thrust into the sauce at the center of each cup.

SALMON SALAD (Whole) -For a ceremonious supper this makes a very handsome dish. Choose a salmon weighing from five to ten pounds, rub with salt, wrap in a cloth, and steam or boil until tender. Pull off the skin while hot, and arrange fish at once upon a platter that it may retain its shape when cold. Just before serving time pour a rich mayonnaise over it, and sprinkle with capers, and, if obtainable, a small quantity of oyster crabs. Lettuce leaves may be prettily arranged about the edges of the platter, and slices or quarters of hard boiled eggs may be laid upon them. The lettuce and eggs are served with the salmon, which should be carved with a fish-knife; and a little more dressing may be added to each portion from a mayonnaise bowl.