New Orleans Home Cooking: Silly Salads

These simple side salads vary in taste from bland to exciting. Salads are a mainstay, especially at the Sunday family meals. Salads are usually served on a small plate or saucer before the main meal with saltine crackers.

You will need:

Large bowl for holding salad during tossing, chill in refrigerator before using

4 salad plates, chill in refrigerator before serving

Salad tongs or two large spoons for tossing and serving salad

Lettuce and Tomato Salad

Ingredients:

1 medium head iceberg lettuce

4 large tomatoes

4 tbsp Miracle Whip Salad dressing

Salt and black pepper to taste

To serve:

1. Remove stem from lettuce, wash and drain. Return to refrigerator to chill.
2. Wash tomatoes. Cut into quarters. Slice quarters in half. Return to refrigerator to chill.
3. When ready to serve meal, assemble ingredients - break lettuce into a large bowl, add tomatoes, sprinkle with salt and pepper, add Miracle Whip and toss gently.
4. Place bowl of salad on table with serving tongs so family members can help themselves.

Pear and Cheddar Salad

Ingredients:

4 large lettuce leaves (iceberg or butter lettuce), wash, drain and chill

1 large can pear halves (at least 8 halves), chill in refrigerator

4 oz cheddar cheese, grated

Honey and poppy seed dressing, chilled

To Serve:

1. Remove leaves, wash and drain. Return to refrigerator to chill.

2. Place salad dressing in refrigerator to chill.

3. Put pears in refrigerator to chill.

4. When ready to serve meal, assemble salad on 4 small plates. Place lettuce leaf on a salad plate, open can and place 2 pear halves on top of lettuce.
5. Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top of lettuce and pears.

6. Drizzle each salad plate with honey and poppy seed dressing.

Asparagus and Egg Salad

Ingredients:

8 asparagus spears, washed, steamed (should be crisp, not soft) and chilled

8 eggs, boiled, peeled and chilled

4 butter lettuce leaves, washed, drained and chilled

Honey and poppy seed dressing, chilled

Salt to taste

To serve:

1. Place a lettuce leaf on each of 4 salad plates.

2. Slice each asparagus stalk diagonally into 4 pieces and dump into large bowl

3. Cut eggs into quarters; add chopped eggs to bowl with asparagus pieces

4. Sprinkle asparagus and eggs with salt, to taste.

5. Toss mixture lightly. Move ¼ of the mixture to each salad plate on top of lettuce leaf.

6. Drizzle salad dressing on top of each salad.

Spinach, Pecans and Mandarin Orange Salad

Ingredients:

4 cups baby spinach leaves, washed, drained and chilled

4 mandarin oranges, peel and strip sections, chill sections

4 oz pecan halves (raw or baked), chilled

4 tbsp Honey mustard dressing

To serve:

1. Place spinach leaves, mandarin oranges and pecans in bowl.

2. Drizzle honey mustard dressing on top.

3. Toss until mixed.

4. Put ¼ of salad on each of the salad plates