Listen to this Tranquillusionist via theallusionist.org/salads
This is the Tranquillusionist, in which I, Helen Zaltzman, say some words over relaxing music with the purpose of temporarily quelling intrusive or stressful thoughts by replacing them with some absolutely inconsequential ones. Note: this is NOT the usual Allusionist. You will NOT learn anything about language at all, in fact the objective of the tranquillusionists is that you’re asleep before the end. But if you like this one, you can find several more tranquillusionists in the feed and at theallusionist.org/tranquillusionist. All the music is composed specially by Martin Austwick of PaleBirdMusic.com.
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Alright, time to give your internal monologue a break for a bit; on with the Tranquillusionist.
Today, I will be reading from the book 282 Ways of Making a Salad, compiled by Bebe Daniels and Jill Allgood in 1950.
I always find 'salad' a bit of a semantically complicated word, because etymologically it means 'salted' - vegetables that had been salted for preservation. But I don't think that's really what says 'salad' to people now. But if a salad is just chopped vegetables, which I think some people associate it with, how do you explain egg salad, which is a chopped egg? And then if you think, "Is salad supposed to be just chopped things?" then how do you explain the ones that are a big mould of jellified stuff? I mean, how do you explain those anyway? It's a lot of mysteries. And now we're going to hear about 282 different salad recipes. But are they salads? Some of them I think are only tenuously recipes. And also, a few of the recipes are attributed to celebrities. So get ready.
Green and vegetable salads.
1. French salad. "This is the recognised classic among salads" (Editor).
2. Artichoke salad. "Cut cold boiled artichokes in halves and remove the chokes. Serve with mayonnaise or French dressing." See, arguably, I wouldn't say, "Find a thing and cut it up" is enough of a recipe. But okay.
3. Asparagus and cabbage salad, from Daphne Padel.
4. Baked bean salad. 5. Assorted vegetable salad. And the first ingredient is gelatine.
6. Beetroot salad, by Joan Bennett.
7. Broccoli and artichoke salad by Cyril Fletcher and Betty Austell.
8. Brussels sprouts salad.
9. Bunny salad. Does it say who Bunny is? It does not - but there is gelatine.
10. Cabbage salad.
11. Carrot salad.
12. Cauliflower.
13. Cauliflower and mixed vegetables salad, by Freddy Grisewood.
14. Cauliflower, tomato and cheese by Jimmy Durante.
15. Cauliflower salad.
16. Celeriac salad, from William Bendix.
17. Celery salad. 18. Vic Oliver's celery curls. That's more sculpture than a salad recipe.
19. Celery and apple salad, by Robert Donat.
20. Celery sticks, stuffed.
21. Coleslaw salad.
22. Combination salad. Some of you might think that 'combination' is the spirit of salad. That's a salad for you by Tyrone Power.
23. Cos lettuce and cabbage lettuce salad. "Take it from here to the table," says Jimmy Edwards.
24. Cucumber aspic. There's that gelatine!
25. Cucumber and tomato mould - gelatine - from Moira Lister.
26. Dried cabbage salad.
27. Delmonico salad, by Walter Pidgeon.
28. Dinty Moore salad - but it is not by Dinty Moore. Must be in tribute to Dinty Moore.
29. French bean or runner bean salad, by Ann Sothern.
30. French flageolets (a green bean). Thanks, Yvonne Arnaud.
Oh, it's beans with mayonnaise and sliced bananas.
31. Garden vegetable salad, by Elisabeth Welch.
32. Garden vegetable salad by Rosalind Russell.
33. Green salad for a salad bowl, by Vivian Leigh and Laurence Olivier. No gelatine for that pair.
34. Green salad or winter salad, by Kay Stammers.
35. Green salad bowl.
36. Green salad. "'Don't listen, ladies.' It contains spring onions - the more, the better." From Strube.
Righto.
36a. Green lady salad. I think they're cheating with the numbering.
37. "Have a go!" mixed salad by Wilfred Pickles. Really missed an opportunity to do something with pickles in this salad. But he does have a little fun with his name in the recipe itself:
"Wash the ingredients thoroughly, cut up chocolate in a bowl and serve with ---- (sorry, no advertising!) salad cream. Everybody helps themselves and a good time is had by all. If they prefer Pickles with it, invite them on Wednesdays at 9:30pm. I won't repeat that - I'll leave that to your guests."
Thank you, Wilfred Pickles, thank you.
38. Leaf lettuce salad, by Gregory Peck.
39. Lettuce and tomato salad, by JB Priestley.
40. Leek and endive.
41. Macedoine of fresh vegetables.
42. Mashed potato salad.
43. Mixed salad, by Margaret Lockwood.
44. Mixed salad, by Stuart MacPherson.
45. Mixed salad.
46. "Gert and Daisy's" mixed salad, by Elsie and Doris Waters.
47. Mixed salad by Yvonne Arnaud.
48. Mixed vegetable salad.
49. "149 Special" by Joyce Grenfell.
50. Mixed vegetable salad, by Sandy MacPherson.
51. Mushroom salad.
52. Mushroom and tomato by Kenneth Horne.
53. Onion slices.
This is just a recipe for sliced onions in water. I object.
54. Onion salad.
That's got more stuff in it, including - wow, sardines, curry powder, hard boiled eggs, vinegar... That's a punchy salad.
55. Perfection salad. There's the gelatine again!
56. Picnic salad.
57. Pimento and runner beans.
58. Potato salad, by Gilbert Harding.
59. Potato salad.
60. Potato and mixed salad.
61. Potato and bacon salad.
62. Red cabbage salad.
63. Red cabbage salad.
64. Raw vegetable salad, by Jack Warner.
65. Raw vegetable salad.
66. Raisin and carrot salad.
There's more raisins in this book than I'm comfortable with.
67. Rose radishes.
Again - sculpture.
68. Saute potato salad.
69. Spinach mould.
70. Spinach and tomato salad.
71. Spring salad, by Marjorie Fielding.
72. Spring salad by Ann Blyth.
73. String bean salad.
74. Tomato salad a l'epicure deluxe, by Gilbert Harding, who says "this salad will adorn even the dreariest!"
75. Tomato aspic - that's right, gelatine, you knew it.
76. Tomato salad, no gelatine.
77. Tomato and cucumber salad.
78. Tomato salad (frozen), including gelatine.
79. Tomato salad by Rex Harrison.
80. Tomatoes (stuffed). Multiple choices of stuffing. Stuff it with one of the other salads, if you want!
81. Tomato and vegetable salad.
82. Vegetable aspic by June Haver. You know what that means! Gelatine...
83. Vegetable aspic salad with chicken. "Scatter jellied chicken over the top."
84. Vegetable salad.
85. Variegated vegetable salad.
86. Vegetable salad for winter.
87. Vegetable mould by Yvonne de Carlo. (Gelatine.)
88. Vegetable mould.
89. Waldorf salad and mayonnaise dressing by Anna Neagle.
90. Watercress salad.
91. Winter salad by Phyllis Calvert.
92. Whole cabbage lettuce salad, and a postscript salad by Diana Wynyard. Again, the numbering is outrageous.
93. Quickies!
That's basically chopped up things with mayonnaise, which is how some of the non-quickie recipes are.
What is the editorial rubric in this book?
New section: Cheese Salads.
It does mention that unless a cheese is specified, you can choose your own cheese, and you can grate it, pipe it or cut it up decoratively. Free play.
94. Cheese salad mound.
95. Cheese, bacon and garden salad, by Valerie Hobson.
96. Carrot cheese balls. Which is cheese rolled into balls and rolled in grated carrot.
97. Cheese cucumber and egg by Jack Train. "Special note from Jack: 'This salad is vastly improved with a half pint of sherry.'" Look, if your salad can't stand on its own, Jack, without the booze, does it deserve to be in the 282 salads?
98. Cheese and mixed salad.
99. Cheese and pineapple by Leslie Mitchell.
100. Cheese and tomato aspic by Elizabeth Scott. Yeah, you celebrate the 100 with some gelatine.
101. Cottage cheese and lettuce leaves.
102. Cottage cheese with pears, peaches or pineapple rings. Alliterates!
103. Cucumber and cheese.
104. Egg and cheese salad by Dick Bentley.
105. Nuts and cheese by Harry Hemsley.
106. Parmesan cheese salad by Grace Bradley.
107 Potato and cheese.
108. Sour milk cheese salad.
109. Sour milk cheese and strawberries.
110. Tomato and cheese.
111. 'Wheel' cheese salad. 'Wheel' is in inverted comments because you lead out like the spokes of a wheel. The rim is half moons of tomato and the centre hub is hardboiled yolks of eggs, sieved.
112. Sour milk cheese fruit salad by Jean Simmons. Not the one from the band Kiss.
New section: Fish Salads. They also recommend that you transform a chicken salad into fish salad by substituting chicken with fish. You are allowed to be independent with this book!
113. Anchovy and mixed salad, by Alan Ladd.
114. Crab (dressed).
115. Asparagus and prawn salad.
116. Crab salad.
117. Crab salad, by Cornel Wilde.
118. Crab and cucumber salad.
119. Crab and cucumber salad by Denis Compton.
120. Crayfish, by Ben Lyon. "Star of Hell's Angels - that's me, folks!" Thanks Ben for pointing that out.
121. Herring salad.
122. Herring salad.
123. Indian salad.
124. Kipper salad.
125. Lobster salad, by Ray Milland.
126. Lobster salad a la St Trinian's by Ronald Searle, who comments: "At St Trinian's, the shell crowns the whole mixture so that the girls can see what they are getting. Later the claws are used for apple pie beds." A salad with a prank.
(No pranks, please!)
127. Lobster salad by Ted Ray.
128. Lobster salad by Harold Warrender.
129. Mackerel salad.
130. Lobster salad by Joe Davis.
131. Prawn salad.
132. Prawn salad (served on individual plates) by Christopher Stone.
133. Prawn, cucumber and tomato salad.
134. Salad bowl with anchovies, by William Boyd.
135. Salmon salad (fresh).
136. Salmon (smoked).
137. Salmon salad, by Robert Beatty. Interestingly, it's a recipe for salmon and then a recipe for salad, which is served separately. I say 'interestingly'; that was a lie.
138. Salmon and cucumber (frozen).
139. Salmon salad (tinned) by Jack Hulbert.
140. Salmon salad (tinned) by Van Johnson. This one's got crisps in it. Good plan!
141. Salmon and shrimp salad, by Diana Lynn.
We are halfway through 282 Ways of Making a Salad.
Back to salads, we've made a commitment now, all 282. 281 is not enough; 283 is just filler.
142. Sardine salad.
143. Sardine and tomato.
144. Shrimp and cheese salad, by Stanley Holloway.
145. Shrimp and cucumber salad.
146. Shrimp hors d'oeuvre.
147. Sardine and potato salad.
148. Shrimp potato salad.
149. White fish salad, by Walter Cartmell.
150. White fish salad.
151. White fish salad.
152. White fish salad, by Geraldo. To his, you may add peas.
Fruit salads.
153. Apples.
154. Apple and celery salad.
155. Apples and walnuts.
156. Cooked apples.
157. Apple, raisin and nut.
158. Banana and date.
159. Apricot.
160. Banana and grapefruit, by Charlie Chester.
161. Banana and fruit mould by Cicely Courtneidge.
162. Banana and nut.
163. Banana and mixed fruit, by Donald Peers.
164. Banana and raspberry salad, by Lois Collier.
165. Banana and nut.
166. Berries.
167. Cantaloupes.
168. Stanley Black's blackberry fruit mould, by Stanley Black.
Gelatine.
Actually I've probably not informed you about all of the gelatine because it's a lot of gelatine.
169. Tropical cantaloupe salad by Dorothy Lamour.
170. Cherry salad. 171. Frozen cherry mould.
172. Fruit and jelly mould, by Sheila Sim and Richard Attenborough.
173. Grapes, cheese and nuts.
174. Grapefruit, cherries and raspberries.
175. Grapefruit and oranges.
176. Jellied walnut-apple salad, by Lionel Barrymore.
177. Melons, by Frank Sinatra.
178. Melon surprise by Kay Cavendish. Is the surprise that Frank Sinatra just did a melon recipe?
179. Mixed fruit salad.
180. Mixed fruit and jelly (Big-Hearted Arthur Salad) by Arthur Askey.
181. Mixed fruit salad, by Veronica Lake.
182. Mixed fruit salad.
183. Mixed fruit salad by Joy Nichols.
184. Mixed fruit salad by Claude Hulbert.
185. Orange salad, by Strube.
186. Oranges.
187. Orange and mint salad.
188. Peaches by Daphne Padel.
189. Peach salad (jellied) by Dulcie Gray and Michael Denison.
190. Pears.
191. Peach and sour milk cheese salad by Peggy Cummins.
192. Pear, ginger and nut, by Bud Flanagan.
193. Pear, nectarine and apple.
194. Pear and grape salad, by Billy de Wolfe.
195. Shimmering pear and grape salad. Up yours, Billy de Wolfe, with your matte salad.
196. A Persian salad, by John McCallum.
197. Pineapple and sour milk cheese.
198. Red currant and raspberry mould. (Gelatine.)
199. Raspberry salad.
200. Strawberries. With French dressing.
201. Strawberry and cantaloupe salad.
202. Strawberry and peach salad, by Lauren Bacall.
203. Strawberry, raspberry and melon salad.
204. Sunset salad, by Jessie Matthews.
Here ends the fruit salad chapter. And a lot of them contain lettuce or olives, in case you're thinking these are dessert salads. I suppose they are what you make of it - why not a lettuce dessert, huh? Why not.
Macaroni salads chapter! Although there are only two of them, so I don't really think they warranted their own chapter.
205. Macaroni salad by Barry Fitzgerald. Yes, it's in gelatine - how did you know?
206. Macaroni walnut salad, by Victor Mature.
Meat and poultry salads.
Just to remind you, you may substitute chicken with fish or tender white rabbit meat.
207. Beef salad.
208. Calf's head salad.
209. Chicken salad.
210. Chicken salad (see also Tomato Stuffed with Chicken Salad). That's by Richard Widmark.
211. Chicken salad by Enid Trevor.
212. Chicken salad by Judy Garland.
213. Chicken salad (frozen) (and also gelatiney).
240. Chicken and apple by Richard Dimbleby.
215. Chicken in aspic.
216. Chicken and ham in aspic.
217. Chicken, ham or tongue (or combination) with stuffed tomatoes.
218. Chicken and ham salad, by Ambrose.
219. Chicken and mushroom salad, by Bing Crosby.
220. Highland fling (chicken) by "Jock" Gaffron. Garnish with marigold petals.
221. Chicken, ham and tongue by Linda Darnell.
222. Chicken and pineapple salad by Carroll Gibbons.
223. Corned beef and vegetable salad.
224. Cold duck, peas and potatoes.
225. Ham salad.
226. Goose.
227. Ham and egg salad, by Michael Wilding.
228. Ham mousse. Creamy gelatine.
229. Ham salad (See also Tomato Stuffed with Ham Salad) by John Mills. Did they collaborate on the tomato stuff recipe, or was that editorial choice later? I'd think you could stuff quite a lot of these salads into a tomato, if you so wished.
230. Lamb salad.
231. Pork tenderloin salad.
232. Pork salad.
223. Rabbit meat salad a la "Harvey". "PS - I have not dared tell Harvey we're proposing to chop his relations into small pieces." By Sid Field.
234. Sweetbread salad. "Refer to any cookery book for method of blanching and cooking sweetbreads." Why not this book?
235. Tomatoes stuffed with chicken salad.
236. Tongue salad.
237. Tomato stuffed with ham salad. That's the payoff from the setup earlier.
238. Tongue and vegetable salad.
239. Turkey and chestnut salad by Betty Hutton.
240. Tongue and ham in aspic.
241. Tongue and vegetable salad, by John Lund.
242. Veal salad.
243. Veal mousse by Joan Crawford.
New chapter:
Some Special Salads.
Not like those humdrum salads we had before!
244. Aspic of roquefort, by Noel Langley. Gelatine.
245. Oyster salad by George Allison.
246. Salmon and cucumber (frozen) by Joan Caulfield. 247. Salmon in tomato aspic.
248. Shimmering apricot mould.
249. Chequered grape mould. Some fancy moulds in the Special Salads, to be fair.
250. Stuffed brandied pears (or any whole bottled fruit) by Dolores Gray. "A wonderfully piquant salad to serve with fowl, particularly with roast turkey, which always tends to be too dry."
251. Frozen fruit and cheese, by Ann Sheridan.
252. Fruit salad. It seems to be fruit in a bechamel sauce. With mayonnaise.
253. Fruit salad mould for Christmas.
254. Fruit salad platter.
255. Shimmering strawberry, raspberry, grapefruit and jelly mould, by Anne Ziegler and Webster Booth.
256. Frozen peach, pineapple and raspberry mould, by Norman Hartnell.
257. Pears with strawberries or cherries.
258. Artichoke salad.
259. Frozen tomato salad by David Langdon.
260. Tomato salad, by Yvonne Arnaud. "PS Have you ever tried plums with the same seasoning as the tomatoes? Excellent with meat dish." So that's plums with mustard and terragen vinegar and parsley. Let me know how it is.
261. Tomato with olives (frozen) by Betty Grable.
262. Asparagus with tongue and cheese, by Humphrey Bogart.
263. Crouton salad.
264. Damascus green salad for a large party - that one does look really good - by Googie Withers. I'm going to try your salad, Googie Withers. No, wait, you've garnished with chopped egg yolk "to imitate pollen". This book is of the era where grated egg was used much more than it is at the moment.
265. Chicken and grape salad. 266. Chicken liver salad, by Leslie Henson.
267. Chicken and pineapple salad, by Mary Pickford.
268. Vegetable aspic.
269. Chicken and pineapple aspic.
270. Chicken - special salad for Easter (frozen).
271. Moulded chicken jelly.
272. Mutton salad, "same as lamb salad (number 275)." Spoilers!
273. Duck salad with port or claret dressing, by Vivian Holland, member of the Council of the Wine and Food Society. No one else got an introduction!
274. Ham in aspic.
275. Lamb salad.
276. Oriental salad. Not a word I would use; also, the ingredients: one fresh cabbage lettuce; one fresh juicy pear, not too ripe; two bananas, not overripe; half a pound of muscatel grapes; one large orange; small jug of fresh cream; a little salad dressing to taste; and salad plates are required. So I don't know what kind of geographical influences that is supposed to be. It does say to cut out the pips of banana, "much nicer and less indigestible this way".
277. Duck and orange salad, potato salad to be served separately, dressing to be served separately. Alright, Anona Winn.
278. Sun Valley salad.
279. Californian Cobb salad, by Joe E. Brown.
280. Sweet and sour salad, which is cabbage, optional sultanas, and a dressing of bacon grease.
281. Chinese salad, by Ley On.
282. Continental salad, by Eric Barker.
That was 282 Ways of Making a Salad.
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