Page:Hill - Salads, Sandwiches, and Chafing-Dish Dainties.djvu/39

To Prepare Vegetables and Garnishes. drain, rinse in cold water, and put on to cook in boiling salted water to cover. Drain as soon as tender.

How to Cut Gherkins for a Garnish.

Select small cucumber pickles of uniform size. With a sharp knife cut them, lengthwise, into slices thin as paper, without detaching the slices at one end; then spread out the slices as a fan is spread.

How to Fringe Celery.

Cut the stalks into pieces about two inches in length. Beginning on the round side at one end, with a thin, sharp knife, cut down half an inch as many times as possible; then turn the stalk halfway around and cut in the opposite direction, thus dividing the end into shreds, or a fringe. If desired, cut the opposite end in the same manner. Set aside in a pan of ice water containing a slice of lemon.

How to Shred Romaine and Straight Lettuce.

Wash the lettuce leaves carefully, without removing them from the stalk; shake in the open air, and they will dry very quickly; fold in the middle, crosswise, and cut through in the fold. Hold the two pieces, one above the other, close to the meat -board with the left hand, and with a sharp knife cut in narrow ribbons not more than a quarter of an inch wide. 15