Pond Scum

When Anny found this recipe in a magazine, it had a different name. She renamed it Pond Scum because of its resemblance to her beloved backyard pond. That didn’t deter her from serving it to her bridge guests or them from eating it.

servings for 4

1 box of lime jello

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 Watercress Salad

Yes, watercress salad as well.

 Three Bean Salad

The recipe is delivered in the title. Besides 3 cans of beans, you just have to remember oil and vinegar, salt and sugar.

It’s a classic dish that has survived the winds of change, the foibles of fashion. Only now we add lots of stuff: a fourth can of beans, red onions, chopped cherry tomatoes, celery, red peppers, corn, rosemary, cilantro, parsley, extra virgin olive oil (of course), white wine vinegar (of course), smoked sal del mar, cheese, black pepper, and avocado. Our lives have become commensurately ornate and complicated.

Whatever. Three Bean Salad is delicious and embarrassingly easy to make. It comes redolent of summer evening picnics, ducks on the pond, lots of friends.

 Tomato Aspic

To my amazement, the 2019 edition of The Joy of Cooking includes Tomato Aspic. I never see Tomato Aspic these days, anywhere. In my childhood it was a staple of the Ladies Luncheon, Thanksgiving Dinner, the Onwensia Smorgasbord, a standard of any meal that was reaching for elegance. It makes me think of Grannie.

4 cups of tomato juice

1/2 cup of tomato puree

2 chopped stalks of celery

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar (this didn’t exist in the good old days, but it sounds tasty)

2 tsp. sugar (or honey, or erythritol, or allulose)

2 tsp. dried herbs or 2 Tbsp. of fresh herbs (these didn’t exist either, other than parsley decorating the side of the plate)

1 tsp. black peppercorns

1 clove of garlic

1 bay leaf

Simmer all the above ingredients in a covered pan for 30 minutes.

In a large bowl, soak 2 envelopes or 5 tsp. of unflavored gelatin in 1/2 cup of cold water for 5 minutes. After straining the solids out of the hot tomato mixture, pour into the gelatin bowl, stir, salt and season to taste. Chill in refrigerator for about 2 hours. When slightly thickened, pour into an oiled mold (this is what makes it elegant). At this point you can add other ingredients, then put it back in the frig for at least 3 hours or preferably overnight. Unmold (dipping the mold in hot water for 5 seconds) onto a platter and refrigerate or serve,

 Waldorf Salad

Like Tomato Aspic, Waldorf is another salad that has survived. This one has a history, an entry in Wikipedia, no less. “Waldorf salad is named for the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City, where it was first created for a charity ball given in honor of the St. Mary's Hospital for Children on March 14, 1896. The Waldorf-Astoria's maître d'hôtel, Oscar Tschirky, developed or inspired many of the hotel's signature dishes and is widely credited with creating the salad recipe.” 125 years later, it is just the same, no creative cuisine conversions.

When I turned 16, Lou took me to New York City for my birthday and we stayed at the Waldorf-Astoria. A Rite of Passage, the trip to New York became a tradition for each of us as we turned 16. Although in 1968 the hotel had not yet been restored to its former glory, it was fabulous in an Old World way and I walked through it with the deference due to cathedrals. I also walked about 50 Manhattan blocks north and 50 blocks south again because Lou didn’t take cabs. On the way home from the airport, driving in the dark, Lou said, “Jen, I will always love you, but I will always side with your mother.” That was my initiation to adulthood.

For 4 servings, combine:

1 cup diced celery

1 cup diced, peeled, cored apples

1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts

1/2 cup peeled halved grapes

1/2 cup mayonnaise

Salt and pepper to taste.

 Francoise’s Salad

Seriously, Francoise again? All Francoise did was to put the dressing in the bowl before the greens. Then the salad was tossed at the table and eaten promptly. Both Anny and Francoise swear that this sequence makes a much better salad. (It must be noted that Spanish nobility never put a half dozen different bottled salad dressings on the table. However, French nobility has been observed putting a bottle of ketchup on the table.)