GRANDMA RICKETTS ' FRESH LETTUCE SALAD AND SALAD DRESSING

BY W.T. RICKETTS (TOMMY)

Joan says: "Last year, 2011, I grew butter lettuce for the first time.  Dad asked if I made his mother's Cream Salad Dressing for my lettuce.  This is the first he had spoke of this dressing to me.    I looked all through Momma's cookbooks and notes, no cream salad dressing by Grandma Ricketts.  This summer, 2012,  Dad grew some lettuce and began asking for his mother's salad dressing.  Brother Billy spent some time looking through the cookbooks again, and found a recipe in one of the books titled, Grandma's Salad Dressing.  We made this recipe, tweeked it somewhat to follow Dad's memory of what his Mom put in her dressing, and after several trials and errors...Success!   In asking Dad what else was in the salad, he said: ""nothing...tomatoes were sliced and served on the side.""   Hope you enjoy what Dad remembers as his Mother's...Fresh Lettuce Salad and Salad Dressing!!"

Fresh picked lettuce with Grandma's Dressing
"Dad ate two bowls!"

Ingredients:

1 bowl of fresh picked lettuce

1 to 2 fresh picked tomatoes

1 cup cream

1 tbsp. sugar

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/2 tsp. salt

couple shakes of pepper

1 tsp. prepared mustard

1/2 tsp. celery seed

Directions:

Go to your garden and gather some fresh lettuce (or your local market will do) While you're in the garden, pick one or two ripe tomatoes.  Wash, rinse and drain the lettuce.  Place in a glass bowl.

Wash, peel and slice the tomato, place on small serving platter.

In a pint sized canning jar, place cream, sugar, vinegar, salt, pepper, mustard and celery seed. 

Shake, shake, shake until well blended.  When you shake the mixture it begins to thicken up.  

If you want a thicker dressing,  keep on shaking!

Refrigerate both lettuce and dressing until ready to use.  Before serving, shake the dressing 

once more and pour on lettuce.  Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

This was a real treat for Dad's memory, and all of our tastebuds!!  

Delicious!!!

Joan has used this dressing several times sometimes adding

cucumbers, tomatoes, blue cheese, crumbled bacon, and

most recently to make coleslaw.

Dad requested that this recipe be added to the cookbook

this summer, 2012.