Southern salads are the best; because they require the following qualities:

1) Presentation is most important.
2) Taste has to be exciting, in other words, spicy is the key.
3) Lettuce has to be crisp - not withered!

My first experience at salad-making occurred when I was about 17-years old. I had gone to visit my cousins in Kansas City, Mo., and she used to entertain her club and church members quite frequently. She would always serve some type of salad, which would be quite filling, and her guests were always pleased. She would make three different salads, and it seemed as if they never looked the same.

Her guests would usually total from between 10 and 15 ladies; so the recipes listed below are for that amount. Vary these if there are fewer or more people.

1) Jell-o Salad: You might ask; how many ways can you vary a jell-o salad, but they were never repeated. For example, if she used lime jell-o, she would use fruit cocktail one time, and the next time red cherries, crushed pineapple, sliced pears, sliced bananas, etc., with the lime jell-o. The next time she would use orange, lemon, raspberry, strawberry, etc., jell-o and include the various fruits to make it look delicious. I remember having to open six boxes of jell-o on every occasion, and the fruit was always included just prior to refrigeration. (Use your own judgment regarding amount).

She would always place each salad on a bed of lettuce; even the type of lettuce changed each time. On one occasions she would use Romaine, the next time it would be iceberg, and the next time green leaf. Each salad would then be placed on a nice piece of china or a glass salad plate.
1) Tuna Salad: This, too, was made differently. First, we would boil six eggs the night before so they were refrigerated and cold. On the morning of the affair we would make the salad by first peeling and cutting the boiled eggs into small pieces. Because she preferred you to have a healthy amount; she would use six large cans of tuna rather than the small ones.

Next, she would open two small cans of dark olives which would be cut into small pieces and mix into the tuna, followed by a cup of salad dressing or sandwich spread. (If you prefer to substitute plain salad dress, you can use pickles instead; however, you must cut them very small. Make sure they are sweet pickles - not dill).

When she made this salad for the family, onion was also added; however, you must be aware that some people cannot digest raw;

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