Grandma's Cucumbers with Sour Cream

We grilled up some chicken sausages the other night, heated some baked beans (out of the can), and put out some good mustard and sauerkraut. I was trying to think of something other than the usual side salad or coleslaw to serve with our meal, and my grandmother's cucumbers with sour cream dressing came to mind. I couldn't remember the last time I had these cucumbers - maybe not since my grandmother, who died many years ago, made them. The recipe was not to be found in my collection, so I went to epicurious on my iPhone and found a recipe from House & Garden, 1956!

I used fresh chives from my backyard and fresh dill from the grocery store. Lowfat sour cream worked fine, but I probably wouldn't try it with nonfat. The salad turned out pretty good - cool, crisp, and creamy all at once. Next time I think I'll add a little extra sugar and maybe a bit more vinegar too to give it some extra zing. For now, here's the original recipe from 1956:

Sour Cream Cucumbers  PRINTABLE RECIPE

1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
1 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp chopped chives
2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
1 tsp celery seed
2 firm fresh cucumbers

1. Dissolve the salt and sugar in the vinegar, add the sour cream and stir until smooth. You may like more or less vinegar, salt or sugar, but don't make the dressing too sweet. Add the chives, dill and celery seed.

2. Slice the unpared cucumbers paper-thin and combine with the dressing.

3. Chill for 1 hour or more. Sour cream cucumbers improve in taste as they stand. The flavor of the cucumbers seeps into the dressing.