Cucumber Dill Salad

This recipe comes from an old cookbook of my grandmother's called The Magnolia Collection and is by Gene Westbrook (it's autographed, too!).  Let me give a bit of backstory:  My grandmother was born and raised in Kentucky and was a wonderful cook.  For every big family gathering, she would cook food for 40 or 50 people as if it were nothing.  Everything she made was delicious, too!  I honestly don't know her history with this particular cookbook.  Not even sure why I ended up with it after she died, but on one of my visits to my father in Louisiana, this book was waiting for my and my dad said one of his siblings had sent it to him to give to me.  The book itself is quite beat up and there are a few notes from her in margins so I think she used it a lot!  Although I've had the book for several years now, I'm sad to say I've only made 2 recipes from it even though so many of them look delicious.  However, both recipes- this one and a chicken salad recipe- are incredible and I make them a lot!

In the book, this recipe is listed in the Appetizers section and is called "Eloise's Cocktail Cucumbers."  Not sure who Eloise was or how exactly you're supposed to serve the cucumbers, but we just have them as a side dish.  I have altered the recipe so it has much less sugar than the original and it works out just great for a sweet, vinegary, dilly cucumber salad.  You can even make a big bowl of it and serve it 2 nights. 

Cucumber Dill Salad

1/4 C sugar
1/2 C white vinegar
1/4 C water
1 t salt
1 t dried dill
2 cucumbers, sliced thinly

Place everything but cucumbers in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Cook until sugar has dissolved, which should only take a minute or so.  Pour over sliced cucumbers and toss to coat.  Refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight.  The recipe says to make 1 day ahead but they're actually still good warm, too!

Yield: About 4 servings