Chapter IV: Part 4

Remove the pimentos from the can, and with a sharp knife cut them open on one side and open them out. Arrange the flat pieces thus made on a large plate or board, with the inner part up, and spread with finely chopped onion, sprinkle with salt and celery salt, and roll into firm rolls. Place these in a well-buttered tin, add a little hot water, cover, and set in a hot oven for ten minutes; then uncover, add 1 tablespoon of butter, and when it melts baste the pimentos with it. Let them cook five minutes more, and serve with the melted butter poured over them, or with parsley butter.

PIMENTOS WITH OKRA

Split the pimentos with a sharp knife, salt the inner part, then roll each around a pod of freshly boiled or canned okra. Place in a well-buttered pan, add a little hot water, and let cook ten minutes covered, and five uncovered. Add more butter during the last five minutes, baste the rolls, and serve with the butter poured over them, or with tomato sauce.

PIMENTOS WITH TOMATO

Lay the large flat pimentos from a can on a platter, and slide into each a slice of tomato which has been sprinkled with salt and celery salt. Fry in a covered pan for five minutes, and serve plain or with caper sauce.

POTATOES

Between the good cooks who contend that a potato is never properly "boiled" if it is boiled at all, and those who either cook potatoes in a steamer, or put them in cold water which is carefully watched to see that it does not actually boil, cooking thus until the potatoes are tender, and those who drop them into rapidly boiling salted water, letting them boil hard until done, there is wide latitude for individual preference. I would advise those who do not have potatoes served on the table which are white and floury and thoroughly cooked through, to see that one of the above-mentioned ways of cooking potatoes is carried out in their kitchens. Potatoes put in boiling water, or put in a covered steamer over rapidly boiling water, will cook in from twenty minutes to half an hour, the time depending, of course, upon the size and age of the potatoes; they should always be carefully scrubbed and cooked in their skins, and peeled afterwards.

MASHED POTATOES

Having boiled or steamed the required number of potatoes, peel them as expeditiously as possible and break them up in a hot saucepan; mash and then beat them vigorously with a wooden spoon or a fork, add a generous piece of butter, dredge with salt and a little pepper, and beat them until they are light; then moisten slightly with a very little hot milk or cream, beat them for a moment more, and serve very hot.

POTATO SOUFFLÉ

Put into a saucepan 3 or 4 cups of warm mashed potato and 1 tablespoon butter. Add the yolks of 2 eggs, 2 tablespoons cream (or milk), salt and pepper, and stir over fire until well mixed. Remove from the fire and add the well-beaten whites of the eggs. Heap in a buttered baking dish and let brown on the top in the oven.

MASHED POTATO SOUFFLÉ IN CASES

Select large potatoes, scrub them and let them bake until mealy, which will be in from half an hour to three quarters, then cut them in half, lengthwise, and carefully scrape out the potato, laying aside the skins to use as cases. Mash the potatoes with a wire potato-masher, add 1 tablespoon of butter for every 5 potatoes used, and season well with salt and pepper. Beat the whites of eggs very stiff, allowing 2 to every 5 potatoes, and mix them lightly through the potato with a fork; fill the potato skins with the mixture, heaping them full; brown them slightly in the oven before serving, and garnish the dish on which they are served with sprigs of parsley. Five potatoes will fill 6 or 7 cases.

RICED POTATOES

Break up well-boiled dry potatoes with a fork, dredge with salt and pepper, and press through a sieve or a so-called "ricer" into a hot serving dish.

RICED POTATO FRITTERS

Boil 6 large potatoes, press them through a sieve, and add 3 lightly beaten eggs, 2 teaspoons of flour creamed with 1 tablespoon of butter, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 2 cups of milk. Beat well together, and drop from a large spoon into deep, hot fat; they will rise to the top a light brown when done. Chopped chives or chopped parsley may be added to the mixture if desired.

MASHED POTATOES WITH ONION

To 4 or 5 cups of mashed potato add 1 cup of boiled onion minced to a pulp, 1 tablespoon of butter, 1 tablespoon of cream, some pepper and salt; beat lightly together, and before serving brown the top for a moment in the oven.

BAKED POTATOES

Select potatoes of uniform size, scrub them well, place in a hot oven until they yield to pressure of the fingers, which will be in most cases in about three quarters of an hour. They should not stand after baking, and should be served in an open dish. A baked potato that is worked with the fingers while being turned in the hand a few times, becomes light and soft.

ROAST POTATOES

Pare small, round potatoes, and lay them in cold water. Put 2 tablespoons of butter in a shallow baking pan, and let it melt in the oven; then wipe the potatoes, and lay them in the pan, rolling each in the hot butter. Let them cook in a moderate oven from one half to three quarters of an hour, and baste them during the cooking five or six times with the butter. Sprinkle with salt before serving.

DENVER POTATOES

Peel several smooth oval potatoes and cut in half, lengthwise. Dig out a small hole in the centre of the smooth side, and level the rounded parts so they will sit evenly. Put a lump of butter in each, and place in a pan with a little water, first dredging with salt and pepper, and bake about twenty-five minutes or until browned.

BROILED POTATOES

Cut cold boiled potatoes lengthwise into quarter-inch slices, dip each in flour, and lay in a folding broiler. Broil until evenly browned on both sides, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve on a hot dish with a bit of butter on each, or as a garnish to other vegetables.

FRIED POTATOES SOUFFLÉ

Peel and trim the required number of potatoes to a uniform size, cut both ends straight across, and then slice the potatoes into slices about 1/16 of an inch thick, and drop them into cold water for about half an hour, and then dry them with a cloth. For the frying two kettles of fat are necessary, one of which must be perfectly fresh; drop the potatoes into the used fat or oil and let them fry until about half done; but do not let them brown at all; drain them thoroughly and let them get cold. Five or six minutes before they are to be served drop them into the fresh fat which should be almost smoking, move them about lightly with a fork, and they will puff out to a considerable size; let them become a golden brown, put them in the oven on brown paper for a moment, and serve instantly.

WHOLE POTATOES FRIED

Use very small new potatoes, and, after boiling them, roll in egg and cracker crumbs, and fry in hot, deep fat. Use alone or as a garnish to baked tomatoes.

FRENCH-FRIED POTATOES

Peel potatoes which are of medium size and cut into even eighths, lengthwise, and then let them lie in cold water for fifteen minutes; then dry them between the folds of a clean cloth, and put in a frying basket. Immerse slowly in hot fat, and fry until a golden brown; drain at once, and dredge with salt.

SARATOGA CHIPS

Cut potatoes into thin slices with a potato cutter, lay in cold water twenty minutes, dry, and fry in deep, hot fat until crisp. Drain from the fat onto brown paper, dredge with salt, and serve very hot.

POTATOES PARISIAN

These are cooked exactly like French-fried potatoes, except that the little vegetable cutter, which cuts tiny globes of potato, is used to form the shapes. Some care must be taken to use strength enough with the cutter to make it cut perfectly round balls.

POTATO STRAWS

Peel 4 or 5 potatoes and then cut them with a patent vegetable cutter in strings; lay them in very cold water for twenty minutes, drain, and put in a frying basket, and slowly immerse in hot fat, and let them fry until a golden brown. Drain, and dredge with salt before serving.

POTATO CRADLES

Peel, wash, and dry potatoes of uniform size and shape. Cut in two, lengthwise, and scoop out the inside, and fry the potato cases in hot fat until brown; then drain and sprinkle with salt. Serve hot peas heaped up in each cradle and garnish with mint or parsley.

POTATOES LYONNAISE

Take 5 or 6 cold boiled potatoes and cut them in slices. Put 1 tablespoon of butter in a frying pan, and when it is melted add 2 thinly sliced, medium-sized onions, and fry these, letting them cook very slowly ten minutes; then season with pepper and salt and add the sliced potatoes, and let these fry slowly, turning with a knife until they are a golden brown; season afresh with pepper and salt, and add 1 tablespoon of finely chopped parsley before serving. These potatoes will take a great deal of salt and pepper.

GERMAN FRIED POTATOES

Put 1 tablespoon of butter in a frying pan, and when melted add 5 or 6 cold boiled potatoes cut in slices, season highly with salt and pepper, fry until done, which will be about twelve or fifteen minutes, turning with a knife; when nearly done stop stirring, and let the potatoes brown on the bottom of the pan; serve in a hot dish with the browned slices on the top.

FRIED POTATO SAVOURY

Fry cold sliced or diced potatoes, and when browned add 1/2 teaspoon of onion juice or extract, then arrange in a buttered baking dish in layers with grated cheese, pepper, salt, and some butter in each layer, cover the top with a few brown crumbs and chopped parsley or chives, and let heat a few minutes in the oven. Chopped chives can be arranged with the layers of potato if the flavour is liked.

CREAMED POTATOES

Put 2 tablespoons of butter into a saucepan, and when melted add 1 tablespoon of minced parsley and pepper and salt, stir until very hot, then add a scant cup of milk, containing 1 teaspoon of flour and a pinch of soda, and when this boils add diced cold boiled potatoes, and, when thoroughly heated through, serve.

ESCALLOPED POTATOES

Boil 10 or 12 medium-sized potatoes in their skins, and after peeling slice them in slices 1/4 of an inch thick. While the potatoes are boiling make a sauce of 2 cups of milk, the juice of 1 onion, salt and pepper, 2 tablespoons of butter, and 1 tablespoon of thickening flour. Butter a baking dish, and arrange a layer of potatoes, cover with sauce, then put another layer of potatoes, and so continue until the dish is filled. Then cut 2 hard-boiled eggs in neat slices, arrange them over the top, sprinkle with cracker crumbs and a little finely chopped parsley, and cook ten or twelve minutes in the oven.

POTATOES DELMONICO

For a large baking dish 4 cups of cold boiled diced potatoes will be required. Butter a baking dish, and put a layer of potatoes an inch deep in the bottom, and cover this with well made white sauce, and sprinkle slightly with salt and pepper; then add another layer of potato, and white sauce, and seasoning, and so on, until the dish is heaping full, and then sprinkle the top with grated cheese, and let brown well in a hot oven.

OAK HILL POTATOES

Butter a baking dish well, and place in it alternate layers of sliced cold boiled potatoes and hard-boiled eggs, seasoning each layer; then pour over it a white sauce in which grated cheese is melted. Cover the top of the dish with cracker crumbs, and brown in the oven.

HEILBRONN POTATOES

Put 2 tablespoons of butter in a deep saucepan, and when melted stir into it, with a flat-ended wooden spoon, 2 tablespoons of flour and let brown, then add 2 tablespoons of vinegar and use 2 cups of boiling water or vegetable stock in making this into a smooth sauce. Add 1/2 an onion, sliced, 2 cloves, 2 allspice, a piece of thin lemon peel, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and let cook very slowly, stirring for ten minutes. Then add more vegetable stock or boiling water to make a thin sauce and strain it; return to the fire and add 5 or 6 parboiled thinly sliced potatoes, 2 tablespoons of capers, and let cook slowly for fifteen minutes, stirring frequently; then pour into the saucepan 1/2 cup of cream (sour preferred), and serve in a deep, hot dish.

SAVOURY POTATO CAKES

Chop 6 cold boiled potatoes, and crush with a potato masher (or use cold mashed potato); add to them 1 tablespoon of mixed herbs, 1 teaspoon of chopped onions, pepper, salt, 1 tablespoon of melted butter, and 1 beaten egg; mould into flat cakes, and put in a frying pan containing 1 tablespoon of melted butter; brown, and turn with a pancake turner to brown the other side.

POTATO HASH

Put 8 cold boiled potatoes and 2 medium-sized onions in a chopping bowl and chop them fine. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large frying pan, place the potatoes and onion in it, and smooth the top even with a fork. Season well with salt and pepper and put over a moderately hot fire, shaking the pan vigorously from time to time to keep the hash from burning. If it is shaken instead of being stirred it will brown well on the bottom. Turn out onto a hot serving dish, with the browned part on top, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

POTATO OMELET

Butter a frying pan with 1 teaspoon of butter, and cover the bottom of the pan with sliced cold boiled potatoes laid flat; let these fry a few moments, then pour over them 2 well-beaten eggs and 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley or chives, season well with salt and pepper, and turn from the pan when browned.

CURRIED POTATOES

Chop 1 good-sized onion very fine, and fry in 2 tablespoons of butter until transparent and cooked, but not brown; then remove most of the onion with a strainer, pressing the juice from it into the butter, and put in 4 or 5 sliced cold boiled potatoes; sprinkle some curry powder and salt and pepper over them and fry, turning them frequently until done. The amount of curry can vary from 1 to 2 teaspoons.

POTATO FRICASSEE

Put in a saucepan 1 generous tablespoon of butter and 1 cup of milk; when hot add some cold potatoes cut in dice, season with pepper, salt, and a few drops of onion juice. Let them get thoroughly hot, then add the beaten yolks of 2 eggs, stir constantly until thick. Great care must be taken not to let it cook too long or the sauce will curdle. Add a little chopped parsley before serving.

POTATOES RENNEQUIN

Boil 6 potatoes, peel them, and let them dry in a warm place on the stove.

Put 1 tablespoon of butter into a saucepan, and when partly melted slice the potatoes into it. Now add 1 tablespoon of water, some salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon of minced parsley; let it become thoroughly heated, then add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and serve very hot.

POTATOES AND CHEESE

Mince or chop fine 5 or 6 peeled raw potatoes, and toss in a saucepan with 2 tablespoons of butter until cooked. Place a layer of these in a buttered baking dish, season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with grated cheese; then add another layer of potatoes, and proceed thus until the dish is full. Pour melted butter over and let brown in the oven.

ESCALLOPED POTATO AND ONION

Peel and slice very thinly 5 or 6 medium-sized potatoes and 3 or 4 onions, and arrange them in layers in a buttered baking dish, dotting them with butter, and sprinkling with pepper and salt. Over all pour 1/2 cup of milk, or enough to dampen well, and almost cover, and set the dish in a shallow pan containing a little water, and let the escallop cook slowly for about an hour, keeping it covered for the first half-hour, and uncovered afterward to brown. Serve in the baking dish.

NEW POTATOES IN BUTTER

Scrub small new potatoes with a stiff brush, and boil or steam them for twenty-five minutes, and serve them with melted butter to which a teaspoon or more of finely chopped parsley has been added.

CREAMED NEW POTATOES

Scrub small new potatoes with a stiff brush which will remove the skins, and boil or steam them about twenty-five minutes; then cover them with a highly seasoned white sauce.

BAKED NEW POTATOES

Scrub the skin from small new potatoes, and cook in salted boiling water about twenty minutes or until tender. Make a white sauce of 1 tablespoon of flour, 1 tablespoon butter, and 1 cup of milk seasoned highly with salt and pepper, and, after arranging the boiled potatoes in a baking dish or casserole, pour the sauce over them, and on the top of all pour 1 well-beaten egg. Put the dish in the oven and let it stay just long enough to set the egg. Sprinkle with chopped parsley before sending to the table. If preferred the egg can be added to the white sauce instead of being put on top.

MOCK NEW POTATOES

Peel the required number of large old potatoes, and with a Parisian potato cutter cut them into small balls; drop these in boiling water, and when done cover with a highly seasoned white sauce, to which is added a very little chopped parsley.

BOILED SWEET POTATOES

As the skin of sweet potatoes does not come off well after cooking it is best to peel them before baking or boiling.

Select large sweet potatoes, put them in boiling water, and let them boil from half to three quarters of an hour. Peel them and arrange them in a hot dish, with 1/2 cup of melted butter poured over them.

BAKED SWEET POTATOES

Wash and peel the sweet potatoes and put them in the oven. A medium-sized potato will take about forty minutes to bake.

MASHED SWEET POTATOES

Peel and boil 6 or 7 sweet potatoes, drain off all the water, and then mash with a wire potato-masher in the saucepan in which they were cooked; mix with them while hot 2 tablespoons of good butter, and dredge generously with salt, and serve very hot.

SWEET POTATO SOUFFLÉ

Mix with mashed sweet potatoes when slightly cooled the beaten yolks of 2 eggs and then the stiff whites of the eggs. Heap in a buttered baking dish and let brown in the oven.

ESCALLOPED SWEET POTATOES

Slice what will make 4 or 5 cups of cold boiled sweet potatoes, butter a baking dish, and arrange a layer of potatoes in the bottom, making it an inch thick. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and dot well with butter. Then arrange another layer, proceed as before, and so on until the dish is filled. Then pour over all 1/2 cup of water in which 2 tablespoons of sugar are dissolved. Put the dish in the oven, and in ten minutes baste with 2 tablespoons of water. Let cook five minutes more or until browned on top.

STUFFED SWEET POTATOES

Bake in their skins the number of potatoes required, cut them in half, scoop out the inside, and mix with chopped celery, and minced onion, and melted butter, allowing 1 tablespoon of celery and 1/2 teaspoon of onion to each potato. Season with salt and pepper, refill the skins, and let brown in the oven.

SOUTHERN SWEET POTATO PIE

Bake 4 large sweet potatoes, then scrape the inside from them, and beat into it lightly with a fork 2 tablespoons of butter, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 3 well-beaten eggs, 1 cup of warm milk, a saltspoon of salt, and a pinch of mixed spice. Line a baking dish with pastry, fill with the potato, and bake for twenty minutes.

TEXAS SWEET POTATO PIE

Boil 4 or 5 sweet potatoes for half an hour or until cooked. Line a large baking dish with pie-crust, slice the potatoes lengthwise while still hot, and put a layer of them on the crust, and cover this with long strips of pastry. Sprinkle with sugar, dot with butter, and add a little nutmeg; then place another layer of potato, and another of pastry, and so on, until the dish is nearly filled. Pour on enough boiling water to almost fill the dish, and cover the top with pastry like any deep pie, cutting it here and there to let the steam escape. Bake for about twenty minutes, or until the crust is a little browned.

MARYLAND SWEET POTATOES

Peel 6 or 8 medium-sized sweet potatoes, quarter them lengthwise, and lay them in a large saucepan having rounded sides. Add to the potatoes 2 heaping tablespoons of butter, and 3 heaping tablespoons of granulated sugar, and 2 or 3 tablespoons of water, and stir until the sugar and butter are dissolved. Cover closely and let them cook for four or five minutes undisturbed, then stir again with a wooden spoon, being careful to see that the syrup is not sticking on the bottom, re-cover, and from now on let cook only a couple of moments at a time before again stirring. The water will of course soon cook away; let the potatoes cook rapidly in the hot syrup until they begin to soften, then put them where the fire is less hot, and let them cook slowly until done. The entire cooking should not take more than fifteen or twenty minutes, and the thick brown sauce should be thoroughly scraped from the saucepan and served over the sweet potatoes.

CANDIED SWEET POTATOES

Lay pared sweet potatoes cut in slices in a buttered baking dish with a cover. Sprinkle each layer with brown sugar, salt and pepper and cinnamon, and dot with bits of butter. Pour in 1/2 cup of boiling water for 1/2 dozen potatoes and baste while cooking. Cook moderately until tender, from half an hour to three quarters, depending on the heat of the oven. The cinnamon can be omitted if not liked.

GRIDDLED SWEET POTATOES

Cut cold boiled sweet potatoes in slices, lengthwise, and lay them on a buttered griddle; when browned on one side turn with a pancake turner and brown the other side. Sprinkle with salt and serve very hot.

FRIED SWEET POTATOES

Cut cold boiled sweet potatoes in half-inch squares and fry them in melted butter. Salt well, and stir with a knife, and let brown as much as possible without burning.

FRENCH-FRIED SWEET POTATOES

Cut cold boiled sweet potatoes in sixths, lengthwise, place in a frying basket, and fry for about five minutes, or until well browned. Drain and sprinkle with salt.

GLAZED SWEET POTATOES

Let sweet potatoes boil until nearly done, then drain and cool. When cold cut them in inch-thick slices, or into rounds with a patent cutter, mix them well with melted butter and sugar, using 2 tablespoons of sugar to each 1/2 cup of butter, and put them in a deep dish in a hot oven for ten minutes, or until well browned.

CREAMED SALSIFY (OYSTER PLANT)

Remove the tops from 2 bunches of salsify, scrape and cut to shape, and put in a bowl of cold water containing some lemon juice, to retain the whiteness. Drain and put in boiling water, using enough to cover it, and let cook about three quarters of an hour, salting the water during the last half-hour's boiling. Drain and serve with highly seasoned white sauce or parsley sauce made with the water in which the salsify cooked, with the addition of a little milk or cream.

ENGLISH SALSIFY

Boil salsify as directed above, drain, and serve with bread sauce, serving fine browned bread crumbs with the sauce.

SALSIFY IN COQUILLES

Boil the salsify as directed, and press through a sieve; then beat into it 1 tablespoon of butter, season highly, arrange in buttered coquilles or ramekins, sprinkle grated cheese over the top, and let brown in the oven.

ESCALLOPED SALSIFY

Boil salsify as directed, not letting it quite finish cooking; slice, and arrange in buttered baking dish, with layers of slightly browned crumbs dotted with butter, and sprinkled with pepper, salt, and paprika. Pour 1/2 cup of milk or cream over to dampen, then cover the top with crumbs, and bake about fifteen minutes. An egg can be beaten with the milk to make the dish richer if wanted.

MASHED BLACK SALSIFY (SCHWARZWURZEL)

Proceed as with ordinary salsify, except that it is best not to peel or cut this sort of salsify until after boiling. When boiled, peel, and mash the white part, using 1 tablespoon of cream to each cup of salsify, 1 teaspoon of butter, pepper, and salt. Arrange in individual dishes or cases with crumbs on top, and bake ten minutes to brown.

FRIED SALSIFY TARTARE

Use cold boiled salsify, cut in any shape desired, dip in egg and crumbs, and fry in hot fat until browned. Drain well, dredge with salt, and serve with sauce Tartare.

SPINACH

Spinach should be well picked over, leaf by leaf, and washed in several different waters, and changed to a different pan each time it is washed, that the sand may be left behind with each washing. Then put it in a large kettle, with a scant cup of water for a peck of spinach, and let it cook over a slow fire until tender; in this way its own juices will be extracted, and it will be more tasty than if cooked in water. It should be then drained and chopped extremely fine, or until as nearly a pulp as possible, and then mashed in a mortar or with a potato-masher. It is then ready to prepare in any way desired for the table.

Delicious spinach can be had canned, and if this is used it needs only to be very finely chopped and mashed, then seasoned, and prepared in any of the following ways.

GERMAN SPINACH

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a saucepan, and in it let simmer for ten minutes 1 good-sized onion that has been finely chopped, then add 4 cups of the boiled, chopped, and mashed spinach to it, and stir well together, and season thoroughly with salt and pepper; finish with 1/2 teaspoon of grated nutmeg, and 1 or 2 tablespoons of whipped cream, and pile high in a heated dish, covering the top with the chopped whites and riced yolks of 2 hard-boiled eggs.

SPINACH WITH WHITE SAUCE

Prepare as in the above recipe, using, instead of the cream, 1/2 cup of highly seasoned white sauce, and at the last add the juice of 1 lemon or 1 tablespoon of reduced vinegar.

GERMAN SPINACH WITH RHUBARB

Another German way of preparing spinach is to cook rhubarb leaves or flowers (or both) with the spinach for the purée and to add chives. If canned spinach is used the rhubarb leaves should be cooked and chopped and added to the canned spinach before it is macerated.

ITALIAN SPINACH

Wash 1/2 peck spinach and cook twenty-five minutes without water. Drain, chop to a fine pulp, mash until smooth in a mortar, season with 1 tablespoon of butter, salt and pepper, and encircle with a garnish of well-scrambled eggs to which has been added 2 tablespoons of grated cheese.

NOVELTY SPINACH

Drain a can of spinach and chop it very fine, and then mash it until smooth. Put it in a saucepan with 1 tablespoon of chopped chives or grated onion, salt and pepper, and sprinkle the whole surface well with grated nutmeg. Hard boil 3 eggs, remove the yolks, and mix them thoroughly with the spinach. Chop the whites, and arrange the spinach on rounds of toast, placing 2 tablespoons on each piece, garnish with the whites of the eggs, and pour on each 2 tablespoons of cheese sauce. If the arrangement on toast is not desired, the cheese sauce can be mixed with the spinach before serving it.

SPINACH SOUFFLÉ

Take 2 cups of cooked chopped spinach, mash to a pulp, add 1 cup of white sauce and the whites of 2 eggs beaten very stiff, season well, and pile lightly in timbale cups; set these in a pan of water, and let bake in a moderate oven for fifteen minutes or less. Before serving sprinkle the top of each with riced yolk of hard-boiled egg.

BAKED SQUASH OR PUMPKIN

Cut a pumpkin or a squash in triangular or square pieces, about three inches across, scrape the seeds, etc., from each piece, and sprinkle with salt and pepper, and spread with butter. Set in a moderate oven and bake for half an hour or until browned. Serve garnished with sprigs of parsley. It should be eaten from the shell with additional butter.

CALIFORNIA SQUASH

Take a very young summer squash, which if it be young enough need not be pared, and cut it into small pieces. Fry half an onion in a tablespoon of butter, and when transparent and beginning to brown add the squash to it and season with salt and pepper. Let all cook together for ten minutes, and then add 1/4 of a cup of hot water, and let cook until the squash is quite tender.

STEWED TOMATOES

Empty 1 can of tomatoes into a double boiler, and put with them 1 cup of crumbled bread without crust, stir well together, season with pepper and salt, cover, and let cook slowly for half an hour, stirring from time to time. Just before serving add a piece of butter the size of a walnut. While the tomatoes will be ready to serve with half an hour's cooking, they are improved by cooking an hour, and are better still if warmed again after cooling.

ESCALLOPED TOMATOES

Drain the juice from 1 can of tomatoes. Butter a baking dish, and cover the bottom with the tomatoes; dot with butter, dredge with pepper and salt, and sprinkle generously with fine bread crumbs; arrange another layer of tomatoes, and crumbs, and so proceed until the dish is filled. Pour over all enough of the juice of the tomatoes to moisten well, and then finish the dish with a covering of crumbs. Bake for twenty minutes in a moderate oven.

BREADED TOMATOES

Slice large, solid tomatoes, dredge them on both sides with salt and pepper, and dip each slice in beaten egg, and then in fine bread or cracker crumbs. Arrange them in a frying basket, and plunge them in hot, deep fat for one or two minutes to brown. Drain, and garnish with sprays of parsley, or use as a garnish to other vegetables.

FRIED TOMATOES

Put 1 tablespoon of butter in a frying pan, and when melted lay in thickly sliced tomatoes which have been rolled in egg and crumbs; when browned on one side turn them with a pancake turner and brown the other side, seasoning with pepper and salt. Remove to the serving dish with a pancake turner, seasoning the first side cooked after they are turned onto the dish. A half a teaspoon of onion juice may be added to the butter in which they are cooking if desired. Serve plain or with white sauce.

DEVILLED TOMATOES

Cut in half and broil three or four nice solid tomatoes, and serve them with a sauce made as follows: Take the yolks of 4 hard-boiled eggs and crush them with a fork, add to them a scant teaspoon of dry mustard, 1 heaping saltspoon of salt, and several shakes of paprika, or a dash of cayenne pepper; mix these dry ingredients well together, and then add to them 5 tablespoons of melted butter, 2 tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice, and heat in a double boiler; when it begins to thicken remove from the fire and stir in 1 well-beaten egg. Chop the whites of the boiled eggs, and put with them 2 teaspoons of chopped parsley, and decorate the centre of each broiled tomato with this before serving.

CREAMED TOMATOES

Take solid, medium-sized tomatoes, and, having cut a circular piece out of the stem-end, scoop out most of the inside, and fill with parboiled celery cut in half-inch lengths, mixed with an equal quantity of canned peas, and dampened with white sauce; heap 1 teaspoon of peas on the top of each tomato, and bake for twenty minutes or more, and serve with highly seasoned white sauce poured over each.

BAKED TOMATOES WITH MUSHROOMS

Wash good solid tomatoes and carefully cut out the inside; dredge with pepper and salt and fill the tomato with sauté mushrooms, using either fresh or canned ones, chopped and fried in butter. Bake for about twenty minutes, or until heated through but not broken.

TOMATOES WITH NUT FORCE-MEAT

Slice the stem-end from 6 large, solid tomatoes, scoop out the inside, and fill with a force-meat made of one cup of crumbs, 1/2 cup of chopped nuts, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 saltspoon of pepper, 1 tablespoon of melted butter, 1/2 tablespoon of grated onion, and 1 egg. Replace the tops on the tomatoes and bake them for about twenty minutes, watching that the skins do not break, as they will do in a too hot oven.

TOMATOES STUFFED WITH EGG AND PEPPERS

Cut the inside from solid, large tomatoes, and refill with a mixture of equal parts of chopped hard-boiled eggs and chopped sweet green peppers (or use pimentos) well moistened with melted butter and onion juice, and seasoned with salt. Put in a baking dish, cover, and let bake for twenty minutes in a moderate oven.

BAKED TOMATOES WITH GREEN PEPPERS

Scoop out the inside from solid tomatoes, and refill with the tomato meat which has been cut out of the centre and chopped with sweet green peppers, using 1 teaspoon of peppers to each tomato, and 1 teaspoon of cracker crumbs or boiled rice; season with pepper and salt, and place 1/4 teaspoon of butter in each tomato before laying the top on; then bake in a moderate oven about twenty minutes.

TOMATOES FILLED WITH EGG

Select very large solid tomatoes, and with a small, sharp knife cut a round piece out of the stem-end, then cut out a large enough space from the inside to hold a small egg, and arrange in a shallow pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, add 1/2 teaspoon of grated onion, and set in a hot oven for five or six minutes. Remove, and break into each tomato the yolk of 1 egg and as much of the white as it will hold without running over the edge. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and a little chopped parsley, and replace in the oven, letting them cook slowly fifteen minutes until the egg is set. Remove to individual plates for serving, taking care to not break the tomato. Garnish with cress or parsley.

Tomatoes may be stuffed in a great variety of ways,--with fillings of fried cucumber, tomato, and chopped onions, or bread dressing with sage, etc.

TOMATOES STUFFED WITH SPINACH

Cut an opening in the top of large, solid tomatoes, and scoop out some of the inside with a spoon, fill with "German spinach," and place in a hot oven for about twenty minutes; upon removing from the oven cover each with a slice of hard-boiled egg, or use the white rim filled with riced yolks. Serve alone or as a garnish for another vegetable.

TOMATOES STUFFED WITH MACARONI

Scoop the inside from 6 large, solid tomatoes and use it with 1 bay leaf and some melted butter to make a tomato sauce. Into this stir 1/2 cup of boiled macaroni (spaghetti or rice may also be used), and, after seasoning well with salt and pepper, fill the tomatoes with the macaroni, putting 1 teaspoon of grated cheese on the top of each. Bake in a moderate oven for about twenty minutes or less, and garnish with watercress or parsley.

AMERICAN RAREBIT

Put a little water and 1 large tablespoon of butter in a frying pan, and when melted add 1 large Spanish onion or 3 ordinary onions chopped fine, and let simmer slowly ten minutes. Strain the juice from a can of tomatoes, and put the tomatoes in a double boiler; when they are heated through scrape the onions into the tomatoes, and let them all cook together for half an hour; season highly with salt and pepper, and just before serving add 2 or 3 well-beaten eggs, and let stand for a few minutes until somewhat thickened; serve on toast. If the flavour of onions is liked, a larger quantity of chopped onion may be used; and to increase the quantity, 3 or 4 more eggs may be added to this rule without other changes. For chafing-dish prepare in advance to the point where the eggs are added, and add these after reheating in the chafing-dish.

TOMATOES AND ONION

Proceed as in the preceding recipe without adding the eggs.

TOMATOES CASINO

Select large, solid tomatoes, and without cutting them let them boil for fifteen minutes; then slip off the skins, halve them, and lay each piece, cut-side down, on a round of toast the same size as the tomato. Cover the top with warm Hollandaise, Bernaise, or Maître d'hôtel sauce, and in the centre lay a slice of truffle; garnish with watercress.

TOMATOES INDIENNE

Halve large, solid tomatoes, and arrange them in a shallow pan, cut-side up. Dredge with salt and pepper, and spread with curry powder and some onion juice. Put in the oven for ten minutes, or under the gas burners of the oven in a gas stove. Do not let the tomatoes soften, and serve at once to prevent this. Use alone or as a garnish to rice.

TOMATOES WITH EGGS

Strain 1 can of tomatoes and put them in a saucepan; stir well, and season with pepper and salt and 1 tablespoon of butter, and, after they have cooked fifteen or twenty minutes, stir in 3 or 4 well-beaten eggs and serve on toast after two or three minutes' further cooking.

CURRIED TOMATOES

Cut a thin slice from the stem-end of large, solid tomatoes, and scoop out some of the inside. Fill with boiled rice to which is added the tomato removed from the inside and a little curry powder (1/2 teaspoon to 1 cup of rice is a moderate amount). Season the mixture well with salt, replace the top, and bake fifteen minutes. The curry powder can be omitted from the filling and the tomatoes served with curry sauce if preferred.

SAVOURY TOMATOES

Cut in half rather large, solid tomatoes, allowing 2 halves for each person to be served, and set them, cut-side up, in a shallow tin; press capers into the spaces, then dredge heavily with celery salt, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and set under the flame of a gas oven until the tops are blackened. The flame should be hot so that this may happen as quickly as possible in order that the tomatoes may not become softened by the heat; to this end it is also necessary to leave the door of the broiling compartment open.

TOMATOES CREOLE

Cut in half, crosswise, 5 or 6 solid tomatoes, and set them, cut halves upwards, in a buttered pan. Chop 1 or 2 sweet green peppers, mix with them 1 teaspoon of chopped onion, and sprinkle this over the tomatoes; place a small piece of butter on each half, and sprinkle with salt and paprika. Let bake about twenty minutes, then remove to rounds of toast, or nests of boiled rice, and pour over them white sauce.

TOMATO LOAF

Strain the juice from 1 can of tomatoes through a sieve fine enough to stop all the seeds, and put in an enamelled saucepan to boil; season well with salt and pepper, and when it boils pour it onto enough gelatine dissolved in water to stiffen it. The amount of gelatine cannot be given, as the various vegetable gelatines, arrowroot, etc., vary in thickening power. Instructions as to the proper amount for each pint of liquid will come with every package. Set the jelly aside to cool, and arrange slices of hard-boiled egg on the bottom of custard cups or small plain moulds, and encircle these with slices of stuffed olive, pickled walnut, or truffles, or mushrooms. When the jelly is somewhat cooled, and so thick enough to hold down these garnishings when poured onto them, half fill the cups with it. Serve when set and ice-cold, turned out on lettuce leaves.

TOMATOES AND HOMINY

Take 2 cups of cold boiled hominy and 2 cups of boiled tomatoes, put them in a saucepan with 1 tablespoon of butter, season generously with salt and pepper, and serve in a deep dish when thoroughly heated through, or put into a buttered baking dish with crumbs on the top (and a little grated cheese if liked); brown before serving.

STEWED TURNIPS

Peel and wash turnips and cut them in eighths lengthwise, or in dice, and put them in boiling milk and water which covers them. Let them cook slowly for half an hour uncovered, then lift them out and place on a hot dish at the side of the stove. Make a sauce with 1 1/2 cups of the stock in which they cooked, into which beat the yolk of 1 egg and 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice; season this with pepper and salt and pour over the turnips. Instead of this, ordinary white sauce may be made of the turnip stock.

MASHED TURNIPS

Peel and quarter 2 good-sized turnips, cover them with boiling water, and let cook until tender, which should be in from half an hour to three quarters; drain them in a colander, and press gently with a wire potato-masher to remove as much water as possible, then mash them and beat them well, stirring in 2 tablespoons of butter, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 saltspoon of pepper.

MASHED TURNIPS AND POTATO

Prepare turnips as for mashed turnips, and mash with them an equal quantity of boiled potatoes; add butter, pepper, and salt, and beat up very light before serving.

TURNIPS AU GRATIN

Cut boiled turnips in thin slices, and arrange them in a buttered baking dish in layers one inch deep; sprinkle each layer with melted butter, pepper, salt, and grated cheese. Finish with cheese on the top, and bake for twenty minutes.

RAGOUT OF TURNIPS

Put 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan, and when melted add 1 tablespoon of chopped onion and 4 cups of diced turnips, and stir until they begin to brown; season with 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 saltspoon of pepper, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and add slowly 1 cup of vegetable broth or milk into which 1 tablespoon of flour has been made smooth. Let simmer gently for half an hour.

TELTOWER RÜBCHEN

Buy the imported "rübchen," which are the daintiest tiny turnips, and heat them in their own liquor; then drain and serve with Spanish sauce.

PARISIAN TURNIPS

Cut turnips into small rounds with a Parisian potato cutter, and boil them for half an hour or until tender, the time depending largely upon the age of the turnips. Drain, and cover with highly seasoned white sauce, to which 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley has been added.

Kindness to animals is not mere sentiment but a requisite of
even a very ordinary education; nothing in arithmetic or
grammar is so important for a child to learn as humaneness.

Journal of Education, Boston.

VEGETABLE COMBINATIONS

CHOP SUEY

Put 1 cup of onions, fried until brown, 1 cup of celery cut in two-inch pieces and then shredded and stewed in vegetable stock for half an hour, 1 cup of fried mushrooms, and 2 cups of boiled rice in a saucepan with a cup of thin brown sauce. Let all heat together for ten minutes, and season with salt and pepper.

COLCANNON

This is made by the mixture of two or more vegetables already boiled. Use equal parts of mashed potato and sprouts (or any greens) finely minced, and grated onion if wanted, and add some mashed carrots or turnips or both; season with salt and pepper. Mix 2 eggs through 4 or 5 cups of vegetables, press into a mould, and boil or steam for half an hour. Turn out to serve, and serve plain or with a brown sauce.

MACEDOINE OF VEGETABLES

Boil 1 small cauliflower and set it aside to drain; then boil 2 cups of diced carrots, drain them when tender, but reserve the stock. Add to the carrots the cauliflower carefully separated into little pieces, 2 cups of boiled peas, or 1 can, 1 cup of cooked or canned flageolets, 1/2 a cup of carrot stock, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, 1 small saltspoon of pepper, and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Let simmer together until heated, and then add 1 chopped onion, 2 bay leaves, 1 tablespoon of butter. If liked, a sauce made of 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of flour thinned with the carrot stock and highly seasoned can be strained over the vegetables before serving.

CANNED MACEDOINE OF VEGETABLES

Delicious combinations of peas, shaped carrots, flageolets, etc., can be had in bottles. Drain them, and put in a saucepan with 1 tablespoon of butter and some pepper and salt. When hot serve or add 1/2 cup of cream. Serve to garnish, or alone, or use to fill peppers, or tomatoes, or patties.

VEGETABLE CHOWDER

Pare and slice in rather thick slices, enough potatoes to make 4 cups, and prepare the same amount of shredded cabbage, and sliced onions. Put 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan, and when melted add the onions, and cook them for ten minutes. Butter a large casserole, arrange over the bottom a layer of sliced potato, then a layer of cabbage, then one of onions, seasoning each with pepper and salt, and sprinkling with chopped hard-boiled egg, and so fill the dish. Pour 2 cups of milk, into which 1 tablespoon of flour has been made smooth, over the chowder, set the dish in a shallow pan of water, and bake slowly for one hour. If the milk cooks away add a little more during the cooking. The same dish can be made in a kettle, in which case halve the potatoes and cook for three quarters of an hour.

VEGETABLE PIE (ST. GEORGE'S HOUSE)

Boil enough carrots, turnips, and large white haricot beans to make a 1/2 cup of each when chopped or sliced after cooling, and enough potatoes to make a scant cup when sliced. Slice enough Bermuda onions to make 1/2 cup, and fry in butter until golden brown; then mix the onions and prepared vegetables, and add to them 1/4 cup each of canned peas, green beans, and tomatoes. Season well with salt and pepper, stir in 1 teaspoon of chopped parsley, dampen with the water in which the haricot beans cooked, heap into a deep baking dish, cover with a good crust, and bake until slightly browned.

VEGETABLE HASH

Chop separately 5 medium-sized potatoes, 2 sweet green peppers (carefully seeded), 5 fresh tomatoes, 1 cup of boiled beets (1/2 a can), and 2 raw onions.

Put 2 tablespoons of butter in a frying pan, and when melted add the chopped onions, and let simmer slowly for five minutes, then add the tomatoes and let simmer another five minutes, then put in the potatoes, the peppers, and the beets. Dredge well with salt and pepper, and, stirring occasionally, let all cook slowly until the juices are nearly absorbed; then let the hash brown on the bottom, and turn out with the brown on top. Garnish with squares of toast.

VEGETABLE STEW

Put 4 tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan, and when melted add to it 1/2 cup of sliced onions, 1/2 cup of diced carrots, 1 cup of shredded celery, and 1/4 cup of turnips cut in oblong pieces, and toss them in the butter for fifteen minutes; then pour over them 6 cups of cold vegetable broth or water, add 1 teaspoon of salt, 2 bay leaves, 6 small onions halved, 4 carrots cut in quarters, 6 small squares of turnip, and let simmer slowly for half an hour; then add 5 potatoes cut in half, and let cook for half an hour more, and add more vegetable broth to keep the vegetables covered. Make dumplings, and drop into the boiling stew, cover tightly, and cook ten minutes more; season well with salt and pepper, and serve with enough of the stock, thickened with a little flour and butter, to cover.

VEGETABLE CASSEROLE

In order that this dish should taste and appear at its best, it should be cooked and served in an Italian casserole dish from eight to ten inches in diameter. Peel 8 medium-sized onions, and take the layers off until a centre about three quarters of an inch in diameter is left; toss the centres in hot butter until browned, and chop the outside. Cut 3 medium-sized sweet green peppers in half, lengthwise, and fill each half liberally with a mixture of bread crumbs, chopped tomato, chopped onion, and salt and pepper. Stuff 6 solid, medium-sized tomatoes in any of the ways described under stuffed tomatoes. Put 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan, and when melted add to it 2 tablespoons of chopped onions; fry these for ten minutes, then stir in 2 tablespoons of flour, and use vegetable stock or milk, 2 cups of either, to make a sauce; add 1 bay leaf, and enough soup-browning to make a rich colour. Put the stuffed peppers in a casserole dish with the glazed onion hearts and the sauce, cover, and let cook for ten minutes; then arrange the stuffed tomatoes in the casserole, distribute among them 1/2 can of button mushrooms, halved, 1/2 can of flageolets or peas, and leave the cover off the dish, letting it cook for fifteen minutes very slowly. This casserole can be varied in many ways, using different filling for the peppers and tomatoes, and either truffles, string beans, or fresh mushrooms in the sauce, which should not be too thick.

VEGETABLE RAGOUT

Prepare for boiling what will make 3 cups of turnip when cut in inch squares, 1 1/2 cups of potatoes, and 1 1/2 cups of carrots. Put the carrots into slightly salted and sweetened water, let boil for ten minutes, then add the turnips and potato, and cook for ten minutes more. Put 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan, and when melted add 2 tablespoons of chopped onion, and fry until slightly browned; then add 2 tablespoons of flour, stir until smooth, and pour slowly into this 2 cups of the stock in which the vegetables cooked; then add 2 teaspoons of sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper; and the diced vegetables; cover, and let simmer slowly for half an hour, then add 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley, and serve.

BORDEAUX PIE

Slice enough Spanish onions to fill a cup 1/4 full, and fry them in butter until slightly browned. Boil carrots to equal 1/2 cup when diced, potatoes enough to fill a cup 3/4 full, and peel 2 cups of mushrooms, and toss them in a little butter in a frying pan over a moderate fire for ten minutes; hard boil 4 eggs, and make 1 cup of white sauce. Cut the vegetables in small pieces, slice the eggs, add 1/4 cup of canned peas (or fresh boiled ones), 1 teaspoon of chopped parsley, salt and pepper well, put in a little grated nutmeg and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, and mix all carefully with the white sauce. Line a large baking dish (or small individual ones) with thin crust, fill with the mixture, cover the top with crust, and bake until slightly browned.

NEW ORLEANS STEW

Slice 3 onions, and fry them in 1 large tablespoon of butter for five minutes; then add to them 3 chopped sweet green peppers, stir well, and let cook together another five minutes; then scrape the contents of the frying pan into a double boiler, add the corn cut from 3 ears of sweet corn (or 1/2 can of corn), and 3 sliced tomatoes, 1 cup of water, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and let all cook together for one hour; season afresh before serving.

INDIAN CURRY