OKRA AND TOMATOES.

A quart of fresh or canned tomatoes—if fresh, skin in the usual way—cut them in quarters and put over the fire, let them boil until a great deal of the water has evaporated, then add a pint of fresh okra, cut in slices, cook until tender, season with a generous heaping tablespoonful of butter, and pepper and salt to taste.

BEETS.

Wash the beets carefully to avoid breaking the skin, and do not cut off the fine roots, as this will bleed and spoil them. Put on in boiling water and cook from an hour and a half to three hours. Test with a wooden skewer. Cut in slices or dice and serve with melted butter, pepper and salt. Winter beets should be soaked over night.

PUREE OF PEAS.

When peas are old this is a very nice way to use them. Put a quart of shelled peas over the fire in sufficient boiling water to cook them. Boil until tender, drain from the water, press through a puree sieve, season with salt and pepper to taste, and a good heaping tablespoonful of butter, and if too dry a little milk or cream may be used.

PUREE OF LIMA BEANS

may be prepared in the same way.

PUREE OF CUCUMBERS.

Peel and slice the cucumbers and put them over the fire in as little boiling water as will cook them; when tender drain from the water, press through a puree sieve, season with salt and pepper and add a tablespoonful of butter.

STUFFED CUCUMBERS.

Peel two large, fine cucumbers, cut in half lengthwise, take out the seeds. Scrape out carefully the soft part—with a small spoon—into a saucepan. Peel and core a tart apple, chop fine with a small pickled gherkin, take from this a good tablespoonful for the sauce and put one side, then add the rest to the soft part of the cucumbers in the saucepan. Let it simmer until tender, then add butter the size of an egg, pepper and salt to taste, a few drops of onion juice, or the spoon used for stirring the mixture may be rubbed with garlic, three tablespoonfuls of grated bread crumbs, one egg beaten, stir all together, and remove at once from the fire. Put the cucumbers in a saucepan, cover with boiling water and cook gently until tender—about ten or fifteen minutes; when nearly done add a tablespoonful of salt, drain from the water, when cool enough stuff them with the dressing already prepared and press into shape, brush with egg, sprinkle bread crumbs over the top and a few tiny lumps of butter, place carefully in a pan and bake a delicate brown.

FOR THE SAUCE, take the tablespoonful of apple and pickle reserved from the stuffing, and add a teaspoonful of capers, chop all together as fine as possible, make a cream sauce and add this mixture to it on the fire and heat thoroughly. Place the cucumbers carefully on a platter and pour the sauce around them.

CUCUMBERS STUFFED WITH MUSHROOMS.

Peel two large, firm cucumbers, and cut in half lengthwise; take out the seeds. Take a quarter of a pound of fresh mushrooms, skin and stem them. Chop the mushroom flaps very fine, put them in a spider with four tablespoonfuls of melted butter and a very little water, cover and cook until tender. Remove from the fire, stir in four heaping tablespoonfuls of grated bread crumbs, salt and pepper to taste, a few drops of onion juice, and the yolk of one egg. Stuff the cucumbers with this dressing, put the halves together, fasten with wooden toothpicks or tie with string. Place in a small dish that will fit in the steamer, cover closely, and steam until tender—about three-quarters of an hour—and serve with a brown sauce made as follows:

THE SAUCE.—Put on the skins and stems of the mushrooms in boiling water. Fry a few slices each of carrot, celery top, green pepper, onion and turnip in butter, strain the water from the mushroom stems into this and stew until all are tender, strain, add a generous tablespoonful of butter and enough flour to thicken the sauce, and salt and pepper to taste. Place the cucumbers in a shallow vegetable dish, remove the strings and pour the sauce around them.

ESCALLOPED EGG PLANT.

Boil a small egg plant, cut it in half, take out the pulp, throwing away the seeds and skin, chop the pulp fine and mix with it half a teaspoonful of bread crumbs, one cup of cream or rich milk, butter the size of an egg, an even teaspoonful of finely minced parsley, pepper and salt to taste, and a few drops of onion juice. Beat all together, turn into a baking dish, cover the top with dried bread crumbs and tiny bits of butter and bake until brown. Serve in the dish in which it is baked. If any is left over, cut in slices half an inch thick and fry in butter for luncheon.

STUFFED EGG PLANT.

Take half a large egg plant, boil gently until tender, remove from the fire, take out the pulp carefully so as not to break the shell, leaving it about a quarter of an inch thick. Peel and stem a quarter of a pound of fresh mushrooms, chop very fine, reserve a heaping tablespoonful of this for the sauce, then add the pulp of the egg plant to the mushrooms in the chopping bowl, and one heaping tablespoonful of currants, washed and picked over, one even teaspoonful of grated onion, one even teaspoonful of chopped green pepper, five heaping tablespoonfuls of grated bread crumbs, four tablespoonfuls of melted butter, two tablespoonfuls of rich cream. Mix all well together, fill the shell with this mixture, press it into shape and bind carefully with string. Bake twenty minutes, remove the string and serve on a platter with the sauce poured around it.

THE SAUCE.—Put on the skins and stems of the mushrooms in a saucepan, cover with boiling water, cook until tender, drain, and into this water put the tablespoonful of reserved mushrooms, add salt and pepper to taste, boil a few minutes, then add a heaping teaspoonful of flour stirred into a heaping tablespoonful of butter, let all cook together until thick, and pour around the egg plant.

GREEN CORN CAKES.

One quart of grated corn, one teacup of butter melted, four tablespoonfuls of flour, two eggs, and salt and pepper to taste. Bake as griddle cakes and serve at once. These cakes are very good made of canned corn. Pound the corn in a mortar and press through a sieve.

CORN PUDDING.

Four large ears of corn grated, or a can of corn prepared as for corn cakes, one heaping tablespoonful of butter, one teaspoonful of flour, one teaspoonful of sugar, one whole egg and one yolk. Melt the butter and stir into the corn, beat the eggs and add with one pint of milk, the sugar and flour, and salt and pepper to taste. Bake in a shallow dish in a moderate oven from twenty minutes to half an hour. If it bakes too long, it becomes watery.

MOCK OYSTERS OF GREEN CORN.

A pint of grated corn, a cup of flour, one egg, two ounces of butter, three tablespoonfuls of milk, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well and drop from a spoon in oblong cakes—to look as much like oysters as possible—into hot butter, fry brown on both sides. Serve on a platter and garnish with parsley. These may also be made of canned corn by pressing it through a colander with a potato masher to separate the hulls from it.

CORN BOILED ON THE COB.

Husk the corn and remove the silk, put in a kettle, and cover with boiling water. If the corn is young, it will cook in from five to ten minutes, as it is only necessary to set the milk. It should be served at once in a folded napkin.

CURRY OF CORN.

A can of corn, one good tart cooking apple, one tomato, a teaspoonful of finely chopped green pepper, a teaspoonful of grated onion, a teaspoonful of curry powder, a tablespoonful of chopped Brazil or English walnuts, two tablespoonfuls of butter, and salt and pepper to taste. Put the butter in a spider, when it bubbles add the apple cut in dice and onion, fry brown, then stir in the curry powder, the chopped pepper and tomato and nuts, let all simmer together for a few minutes, then add the corn, and cook gently for twenty minutes. If it is too thick a little water must be added. Serve in a shallow vegetable dish or on a platter. Fresh corn may be used. Boil and then cut from the cob, cook the cobs in the water the corn was boiled in long enough to extract all the good from them, and use this broth for the curry.

CROQUETTES OF SALSIFY AND CELERIAC.

Two roots of salsify and one large celeriac. Wash and scrape them well. Cut in pieces and cover with vinegar and water and let them stand one hour—this will prevent them from turning dark. Pour off the vinegar and water and nearly cover them with boiling water, cook until very tender, mash fine and smooth, season with pepper and salt, and a few drops of onion juice, put in a saucepan over the fire, and add a tablespoonful of butter, two tablespoonfuls of milk, and just before removing from the fire add a tablespoonful of cream and one egg, stir well, turn out into a bowl and set aside to cool. When cold make into croquettes, dip in egg and cracker crumbs and fry in a basket in boiling oil.

INDIAN CURRY OF VEGETABLES.

Equal quantities of cauliflower and potatoes, raw. The cauliflower cut into flowerettes and the potatoes into dice. Put them into a spider with a heaping tablespoonful of butter, a rounded teaspoonful of curry powder, and let them simmer for a few minutes without taking color. Then add two tablespoonfuls of tomatoes, an even teaspoonful of grated onion and one of chopped green pepper, fill up the spider with boiling water, and set it back on the stove where it will stew gently until the vegetables are tender and the water has been reduced to one-third the quantity. It should be as thick as ordinary gravy; if not, add a scant teaspoonful of flour. Just before it is done stir in a heaping tablespoonful of butter. Turn it into a shallow vegetable dish and serve very hot. The spider should be kept covered while the curry is cooking. It is very good without the green pepper. This may be warmed over, and is better the second day than the first.

KOHLRABI.

Peel them, cut in slices and pour on just enough boiling water to cook them. Cook until tender. When nearly done add salt. Make a cream sauce, season with white pepper, salt and a little grated nutmeg, if liked, toss them in this sauce, let it boil up once and serve very hot.

MARROWFAT BEANS BAKED.

Pick over carefully and wash one quart of beans, soak in water over night. In the morning drain, add fresh cold water and bring to a boil, drain again, and turn them into a four-quart stone jar, put in a generous cup of butter, two large tablespoonfuls of Porto Rico molasses, two tablespoonfuls of salt, less than a teaspoonful of pepper, and fill the jar with boiling water. Put in the oven, covering the jar with a tin cover. It must be cooked in a slow oven eight or nine hours—the water ought to last until the beans are perfectly cooked, and when done a good gravy left, about a third of the depth of the beans in the jar. Beans cooked in this way are very nutritious and easily digested. Keep them covered for two or three hours while cooking. Serve with Chili sauce.

BAYO OR MEXICAN BEANS.—No. 1.

Put one cup of Bayo or Mexican red beans to soak over night, in the morning drain off the water and put them in a saucepan with plenty of fresh water, let them cook for two hours, drain again, and add to them three fresh tomatoes, skinned and cut small, or a cup of canned tomatoes, and half an onion cut as small as the beans, then cover with boiling water and cook for one hour. Then stir in a very generous tablespoonful of butter, and salt and pepper to taste.

MEXICAN BEANS.—No. 2.

Soak over night a pint of beans and boil as in recipe No. 1 until soft. Then melt a tablespoonful of butter in a spider; when it bubbles put in a small onion chopped very fine, and fry a delicate brown. Drain the beans and turn them into the spider, add a cup of boiling water and stir until the water becomes thick like cream.

EMPARADAS (a Mexican Recipe).

Take some beans cooked as in Mexican Beans No. 1 and mash them to a paste. Then roll out some puff paste very thin—about the sixth of an inch—cut this into rounds with a large patty cutter, put a spoonful of the bean puree on the half of each round, wet the edges of the pastry, cover, press the edges together, making a half moon, brush them over with beaten egg and bake in a hot oven, or they may be fried in boiling oil or fat until a delicate brown.

FRIJOLES FRITOS.

A pint of beans cooked as in recipe for Bayo or Mexican Beans No. 1. Rub them smooth in a mortar, put them into a spider with a quarter of a cup of butter and fry for a few minutes, then add half a cup of grated Parmesan cheese, mix thoroughly and serve hot.

BROILED MUSHROOMS.

Select large flap mushrooms for broiling. Wash, skin and stem them, lay them on a dish, sprinkle with salt and pepper and pour a little olive oil over each mushroom, let them stand one hour. Broil on a gridiron over a nice clear fire. Place on a dish and serve with the following sauce: Prepare the stock as before by boiling the stems and skins in water and then straining. Mince two or three mushrooms fine, add to the stock, with a teaspoonful of minced parsley, a few drops of onion juice, a small lump of butter, cook for fifteen minutes, then add a cupful of cream, an even teaspoonful of flour wet with some of the cream and rubbed smooth. Let it all cook together for three minutes, then add the beaten yolk of an egg, stir well, remove from the fire at once and serve.

MUSHROOMS ON TOAST.

Half a pound of mushrooms, wash, stem and skin as before. Cut into dice, put in a saucepan with the juice of half a lemon, a tablespoonful of butter and a slice of onion, a sprig of parsley and one clove, tied together in a thin muslin bag. Set the saucepan on the fire and stew gently until nearly dry, then add water almost to cover them, salt and pepper to taste, and let them cook fifteen minutes. Take out the bag of onion, etc., and thicken with one egg yolk well beaten, and a small cupful of cream. Have some slices of toast on a platter, buttered and moistened with a little hot milk, pour the mushrooms over them, garnish with parsley and serve hot.

MUSHROOMS STEWED IN A CREAM SAUCE.

Make a pint of cream sauce, prepare half a pound of mushrooms as in the preceding recipe, cut into dice, and stew in the sauce until very tender. Have the toast prepared as above and pour the mushrooms over it. Garnish with parsley and serve at once. They may be served in pastry shells as an entree, if preferred.

TOMATOES STUFFED WITH MUSHROOMS.—No. 1.

Wash, skin and stem half a pound of mushrooms, chop very fine, add two even teaspoonfuls of finely minced parsley, a few drops of lemon juice, the same of onion juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Melt two tablespoonfuls of butter in a saucepan and cook all together in this until the mushrooms are tender, then add a cupful of stale bread crumbs and one egg yolk, stir well and remove from the fire. Have half a dozen perfectly ripe tomatoes, washed and wiped, cut a slice from the top of each, take out the core and seeds, and fill with the mushroom stuffing. Bake in a moderate oven until done. The skins should be removed in the usual way before stuffing.

TOMATOES STUFFED WITH MUSHROOMS.—No. 2.

Wash and wipe the tomatoes, but do not remove the skins. Cut in half, take out the core and a few of the seeds. Fill with the same forcemeat as in the preceding recipe and cover the top with it, place in a pan with a little water to keep from burning, bake in a moderate oven until soft, remove carefully from the pan, place on a platter, garnish with parsley and serve.

ESCALLOPED TOMATOES.

Strain from a quart can of tomatoes one cupful of water. Put a layer of the tomatoes in a baking dish, season with salt, pepper and a little sugar, cover with a layer of bread crumbs, dot freely with bits of butter, then put another layer of tomatoes, and lastly a layer of bread crumbs, with bits of butter, and sprinkle with a dessertspoonful of sugar. Bake forty-five minutes, and serve in the dish in which it is baked.

TOMATOES WITH EGG.

Drain the water from a can of tomatoes, press them through a colander, put into a saucepan over the fire, season with salt and pepper, a little sugar, if acid, and a few drops of onion juice. Let them cook a little, and just before serving add the well-beaten yolks of two eggs, stir well until it thickens, and remove immediately from the fire or it will curdle.

FRENCH CARROTS IN BROWN SAUCE.

Select the smallest French carrots, wash and scrape them and boil until tender in as little water as possible. When done drain from the water, using it to make the sauce. Put a tablespoonful of butter into a spider, when hot stir in a tablespoonful of flour, stir until a dark brown, add gradually the water the carrots were boiled in, season with salt and pepper, simmer until thick and smooth, add the carrots, and when hot serve.

FRENCH CARROTS AND PEAS.

Take a pint of young peas and two bunches of French carrots, cut in slices or fancy shapes (stars or clover leaves), cook each vegetable by itself in as little water as will cook them. When they are both tender put them together into a saucepan, add a heaping tablespoonful of butter and half a tablespoonful of flour rubbed together, and if there is not enough water left, add enough to make a gravy. Canned instead of fresh peas may be used; drain the water from the peas and stew the carrots in it, and follow the recipe as above.

SPINACH PUDDING.

Make a sauce of one ounce and a half of butter, one ounce of flour, a scant half cup of rich milk, half a teaspoonful of sugar, a grating of nutmeg, if liked, and salt and pepper to taste. When this comes to a boil, add an even cupful of spinach that has been cooked and finely chopped, and from which the water has been well pressed out. Remove from the stove, and stir into it two beaten eggs. Grease a mould, sprinkle it with dried and sifted bread crumbs, turn the pudding into this, set the mould in a pan of hot water, put in the oven, cover it to prevent browning and bake nearly three-quarters of an hour. Turn out on a platter, have ready a cream sauce to pour around the pudding, garnish with hard-boiled eggs, cut in quarters lengthwise, and parsley. If any is left over, cut in slices, and warm over in a cream sauce and serve for luncheon. It will keep for days.

SPINACH BALLS.

Put a slightly heaping tablespoonful of butter, a tablespoonful of cream, and half a teaspoonful of sugar into a saucepan on the stove, mix well, and when it boils add a heaping tablespoonful of flour—as much as will stay on the spoon—let it come to a boil, and then add three-quarters of a cup of cooked and finely chopped spinach, beat well and remove from the fire. When cold add two eggs, one at a time, season with salt and pepper to taste and half a saltspoonful of powdered mace. Have a saucepan of boiling water, slightly salted, on the stove; dip a tablespoon in cold water, and then take up enough of the spinach mixture to make an oblong cake, in shape like an egg cut in half lengthwise, then dip the spoon in the boiling water and let the cake float off. Use all the mixture in this way. The balls will cook in four or five minutes, and they must not boil too fast or they will break. Let them drain in a colander while making a cream sauce, and when the sauce is made put the balls into it and let them come to a boil, turn out on a platter and garnish with parsley.

TOMATOES AND MUSHROOMS.

Put on a pint of tomatoes in a saucepan and cook for fifteen or twenty minutes until nearly all the water has evaporated, season with salt and pepper, add a generous tablespoonful of butter, a tablespoonful of bread crumbs and half a pint of fresh mushrooms chopped fine. Cook until the mushrooms are tender. Have some bread cut in nice slices toasted and slightly moistened with warm milk. Pour the tomatoes and mushrooms over it and serve very hot.

TO BOIL RICE PLAIN.

Wash half a cupful of rice, drain from the water, have on the fire a very large saucepan nearly full of salted boiling water. Turn the rice into this and boil hard for twenty minutes, pour all into a colander, drain well, and put the rice in a smaller saucepan on the back of the stove, where it will be kept warm, without cooking, until all the moisture has evaporated. Then serve.

CAULIFLOWER WITH DRAWN BUTTER.

Select a nice white cauliflower, take off all the leaves, and cut enough of the stem off to allow it to stand well in the dish it is to be served in. Put it into a saucepan, cover with boiling water, and when it is nearly done add salt, as cooking it long with salt turns it brown. The usual time to cook a cauliflower is about twenty minutes. Try it with a fork, and if it is tender remove carefully from the water, let it drain in a colander while preparing a drawn butter. Then put into a hot vegetable dish, pour the sauce over and serve.

FOR THE DRAWN BUTTER.—Melt a large heaping tablespoonful of butter, and stir into it a heaping teaspoonful of flour, let them cook together without browning and add by degrees a cup of hot milk.

ESCALLOPED CAULIFLOWER.

Cut a cauliflower into flowerettes, cover with boiling water into a saucepan and cook until tender, let them drain in a colander while the sauce is being prepared. Make the usual cream sauce, enough to cover the cauliflower. When the sauce is done add two heaping tablespoonfuls of American Edam or grated Parmesan cheese, put the flowerettes into a baking dish, pour the sauce over them, sprinkle the top with a little of the cheese, and stand the dish in the oven for a few minutes to brown.

ESCALLOPED SPAGHETTINA.

Put a good half cupful of spaghettina, broken in bits, into a saucepan of boiling water with an even tablespoonful of salt, boil three-quarters of an hour, turn into a colander and let it drain while the sauce is being made. Prepare it exactly as for escalloped cauliflower and finish in the same way.

CHESTNUT PUREE.

Shell some large imported chestnuts and put over the fire in boiling water, let them cook for a few minutes, rub the skins off, and cover again with fresh boiling water, boil until tender. Press through a sieve, and season with butter, pepper and salt.

PUREE OF DRIED WHITE BEANS.

Pick over and wash a pint of beans and soak over night. In the morning drain off the water, put the beans into a saucepan with cold water to cover them, and cook until tender—a little more than an hour. Press through a sieve, add a generous tablespoonful of butter, salt and pepper to taste, put into a saucepan, make very hot and serve.

SQUASH PUDDING.

A large heaping cup of Hubbard squash, measured after it is baked and mashed smooth, a generous heaping tablespoonful of butter, melted and stirred into the squash, a heaping teaspoonful of flour mixed with four tablespoonfuls of milk and one egg beaten light, salt and pepper to taste. Mix well and turn into a buttered pudding dish and bake about twenty minutes. Serve in the dish in which it is baked. If any is left over, make it up into little round cakes and brown in butter for luncheon.

SQUASH FRITTERS.

A heaping cupful of Hubbard squash baked and mashed, stir into it a heaping tablespoonful of butter, a heaping tablespoonful of flour, a cup of milk, salt and pepper to taste, and one egg beaten light. Mix well and bake or fry as griddle cakes.

SUMMER SQUASH.

Wash and peel two large summer squash, cut in small pieces and remove the seeds, cover with boiling water and cook until tender. Drain in a colander and press gently as much of the water out as possible with a potato masher, then mash through the colander into a saucepan, put it on the stove and let it cook until the squash is quite dry, taking care that it does not burn. Then add four heaping tablespoonfuls of butter, a teaspoonful of sugar, and salt and pepper to taste.

RICE CROQUETTES.

Put three-quarters of a cup of milk in a saucepan over the fire, with a generous tablespoonful of butter, a heaping teaspoonful of sugar, and when it comes to a boil add a cup and a half of boiled rice, a saltspoonful of powdered cinnamon or nutmeg, if preferred, and salt to taste. Mix well, let it come to a boil and add a beaten egg, remove from the fire, turn into a plate to get cold, form into cylinders and cook in boiling fat.

FRICASSEE OF CELERIAC.

Wash and peel the celery roots, cut them into dice and cook until tender in as little water as possible, and when nearly done add a little salt. Make a sauce of two tablespoonfuls of butter and one tablespoonful of flour cooked together until smooth without browning. Then add a cup of rich milk, and when this boils turn the celery dice with the water in which they were boiled into the sauce, season to taste with salt and pepper. When ready to serve beat one egg yolk with a tablespoonful of cream and stir carefully into it, remove at once from the fire, pour into a vegetable dish, sprinkle with a little parsley minced fine, and serve.

YELLOW TURNIP RAGOUT.

Take one large yellow turnip, peel, wash and wipe dry, cut in oblong pieces. Brown a good lump of butter in a spider, simmer the turnip slices in this until nicely browned, taking care not to burn them. Put all into a saucepan with only water enough to cook them tender, cover tightly, when done, brown a little butter and flour together to make the gravy the proper consistency, season with pepper and salt and serve.

TOMATOES STUFFED WITH CHEESE.

Cut six tomatoes in half, scoop out part of the inside and put this in a saucepan and cook until nearly all the water has been absorbed, then add half a teaspoonful of sugar, one heaping tablespoonful of butter, two heaping tablespoonfuls of grated cheese, two heaping tablespoonfuls of dried bread crumbs, pepper and salt to taste, and a few drops of onion juice. Sprinkle the tomatoes with salt, pepper, a little sugar and grated cheese, then fill them with the dressing, dot them with tiny bits of butter and sift over them a few bread crumbs. Melt half a teaspoonful of butter in a baking pan, put the tomatoes in and bake twenty or twenty-five minutes. Take them out carefully when done, arrange on a dish, make a little gravy in the pan in which they were baked by adding a little more butter, half a cupful of milk, a heaping teaspoonful of flour, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve in a sauceboat.

JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES.

Wash and peel a dozen artichokes, selecting them as nearly the same size as possible. Cover with boiling water and cook until tender, drain at once and pour over them a cream sauce, sprinkle a little finely chopped parsley over them and serve.

ASPARAGUS.

Scrape and wash as much asparagus as is needed, cut the stalks the same length, tie in bunches and put over the fire in boiling water, and when nearly done add a little salt. Boil until perfectly tender, drain, put in a dish, remove the strings and serve very hot with sauce Hollandaise or a simple cream sauce.

POINTES D'ASPERGES.

Cut off the tender green tips of asparagus about an inch and a half long, cover with boiling water and cook until tender. Add salt just before they are done. Drain and put the points into a saucepan with butter, salt and pepper and a few spoonfuls of cream or Hollandaise sauce, mix well and do not let it cook after the sauce is added. A little nutmeg may be used if liked. Serve very hot.

PURPLE CABBAGE WITH CHESTNUTS.

Shred fine as for cold slaw half a purple cabbage, put half of this into a saucepan, dot with a tablespoonful of butter, sprinkle over it a heaping tablespoonful of sugar, a slightly heaping tablespoonful of flour, a little salt and pepper, then the rest of the cabbage with the same quantity of butter, sugar, etc., as before, and pour over all a quarter of a cup of vinegar and a cupful of cold water. Cover tightly, let it cook slowly until done, put it where it will only simmer for two hours. If not sour enough add more vinegar. Be careful that it does not burn. Serve in a vegetable dish and garnish with large Italian chestnuts that have been boiled and blanched.

PARSNIP CROQUETTES WITH WALNUTS.

Take two good-sized parsnips, peel and cook them until tender in as little water as possible. When done press the water carefully from them and mash them smooth and fine through a colander, put them back into the saucepan over the fire again, and add to them two heaping tablespoonfuls of chopped walnut meats, a good heaping tablespoonful of butter and a tablespoonful of rich cream, stir well together and add at the last one egg well beaten. Remove from the fire and turn out on a plate to cool, then form into cylinders, dip in egg and bread crumbs and fry in boiling fat.

PARSNIPS FRIED.

Boil them until tender, cut them in slices lengthwise and fry brown in a little butter.

PARSNIP FRITTERS.

Wash and scrape them and cut in slices, cover them with boiling water, cook until tender, mash them through a colander, return them to the fire, add to two large parsnips, a tablespoonful of butter, salt and pepper to taste, and one egg beaten well. Mix thoroughly, remove from the fire, and when cool make into small flat cakes and fry in a little butter. Serve hot.

TO COOK STRING BEANS.

String thoroughly, cut in half, then in half lengthwise, throw into boiling water and let them come to a boil. Remove from the fire, drain, cover with cold water and let them stand in this until it is time to cook them, then drain again, cover with boiling water and cook for fifteen minutes, and when almost done add salt. When tender, drain, add a lump of butter, and salt and pepper to taste.

SPANISH ONIONS STUFFED.

Take two large Spanish onions, wash and skin and tie them to prevent breaking. Put them into a saucepan over the fire, cover with boiling water, cook until they can be pierced with a broom straw—from two to three hours, according to size. When done, drain and carefully take out the centers, leaving about a quarter of an inch for the shell. Have ready a stuffing made from a quarter of a pound of mushrooms prepared as before. Put these and the centers of the onions into a chopping bowl and chop very fine. Cook them together until the moisture from the onions has almost evaporated, then add a generous heaping tablespoonful of butter, a tablespoonful of rich cream, and three heaping tablespoonfuls of grated bread crumbs, salt and pepper to taste. Fill the onion shells with this mixture, smooth the tops nicely, sprinkle with bread crumbs, brush with egg and a little butter. Put in the oven and brown about ten minutes, and serve with the following sauce: Rub a generous heaping tablespoonful of butter and a heaping tablespoonful of flour together. Put a small teacup of milk into a saucepan on the fire, when hot stir in the butter and flour and a quarter of a pound of mushrooms prepared as before and chopped very fine, season with salt and pepper to taste. Place the onions on a platter and pour the sauce around them, garnish with parsley and serve.

STUFFED CELERIAC WITH SPANISH SAUCE.

Put over the fire in a saucepan three-quarters of a cup of rich milk and three ounces of butter, let them come to a boil, then add three ounces of dried and sifted bread crumbs and an even tablespoonful of flour. Let it cook, stirring all the time until it is a smooth paste and detaches itself from the sides of the pan, remove from the fire and set it aside to cool. When cold beat three eggs light, stir in a little at a time, beating well until the mixture is smooth and all the beaten egg used, then add a heaping teaspoonful of sugar, three heaping tablespoonfuls of walnut meats chopped fine, two tablespoonfuls of rich cream, and salt and pepper to taste. Take four large, fine celeriac roots, clean, scrub and scrape them. Cut off a slice from the top of each to make a cover, then with an apple corer remove the inside, taking care not to pierce the root, leave a shell a quarter of an inch thick. Fill each with the dressing, leaving fully half an inch at the top for it to swell. Place the cover on each, tie well the roots to prevent breaking in the cooking, stand them in a saucepan with water to reach not quite to the top of the roots, and put in all the celeriac removed from the roots, boil gently until tender—about an hour—adding boiling water from time to time as it evaporates. When they are tender take them out of the water and put them aside, keeping them hot. Strain the water they were boiled in, form what is left from the stuffing into small cylinders, boil five minutes in the strained stock, take them out and put with the roots to keep warm. Then take a generous tablespoonful of butter, an even tablespoonful of flour, brown them together in a spider, add two heaping tablespoonfuls of chopped walnuts and let them brown a little, then stir in gradually the stock the roots were boiled in and cook until it thickens. Arrange the roots in the center of the platter, the cylinders around them and pour the sauce over all. Garnish with parsley, putting a tiny sprig of celery leaves in the top of each root.

SPRING CABBAGE STEWED.

Cut the cabbage very small, throw into a saucepan, cover with boiling water, when nearly done add salt. Cook until tender, drain well in a colander. Make a rich cream sauce—it must be quite thick, as the cabbage will thin it—add a saltspoonful of mace, then the cabbage, let it come to a boil and serve.

SPRING CABBAGE WITH CREAM SAUCE.

Boil a young cabbage or part of one until perfectly tender, when done drain all the water from it in a colander, place in a vegetable dish and pour over it a rich cream sauce.

SPRING TURNIPS IN CREAM SAUCE.

Pare and cut into dice some young turnips, cook them tender in as little water as possible, salt when nearly done. Have ready a cream sauce, nicely seasoned, and after draining the turnips put them into the sauce, let them come to the boiling point and remove immediately from the fire, turn them into the serving dish, sprinkle a little finely chopped parsley over the top and serve. A tiny grain of mace added to the sauce is an improvement, but it must be used with great care.

WHITE BREAD BALLS.

Take four ounces of bread from which the crust has been removed, cut it into dice. Put half a cup of milk in a saucepan with two ounces of butter and a teaspoonful of sugar, let it come to a boil, then stir in the bread and continue stirring until it no longer cleaves to the pan, remove from the fire. When cool stir into it two eggs, one at a time, and a little salt. Cook in boiling water, as described for other balls, and serve in a cream sauce as a vegetable. (See spinach balls, page 74.)

NOODLES.

Beat the yolks of two eggs with a little salt and one tablespoonful of cold water and stir in enough flour to make a very stiff dough. Roll out as thin as paper and then roll it up; let it stand for an hour, and then cut fine with a sharp knife. These will keep any length of time, and can be used in soups, as a vegetable or in a pudding.

NOODLES A LA FERRARI.

Prepare the noodles as above, and cook in boiling salted-water from twenty to twenty-five minutes. Drain well. Have ready a tomato sauce, stir the noodles into it, turn into a baking dish, sprinkle well with grated Parmesan cheese and brown in a quick oven.

GNOCCHI A LA ROMAINE.

Put two ounces of butter in a saucepan over the fire with two tablespoonfuls of milk. When this comes to a boil stir in four ounces of flour; then add a cup of milk, let it cook, stirring all the time until it no longer adheres to the pan, remove from the fire, let it cool and then beat in three eggs, one at a time, two heaping tablespoonfuls of grated Parmesan cheese, a saltspoonful of mace and a dash of salt. Set it away to get cold, make it into small balls. Have a large saucepan of boiling, salted water on the stove, drop the balls into it and let them boil five minutes, take them out with a skimmer and drain well. Have ready a cream sauce, put the balls in this, and when they are hot turn into a baking dish, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bake until brown in a quick oven.



Salads.

MAYONNAISE DRESSING.

One-half teaspoonful of mustard, one-half teaspoonful of sugar, one teaspoonful of salt and a dash of cayenne pepper; then add two raw egg yolks, beat well and stir in a teaspoonful of strong vinegar; add very carefully, drop by drop, a scant three-quarters of a cup of best olive oil, and as it thickens half a teaspoonful of vinegar. This recipe never fails, if the directions are carefully followed. The eggs and oil should be kept in the refrigerator and be ice cold. Lemon juice may be used, instead of vinegar, if preferred.

CREAM SALAD DRESSING.

One-quarter of a cup of strong cider vinegar, one cup and a quarter of water, one-half cup of butter, one teaspoonful of mustard, one teaspoonful of salt, one tablespoonful, slightly heaping, of corn starch, one teaspoonful of sugar, a dash of cayenne pepper and the yolks of four eggs. Put the vinegar and water in a saucepan and when it boils add the butter. Beat the yolks of eggs and the other ingredients together with an egg-beater, making it quite foamy and light; pour the boiling vinegar and water upon this mixture, which will partially thicken. The bowl in which it is mixed should be placed in a pan of hot water on the stove, beating it all the time with the egg-beater. Just before it reaches the boiling point remove and turn it out into a cold bowl, beating hard for a few minutes. When perfectly cold pour it into a glass jar, fasten down the top and keep in refrigerator.

FRENCH DRESSING.

One tablespoonful of vinegar, three tablespoonfuls of olive oil, a saltspoonful of salt and one of white pepper, and a few drops of any good sauce. Lettuce should be well washed in very cold water, leaf by leaf, and drained in a basket, which comes for the purpose, then placed on the ice, and at serving time put into the salad bowl. Lettuce should never be cut with a knife, but torn with a fork and spoon, and it should not be allowed to stand after the dressing is poured over it.

TOMATO ICE SALAD.

Put a quart can of tomatoes in a saucepan over the fire with half an onion, a slice of green pepper, if convenient, three cloves, two bay leaves, a sprig of parsley, a teaspoonful of sugar, and pepper and salt to taste. Cook until the onion is tender—about ten minutes—remove from the fire, press through a sieve fine enough to retain the seeds. When cold freeze as water-ice and mould—a melon mould is very pretty for it—pack in salt and ice in the usual way; turn it out in a nest of crisp young lettuce and serve with a mayonnaise dressing in a sauceboat.

[2]TOMATO JELLY.

One can of tomatoes put on to heat in a granite or porcelain-lined saucepan with a large slice of onion, one clove, two bay leaves, a teaspoonful of chopped green pepper, salt to taste and a little sugar. Soak half a box of gelatine in a little water for half an hour, and after the tomatoes have simmered fifteen minutes let them come to a boil and pour over the gelatine to dissolve it; strain through a very fine sieve into a bowl, let it get perfectly cold, and when it begins to thicken stir well and turn into an earthenware mould. It looks prettier in a round one. Set on ice. Serve the jelly on a round dish in a bed of fresh, crisp young lettuce leaves, and place a spoonful of tender, finely-cut celery in each leaf, and pour mayonnaise around it. The jelly is better made the day before it is needed.

[2] We have as yet in this country no substitute for animal gelatine. I have experimented with carrageen or Irish moss and the Sea-moss Farine preparation, and find them unsatisfactory. It is impossible to make a clear jelly with them, and by soaking in water to destroy the sea flavor, the solidifying property is lost. In England they have a vegetable gelatine (Agar Agar) which makes, I am told, a clear, sparkling jelly, and is said not to be expensive. I trust that before many months it may be obtainable here. I have ventured, therefore, to give a few recipes where gelatine is used, knowing that there will be something to replace it. Groult's tapioca and potato flour are said to be unadulterated, and with fresh fruit juices make nice and wholesome desserts, especially for children. These preparations are made in France, and put up in half-pound packages, and sold by all of our leading grocers.

SPAGHETTINA AND CELERY SALAD.

Take some cold boiled spaghettina, chop—not too fine—and cover with a French dressing, and let it stand on the ice until serving time. Have an equal quantity of fresh, crisp celery cut fine, mix with the spaghettina, cover with a mayonnaise dressing and garnish with tender lettuce leaves.

SALAD OF FAIRY RINGS AND PUFF BALL MUSHROOMS.

Have both very fresh; cook the fairy rings until tender, set aside to get cold, then put on the ice. Take an equal quantity of puff ball raw, chop fine, mix with the rings, turn into a nest of tender young lettuce, cover with a mayonnaise dressing and serve.

SALAD OF FRESH FRUIT.

Peel and cut into dice enough fruit, peaches, tart plums, orange and banana to fill a cup and a cupful of crisp celery cut fine; have both ice cold; at serving time mix and cover with a cream dressing and garnish with celery tops.

[3]CUCUMBER JELLY.

Half a box of gelatine soaked for an hour in half a cup of cold water. Remove the seeds from a small green pepper, peel and cut into slices two large, fine, fresh cucumbers, or three small ones and a small white onion. Put in a saucepan, add a bay leaf and a bouquet of parsley, cover with boiling water and cook until tender; remove the parsley and bay leaf, add a saltspoonful of sugar, salt to taste—more than a teaspoonful will be required—and press through a fine sieve. There should be, when strained, two cups and a half. Pour it over the soaked gelatine—if it is not hot enough to dissolve the gelatine place the saucepan over the fire for a moment—then run it through the same sieve again; set aside in a bowl to cool. When perfectly cold and beginning to congeal, stir it well and pour into a pretty, round mould; set it on ice until ready to serve. Turn it out on a plate and arrange fresh, crisp, young lettuce leaves around it, into each of which put a spoonful of mayonnaise or cream dressing.

[3] This jelly may be colored a delicate green by using extract of spinach (see recipe, page 164). Its appearance is much improved thereby.

WALNUT AND CELERY SALAD.

Three cupfuls of fresh, crisp celery cut fine and two cupfuls of walnuts, carefully shelled that they may be as little broken as possible. Put the walnuts in a saucepan with a small onion sliced, a bay leaf, a clove and twelve pepper corns, cover with boiling water, let them cook for ten or fifteen minutes, remove from the fire, drain and throw the nuts into cold water, remove the skins and let them get cold; then set on the ice until it is time to serve. Mix them with the celery, add mayonnaise or cream dressing, put on a dish or in a salad bowl, garnish with the tender green celery leaves and serve.

PINEAPPLE AND CELERY SALAD.

Equal parts of celery and shredded pineapple. Have the celery of the very tenderest, using only the best of the heads. Select a perfectly ripe, fresh pineapple, pare it, removing the eyes carefully, and shred the fruit with a silver fork and cut into small pieces with a silver fruit knife; put the celery, cut fine, and the shredded pineapple, each by itself on the ice, that they may be very cold. When it is time to serve the salad, mix them together, put on the salad dish, cover with mayonnaise dressing, garnish with the green celery leaves and serve at once.

FRUIT SALAD.

Equal quantities of grape fruit or oranges, bananas, apples and celery. Peel the grape fruit or oranges, carefully removing all the bitter white skin, cut the pulp, the bananas and apples into small dice and the celery fine as for other salads; put the orange and apple together; the latter will absorb the juice of the orange. Set all on ice;—these fruit salads must be ice cold. When it is time to serve, mix the fruit and celery together, put into a salad bowl, cover with the cream dressing into which has been stirred a third as much whipped cream as there is dressing, and add a little more salt to it in mixing. Serve in a bed of tender lettuce leaves.

POTATO SALAD.

Prepare equal parts of cold boiled potatoes and fresh, crisp celery, cut in small pieces which will look attractive when mixed with the dressing; cut in dice four cold, hard boiled eggs, and mix them in lightly with the potato and celery when adding the dressing. Use mayonnaise or cream dressing with this salad, garnish with dainty celery tops and serve.

SALAD OF TOMATOES STUFFED WITH CELERY.

Select nice, smooth, firm tomatoes, one for each person; blanch them in the usual way, cut a slice from the stem end and remove the core and some of the seeds; set on the ice to get cold. Prepare some celery, shredding it fine and using only the very tender part; mix it with mayonnaise dressing, stuff the tomatoes, allowing the celery to come above the top, serve each in a leaf or two of crisp lettuce and pour some mayonnaise around them. Salads should be ice cold.

CELERIAC AND LETTUCE SALAD.

Boil two or three celery roots in water with a little salt until tender; drain and let them get cold. Cut them in thin slices, make a nest of crisp lettuce and put the celery slices in the center. Serve with a French dressing.

RAW JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES AND LETTUCE SALAD.

Wash and peel the artichokes, cut in very thin slices and put into an earthen bowl with vinegar and water with a lump of ice in it. The vinegar will prevent them from turning dark. When ready to serve, place in the center of nice, fresh lettuce and serve with a French dressing.

SALAD A LA MACEDOINE.

Take several kinds of cold boiled vegetables in equal quantities, such as green peas, string beans, flowerettes of cauliflower, asparagus points, a small potato and a French carrot cut in small dice, and a little green pepper if liked; mix together and serve in a nest of fresh, crisp lettuce with a French dressing, or mayonnaise, if preferred.

ASPARAGUS SALAD.

Select very tender asparagus, cut off all the woody part and boil until tender, set aside to get cold, and then put on ice until serving time; arrange nicely on a platter or individual plates and serve with either mayonnaise or French dressing.

CUCUMBER SALAD.

Peel and cut in very thin slices, lay in a bowl, cover with water, sprinkle a little salt over them and put a lump of ice on top, let them remain until serving time, drain off the water and serve in a glass dish with a French dressing. They should be very cold and crisp. A little green pepper, chopped very fine, is an addition; also to rub the spoon used in mixing with a clove of garlic gives a piquancy to the salad.

COLD SLAW.

Select a firm cabbage and shave very fine on a cutter that comes for this purpose. Use the cream dressing or French dressing with a little dry mustard added.

TOMATO SALAD.

The tomatoes should be blanched in the usual way, and either sliced or cut in dice or served whole; or they may be cut in quarters, not quite separating them, and arranged in a bed of lettuce with a spoonful of mayonnaise on top of each tomato and the lettuce garnished with the same.

ENDIVE

is excellent with French dressing.

EGG SALAD.

Boil three eggs hard, cut in half lengthwise, remove the yolks and mash fine. Mix together in a saucepan the third of a teaspoonful each of dry mustard, salt and white pepper, a saltspoonful of curry powder, a few drops of onion juice, a teaspoonful of vinegar, two tablespoonfuls of egg well beaten, two teaspoonfuls of olive oil and a tablespoonful of rich cream. Put the ingredients together in the order in which they are named, beat well, set the bowl over the steam of the kettle and stir constantly until thick and creamy; remove and stir in the mashed egg yolks, a little at a time, and set on the ice to get very cold. To serve, fill the whites of egg, dividing the mixture among them, put each half egg on two or three leaves of tender lettuce, with mayonnaise dressing around them.



Desserts.

APPLE BETTY.

Two cups of tart cooking apples, chopped, a cup and a half of stale bread crumbs—bakers' bread is the best; four heaping tablespoonfuls of sugar, one generous tablespoonful of butter, and the grated rind of one lemon. Butter a pudding dish, divide the ingredients into four layers, beginning with apples and finishing with bread crumbs. Sprinkle the sugar and lemon over the apples and cut the butter into tiny lumps and scatter over the crumbs. Bake three-quarters of an hour in a moderate oven. Serve with cream or hard sauce.

APPLE CHARLOTTE.

Pare, core and quarter eight or nine good cooking apples, put them into a double boiler with two tablespoonfuls of butter, half a cup of sugar, the juice and grated rind of a lemon; cook until tender. Take a plain mould that holds three pints, butter it well, line the bottom and sides with very thin slices of home-made bread. Remove the crust, dip each slice in melted butter, fit them evenly together in the mould, fill with the apples, cover with the bread, dredge it with sugar and bake three-quarters of an hour in a quick oven. Have a hot platter, lay it over the top of the charlotte, turn it over, and lift off the mould. Serve hot with or without sauce or cream.

APPLE CROQUETTES.

Peel, core and quarter four good-sized cooking apples, cut in thin slices and put them in a granite ware saucepan over the fire with a small tablespoonful of butter, a heaping tablespoonful of sugar, the grated rind of half a lemon and a saltspoonful of cinnamon; cover tightly and cook until tender, taking care that it does not burn. When done add an even tablespoonful of Groult's potato flour, mixed with a very little water, then stir in one beaten egg, and remove from the fire. Turn into a deep plate to get cold, form in cylinders, dip in egg and dried bread crumbs and fry in boiling fat. Sift powdered sugar over them and serve hot, with or without cream.

APPLES STEWED WHOLE.

Take some nice, tart cooking apples, pare and put them into a saucepan with the juice of two lemons and the rind of one; cover with water, cook slowly until they can be pierced with a straw, take them from the water with a draining spoon. Make a syrup, allowing half a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit, use as much of the water the apples were cooked in as will dissolve the sugar; when it comes to a boil add the apples and cook until clear. Take the apples out, core them and fill with a fruit jelly, if liked, boil down the syrup and pour over the fruit. Serve very cold with whipped or plain cream. Bartlett pears may be cooked in the same manner, serving them whole.

APPLE SOUFFLE.

Seven tart, juicy apples, pared and cored, and cut fine. Put them over the fire in a double boiler without any water, steam until tender, then stir into them two tablespoonfuls of butter and one cup of sugar, remove from the fire, and turn it into a bowl to cool. When it is cold beat in the yolks of four eggs, whipped very light, a little grated lemon peel, and then add alternately the whites of the eggs, beaten to a stiff froth, and a cup of stale bread crumbs. Beat hard for a few moments and turn into a buttered pudding dish and bake in a moderate oven about one hour. Cover it while baking until ten or fifteen minutes before it is done, so that it will not form a hard crust and become dry. Serve warm in the dish in which it is baked.

APPLE CUSTARD.—No. 1.

Grate some good, tart cooking apples—enough to measure one quart. Beat a generous tablespoonful of butter and seven tablespoonfuls of sugar to a cream, add to this four egg yolks beaten light, then the apples and the grated rind of a lemon, and lastly the whites of four eggs beaten to a stiff froth. It can be baked in puff paste or without. Serve cold.

APPLE CUSTARD.—No. 2.

Pare, core and quarter half a dozen fine, large cooking apples, put them in a double boiler with the grated rind of half a large lemon, cook until tender, and press through a sieve; there must be three-quarters of a pint of the puree. Add an ounce and a half of granulated sugar and set it away to get cold. Then beat three eggs very light and stir gradually into a pint of rich milk alternately with the apple puree, add a little cinnamon, pour it into a pudding dish and bake about twenty minutes. Serve cold with a little cinnamon and sugar sifted over it.

BAKED APPLE DUMPLINGS.

Sift a pint of flour with a teaspoonful of baking powder and half a teaspoonful of salt. Put a quarter of a pint of butter into it and chop it fine with a knife; mix it well—do not use the hands; then add milk enough to moisten it, about a quarter of a pint. Dust a pastry board with flour, take the dough from the bowl, roll lightly into a sheet about an eighth of an inch thick, cut into squares large enough to hold an apple. Pare and core medium sized cooking apples, fill with sugar and a little cinnamon, put in the middle of the square and draw the corners up over the apples, moistening them with a little white of egg or water to make them stick. Brush over the dumplings with beaten egg and bake in a good oven. The time will depend upon the apples—about half an hour. Serve with cream.

APPLE FLOAT.

Have a pint of apple puree, made from nice tart apples, sweetened to taste and flavored with the grated rind of lemon and cinnamon, or nutmeg if preferred. Set it on the ice that it may be very cold, beat the whites of two eggs to a stiff froth and add to the puree of apples, and serve with cream.

APPLES FRIED.

Wash and wipe some tart cooking apples, cut in slices a quarter of an inch thick, core and fry them in butter until tender and brown, dredge them with sugar and serve hot.

APPLE MARMALADE.

Two pounds of tart cooking apples, one pound of sugar, one pint of water, one lemon and some blanched almonds. Stir the sugar and water together and boil it until it strings from the spoon, then add the apples pared and cored and cut in small pieces, cook until very thick, flavor with the juice and grated peel of a small lemon. Turn into a wet mould, when cold set on the ice. Turn out on a glass dish, stick it thickly over with the blanched almonds, garnish with whipped cream and serve with cream.

APPLE MERINGUE.

Put a pint of apple sauce, made of tart cooking apples, slightly sweetened, into a pudding dish. Beat the whites of four eggs to a stiff froth and stir into it a cup and a quarter of sugar, flavor with a very little extract of lemon—a few drops only—and spread over the apple sauce, and bake twenty or twenty-five minutes. Make a custard of the four egg yolks and a pint of milk, sweeten to taste and flavor with vanilla. Serve the meringue very cold in the dish in which it is baked, with the custard as a sauce in a sauceboat or glass pitcher.

APPLE PUDDING.—No. 1.

Take some tart cooking apples, pare, core and slice them and lay in cold water for a few minutes to prevent them from turning dark. Put the apples in a porcelain lined or granite saucepan and add water as deep as the apples, but not to cover them. Cover the saucepan tightly and let the apples cook until tender, then mash well, add sugar, grated lemon peel and cinnamon to taste. Put it back on the stove, and when it comes to a boil add a tablespoonful of potato flour mixed with a little cold water, stir well and let it cook for a few minutes. Turn it into a mould and serve the next day with cream.

APPLE PUDDING.—No. 2.

Prepare the apples as for Apple Pudding, No. 1. When tender mash through a colander, and put the puree back on the stove. When it boils stir in a very heaping tablespoonful of potato flour mixed with a little cold water, and let it cook for a few minutes. Remove from the fire, stir in a wine glass of sherry. Turn into a mould, set it on the ice until the next day and serve with cream.

APPLES STEWED IN BUTTER.

Take half a dozen good, tart cooking apples—greenings or Newtown pippins; peel, cut in slices about a quarter of an inch thick and core them. Melt an ounce of butter in a spider, and lay in the slices of apples with a quarter of a pound of granulated sugar and the juice of a lemon, stew gently over a moderate fire. When done arrange them nicely on a dish, melt a generous tablespoonful of currant jelly in the spider, and when ready to serve mix with it half a glass of Madeira or sherry; pour over the apples and serve.

TO STEAM APPLES.

Pare and core some good cooking apples, place them in an earthen or granite ware dish that fits in a steamer. Have water boiling in the steamer, set the dish over it, stretch a towel over the top, put on the cover and fold the ends of the towel over it. Steam the apples until tender—about twenty minutes. Take the apples out, measure the juice in the pan and add to it an equal quantity of sugar, flavor with a little lemon juice, cook until thick, put the apples in a glass dish and pour the syrup over them. It will be a jelly when cold. Serve with cream.

SCALLOPED APPLES.

Pare, core and cut in slices some good, tart cooking apples, put a layer in a baking dish with sugar, cinnamon and a grating of lemon rind, dot with tiny lumps of butter, then another layer of apples, sugar, etc., and so on until the dish is full. Add a very little water and the juice of a lemon, and use a little more sugar and butter on top than on the other layers. Bake until the apples are thoroughly cooked. Cover until nearly done, when the cover should be removed to allow them to brown. Serve hot with cream or hard sauce.

BANANA FRITTERS.

Half a pint of sweet milk, a scant half pint of flour, two rounded teaspoonfuls of baking powder and a small pinch of salt, stir all together; this should make a batter as thick as that of cake. Roll the pieces of fruit in it with a fork, and drop quickly into boiling fat. The batter should be prepared just as it is wanted and not allowed to stand. Cut three medium-sized bananas into three pieces each and divide each slice lengthwise so that the fruit will be thin enough to cook thoroughly while the batter is browning. This recipe will make eighteen small fritters. Put them on a hot platter—do not pile up—and serve immediately with a fruit sauce.

BAVARIAN CHERRY CAKE.

Half a pound of fine, juicy black cherries, five tablespoonfuls of fine bread crumbs, five tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar, five eggs and one ounce of sweet chocolate grated. Put the grated chocolate in a mixing bowl, break an egg into it and add one tablespoonful of bread crumbs and one of sugar, beat light and break another egg into it, adding another tablespoonful of bread crumbs and one of sugar. Then separate the three remaining eggs, the yolks from the whites, adding one yolk at a time alternately with bread crumbs and sugar until all are used. Add the cherries. Beat the three whites of eggs to a stiff froth and fold it in lightly. Butter thick a cake mould, sift dried bread crumbs over it, turn the cake into it and bake about three-quarters of an hour in a moderate oven. Test it as other cake. In Bavaria it is served cold, but I think it would also be nice hot with fruit sauce.

CRANBERRY BAVARIAN CREAM.

Stew one quart of cranberries; while hot rub through a sieve; measure out half a pint, and add to it a half cup of granulated sugar. Have a quarter of a box of gelatine soaked in a quarter of a cup of water one hour, set the bowl over steam entirely to dissolve the gelatine, then add the cranberries. Turn it into an earthenware bowl, set in a pan of ice water and beat until it is perfectly cold and begins to thicken, then add half a cup of rich milk and beat again, and at the last add half a cup of whipped cream. Beat it thoroughly and turn it into a mould and set on the ice to congeal. Serve with cream. Do not use a tin mould for cranberries.

A MOULD OF FRESH FRUIT.

Take enough fresh, ripe currants and raspberries to make half a cupful of juice of each, and press through a sieve fine enough to retain the seeds; or the fruit may be strained and squeezed through cheese cloth. Take also enough ripe cherries to make a cupful of juice and mix all together. Put a quart of boiling water in a saucepan over the fire with four ounces of sugar and two ounces of almonds blanched and cut fine. Mix five ounces of arrowroot or the same quantity of potato flour with the cold fruit juices, stir it into the boiling water and let it boil about five minutes, turn it into a wet mould, and when cold set on the ice. This should be made the day before it is to be served. Serve with cream.

A DESSERT OF MIXED FRUIT.

Peel some sweet, juicy oranges, removing all the white, bitter skin, cut in thin slices and put a layer at the bottom of a glass dish, sprinkle with sugar, then put a layer of freshly grated cocoanut and a layer of bananas, cut in thin slices, and repeat, beginning again with oranges, until the bowl is full, finishing with a layer of cocoanut. Pour over it any juice that may have run from the oranges, and if liked a glass or two of sherry may be added. Serve very cold.

GOOSEBERRY PUDDING.

Use either ripe or unripe English gooseberries for this pudding, stem and pick off the flower, wash and cover with water and cook until tender, strain through a sieve. Return to the fire, let it come to a boil, sweeten to taste, flavor with cinnamon and some almonds blanched and cut fine. Stiffen with potato flour as in other fruit puddings—a tablespoonful to a quart of the puree—and mould and serve in the same way.

PINEAPPLE MERINGUE.

Half a large or one small pineapple grated, two ounces of butter, three of granulated sugar, an ounce and a half of grated bread crumbs, the yolks of three eggs and the whites of four. Cream the butter and sugar, add the yolks and one white of egg beaten well together, then the fruit and bread crumbs; turn into a pudding dish and bake twenty minutes. Beat three whites of eggs to a stiff froth and add three-quarters of a cup of granulated sugar to it, flavor with a few drops of almond extract, spread over the pudding, set the dish in a pan of warm water in the oven and bake about ten or fifteen minutes. Test with a straw; when it comes out clean it is done. Serve cold.

PRUNE SOUFFLE.

Soak three-quarters of a pound of prunes in water to cover them over night, cook until soft in the water they were soaked in, drain, take out the stones and press through a puree sieve. Add half a cup of granulated sugar and the whites of three eggs beaten to a stiff froth. Bake in a pudding dish twenty minutes. Serve in the dish in which it is baked, cold, with cream.

PRUNE MOULD.

Prepare a prune puree as above and to the same quantity have a third of a box of gelatine soaked in a little of the water the prunes were cooked in, and dissolved over the teakettle. Stir quickly into the puree, then add three whites of eggs beaten to a stiff froth. Wet a mould and pour the mixture into it; set on the ice to congeal. Turn out on a glass dish and serve with cream.

STEWED DRIED FIGS.

Wash and cut in half two dozen dried figs, slice very thin one small lemon, add to the figs, put in a saucepan and pour over them cold water almost to cover. Let them cook until the lemon is clear. Sweeten to taste.

RHUBARB MERINGUE.

Take three cups of stewed rhubarb, put in a saucepan over the fire, sweeten to taste, and when hot add two ounces of butter and three ounces of bread crumbs dried and rolled fine, the juice and rind of half a lemon. Remove from the fire and stir in three egg yolks, turn it into a pudding dish, set aside while preparing the meringue. Beat the whites of three eggs to a stiff froth, add three-quarters of a cup of granulated sugar and pour over the rhubarb. Set the pudding dish in a pan of hot water in the oven and bake ten or fifteen minutes. Test with a broom straw; when it comes out of the meringue clean it is done. Serve cold with cream.

SCALLOPED RHUBARB.

A dozen large stalks of young rhubarb, washed and scraped and cut in thin slices, half a loaf of bakers' stale bread grated, four heaping tablespoonfuls of granulated sugar, one generous tablespoonful of butter, and the grated rind of a large lemon. Butter a pudding dish, divide the ingredients into four parts, begin with the rhubarb and finish with bread crumbs. Sprinkle the sugar and grated lemon peel over the rhubarb and cut the butter in tiny bits over the bread crumbs, dredge the top with sugar. Bake three-quarters of an hour in a moderate oven and serve hot with cream or hard sauce.

RICE AND DATE PUDDING.

Half a cup of rice washed and boiled in water, one pound of dates, washed first in cold then in hot water, stoned and chopped a little, one pint of milk, two eggs, two tablespoonfuls of granulated sugar, and a little salt. Butter well a pudding dish, lay in half the dates, then over them half the rice, then dates again with a layer of rice on top. Beat the eggs light, add to them the milk, sugar and salt, and pour over the rice and fruit and bake from twenty-five to thirty minutes. Serve cold, with cream.

RICE AND FIG PUDDING

may be made according to the preceding recipe, steaming or stewing the figs a little and chopping slightly.

RICE AND RAISIN PUDDING.

Soak the raisins, seed them and stew a little, and follow the same recipe.

RICE AND PRUNE PUDDING.

Soak the prunes over night, stew and stone and slightly chop them and proceed as in the other puddings. Any kind of dried or fresh fruit may be used for this very wholesome and nutritious pudding.

RICE FLOUR PUDDING.

Take a quart of milk, leaving out enough to mix with three ounces of rice flour, put the rest in a saucepan over the fire. When it boils add one ounce and a half of sugar, one-half ounce of sweet and a few bitter almonds, blanched and pounded, or chopped very fine, one ounce of butter, and a small piece of vanilla bean if convenient, if not flavor at the last with vanilla extract. Mix the three ounces of rice flour with milk, reserved from the quart, and stir into the pudding. Beat one egg yolk with half a cup of cream and stir in just before removing from the fire. Turn into a mould that has been dipped in cold water and serve very cold with fruit sauce.

RICE SOUFFLE COLD.

Put into a double boiler a quarter of a pound of well washed rice, a pint and a third of milk, a small tablespoonful of butter, and cook until the rice is so stiff that it no longer adheres to the sides of the pan. Soak a heaping tablespoonful of gelatine in two tablespoonfuls of water fifteen minutes. Put a pint of thin cream or rich milk in a saucepan over the fire with two ounces of blanched and pounded almonds; while it is coming to a boil beat two egg yolks and two tablespoonfuls of granulated sugar together until light, then add the gelatine to the milk on the stove. When it has dissolved pour a little of the cream into the eggs and sugar, mix well, then turn it back into the saucepan, and stir all rapidly together until it begins to thicken, remove at once from the fire, add to the rice and beat until smooth. Rinse a mould with cold water, turn the souffle into it and set on ice until it is wanted. Turn it out on a glass dish and serve with or without a fruit sauce.

RICE PUDDING.—No. 1.

Take a quarter of a pound of rice, wash well in cold and then scald in boiling water, drain and put on in a quart of sweet milk in a double boiler, cook one hour and a half. A little before it is done stir in an ounce and a half of butter, one ounce of sugar, a little grated lemon peel, a few sweet and bitter almonds blanched and chopped very fine or pounded in a mortar. Don't stir too much, but keep the rice grains whole. When done dip a mould in cold water and turn the rice into it. Set it on the ice and serve very cold with a fruit sauce.

RICE PUDDING.—No. 2.

Put a scant half cup of rice to soak in water for an hour, then boil in salted boiling water for twenty minutes. While it is cooking put three cups of rich milk and half a cup of sugar in a saucepan on the stove, mix a tablespoonful of corn starch with a little cold milk, stir with the milk and sugar and let it come to a boil, then add a cupful of the hot boiled rice and stir until it thickens like custard. Turn it into a pudding dish, flavor with vanilla or anything liked and bake slowly until a delicate brown. Serve cold in the dish in which it is baked, with brandy peaches or any fruit liked.

RICE OMELETTE SOUFFLE.

Boil a quarter of a pound of well-washed Carolina rice in a pint and a half of milk until stiff. Stir in two ounces of butter, half a pint of cream and four egg yolks beaten light with two ounces of granulated sugar and vanilla to taste, add a quarter of a pound of citron cut fine and two ounces of almonds blanched and pounded fine in a mortar. Stir all well together, adding at the last four whites of eggs beaten very stiff. Put in a pudding dish and bake until firm—about half an hour. Serve immediately in the dish in which it was baked.

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE.—No. 1.

Puff paste makes a delicious strawberry shortcake. Roll thin, as for pie crust, and line three layer cake tins and bake. Put a quart of fresh, ripe strawberries stemmed in a bowl, sweeten them, cover and stand the bowl on the shelf over the range, stir occasionally and mash slightly with the back of a spoon. When serving time comes lay one of the shells on the dish in which it is to be served, and pour a third of the berries over it, then put on a second and a third, decorate the top layer with whipped cream and serve with cream. It should be served immediately after the berries are added to the crust that it may be crisp. Both berries and shells should be cold.

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE.—No. 2.

Make a biscuit dough in the proportion of a pint of flour, a heaping teaspoonful of baking powder and half a teaspoonful of salt, a tablespoonful of butter and enough milk to mix it. Roll about an inch thick, cut it round or oblong and bake in a quick oven about fifteen minutes. Cut around the edge and pull gently apart, butter slightly, have the berries prepared as for Shortcake No. 1. Put the crust on the serving dish, pour half the berries over it, put on the top and pour the remainder of the berries over it. Serve with cream.

LADIES' LOCKS FILLED WITH STRAWBERRIES.

Roll the puff paste thin, cut in strips an inch wide and about twelve inches long; wind these around the forms overlapping the paste as it is wound. Brush over with beaten egg and bake on the forms. When baked slip the forms out, fill with strawberries prepared as for strawberry shortcake.

STRAWBERRIES SCALLOPED.

Equal quantities of fresh strawberries and bakers' stale bread grated. Begin with a layer of the berries, sprinkle well with sugar, then a layer of bread crumbs, dot with bits of butter, then another layer of fruit and sugar; finish with bread crumbs and butter, sprinkle a little sugar over the top and bake half an hour in a good oven. Serve hot with cream. Currants and raspberries, either separately or mixed, and blackberries also make excellent puddings.

CURRANT PUDDING.

Stem and wash some currants, mash through a sieve, add as much water as there is currant juice and sweeten to taste. To one quart of liquid take two ounces of Groult's potato flour. Mix the potato flour with a little of the cold fruit juice, put the rest over the fire, and when it comes to a boil stir in the flour and let it cook for a few minutes. It will become clear. Turn it into a mould that has been dipped in cold water, and set it when cool on the ice until the next day. Turn out carefully and serve with cream.

STEWED DATES.

Break the dates apart, wash in cold, then in hot water, drain them and cover with cold water; cook until tender—a very few minutes—take out the fruit, add a little sugar to the water and boil five minutes, pour over the dates and set away to get cold.

STUFFED DATES.

Wash the dates as in the other recipes, drain in a colander and shake from time to time until they are dry. Stone them and fill with blanched almonds, or chopped nuts or cocoanut grated.

TAPIOCA AND APPLE PUDDING.

Six good, tart cooking apples, three-quarters of a cup of pearl tapioca, sugar to taste and one quart of water. Soak the tapioca in the water two hours, then put in a double boiler and cook until clear, sweeten to taste. It may be flavored with the rind of lemon cut very thin and removed when the tapioca is done. Peel and core the apples and fill the holes with sugar, arrange them in a pudding dish and pour the tapioca over them, bake until the apples are tender. A few tiny bits of butter on the top will make it brown a little. Serve hot or cold with cream and sugar.

TAPIOCA AND STRAWBERRY JELLY.

Five ounces of Groult's tapioca, two cups of boiling water, two cups of strawberry juice, four heaping tablespoonfuls of sugar and a dash of salt. Hull and wash the berries, mash with a spoon and strain through a fine cheese-cloth. Put the boiling water in a double boiler, and sprinkle in the tapioca, stirring to prevent lumping. Let it cook until clear, add the sugar and salt, and then the strawberry juice, and boil until thick—a few minutes only; turn into an earthenware mould; when cold set on the ice. It is better to make it the day before it is wanted. It should be served with cream.

TAPIOCA AND RASPBERRY JELLY.

Follow the above recipe, using raspberries in the same proportion.

TAPIOCA AND CURRANT JELLY.

Follow the recipe for tapioca and strawberry jelly.

PEARL SAGO AND FRUIT JELLIES.

Soak half a cup of pearl sago two hours in a cup of cold water, then add half a cup of water and a cup and a half of fruit juice—strawberry, raspberry, or currant; boil for twenty minutes and sweeten to taste. Fruit syrups may be used in winter; it will require less of the syrup than fruit juice.

BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING.—No. 1.

Cut six small tea buns in half, butter well, using two generous ounces of butter for the six, and put them together again. Beat three eggs with a cup and a half of rich milk, add half a cup of almonds blanched and chopped fine, one ounce of sugar, two tablespoonfuls of sherry, let the buns soak in this for awhile. Butter a mould, sprinkle with fine bread crumbs, take the buns out of the custard, lay them in the mould and pour the custard over them. Set the mould in a pan of boiling water in the oven and bake three-quarters of an hour, and serve hot with a sauce.

BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING.—No. 2.

Cut some slices of home-made bread about half an inch thick, butter and lay in a pudding dish, sprinkle with currants, put another layer of buttered bread and currants. Beat three eggs light and stir into a pint of milk, sweeten to taste, flavor with a little grated lemon peel or cinnamon, pour over the bread and butter and bake in a moderate oven until the custard is set. Test with a knife; if it comes out clean it is done. If baked too long the pudding will be watery. Serve cold and in the dish in which it is baked.

BREAD CUSTARD.

Put a pint of rich milk in a saucepan on the fire. When it comes to a boil, add half a cup of grated stale bread crumbs, then stir in a heaping tablespoonful of butter, a little grating of lemon peel, a quarter of a cup of granulated sugar and a tablespoonful of almonds blanched and chopped fine. Have two eggs beaten light, remove the saucepan from the fire, stir a little of the mixture into the eggs and then turn that into the saucepan, stir well for a moment and pour it into a pudding dish. Set the dish in a pan of hot water in the oven and bake about twenty minutes, until firm in the center; test with a knife. If it comes out clean the pudding is done; if it bakes too long it will be watery. It may be eaten cold or hot. If served hot add a quarter of a cup more bread crumbs.

FRIED BREAD.

Sweeten a pint of milk, flavor with cinnamon or nutmeg to taste. Have some slices of home-made bread half an inch thick, cut off the crust and soak the bread in the custard until all is absorbed, turning the bread in it. Put some butter in a spider; when hot fry the bread a nice brown on both sides. Arrange the slices nicely on a platter and serve with or without a sauce.

CHOCOLATE CREAM.

Soak a third of a box of gelatine in a very little cold water. Put a cup and a half of milk in a saucepan with four ounces of sweet, fine chocolate grated, let it boil until dissolved and add a slightly heaping tablespoonful of sugar. Take two-thirds of the soaked gelatine and put into the chocolate when melted, cool the mixture and turn into a mould, roll the mould from side to side in the hands until it is thoroughly coated with the mixture about a finger thick. When cold, even off the surface with a knife. Whip about half a pint of nice, rich cream, sweeten with powdered sugar and flavor with vanilla. Melt the other third of the soaked gelatine in a little boiling water and stir quickly into the cream and fill the chocolate with it. Set on the ice. Serve very cold.

CHOCOLATE CUSTARD.

Put a pint and a half of rich milk into a double boiler over the fire with the third of a vanilla bean split and cut in small pieces, let it come to a boil, and stir in two ounces of fine, sweet chocolate grated and a lump of butter the size of a walnut. Let it boil for a few moments, remove from the fire and beat very light four eggs, strain the chocolate gradually over them, stirring all the time, add a little salt, and sugar if necessary. Rinse a plain mould in cold water, pour the custard into it, set the mould in a pan of hot water and bake twenty-five minutes. Test with a knife. Too long cooking makes the custard watery. It must be served ice cold and may be prepared the day before. Serve with cream or soft boiled custard.

CHOCOLATE PUDDING.

Beat one-quarter of a pound of butter to a cream and stir in six egg yolks, one at a time, then add a quarter of a pound of fine, sweet chocolate grated, a cup of almonds blanched and chopped fine, six tablespoonfuls of granulated sugar and one tablespoonful of citron cut very fine, beat the six whites of eggs to a stiff froth and stir in at the last. Pour into a mould and boil three-quarters of an hour and send to the table hot with whipped cream poured around it, or any fine sauce served in a sauceboat.

COTTAGE PUDDING.

One cup of granulated sugar, a cup and a half of flour sifted, half a cup of milk, a heaping tablespoonful of butter, two eggs, whites and yolks beaten separately, a teaspoonful of Cleveland's baking powder mixed with the flour. Beat butter and sugar to a cream, add the well-beaten yolks of the eggs, then add milk and flour alternately by degrees, and the whites of eggs beaten to a stiff froth, stirred in at the last. Bake half an hour. Serve hot with plenty of sauce.

CARAMEL CUSTARD BAKED.

A pint and a half of rich milk, a cup and a half of granulated sugar, the fourth of a vanilla bean. Put the milk and vanilla bean cut small into a double boiler over the fire. Melt the sugar without water in a spider, stirring constantly until it is all dissolved and the syrup is a rich golden brown. Do not let it get too dark or it will be bitter. When the milk is at the boiling point stir in half the boiling syrup—if put in too fast the milk will boil over. Let it cook until the sugar (if it hardened as it touched the milk) dissolves. Have four eggs beaten very light in a bowl, pour the milk over them, add a little salt, and if vanilla bean is not used for flavoring, stir in extract of vanilla to taste. Rinse a mould with cold water, pour the custard into it and set it in a pan of hot water in the oven, bake from twenty to twenty-five minutes and test with a knife. If it comes out clean it is done. Add boiling water to the remainder of the syrup and let it cook gently until it is the consistency of thick cream. Flavor with vanilla. Serve very cold.

SOFT-BOILED CUSTARD.

Put a quart of rich milk in a double boiler over the fire with a third of a vanilla bean, split in half, and sugar to taste. Beat the whites of six eggs to a stiff froth, add three heaping teaspoonfuls of granulated sugar, and when the milk comes to the boiling point drop the whites of eggs into it by tablespoonfuls in egg-shape, turn them over in the hot milk for a few seconds, repeat until all are done, drain them and return the milk to the saucepan. Beat the six egg yolks to a light cream, turn the hot milk over it gradually and pour the custard back into the boiler; return to the fire and stir vigorously until it thickens and is smooth to the taste. Remove from the fire, pour at once into a bowl, add a little salt, and set aside to cool. Then put on the ice and at serving time turn into a glass bowl, arrange the whites of eggs on top and serve with sponge cake.

A SIMPLE DESSERT.

A loaf of stale sponge cake—one that has been baked in a border mould looks pretty. Saturate the cake with orange juice to which has been added a little lemon. Stick the cake over with blanched almonds and fill the center with whipped cream. If the cake is a plain loaf, pile the cream around it.

GINGER CREAM.

Soak a quarter of a box of gelatine in half a cup of milk for half an hour, then place the bowl over steam until the gelatine is perfectly dissolved. Add to it four ounces of granulated sugar and a pint of whipped cream, two tablespoonfuls of preserved ginger chopped fine, two tablespoonfuls of the ginger syrup and a tablespoonful of almonds blanched and chopped very fine. Stir until it begins to thicken, pour into a mould and set on the ice. Serve in a glass dish and powder the top with chopped almonds.

GRAHAM PUDDING.

Two cups of Graham flour, one cup of milk, one cup of Porto Rico molasses, one cup of raisins stoned and slightly chopped, one egg, one even teaspoonful of soda, one teaspoonful of ground cinnamon, one-half teaspoonful of cloves, a little nutmeg, if liked, and a small pinch of salt. Flour the raisins with a little white flour, mix all the ingredients thoroughly together, butter a mould and steam three hours. Serve with a sauce. If there should be any of the pudding left over, it can be used by cutting in slices half an inch thick, each piece dipped in milk, in which an egg has been stirred, fried brown in a little butter, and served hot with a sauce.

NALESNEKY (a Russian Recipe).

Beat three yolks of eggs light, add to it half a cup of milk, half a cup of water, one cup of flour, and a little salt, mix until smooth, then stir in the whites of three eggs beaten to a stiff froth. Have some melted butter, brush over the bottom of a frying pan and pour a little of the batter into it, let it cover the bottom of the pan without being thicker than paper, let it brown, turning it to brown the other side, spread with any jelly preferred, fold in half and fold again, making a wedge-shaped cake. Use all the batter in this way, and serve hot. It would be well to have two spiders in use.