EGG SANDWICHES.--Cut some hard-boiled eggs into very thin slices; season them with pepper and salt, and place them between two slices of thin bread-and-b.u.t.ter; cut the sandwiches into triangles or squares, pile them up in a silver dish, place plenty of fresh green parsley round the base of the dish, and place some hard-boiled eggs, cut in halves, on the parsley, which will show what the sandwiches are composed of.

INDIAN SANDWICHES.--These are exactly similar to the above, with the addition that the slices of hard-boiled eggs are seasoned with a little curry-powder. If hard-boiled eggs in halves are placed round the base of the dish, each half-egg should be sprinkled with curry-powder in order to show what the sandwiches are.

MUSHROOM SANDWICHES.--Take a pint of fresh b.u.t.ton mushrooms, peel them, and throw them into lemon-juice and water, in order to preserve their colour; or else take the contents of a tin of mushrooms, chop them up and stew them in a frying-pan very gently with a little b.u.t.ter, pepper, salt, a pinch of thyme, and the juice of a whole lemon to every pint of mushrooms. When tender, rub the mixture through a wise sieve while the b.u.t.ter is warm and the mixture moist. Add a teaspoonful of finely chopped blanched parsley, spread this mixture while still warm on a thin slice of bread, and cover it over with another thin slice of bread, and press the two slices of bread together. When the mixture gets quite cold, the b.u.t.ter will set and the sandwiches get quite firm. The bread need not be b.u.t.tered, as the mixture contains b.u.t.ter enough. Pile these sandwiches up on a silver dish, surround the dish with plenty of fresh parsley, and place a few fresh mushrooms whole, stalk and all, round them, as if they are growing out of the parsley.

CHEESE SANDWICHES.--Oil a little b.u.t.ter, add some pepper and salt, and a spoonful of made mustard and a pinch of cayenne pepper. When this mixture is nearly cold, use it for b.u.t.tering some thin slices of bread, and, before it is quite cold, sprinkle them with some grated Parmesan cheese. Put the two slices of bread together and press them, and, when cold,. cut them into squares or triangles. Place plenty of fresh green parsley round the dish, and, if you are using hard-boiled eggs for other purposes, take the end of the white of egg, which has a little cup in it not much bigger than the top of the finger, and put a little heap of Parmesan cheese in each cup. Place a few of these round the base of the dish, on the parsley, in order to show what the sandwiches are composed of.

CREAM-CHEESE SANDWICHES.--Chop up some of the white part of a head of celery very fine, and pound it in a mortar with a little b.u.t.ter; season it with some salt. Use this mixture and b.u.t.ter some thin slices of bread, place a thin slice of cream cheese between these slices, cut the sandwiches into squares or triangles with a very sharp knife, and pile the sandwiches up on a silver dish. Surround the dish with parsley, and place a few slices of cream-cheese, cut round the size of a halfpenny, round the base, stick a little piece of the yellowish-white leaves of the heart of celery in each piece.

CHAPTER VI.

SAVOURY DISHES.

MUSHROOMS.

In many parts of the country mushrooms grow so plentifully that their cost may be considered almost nothing. On the other hand, if they have to be bought fresh, at certain seasons of the year they are very expensive, while tinned mushrooms, which can always be depended upon, cannot be regarded in any other light than that of a luxury.

When mushrooms can be gathered in the fields like black-berries they are a great boon to vegetarians. Of course, great care must be taken that only genuine mushrooms are picked, as there have been some terrible instances of poisoning from fungi being gathered by mistake, as many c.o.c.kney tourists know to their cost. As a rule, in England all mushrooms bought in markets can be depended upon. In France, where mushrooms are very plentiful, an inspector is appointed in every market, and no mushrooms are allowed to be sold unless they have first received his sanction. This is a wise precaution in the right direction.

One important word of warning before leaving the subject. Mushrooms should be eaten _freshly gathered_, and, if allowed to get stale, those which were perfectly wholesome when fresh picked become absolutely poisonous. The symptoms are somewhat similar to narcotic poisoning. This particularly applies to the larger and coa.r.s.er kind that give out black juice.

MUSHROOMS, PLAIN, GRILLED.--The larger kinds of mushrooms are best for the purpose. The flat mushrooms should be washed, dried, and peeled. They are then cooked slowly over a clear fire, and a small wire gridiron, like those sold at a penny or twopence each, is better adapted for the purpose than the ordinary gridiron used for grilling steak. The gridiron should be kept high above the fire. The mushrooms should be dipped in oil, or oiled b.u.t.ter, and care should be taken that they do not stick to the bars. They should be served very hot, with pepper and salt and a squeeze of lemon-juice.

MUSHROOMS, FRIED.--When mushrooms are very small they are more easily fried than grilled. They should be washed, dried and peeled, placed in a frying-pan, with a little b.u.t.ter, pepper and salt, and cooked till tender.

They are very nice served on toast, and the b.u.t.ter in which they are cooked can be poured on the toast first, and the mushrooms arranged on the top afterwards. A squeeze of lemon-juice is an improvement.

MUSHROOMS AU GRATIN.--This is a very delicious dish, and is often served as an entree at first-cla.s.s dinners. They are made from what are known as cup mushrooms. It is best to pick mushrooms, as far as possible, the same size, the cup being about two inches in diameter. Peel the mushrooms very carefully, without breaking them, cut out the stalks close down with a spoon, scoop out the inside of the cup, so as to make it hollow. Now peel the stalks and chop them up with all the scooped part of the mushroom, with, supposing we are making ten cups, a piece of onion as big as the top of the thumb down to the first joint. To this add a br.i.m.m.i.n.g teaspoonful of chopped parsley, or even a little more, a saltspoonful of dried thyme, or half this quant.i.ty of fresh thyme. Fry all this in a frying-pan, in a little b.u.t.ter. The aroma is delicious. Then add sufficient dried bread-crumbs that have been rubbed through a wire sieve to make the whole into a moist paste, fill each of the cups with this mixture so that the top is as convex as the cup of the mushroom, having first seasoned the mixture with a little pepper, salt, and lemon-juice. Shake some fine bread-raspings over the top so as to make them of a nice golden-brown colour, pour a little drop of oil into a baking-tin, place the mushrooms in it, and bake them gently in an oven till the cup part of the mushroom becomes soft and tender, but take care they do not cook till they break.

Now take them out carefully with an egg-slice, and place them on a dish--a silver dish is best for the purpose-and place some nice, crisp, fried parsley round the edge.

MUSHROOMS A LA BORDELAISE.--This, as the name implies, is a French recipe.

It consists of ordinary grilled mushrooms, served in a sauce composed of oil or oiled b.u.t.ter, chopped up with parsley and garlic, thickened with the yolks of eggs.

MUSHROOMS A LA PROVENCALE.--This is an Italian recipe. You must first wash, peel, and dry the mushrooms, and then soak them for some time in what is called a _marinade_, which is another word for pickle, of oil mixed with chopped garlic, pepper, and salt. They are then stewed in oil with plenty of chopped parsley over rather a brisk fire. Squeeze, a little lemon-juice over them and serve them in a dish surrounded with a little fried or toasted bread.

MUSHROOM FORCEMEAT.--The mushrooms after being cleaned should be chopped up and fried in a little b.u.t.ter; lemon-juice should be added before they are chopped in order to preserve their colour. One or two hard-boiled yolks of eggs can be added to the mixture, and the whole rubbed through a wire sieve while hot. When the mixture is hot it should be moist, but, of course, when it gets cold, owing to the b.u.t.ter it will be hard. This mushroom forcemeat can be used for a variety of purposes.

MUSHROOM PIE.--Wash, dry, and peel some mushrooms, and cut them into slices with an equal quant.i.ty of cut-up potatoes. Bake these in a pie, having first moistened the potatoes and mushrooms in a little b.u.t.ter. Add pepper and salt and a small pinch of thyme. Cover them with a little water and put some paste over the dish in the ordinary way. It is a great improvement, after the pie is baked, to pour in some essence of mushrooms made from stewing the stalks and peelings in a little water. A single onion should be put in with them.

MUSHROOM PIE, COLD.--Prepare the mushrooms, potatoes, and essence of mushroom as directed above, adding a little chopped parsley. Bake all these in the dish before you cover with paste, add also an extra seasoning of pepper. When the mushrooms and potatoes are perfectly tender, strain off all the juice or gravy, and thicken it with corn-flour; put this back in the pie-dish and mix all well together, and pile it up in the middle of the dish so that the centre is raised above the edge. Let this get quite cold, then cover it with puff-paste, and as soon as the pastry is done take it out of the oven and let the pie get cold. This can now be cut in slices.

MUSHROOM PUDDING.--Make a mixture of mushrooms, potatoes, &c., exactly similar to that for making a pie. Place this in a basin with only sufficient water to moisten the ingredients, cover the basin with bread-crumbs soaked in milk, and steam the basin in the ordinary way.

TOMATOES, GRILLED.--What is necessary is a clear fire and a gridiron in which the bars are not too far apart. The disputed point is, should the tomatoes be grilled whole or cut in half? This may be considered a matter of taste, but personally we prefer them grilled whole. Moisten the tomato in a little oil or oiled b.u.t.ter, and grill them carefully, as they are apt to break. Grilled tomatoes are very nice with plain boiled macaroni, or can be served up on boiled rice.

TOMATOES, BAKED.--Place the tomatoes in a tin with a little b.u.t.ter, and occasionally baste them with the b.u.t.ter. When they are tender, they can be served either plain or with boiled macaroni or rice. The b.u.t.ter and juice in the tin should be poured over them.

TOMATOES, FRIED.--Place the tomatoes in a frying-pan with a little b.u.t.ter, and fry them until they are tender. Pour the contents of the frying-pan over them, serve plain, or with macaroni or rice.

TOMATOES, STEWED.--Take half a dozen good-sized tomatoes, and chop up very finely one onion about the same size as the tomatoes. Moisten the bottom of a stew-pan with a little b.u.t.ter, and sprinkle the chopped onion over the tomatoes. Add a dessertspoonful of water; place the lid on the stewpan, which ought to fit tightly. It is best to put a weight on the lid of the stew-pan, such as a flat-iron. Place the stew-pan on the fire, and let them steam till they are tender. They are cooked this way in Spain and Portugal, and very often chopped garlic is used instead of onion.

TOMATOES AU GRATIN.--Take a dozen ripe tomatoes, cut off the stalks, and squeeze out time juice and pips. Next take a few mushrooms and make a mixture exactly similar to that which was used to fill the inside of Mushrooms au gratin. Fill each tomato with some of this mixture, so that it a.s.sumes its original shape and tight skin. The top or hole where the stalk was cut out will probably be about the size of a shilling or halfpenny. Shake some bright-coloured bread raspings over this spot without letting them fall on the red tomato. In order to do this, cut a round hole the right size in a stiff piece of paper. Place the tomatoes in a stew-pan or a baking-dish in the oven, moistened with a little oil. The oil should be about the eighth of an inch deep. Stew or bake the tomatoes till they are tender, and then take them out carefully with an egg-slice, and serve them surrounded with fried parsley. If placed in a silver dish this has a very pretty appearance.

TOMATO PIE.--Slice up an equal number of ripe tomatoes and potatoes. Place them in a pie-dish with enough oiled b.u.t.ter to moisten them. Add a br.i.m.m.i.n.g teaspoonful of chopped parsley, a pinch of thyme, pepper, and salts and, if possible, a few peeled mushrooms, which will be found to be a very great improvement. Cover the pie with paste, and bake in the oven.

TOMATO PIE (ANOTHER WAY).--Proceed as in making an ordinary potato pie.

Add a small bottle of tomato conserve, cover with paste, and bake in the ordinary way.

POTATO PIE.--Peel and slice up some potatoes as thin as possible. At the same time slice up some onions. If Spanish onions are used allow equal quant.i.ties of potatoes and onions, but if ordinary onions are used allow only half this quant.i.ty. Place a layer of sliced onion and sliced potato alternately. Add some pepper, salt, and sufficient b.u.t.ter to moisten the potato and b.u.t.ter before any water is added. Pour in some water and add a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, cover the pie with paste, and bake in the ordinary way.

POTATO PIE (ANOTHER WAY).--b.u.t.ter a shallow pie-dish rather thickly. Line the edges with a good crust, and then fill the pie with mashed potatoes seasoned with pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg. Lay over them some small lumps of b.u.t.ter, hard-boiled eggs, blanched almonds, sliced dates, sliced lemon and candied peel. Cover the dish with pastry and bake the pie in a well-heated oven for half an hour or more, according to the size of the pie.

PUMPKIN PIE.--Peel a ripe pumpkin and chip off the rind or skin, halve it, and take out the seed and fluffy part in the centre, which throw away. Cut the pumpkin into small, thin slices, fill a pie-dish therewith, add to it half a teaspoonful of allspice and a tablespoonful of sugar, with a small quant.i.ty of water. Cover with a nice light paste and bake in the ordinary way. Pumpkin pie is greatly unproved by being eaten with Devonshire cream and sugar. An equal quant.i.ty of apples with the pumpkin will make a still more delicious pie.

PUMPKIN PUDDING.--Take a large pumpkin, pare it, and remove the seeds. Cut half of it into thin slices, and boil these gently in water until they are quite soft, then rub them through a fine sieve with the back of a wooden spoon. Measure the pulp, and with each pint put four ounces of b.u.t.ter and a large nutmeg, grated. Stir the mixture briskly for a minute or two, then add the third of a pint of hot milk and four well-beaten eggs. Pour the pudding into a b.u.t.tered dish, and bake in a moderate oven for about an hour. Sugar may be added to taste.

POTATO CHEESECAKE.--(_See_ CHEESECAKES.)

CHEESE WITH FRIED BREAD.--Take some stale bread, and cut it into strips about three inches long and one wide and one inch thick. Fry the bread in some b.u.t.ter or oil till it is a nice bright golden colour. Spread a layer of made mustard over the strips of fried bread, and then cover them with grated Parmesan cheese, pile them up on a dish, and place them in the oven.

As soon as the cheese begins to melt serve them very hot.

CHEESE, SAVOURY.--Take equal quant.i.ties of grated Parmesan cheese, b.u.t.ter, and flour; add a little salt and cayenne pepper, make these into a paste with some water, roll out the paste thin till it is about a quarter of an inch thick; cut it into strips and bake them in the oven till they are a nice brown, and serve hot.