Cut up fowl and sweetbread, lay in the dish in alternate layers with meat, jelly, and the yolks of hard-boiled eggs without the whites, and flavor with lemon-juice, white pepper, and salt; cover with rice prepared as follows: boil half a pound of rice in sufficient water to permit it to swell; when tender beat it up to a thick paste with the yolk of one or two eggs, season with a little salt, and spread it over the dish thickly. The fowl and sweetbread should have been previously simmered till half done in a little weak broth; the pie must be baked in a gentle oven, and if the rice will not brown sufficiently, finish with a salamander.

DESCAIDES.

Take the livers of chickens or any other poultry; stew it gently in a little good gravy seasoned with a little onion, mushroom essence, pepper, and salt; when tender, remove the livers, place them on a paste board, and mince them; return them to the saucepan, and stir in the yolks of one or two eggs, according to the quant.i.ty of liver, until the gravy becomes thick; have a round of toast ready on a hot plate, and serve it on the toast; this is a very nice luncheon or supper dish.

CHAPTER V.

Vegetables and Sundries.

DIRECTIONS FOR CLEANING AND BOILING VEGETABLES.

Vegetables are extremely nutritious when sufficiently boiled, but are unwholesome and indigestible when not thoroughly dressed; still they should not be over boiled, or they will lose their flavor.

Vegetables should be shaken to get out any insects, and laid in water with a little salt.

Soft water is best suited for boiling vegetables, and they require plenty of water; a little salt should be put in the saucepan with them, and the water should almost invariably be boiling when they are put in.

Potatoes are much better when steamed. Peas and several other vegetables are also improved by this mode of cooking them, although it is seldom adopted in England.

MASHED POTATOES.

Boil till perfectly tender; let them be quite dry, and press them through a cullender, or mash and beat them well with a fork; add a piece of b.u.t.ter, and milk, or cream, and continue beating till they are perfectly smooth; return them to the saucepan to warm, or they may be browned before the fire. The chief art is to beat them sufficiently long, which renders them light.

Potatoe b.a.l.l.s are mashed potatoes formed into b.a.l.l.s glazed with the yolk of egg, and browned with a salamander.

POTATO WALL, OR EDGING.

Raise a wall of finely-mashed potatoes, of two or three inches high, round the dish; form it with a spoon to the shape required, brush it over with egg, and put it in the oven to become hot and brown; if it does not brown nicely, use the salamander. Rice is arranged the same way to edge curries or frica.s.sees; it must be first boiled till tender.

POTATOE SHAVINGS.

Take four fine large potatoes, and having peeled them, continue to cut them up as if peeling them in ribbons of equal width; then throw the shavings into a frying-pan, and fry of a fine brown; they must be constantly moved with a silver fork to keep the pieces separate. They should be laid on a cloth to drain, and placed in the dish lightly.

THE FRENCH WAY OF DRESSING SPINACH.

Wash and boil till tender, then squeeze and strain it; press it in a towel till almost dry; put it on a board, and chop it as finely as possible; then return it to the saucepan, with b.u.t.ter, pepper, and salt; stir it all the time, and let it boil fast.

STEWED SPINACH.

Scald and chop some spinach small; cut up an onion; add pepper and salt and brown sugar, with a little vinegar, stew all together gently; serve with poached eggs or small forcemeat fritters. This forms a pretty side-dish, and is also a nice way of dressing spinach to serve in the same dish with cutlets.

TO STEW SPANISH BEANS AND PEAS.

Soak the beans over night in cold water; they must be stewed in only sufficient water to cover them, with two table spoonsful of oil, a little pepper and salt, and white sugar. When done they should be perfectly soft and tender.

PEAS STEWED WITH OIL.

Put half a peck of peas into a stew-pan, half a lettuce chopped small, a little mint, a small onion cut up, two table-spoonsful of oil, and a dessert-spoonful of powdered sugar, with water sufficient to cover the peas, watching, from time to time, that they do not become too dry; let them stew gently, taking care that they do not burn, till perfectly soft. When done they should look of a yellowish brown.

French beans, brocoli, and greens, stewed in the above manner will be found excellent.

CUc.u.mBER MANGO.

Cut a large cuc.u.mber in half, length ways, scoop out the seedy part, and lay it in vinegar that has been boiled with mustard-seed, a little garlic, and spices, for twenty-four hours, then fill the cuc.u.mber with highly-seasoned forcemeat, and stew it in a rich gravy, the cuc.u.mber must be tied to keep it together.

CABBAGE AND RICE.

Scald till tender a fine summer white cabbage, then chop it up small, and put it into a stewpan, with a large cup of rice, also previously scalded, add a little water, a large piece of b.u.t.ter, salt and pepper; let it stew gently till thoroughly done, stirring from time to time, and adding water and b.u.t.ter to prevent its getting too thick; there should be no gravy in the dish when served.

PALESTINE SALAD.

Take a dozen fine Jerusalem artichokes, boil till tender, let the water strain off, and when cold cut them in quarters, and pour over a fine salad mixture; the artichokes should lay in the sauce half an hour before serving. This salad is a very refreshing one, and has the advantage of being extremely wholesome.

A SPRING DISH.

Take one quart of young peas, a little mint, a few lumps of sugar, a little salt and white pepper, simmer them gently in one pint of water, when the peas are half done, throw in small dumplings made of paste, as if for short crust, and sweetened with a little brown sugar, beat up two eggs, and drop in a spoonful at a time, just before serving; it will require a deep dish, as the liquor is not to be strained off.

Some prefer the eggs poached.