The Century Cook Book Part 41

Wash; cut into small pieces; cook in salted boiling water for twenty minutes, or until tender. Drain thoroughly; mash, and press out all the water. Season with b.u.t.ter, pepper, salt, and cream if convenient.

=PARSNIPS=

Boil the parsnips one hour, or until tender; throw them in cold water, and remove the skins. Cut them in slices lengthwise one quarter of an inch thick. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Dip in melted b.u.t.ter; then roll in flour, and saute on both sides until browned. Or mash the boiled parsnips; season, and stir into them one tablespoonful of flour and one egg to bind them; form into small cakes, and saute in drippings until browned on both sides.

=CUc.u.mBERS=

BOILED, STUFFED

Boiled: Peel the cuc.u.mbers, and cut them lengthwise into quarters. Boil them in salted water until tender. Make a white sauce (page 277), using cream instead of milk, if convenient. Place the well-drained cuc.u.mbers in the sauce, to be heated through; then sprinkle with chopped parsley, and serve.

Stuffed: Select large cuc.u.mbers of uniform size. Cut them in two lengthwise. With a spoon remove carefully the seeds, and fill the place with a stuffing made of equal parts of minced chicken, or any meat, and soft crumbs, seasoned, and moistened with one egg and a little stock.

Round it over the top, and sprinkle with crumbs. Place the pieces in a pan with enough stock to cover the pan one half inch deep. Cook in a moderate oven one hour, or until the cuc.u.mbers are tender; replenish the stock in the pan if necessary. Remove them carefully to a hot dish.

Thicken the gravy in the pan with a little cornstarch, and pour it around, not over them. This dish can be served as an entree.

=LETTUCE STEWED=

Wash the lettuce carefully to remove the dust and any insects. Take off the wilted leaves, and cut the root even with the head. Tie the top together. Lay the heads side by side in a baking-pan; add enough stock to cover the pan one and a half inches deep. Cover, and place in a moderate oven to simmer for one half hour, or until the lettuce is soft; renew the stock if necessary. Lift the lettuce out with a fork, putting it under the middle; let it drain, and lay it double, as it will be over the fork, in a row on a hot dish. Season the gravy in the pan with b.u.t.ter, salt, and pepper; thicken it with cornstarch, or with a beaten egg, and serve it with the lettuce.

=ONIONS=

Put them in salted boiling water, and cook until tender; drain, and pour over them a white sauce, or melted b.u.t.ter, pepper, and salt. If browned onions are wanted for garnis.h.i.+ng place them, after they are boiled tender, in a pan; sprinkle with salt, pepper, and a little sugar; and put them in a hot oven to brown.

=STUFFED SPANISH ONIONS=

Peel the onions. Scoop out from the top a portion of the center. Parboil them for five minutes, and turn them upside down to drain. Fill them with a stuffing made of equal parts of minced chicken, or meat, and soft bread-crumbs, chop fine the onion taken from the center, and add it to the mixture. Season it with salt and pepper, and moisten it with melted b.u.t.ter. Fill the onions heaping full, and sprinkle the tops with crumbs.

Place them in a pan with an inch of water; cover, and let cook in an oven for an hour, or until tender, but not so long as to lose shape.

Take off the cover the last five minutes, so they will brown very slightly.

=CORN ON THE EAR=

Strip off the husk and silk. Put into boiling water; cover, and boil ten to fifteen minutes. Do not salt the water, as it hardens the hull.

=CORN MOCK OYSTERS=

Cut down through the center of the grains, each row of green corn on the ear and with the back of a knife press out the pulp, leaving the hulls on the ear. To a pint of the pulp add two beaten eggs, one teaspoonful each of b.u.t.ter and salt, a dash of pepper, and enough flour to bind it.

Roll it into small cakes, and saute them in b.u.t.ter; or it may be dropped from a spoon into hot fat, making fritters. These may be made of canned corn, in which case use a little milk and sugar.

=CANNED CORN=

Turn it into a sieve, and let a little water run over it from the faucet. Put it into a shallow baking dish; add to one canful of corn one tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter, one half cupful of cream or milk, one half teaspoonful of salt, and a dash of pepper. Place in the oven to brown the top, and serve in the same dish.

=SUCCOTASH=

Mix equal parts of corn, cut from the ear, and any kind of beans; boil them separately; then stir them lightly together, and season with b.u.t.ter, salt, and pepper and add a little cream if convenient.

=ARTICHOKES=

Cut the stems off even with the leaves; remove the hardest bottom leaves, and cut off the top ones straight across, leaving an opening.

Take out the inside, or choke. Wash well, and place upside down to drain. Put them into boiling water for half an hour, or until the leaves pull out easily; drain well, and serve on a napkin. They should be cut with a sharp knife into halves or quarters, and served with white, Bechamel, or Hollandaise sauce. The bottom and the base of the leaves only are eatable.

=ARTICHOKE BOTTOMS=

Remove all the leaves and choke. Trim the bottoms into good shape. Boil them in salted water until tender. Serve with Bechamel or Hollandaise sauce. Or cut the leaves close to the bottom, and divide it into quarters. Cook, and serve the same way.

Canned artichoke bottoms can be procured, which are very good.

CHAPTER VII

FARINACEOUS FOODS USED AS VEGETABLES

RECEIPTS FOR MACARONI AND CEREALS

=TO BOIL RICE=

Wash the rice well, and drain it. It must be washed in several waters, and until the floury coating, which is usually on rice, is all removed.

This flour makes it pasty, and holds the grains together. Have a large saucepan of salted boiling water. Place it on the hottest part of the range, so it will boil violently. Sprinkle in the rice slowly, so as not to stop the boiling, and let it cook for fifteen to twenty minutes uncovered. At the end of fifteen minutes take out a few grains. If they are soft when pressed between the fingers, they are done. Then drain off every drop of water; sprinkle with salt; cover the pot with a napkin, using one thickness only--and set it on the side of the range to steam and become perfectly dry. Or the rice may be turned into a colander to drain, then placed in the open oven to dry. Use a large amount of water in proportion to the rice. Have it violently agitated all the time to keep the grains separated. Do not cook it too long, and do not stir or touch it while cooking. The cloth will not prevent the moisture escaping, and will help to keep it warm while it is drying. If these simple rules are observed, each grain will be separate and dry. Do not cover the dish in which it is served. Rice cooked in this way can be served in the place of potatoes.

=RICE AND TOMATO=

To a cupful of boiled rice add a half cupful of strained tomato sauce, which has been well seasoned with b.u.t.ter, salt, pepper, and bay-leaf.

Toss them together, or mix lightly with a fork so as not to mash the grains. Serve as a vegetable.

=PARCHED RICE=

Boil rice as directed above, so each grain will be separate. Let it get cold, then separate the grains lightly with a fork on a flat dish. Put into a frying-pan just enough b.u.t.ter to cover the bottom of the pan; when it is hot add a little of the rice at a time, and saute it to a delicate color. Shake the pan constantly to keep the grains separated.

Remove the rice as it is done, and spread on a paper to dry in an open oven. The rice should not be greasy when served. This makes a good rice dish to serve as a vegetable with broiled meats.

=FARINA b.a.l.l.s=