Good Things to Eat as Suggested by Rufus Part 9

-BRUSSELS SPROUTS SAUTED---One pound of Brussels sprouts should be thoroughly washed and boiled and then put into a pan over the fire together with a good-sized lump of b.u.t.ter, a little salt, and toss for eight minutes. Sprinkle over them a little chopped parsley, and serve when done.

-BAKED MUSHROOMS IN CUPS---Peel and cut off the stalks of a dozen or more large fat mushrooms, and chop up fine. Put the tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs in a stewpan with some water or clear gravy, and boil well. When nicely flavored strain the liquor, return it to the stewpan with the mushrooms and a moderate quant.i.ty of finely chopped parsley, season to taste with salt and pepper, and boil gently on the side of the stove for nearly three-quarters of an hour. Beat four eggs well in one-half teacupful of cream, and strain. When the mushrooms are ready move the stewpan away from the fire and stir in the beaten eggs. b.u.t.ter some small cups or molds, fill each with the mixture, and bake in a brisk oven. Prepare some white sauce; when baked turn the mushrooms out of the molds on a hot dish, pour the sauce around them, and serve.

-BOILED CHESTNUTS SERVED AS VEGETABLES---Peel off the outside skin of the chestnuts and steep them in boiling water until the skin can be easily removed, and throw them into a bowl of cold water. Put two ounces of b.u.t.ter into a saucepan with two tablespoons of flour and stir the whole over a fire until well mixed. Then pour in one-half pint or more of clear broth and continue stirring over the fire until it boils.

Season with salt, throw in the chestnuts and keep them simmering at the side of the fire until tender. When served in this way they make a good vegetable for roasted meat or poultry, particularly turkey.

-BOILED CORN---Choose short, thick ears of fresh corn, remove all the husks except the inner layer: strip that down far enough to remove the silk and any defective grains and then replace it, and tie at the upper end of each ear of corn. Have ready a large pot half full of boiling water, put in the corn and boil steadily for about twenty minutes, if the ears are large, and fifteen minutes if they are small. Remove from the boiling water, take off the strings, and serve hot at once. If desirable, the inner husk may be removed before serving, but this must be done very quickly, and the ears covered with a napkin or a clean towel to prevent the heat from escaping. Serve plenty of salt, b.u.t.ter and pepper with the corn. These may be mixed by heating them together, and serve in a gravy bowl.

-BOILED ONIONS WITH CREAM---Peel twelve medium-sized onions, pare the roots without cutting them, place in a saucepan, cover with salted water, add a bunch of parsley, and boil for forty-five minutes; take them from the saucepan, place them on a dish, covering with two gills of cream sauce, mixed with two tablespoonfuls of broth, garnish, and serve.

-CORN FRITTERS---Prepare four ears of fresh corn by removing the outer husks and silks; boil and then drain well. Cut the grains from the cobs and place in a bowl, season with salt and pepper, add one-fourth pound of sifted flour, two eggs and a half pint of cold milk. Stir vigorously, but do not beat, with a wooden spoon for five minutes, when it will be sufficiently firm; b.u.t.ter a frying-pan, place it on a fire, and with a ladle holding one gill put the mixture on the pan in twelve parts, being careful that they do not touch one another, and fry till of a good golden color, cooking for four or five minutes on each side. Dress them on a folded napkin, and serve.

-BROILED EGGPLANT---Peel an eggplant and cut it into six slices each half an inch thick. Put them into a dish and season with salt and pepper and pour over them one tablespoon of sweet oil. Mix well and arrange the slices of the eggplant on a broiler and broil on each side for five minutes, then place on a dish which has been heated and pour over a gill of maitre d'hotel sauce, and serve.

-FRIED EGGPLANT---Select a nice large eggplant, peel, remove the seeds, and cut into pieces about one and one-half inches long and three-quarters of an inch wide. Put them on a plate, sprinkle well with salt and leave standing for an hour or so. Then wrap the pieces in a cloth and twist it around so as to squeeze as much juice as possible from them without breaking. Sprinkle over with flour, covering each side well, and place them in a frying basket. Put a large lump of fat in a stewpan and when it boils put in the basket. As each plant is nicely browned take out of the basket, sprinkle with salt and lay on a sheet of paper in front of a fire so as to drain as free as possible from fat.

Serve on a napkin spread over a hot dish.

-EGGPLANT FRITTERS---Boil the eggplant in salted water mixed with a little lemon juice. When tender, skin, drain and mash them. For every pint of pulp, add one-half breakfast cup full of flour, two well beaten eggs, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Shape into fritters and fry in boiling fat until brown.

-BROILED MUSHROOMS ON TOAST---Trim off the stalks of the required quant.i.ty of large mushrooms, peel, score them once across the top, place them on a gridiron and grill over a slow fire, turning when done on one side. Trim the crusts off some slices of bread and toast on both sides.

Cut rounds out of the toast the same size as the mushrooms, b.u.t.ter them and place a mushroom on each. Put a lump of b.u.t.ter in each mushroom and sprinkle over with salt and pepper. Place a fancy dish-paper on a hot dish, and serve the mushrooms-on-toast, with a garnish of fried parsley.

-DEVILED MUSHROOMS---Cut off the stalks even with the head and peel and trim the mushrooms neatly. Brush them over inside with a paste brush dipped in warm b.u.t.ter, and season with salt and pepper, and a small quant.i.ty of cayenne pepper. Put them on a gridiron and broil over a clear fire. When cooked put the mushrooms on a hot dish, and serve.

-MUSHROOMS IN CREAM---Peel and trim the required quant.i.ty of mushrooms.

Put some cream in a pan over the fire and season with pepper and salt to taste. Rub the mushrooms in salt and pepper, and as quickly as the cream comes to a boil put them in and let boil for four minutes. Serve hot.

-BOILED SPANISH ONIONS---Boil Spanish onions in salted water thirty minutes. Drain and add b.u.t.ter or drippings, salt and pepper, covering the pan to prevent steam from escaping. Cook slowly for about three hours, basting frequently with drippings. Care should be taken that they do not burn.

-BAKED ONIONS---Put six large onions into a saucepan of water, or water and milk in equal proportions, add salt and pepper and boil until tender. When done so they can be easily mashed work them up with b.u.t.ter to the consistency of paste, cover with breadcrumbs, and bake in a moderate oven. If preferred they may be boiled whole, put in a baking dish covered with b.u.t.ter and breadcrumbs, then baked.

-FRIED ONIONS---Peel and slice into even rounds four medium-sized onions. Place them first in milk then in flour, fry in very hot fat for eight minutes. Remove them carefully and lay on a cloth to dry. Place a folded napkin on a dish, lay the onions on, and serve very hot. Garnish with fried parsley.

-GLAZED ONIONS---Peel the onions and place in a saucepan with a little warmed b.u.t.ter, add sugar and salt to taste, pour over a little stock.

Place over a moderate fire and cook slowly till quite tender and the outside brown. Remove and serve on a dish. A little of the liquor, thickened with flour, may be served as a sauce.

-FRIED SPANISH ONIONS---Peel and slice two pounds of Spanish onions.

Place them in a hot frying-pan, containing two heaping tablespoonfuls of b.u.t.ter, add salt and pepper.

-BOILED OYSTER PLANT---Sc.r.a.pe a bunch of oyster plants, dropping into cold water to which a little vinegar has been added. Cut in small pieces and boil in salted water until tender. Season with b.u.t.ter, pepper and cream. Cream may be omitted if desired.

-BROILED POTATOES---Peel a half dozen medium-sized cooked potatoes, halve them and lay upon a dish, seasoning with a pinch of salt, and pour over them two tablespoons of b.u.t.ter and roll them thoroughly in it.

Then arrange them on a double broiler, and broil over a moderate fire for three minutes on each side. Serve in a folded napkin on a hot dish.

-PARSNIP FRITTERS---Peel and boil some parsnips until tender, then drain thoroughly and mash, mixing in with them two beaten eggs, salt to taste, and sufficient flour to bind them stiffly. Divide and mold the mixture into small round cakes with floured hands. Put a large piece of b.u.t.ter into a stewpan, place on the fire and let it boil. Then put in the cakes and fry to a nice golden brown color. Take out and drain them, and serve on a napkin spread over a hot dish, with a garnish of fried parsley.

-MASHED PARSNIPS---Wash and sc.r.a.pe some parsnips, cut in pieces lengthwise, put them in a saucepan with boiling water, a little salt and a small lump of drippings. Boil till tender, remove and place in a colander to drain, and press all the waste out of them. Mash them till quite smooth with a wooden spoon, put them in a saucepan with a tablespoonful of milk or a small lump of b.u.t.ter, and a little salt and pepper; stir over the fire until thoroughly hot again, turn out on to a dish, and serve immediately.

-POTATO b.a.l.l.s---Mash thoroughly a pound of boiled potatoes and rub them through a wire sieve. Mix in a quarter of a pound of grated ham, a little chopped parsley, and a small onion chopped very fine, together with a small quant.i.ty of grated nutmeg, and the beaten yolks of two eggs. Roll this mixture into b.a.l.l.s of equal size, then roll in flour and egg-breadcrumbs, and fry in dripping or brown them in the oven, and serve on a hot dish.

-POTATOES AND ONIONS SAUTED---Take an equal amount of small new potatoes and onions of equal size, peel and place in a saute pan with a good-sized piece of b.u.t.ter, tossing them over the fire for a quarter of an hour, being careful not to let them burn. Put in enough water to half cover the vegetables, add a little salt and pepper, place the lid over the pan and stew gently for half an hour, then squeeze a little lemon juice in it and turn on a hot dish, and serve.

-POTATOES LYONNAISE---Cut into round slices eight boiled potatoes, lay in a frying-pan with an ounce and a half of b.u.t.ter and the round slices of a fried onion, seasoning with a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cook for six minutes, or until they become well browned, tossing them all the while. Sprinkle over with a small quant.i.ty of chopped parsley, and serve.

-STEWED MUSHROOMS---Peel and remove the stalks from some large mushrooms, wash and cut them into halves; put two ounces of b.u.t.ter into a small lined saucepan with two tablespoonfuls of flour and stir this over the fire, then mix in by degrees one and one-half breakfast cupfuls of milk; while boiling and after being thickened, put in the mushrooms.

Season to taste with salt, pepper and a small quant.i.ty of powdered mace, and stew gently on the side of the fire until tender. When cooked turn the mushrooms on to a hot dish, garnish with some croutons of bread that have been fried to a nice brown, and serve.

-STUFFED ONIONS, STEAMED---Peel eight large onions and boil for ten minutes, and salt them slightly. Remove them from the fire, drain quite dry, push about half the insides out; chop the parts taken out very small, together with a little sausage meat; add one teacupful of breadcrumbs, one egg, and salt and pepper to taste. Put this mixture into the cavity in the onions, piling a little on the top and bottom so that none shall be left. Arrange them in a deep pan. Put them in a steamer over a saucepan of water and steam for one hour and a half. Put the pan in the oven to brown the tops of the onions, adding one breakfast cupful of b.u.t.ter to prevent burning. Arrange them tastefully on a dish, and serve hot.

-POTATO CROQUETTES---Take four boiled potatoes and add to them half their weight in b.u.t.ter, the same quant.i.ty of powdered sugar, salt, grated peel of half a lemon and two well beaten eggs. Mix thoroughly and roll into cork-shaped pieces and dip into the beaten yolks of eggs, rolling in sifted breadcrumbs. Let stand one hour and again dip in egg and roll in crumbs. Fry in boiling lard or b.u.t.ter. Serve with a garnish of parsley.

-CREAMED POTATOES---Cut into cubes or dices about half a pound of boiled potatoes and place in a shallow baking pan. Pour over them enough milk or cream to cover them and put in the oven or on the side of the stove and cook gently until nearly all the milk is absorbed. Add a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter, a teaspoonful each of finely chopped parsley, and salt, and half a saltspoonful of pepper, mixed well together. When they have become thoroughly warmed turn into a dish, and serve immediately.

-APPLES AND ONIONS---Select sour apples, pare, core and thinly slice.

Slice about half as many onions, put some bacon fat in the bottom of a frying-pan and when melted add the apples and onions. Cover the pan and cook until tender, cooking rather slowly. Sprinkle with sugar, and serve with roast pork.

-BACON AND SPINACH---Line a pudding dish with thin slices of raw bacon.

Take boiled spinach, ready for the table, season with b.u.t.ter, salt and pepper. Take also some boiled carrots, turnips and onions. Whip up the yolk of an egg with pepper and salt, and stir into the carrots and turnips. Arrange the vegetables alternately in the dish and partially fill with boiling water. Steam for an hour. Turn out on a flat dish, and serve with a rich brown gravy.