Melt a small lump of b.u.t.ter in a shallow baking dish and break into it carefully six eggs, pour over them a third of a cup of boiling cream, place in a very quick oven long enough to set the whites of eggs and serve at once in the dish in which they are baked. Two or three minutes will cook them.
CURRIED EGGS.
Boil six eggs hard, cut in half lengthwise, make a white sauce and stir into it a heaping teaspoonful of curry powder; put the eggs carefully into this sauce, heat thoroughly, lift them out and place in the center of a dish. Arrange boiled rice around them, pour the sauce over the eggs, garnish with parsley and serve.
STUFFED EGGS.
Boil six eggs hard, cut in half lengthwise, take out the yolks and mash them very fine; put aside a heaping teaspoonful of it, add to the rest two teaspoonfuls of b.u.t.ter, three teaspoonfuls of rich cream, a few drops of onion juice, and salt and pepper to taste; mix well, fill the whites of eggs, rounding the top of each to the size of a whole egg.
Make a white sauce as follows: Rub a heaping tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter into half a tablespoonful of flour, and stir into it a cup of boiling milk; when it is smooth and thick put the eggs into it carefully, when hot take them out, arrange daintily on a platter, pour the sauce around them, sprinkle the teaspoonful of the yolk reserved over them, garnish with parsley and serve.
FRIED STUFFED EGGS.
Prepare the eggs as in the recipe for stuffed eggs, filling the cavity of the whites evenly, and pressing the two halves together so as to make it appear as a whole egg. Take what is left of the mixture, add to it one raw egg beaten light, roll each egg in this, covering thoroughly every part of it, and fry in boiling fat. Serve around a dish of green peas, or with a cream sauce into which has been stirred, just before removing from the fire, two slightly heaping tablespoonfuls of grated Parmesan cheese.
FRICa.s.sEED EGGS.
Put two tablespoonfuls of b.u.t.ter in a spider, when hot add a tablespoonful of flour, stir until smooth, then add a teaspoonful of finely minced parsley and a heaping tablespoonful of fresh mushrooms chopped very fine, and a cup of rich milk or cream. Cook until the mushrooms are tender, then add four or five hard-boiled eggs cut in quarters lengthwise; let it come to a boil and serve.
EGG CHOPS.
Take five or six hard-boiled eggs, rub the yolks through a sieve and chop the whites rather fine; put a cupful of milk in a saucepan over the fire, when hot stir into it a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter rubbed smooth in two tablespoonfuls of flour with one raw egg, first adding a little of the warm milk, then pepper and salt to taste, and if liked a few drops of onion juice. Stir constantly until thick and smooth, remove from the fire, add the prepared eggs, mix well, and when cold form into the shape of chops, dip in beaten egg and fine bread crumbs and fry in boiling fat until a delicate brown; stick a sprig of parsley in the small end of each chop, arrange in the middle of a platter and serve with a white sauce around them, or green peas.
PLAIN OMELET.
Beat six eggs, the yolks to a cream, the whites to a stiff froth, add three tablespoonfuls of warm milk to the yolks and then beat into the whites of eggs. Put a small tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter in a spider, when it is hot turn the eggs into it, stirring gently all the time until the eggs are well set; let it brown, fold and turn out on a hot platter.
OMELET WITH CHEESE.
Follow the recipe for plain omelet; while it is cooking stir in three tablespoonfuls of grated Parmesan cheese and finish as above.
OMELET WITH MUSHROOMS.
Make an omelet as in preceding recipe. Have a quarter of a pound of fresh mushrooms chopped fine and cooked until tender in a little b.u.t.ter and their own juice, seasoned with salt and pepper, and add hot to the omelet just before folding it.
OMELET WITH TOMATOES.
A cup of tomatoes, the water drained from them, cooked and seasoned with pepper and salt, a teaspoonful of onion juice, and one of green pepper chopped very fine; have it hot and add to the omelet just before folding it.
POACHED EGGS WITH TOMATO CATSUP.
Poach some eggs in boiling water, trim nicely and place each egg on a round of toast b.u.t.tered and moistened with a little hot milk. Have ready a white sauce, pour it over them and put on the top of each egg a teaspoonful of tomato catsup; garnish with parsley and serve.
EGGS POACHED IN CREAM.
Half a pint of cream, six eggs, salt and white pepper, and a small teaspoonful of finely minced parsley. Bring the cream to a boil in a chafing dish, break the eggs carefully, to keep the yolks whole, into the cream and cook until the whites are set--about three minutes. Have a delicate slice of toast for each egg on hot plates, lay an egg on each, pour the cream over them, sprinkle with pepper and salt and the chopped parsley and serve.
EGGS POACHED IN TOMATOES.
Put a quart can of tomatoes in a saucepan over the fire with half an onion, three cloves, a bay leaf, a sprig of parsley, a saltspoonful of sugar, and salt and pepper 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. Put this in a spider; rub an even teaspoonful of potato flour with a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter, add to the sauce, and when it boils break in as many eggs as required, keep them from sticking to the pan by running a tablespoon carefully around the edges; when the eggs are set remove from the sauce, place each one on a round of nice toast and pour the sauce around them; garnish with parsley and serve.
EGGS IN A BROWN SAUCE.
Boil hard as many eggs as needed and cut either lengthwise in quarters or in round slices. Brown a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter and one of flour together, add a small onion, cut fine; when thick and smooth add enough vegetable stock to make the sauce the proper consistency, season with salt and pepper and strain. Put the egg slices in the sauce, let it come to the boiling point and serve on a small platter; garnish with parsley.
Half a dozen olives boiled in a little water and cut from the stones are a nice addition to the sauce.
Soups.
Bran tea, made in the proportion of a pint of bran to three quarts of water, is used by many vegetarians as a foundation for soup. b.u.t.ter should be used generously with it.
A broth made from white beans is also good where a white stock is required. Pick over the beans carefully, soak over night, drain and add fresh water in the morning--three pints of water to a pint of beans--cook gently until tender. If it is to be used as a stock, strain without mashing the beans. If the water they are boiled in is hard, a small pinch of soda will soften it.
CREAM OF JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES.
Wash and peel enough artichokes to make a pint when cut in slices. Put them in a saucepan with a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter, let them simmer in this for a few minutes without taking color, then cover with water and boil until tender. Rub through a sieve, put back on the stove with a quart of milk, and a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter rubbed into a tablespoonful--slightly heaping--of flour, season to taste with salt and pepper, let it come to a boil. Remove from the fire and add two egg yolks, beaten with half a cup of cream, stir rapidly, and serve at once.
CREAM OF ASPARAGUS.
Prepare a bunch of asparagus in the usual way for cooking, cut off the points about an inch in length and put aside. Cover the stalks and half an onion cut in slices, with boiling water, cook until tender and press through a puree sieve with the water they were boiled in. Melt a good tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter in a saucepan, and stir into it half a tablespoonful of flour, add the puree of asparagus and let it come to a boil, season with salt and pepper to taste. Have the asparagus points cooked tender in a little water. Have ready a pint of boiling milk, remove both from the fire and stir the milk into the soup, put the asparagus points into the tureen. Beat two egg yolks with four tablespoonfuls of cream, stir quickly into the soup and pour into the tureen.
CREAM OF LIMA BEANS.
Put over the fire a quart of lima beans in boiling water to cover them; when nearly tender add a bay leaf, half a white onion, and salt and white pepper to taste. Let them cook until very tender, remove from the fire, and mash through a colander with the water in which they were boiled. Put back in the saucepan on the range, let it come to a boil, then add a heaping tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter and a pint of boiling milk, stir well, remove and press through a puree sieve that it may be smooth.
Beat four tablespoonfuls of cream, add when the soup is in the tureen and serve immediately. This soup is very nice when made from the best canned lima beans, using two cans and following the recipe as above.
CREAM OF CAULIFLOWER.
Cut one small cauliflower into flowerettes, reserve a tablespoonful, put the rest into a saucepan with three cups of boiling water, one small white onion, half a small celeriac cut in slices, and a bay leaf. Cook together ten minutes, drain and put the vegetables into a double boiler with two heaping tablespoonfuls of b.u.t.ter, a heaping tablespoonful of flour, salt and pepper to taste; steam for ten minutes. Put the flowerettes into the water the vegetables were boiled in and cook until tender, remove and put aside to keep warm, measure the water and add sufficient from the kettle to make two cupfuls, pour this over the vegetables, cook until tender and press through a fine sieve. Bring two cups of milk to the boiling point, turn the puree into this, let it boil up once, remove from the fire. Beat two egg yolks and four tablespoonfuls of rich cream together, add some of the soup to this, then mix all together, turn into the tureen, add the flowerettes and serve at once.