With Truffles or Mushrooms.—Any part of venison, baked or roasted, may be served with a garniture of mushrooms, or one of truffles.

Cold.—When you have some left for the next day, warm it before serving it, if from a stew; but if from a roasted haunch, cut in slices and serve cold with a vinaigrette.

SNAILS.

A good many are now imported from Europe.

How to clean and prepare.—Throw them in boiling water, in which you have put some wood-ashes; leave them in till they have thrown their cover wide open, which will take about fifteen minutes; then take them off, pull them out of the shell by means of a fork, place them in lukewarm water, and leave two hours; next, rub them in your hands, and then soak in cold water; rub them again in your hands in cold water, two or three times, changing the water each time, so as to take away most of their sliminess. Wash the shells in lukewarm water with a scrubbing-brush, and drain them when clean.

Broiled.—Knead together and make a paste of a sufficient quantity of butter, parsley chopped fine, salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg; say about two ounces of butter, a tablespoonful of parsley, a saltspoonful of salt, a pinch of pepper, and the same of nutmeg (for two dozen). Put a piece of the above paste, the size of a kidney bean, in each shell, then the snails, and at the top again the same quantity of paste; lay them one by one close together, in a crockery or cast-iron kettle, the mouth of the snails up, and not one upon another; cover the kettle well; set it on a moderate fire, or in a moderately heated oven, and leave thus till cooked, which is easily seen by the parsley beginning to turn black, or as if fried. Lay them on a dish in the same order, and if there is any gravy in the kettle, put a part of it in each shell, and serve hot.

In eating them, be careful after having taken off the snail and eaten it, to turn down the shell, for there is some juice in the bottom of it which is delicious; the best way is to drink it as if from the bottom of a glass.

They can be broiled on a gridiron, but they are not as good as in a kettle; some of the juice is lost, and also the flavor.

Stewed.—Put in a stewpan four ounces of butter for fifty snails, and set it on a good fire; when melted, sprinkle in it a teaspoonful of flour, stirring a while; then add a teaspoonful of parsley chopped fine, two sprigs of thyme, a bay-leaf, a pint of white wine, and then the snails, which you have previously put back into their shells; cover the whole with warm broth, boil gently till the sauce is reduced and the snails are cooked, and serve them mouth upward, and filled with the sauce.

VEGETABLES.

Potatoes are generally steamed; when they must be boiled, it is explained. We recommend to drop the green vegetables in the water at the first boil, because, in boiling, water evaporates its gases and alkali, and is therefore inferior for cooking purposes. Green vegetables are more acid here than in Europe, on account of the newness and richness of the soil; so is some fruit.

Artichokes.—The artichoke we refer to here is the plant somewhat resembling a thistle, having a large, scaly head, like the cone of the pine-tree; the lower part of the leaves composing the head, with the broad receptacle underneath, is the eatable part. It is a native of Sicily, and is an excellent and delicate vegetable. It grows well here, and the reason why it is not more generally known is because some persons who are used to live on coarse food have underrated it—their palates not being fit to appreciate its delicate flavor. We recommend gardeners and farmers to cultivate it; they will find a ready market.

How to eat them raw.—Quarter them, take off the outer leaves and choke, and serve with oil, vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper.

How to cook.—Clean them and take off the outer leaves, throw them into boiling water, with parsley, salt, and pepper (they are cooked when the leaves come off easily), then take from the fire and drain, taking care to put them upside down.

The same, fried.—When cooked as above, cut the upper part of the leaves, and then cut them in eight pieces, take the choke off, dip each piece in a thin paste made of flour, sweet-oil, beaten egg, vinegar, salt, and pepper, and fry them with a little butter. Serve them with sprigs of fried parsley around.

The same, stewed.—When cooked as directed above, cut them in four pieces, and trim off the upper part of the leaves, take off the choke, and lay them in a stewpan; cover them with broth and set on a moderate fire; add then one ounce of butter for six artichokes, one sprig of parsley, and two mushrooms cut in slices; boil ten minutes, take the parsley off, and serve the artichokes with the mushrooms around; pour the sauce on the whole.

In Vinaigrette.—Cook, and serve with a vinaigrette. The Jerusalem artichokes are dressed like potatoes.

Asparagus.—This is thought to be a native of Asia. The white asparagus sells dearer than the other kinds, but we cannot say that it is on account of its better quality, it is most likely for being more sightly when served. If it is kept for some time before boiling it, place the bunch in about half an inch deep of cold water, the top upward, and keep in a cool place. There are only four ways of preparing asparagus without changing or destroying the natural taste of the plant. The large ones, or what is called the first cut, is prepared in vinaigrette, white sauce, and fried; the small one, or second cut, is cooked en petits pois—like green peas. It is better and has more taste when boiled rather underdone, that is, taken from the water when still firm; if boiled till soft, it loses its taste and is not crisp.

To boil.—Cut off some of the white part, so as to have the whole of one length if possible; then scrape the white end a little, soak in cold water for a few minutes, and drain. Tie it in small bunches of half a dozen or a dozen, according to size, and drop them in boiling water and a little salt, at the first boil of the water. Boil till rather underdone, take off, drain and drop in cold water immediately. Drain again, and it is ready to serve.

En Petits Pois.—Cut small asparagus in pieces about half an inch long, and blanch them for three minutes. Take off and drain; then put them in a saucepan on the fire with two or three tablespoonfuls of broth, stir now and then for about two minutes, add a teaspoonful of flour; stir again, and as soon as mixed with the asparagus add also about one ounce of butter, salt, pepper, and chopped parsley, stir, and, when the butter is melted, serve.

Fried.—Blanch the asparagus two minutes, drain it; dip each in batter and fry in hot fat. Take off with a skimmer when done; and turn into a colander, salt it, and serve hot.

In Vinaigrette.—Boil it as directed. When cold, serve with a vinaigrette. (This is also called à l'huile.)

With White Sauce.—While it is boiling, make a white sauce; drain the asparagus and serve both, sauce and vegetable, warm. The asparagus is not dropped in cold water.

With Cream Sauce.—It is prepared and served as with a white sauce.

In Omelet.—Boil the asparagus as directed, and when cool cut it in small pieces about half an inch long, and when the omelet is ready to be folded in two, a little while before taking from the fire, place the asparagus in the middle, then fold and serve the omelet as if there were nothing in it.

Green or String Beans, Dwarf or Snap Beans, French Haricots, Pole Beans, Kidney Beans, etc.—To prepare them when green and cooked with the pods.—Remove the string or thread that is on both sides, by partly breaking one end of the pod and pulling lengthwise, repeat the same for the other side; cut them in pieces half an inch long, soak them in cold water, and throw them into boiling water with a little salt. Boil them till cooked, which you will know by pressing one between your fingers to see if tender; take them from the fire, throw them into cold water to cool, and drain them.

Au jus.—Cook a quart of beans. Put two ounces of butter in a stewpan and set it on the fire; when melted, put the beans in with a teaspoonful of chopped parsley; stir five minutes; then add a gill of broth, salt, and pepper; simmer twenty minutes, and, just on taking from the fire, mix in it two well-beaten yolks of eggs, with the juice of half a lemon, and serve.

Maître d'hôtel.—Put in a stewpan two ounces of butter, and set it on a good fire; when melted, put in it a quart of beans cooked in water, with a pinch of grated nutmeg, half a pint of milk, salt, pepper, and a teaspoonful of chopped parsley; keep stirring continually, boil ten minutes, take from the fire, mix in it two beaten yolks of eggs, and serve.

The same, with Onions.—Put two ounces of butter in a stewpan and set it on the fire; when hot, put in it two onions cut in slices, and fry them. Then add salt, pepper, a pinch of grated nutmeg, a saltspoonful of chopped parsley, and a quart of beans cooked in water; also half a pint of boiling water; boil ten minutes, stir with a wooden spoon, take from the fire, sprinkle in it a few drops of vinegar, and serve.

The same, in Salad.—Cook the beans in water, as directed above; then put a layer of them in a crockery vessel, the layer to be about one inch thick; then sprinkle on it salt and pepper; repeat the same process till all your beans are in; cover and leave thus three or four hours; then throw away the water, or drain if convenient; place the beans in a salad-dish, with the sweet-oil, vinegar, and parsley necessary; move like a salad, and serve cold.

Green, shelled, Lima, or other Beans.—Shell the beans, throw them in boiling water with a little salt, and when cooked drain them. Put two ounces of butter for a quart of beans in a saucepan, and when melted put the beans in with salt and pepper; toss gently now and then for three or four minutes, then add about a teaspoonful of vinegar, or the juice of half a lemon, and half a teaspoonful of parsley chopped. Mix and serve warm. They may also be prepared as string-beans, either au jus, in maître d'hôtel, or in salad.

Dry Beans, Lima, White or Colored.—Dry beans must be soaked in water for some time. Some require to be soaked twenty-four hours, others only five or six hours. Those that require to be soaked long are not from the last harvest, but have been kept for two or more years. If you are not sure that the beans (especially the white) are from this year's crop, soak them for twenty-four hours in cold water, and then drain them.

To boil.—Put the beans in a saucepan with cold water, and boil gently till tender. If the water boils away, fill up with cold water, but never put any salt to boil dry beans, it prevents them from cooking. As soon as boiled tender, drain them, and they are ready for use.

Au jus.—When boiled as above, set them on the fire in a stewpan with a few tablespoonfuls of gravy or broth, salt, and a little butter, stir for two or three minutes, then add a little chopped parsley, and serve warm.

Maître d'hôtel.—When boiled as above, drain and put them in a saucepan with about three ounces of butter for a quart of beans, stir now and then, and when the butter is melted, add salt, pepper, a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, and a few drops of vinegar; just mix and serve.

With Salt Pork.—Boil a quart of beans as directed above, and drain them. Cut in dice about half a pound of bacon and put it in a saucepan on the fire; when about half fried add the beans, mix and stir for one minute, then put in a warm oven for about twenty minutes, stirring occasionally; when done, sprinkle on it some parsley chopped fine, pepper and salt to taste, if not salt enough. There are several ways of preparing "pork and beans," but the one we give above is the most general in New England. The pork must neither be too fat nor too lean. It may be done also with ham and fresh pork.

With Mutton.—Boil as directed about three pints of white beans and drain them. When the leg of mutton is about half roasted, put the beans in the dripping-pan, and stir occasionally till the meat is done, and serve them with it. It makes a very nourishing dish, but it would be rather heavy for persons having sedentary avocations. Two quarts of beans would not be too much for a good-sized leg of mutton. It may also be prepared with any other piece of mutton; shoulder, saddle, etc.

Boiled with Mutton or Pork.—Prepare a quart of beans as directed, and then boil them ten minutes and drain them. Cut in rather large dice about two pounds of breast or neck of mutton or the same of pork, and of the same pieces, and put meat and beans in a stewpan, cover well with cold water; season with a bunch of seasonings composed of five or six sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, a bay-leaf, and two cloves, salt, pepper, a little nutmeg grated, a carrot cut in three or four pieces, two onions, and a piece of turnip. Boil gently till the whole is thoroughly cooked; remove the seasonings, and serve meat and beans together. This makes also a nourishing dish and not an expensive one. The nutritive qualities of beans are very well known, and very much exaggerated too. Even Professor Liebig once said that "four quarts of beans and two pounds of corned beef or pork boiled to rags, in fifty quarts of water, will furnish a good meal for forty men."

We must say that we have not been able to try the experiment, but we should like very much to see what kind and how much work forty men would do, and for how long, with such a diet. There are many things that look or seem well, and even magnificent in theory, though entirely impracticable. It sounds well, especially to those who do not understand the meaning of it, to say that we feed mostly on gluten, albumen, gelatine, etc., and that we require so many ounces of carbon, oxygen, etc., in twenty-four hours. Every thing that we eat may be, with the exception of salt, turned into charcoal; but no one has yet been known to feed on it.

Colored Beans, stewed.—Soak, boil five minutes, and drain a quart of beans. Put in a stewpan half a pound of bacon and set it on the fire; five minutes after, put the beans in, with four small onions, salt, and pepper, boil gently till cooked, and drain. Put two ounces of butter in a stewpan on the fire; when melted, sprinkle in it a teaspoonful of flour, same of chopped parsley, then the beans, without the bacon and onions; toss now and then for ten minutes, then add half a pint of claret wine, the same of the water in which they were cooked, boil gently twenty minutes; then put in it also the bacon and onions, boil five minutes longer, and serve the whole on the same dish.

Beets, stewed.—Clean and wash well, but do not skin them. Put in a crockery vessel a layer of rye straw, moisten it slightly, place the beets on it, cover the vessel, and place it in a slow oven for five or six hours; cool and skin them. When cooked, cut them in thin slices. Put butter in a stewpan, and when melted sprinkle in it a pinch of flour, a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, salt, and pepper, then the beets; simmer twenty minutes, add a few drops of vinegar, and serve.

Cabbages—to boil.—Take off the outer leaves, clean, cut in four pieces, free it from stump and stalk, and drop it in boiling water with a little salt and a piece of charcoal. Boil slowly till tender, and drain. Cabbage contains some sulphur, and evaporates an unpleasant odor while boiling, and especially while boiling fast. By putting a piece of charcoal in the pot, it does not smell as much.

With Bacon.—When boiled and drained, put the cabbage in a stewpan with bacon, sausage, and a piece of breast of mutton; cover with cold water, season with three or four sprigs of parsley, a carrot, a clove, a little nutmeg, salt and pepper; boil till the whole is well cooked, remove the seasonings and drain; dish the cabbage, put the meat on it, and serve warm.

With Milk, or à la Crème.—Boil and drain the cabbage as directed above. Put two ounces of butter in a saucepan, set it on a good fire, and when melted put the cabbage in with salt and pepper. Sprinkle on it a teaspoonful of flour, add half a pint of cream or good milk; keep stirring with a wooden spoon during the whole process; boil gently till the sauce is reduced, and serve warm.

Stewed.—Boil and drain two large heads of cabbage, and cut them very fine. Put about three ounces of butter in a saucepan on the fire, and when melted put the cabbage in and stir for five minutes; then add salt, pepper, and a pinch of flour; wet with a pint of broth, boil till cooked and the sauce reduced, then serve warm.

A l'Allemande.—Blanch for ten minutes some white or green cabbage and drain it. Put six ounces of salt pork, cut in dice, in a saucepan on the fire, and when partly fried put two or three small heads of cabbage in, stir, and when done, add a little gravy, and serve warm.

With Apples.—Blanch for about ten minutes a head of cabbage and drain it. Put two or three ounces of butter in a saucepan on the fire, and put the cabbage in when the butter is melted with four or five apples peeled, quartered, and cored; also a little salt and a little sugar, about half a pint of water or broth, boil gently till done, and serve as warm as possible. Generally, cabbages are better when prepared at least one day in advance, and then warmed in a bain-marie before serving; a little butter may be added while it is warming. Any kind of cabbage is prepared as directed in the above ways.

Red Cabbage in Salad.—Take a hard head of red cabbage, and when all the outer leaves are removed, see if it is clean, but do not wash it; if a cabbage is not clean, do not use it for salad (as you want a hard one, and a hard one is always clean when the outer leaves are taken off). Then cut it in four pieces, trim off the stump and coarse ends of the leaves; cut it as thin as possible, as in making sour-krout, put it in a crockery vessel, with salt, vinegar, and pepper sprinkled on, cover and leave thus from four to six hours; then throw away the water or vinegar, dress as another salad, with oil and vinegar, and serve.

The same, stewed.—Blanch the cabbage for about ten minutes and drain it; then put it in a saucepan with about an ounce of butter and stir for five minutes, when add a little salt, a little sugar, a gill of claret wine, and same of broth or water. Boil gently till done, and serve.

Stuffed.—Remove the outer leaves of either a green, white, or red cabbage, see that it be clean, then put it in a bowl, and pour boiling water on it. Leave it so till the leaves are soft and pliable, when take off and drain. Cut off the stump carefully, place the cabbage on the table, the top upward, then open it gently by spreading the leaves all around without breaking them; then, commencing with the centre leaves, put some sausage-meat between the leaves, finishing with the outer ones and raising them; that is, bringing the cabbage to its original shape as much as possible, and then tie it all around with twine. Put in a saucepan large enough to hold the cabbage easily, but not too large, a little salt pork, cut in small dice, rind of salt pork and trimmings of butcher's meat that you may have, but if none at all, put a little lean salt pork or bacon, and cut in dice also, half a carrot in slices, two onions in slices also, and then the cabbage on the whole. Half cover it with broth; water may be used instead of broth, but it makes a very inferior dish, while with broth it is unquestionably an excellent one for those who like cabbages. Simmer for two or three hours, according to the size of the cabbage. A piece of sausage may be placed on the cabbage also and cooked with it. Then dish the cabbage, remove the twine tying it; place the sausage around and also the salt pork if liked, strain the sauce on the whole, and serve warm. If the water or broth boils away while it is cooking, add more.

Sour-krout.—Soak in cold water for some time, changing the water three or four times; then put it in a stewpan with a pound of bacon, two ounces of sausages, and two ounces of lard to every quart of sour-krout, salt, and pepper; wet with broth, or with water, boil from five to six hours, and serve with the bacon and sausages on it. When cooked as above, but with water instead of broth, drain it well, put the bacon and sausages away in a warm place; then put the sour-krout in a stewpan with about one pint of white wine to a quart of sour-krout, set it on the fire and boil gently till the wine is nearly all absorbed or boiled away. Serve as above with the bacon and sausages on it. It is almost always prepared with wine in many parts of Germany.

Cardoons.—The white part only is good to eat. Clean well and scrape the sides; cut in pieces two inches and a half in length, and throw them in boiling water with a little salt; boil them till their sliminess comes off easily; then take from the fire, pour cold water in, and by means of a towel remove the sliminess; soak in cold water and drain them. Lay a few slices of bacon in a stewpan, place the cardoons on them, and again lay slices of bacon on; season with two onions, two sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, a bay-leaf, and a clove, salt, pepper, and the juice of half a lemon; cover with water and set on a good fire; boil till cooked; take from the fire and drain the cardoons only, throwing away the seasonings. Put the cardoons back in the stewpan, in which you have left the bacon; add two or three tablespoonfuls of broth, and two of Espagnole sauce; set on a slow fire, and simmer till the sauce is reduced to a proper thickness. Have at the same time in a pan on the fire a piece of ox-marrow, and when melted mix it with the sauce at the moment you take the cardoons from the fire, and serve hot either with or without the bacon.

Carrots—how to clean and prepare them.—Trim off all the small roots, wash them well, scrape them gently, taking care to scrape the skin only; then wash well, drain, and cut them either in slices a quarter of an inch thick, in fillets or strips, or with a vegetable spoon, according to fancy.

To boil.—When prepared, put them in a saucepan with a little salt, more cold water than is necessary to cover them, set on the fire, boil gently till tender, and drain. It is impossible to tell how long it takes, as it depends how young and tender they are.

In Béchamel.—Clean, cut, and boil about a quart of carrots as directed and drain them. Mix well together in a saucepan, on the table, about two ounces of butter with a tablespoonful of flour, add about one pint of milk, set on the fire, stir slowly till it comes to a boil, when turn the carrots in, stir for about one minute, add also a little salt, same of sugar, two yolks of eggs; stir and mix well, give one boil, and serve warm.

A la Crème, or with Cream.—Proceed as for a Béchamel in every particular except that you use cream instead of milk.

In Poulette.—Proceed as in Béchamel with the exception that you use broth instead of milk, and add a little parsley, chopped fine, just before serving.

Fines Herbes.—Clean, cut, and boil as directed, about a quart of carrots. Set a saucepan on the fire with two ounces of butter in it, and when melted fry in it a piece of onion chopped fine. When the onion is fried add a pint of broth or water; boil about five minutes, put the carrots in with a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, give one boil, take from the fire, add a few drops of lemon-juice, and serve as warm as possible, with salt to taste.

Au jus.—Proceed as for fines herbes, except that you do not use onions, and put half a pint of broth or gravy.

Glazed.—Clean, cut with a vegetable spoon, and boil as directed, about a quart of carrots, and drain them. Put three ounces of butter in a frying-pan and set it on the fire. As soon as the butter is melted turn the carrots in, toss gently for five or six minutes, then add a little over a gill of rich gravy, sugar to taste, toss again now and then till the gravy is half boiled away, and use. Glazed carrots are seldom served alone, but most generally used as garnishing around a piece of meat.

Stewed.—Clean, and cut carrots in slices, and then blanch them for about five minutes, and drain them. Set a stewpan on the fire with about two ounces of butter in it; as soon as melted put the carrots in with salt, pepper, a pinch of sugar, half a pint of broth; boil gently till cooked, take from the fire, add and mix with the carrots a little chopped parsley, and serve warm.

With Sugar.—Clean and slice about a quart of carrots, and blanch them for five minutes, and then drain them. Put two ounces of butter in a stewpan, and set it on a good fire, and when melted lay the carrots in with salt, pepper, a pinch of grated nutmeg, and about half a pint of broth; sprinkle in it, while stirring with a wooden spoon, about a teaspoonful of flour, and boil gently till cooked. Take from the fire, mix a good tablespoonful of sugar with two yolks of eggs, and those again with the rest, and serve.

Cauliflowers and Broccoli—how to prepare and cook them in water.—Clean and wash them well, throw into boiling water with a little salt and a little flour, boil till cooked, and drain them.

How to serve with Cheese.—Put them on a crockery dish when prepared; pour on a white sauce, in which you have mixed a little grated cheese; then dust the whole with fine bread-crumbs; after which you take a soft brush or a feather, which you dip in lukewarm butter, and put a thin coat of it all over the cauliflowers; then place the dish in a quick oven for ten minutes, and serve as they are, i. e., in the dish in which they have been cooked. This is also called au gratin.

In Béchamel.—Boil the cauliflowers till done to your taste, drain immediately and place them on the dish, the top upward. While it is boiling make a Béchamel sauce and turn it over the cauliflowers as soon as dished, and serve as warm as possible. Cauliflower, like asparagus, has a better taste when rather underdone; it is more crisp.

Au Beurre Noir (with Brown Butter).—When boiled, drained, and dished, turn a brown butter over them, and serve warm.

With a Cream-Sauce.—Clean, prepare, boil, and drain the cauliflowers as directed above, then dish them also with the top upward. While they are boiling, make a cream-sauce and turn it over the cauliflowers as soon as they are dished, and serve warm. As they must be served warm, if the sauce is ready before the cauliflowers are cooked, keep it in a bain-marie; if the cauliflowers are cooked before the sauce is ready, keep them in a warm place.

With a White Sauce.—Proceed as with a cream-sauce in every particular, turning a white instead of a cream-sauce over them; serve warm.

Fried.—Clean, prepare, and boil them for about five minutes, that is, till they are about half cooked; then dip them in batter for frying vegetables, and fry them in hot fat. Take them off with a skimmer, turn them into a colander, sprinkle salt all over, and serve as hot as possible. They are excellent fried, but they must not be allowed to cool.

With a Tomato-Sauce.—Commence by making a tomato-sauce, as it requires longer than preparing the cauliflowers. When the sauce is nearly made, boil the cauliflower as directed, dish it, and then turn the sauce over it, and serve warm.

Au jus, or stewed.—Prepare, boil the cauliflowers till half done, and drain them. Place them carefully in a stewpan, the top upward, and set on the fire with a little fat. The fire must be rather slow. Stir gently and very carefully in order not to break them, and, about five minutes after they are on the fire, add half a gill of broth for a middling-sized cauliflower, salt, and pepper; simmer till done, stirring now and then during the process; dish them, turn the sauce all over, and serve warm.

In Salad.—When boiled and drained, leave them in the colander till perfectly cold, then put them in the salad-dish with salt, pepper, vinegar, and oil, move carefully in order not to break it, and serve. A salad of cauliflowers is not served as a salad of greens, but as an entremet, like other vegetables, and as if prepared in any other way. It is an excellent dish for breakfast.

Celery—stewed.—Cut off the green part or top of about half a dozen heads of celery; cleanse and trim them, but leave them whole. Set a saucepan of cold water and a little salt on the fire, and at the first boil drop the heads of celery in, boil till tender and drain. Put the celery back in the pan with about half a pint of broth; boil gently about five minutes, when add two or three tablespoonfuls of good meat-gravy, a teaspoonful of meunière, salt to taste, give one boil, and serve warm.

Fried.—Cut the celery in pieces about two inches long, wash, drain, and wipe dry. Dip them in batter for frying vegetables, drop in hot fat, and turn them into a colander when fried; sprinkle salt over, and serve hot. Soup or turnip-rooted celery, after being cleaned and properly scraped, is prepared like table celery as above, either stewed or fried.

Chiccory.—Chiccory, or succory, or endive, is generally prepared as a salad, if it be that with the broad leaves, or the curled endive.

Stewed.—Clean, wash, and drain it. Blanch it for about one minute, and drain again. Then put it in a stewpan with a little broth, and simmer till cooked; then add a little gravy, salt and pepper to taste, and serve. It makes a good entremet. The wild chiccory is prepared in the same way.

With Milk.—Remove the outer leaves and see that it is perfectly clean, cut in two or four, wash well in several waters, and throw into boiling water with a little salt; boil half an hour, take it out, throw into cold water, leave two minutes, and drain; press on it the drainer so as to extract all the water from it, after which chop it fine. Put about two ounces of butter in a stewpan; when melted, sprinkle in it a teaspoonful of flour, also salt and pepper; then put the endive in, say three or four heads, stir with a wooden spoon for ten minutes, after which time you beat two eggs with milk, and put them in the stewpan; keep stirring fifteen minutes longer, and serve.

Corn—sweet.—The simplest and best way is to boil it, and then eat it with butter, salt, and pepper. When boiled with any meat-soup, or with pot-au-feu, it is delicious to eat, and gives a good taste to the broth; it is also eaten with butter, salt, and pepper, as above.

Stewed.—Shell it and then drop it in boiling water and a little salt, boil till nearly done; then drain and put it back on the fire with a little broth; boil gently for about ten minutes, add a little gravy, salt and pepper to taste, and serve warm.

In Succotash.—This popular Indian dish, is very simply made by boiling corn and green Lima beans together, with salt and pepper. The two can be prepared together as stewed corn, but it makes a very inferior dish.

Cucumbers.—Peel them, split them in four, take the seeds out, cut in pieces about one inch long, throw them into boiling water, with a little salt; boil till cooked, drain, and put them on a towel so as to dry them well; then put butter in a frying-pan, and set it on a good fire; when hot, put in it some chopped parsley, salt, and pepper, two minutes after put the cucumbers in it, fry a few minutes, tossing them now and then, and serve.

The same, stewed.—Cook in boiling water, and dry them as above; then put them in a stewpan with a little butter kneaded with flour, add salt, pepper, and a pinch of grated nutmeg; moisten with broth, simmer to reduce the sauce; take from the fire, mix the yolks of two eggs in the sauce; add to it a few drops of vinegar, and serve them.

Stuffed.—Soak a piece of bread in cold water and then squeeze the water out of it, the size to be according to how many cucumbers are to be stuffed, or how large they are. Split large cucumbers in two, lengthwise, remove the seeds and some of the fleshy parts inside, by means of a small iron spoon. Put a little butter in a saucepan on the fire, and when melted fry in it a piece of chopped onion. When the onion is fried, put in the pan what you have removed from the inside of the cucumbers, and which you have chopped a little, stir for about five minutes, and then add the soaked bread, stir and mix well with the rest; add also salt, pepper, a little grated nutmeg and a little gravy; stir again for about one minute, take from the fire; fill the cucumbers, that is, each half with the mixture; place them in a pan, the mixture upward; dust with bread-crumbs, put a little butter on the top of each, and bake. Before serving, a little gravy may be sprinkled all over; serve warm.

In hors-d'oeuvre.—Peel the cucumbers, cut them in slices slantwise, and salt them for two or three hours. Drain them, and then season with oil, vinegar, pepper, and parsley chopped fine.

Pickled cucumbers are served whole with small onions, also pickled, as a hors-d'oeuvre.

Dandelion.—Dandelion is a very healthy greens in the spring, either cooked or raw. Clean and wash them well several times, as it nearly always contains fine sand between the leaves; leave them in cold water about two hours, and drain them; throw them into boiling water and salt; boil twenty minutes if young, and thirty minutes if full grown; then put them in a colander, press on them so as to extract all the water, after which chop them fine; put about two ounces of butter in a stewpan, for two quarts, and set it on a quick fire; when melted, sprinkle in it a teaspoonful of flour, salt and pepper, then put the dandelion in, stir for ten minutes, after which wet it with broth; keep stirring for about fifteen minutes longer, and serve.

Egg-Plant—broiled.—Split the egg-plant in two lengthwise, peel it and remove the seed. Put it in a crockery vessel and sprinkle salt on it; leave it thus nearly an hour, then take it off, dip it in egg beaten with salt, pepper, and chopped parsley, then boil it; serve with a maître d'hôtel sauce.

Fried.—Peel and cut in slices, lay the slices in a vessel, sprinkling salt over every layer, and leave thus half an hour and drain. Dip the slices in batter for frying vegetables, drop them in hot fat, and turn them into a colander when fried; sprinkle salt all over, and serve.

Sauté.—Put the slices with salt half an hour in a vessel as directed in the above. Drain them, and then fry them on both sides with a little butter in a frying-pan. Serve warm, with salt and pepper to taste.

Stuffed.—Proceed as for stuffed cucumbers in every particular.

Hominy.—Hominy is prepared in different ways, some make it in cakes, others like mush. The following is, however, the general way of preparing it: boil it for about three hours with water or milk, also butter, salt, and pepper; then mix with it some well-beaten eggs, fry or broil, or even cook it in an oven, and serve for breakfast.

Leeks.—Clean, wash, and drain; throw them in boiling water with a little salt, boil fifteen minutes, and drain; press on them in the drainer, so as to extract all the water, then chop them fine. Put two ounces of butter in a stewpan; when melted, sprinkle in it a teaspoonful of flour, salt, and pepper, then add the leeks. Stir with a wooden spoon for ten minutes; after that beat two eggs with milk, and put them in a stewpan; keep stirring fifteen minutes longer, and serve.

Lentils.—This excellent vegetable, much superior to beans or peas, is not generally known. Most of what we have here comes from Germany; a little comes from France and Switzerland. Many persons think them much dearer than beans or peas, not knowing that they swell three or four times their size when soaked in water before cooking them. They are prepared like dry beans in every way. A purée of lentils is excellent with almost every kind of meat, and it also makes a good potage. It has all the nutritive qualities of the bean.

Lettuce.—Cos lettuce, cabbage lettuce, butter lettuce, curled Silesia, white or green lettuce, etc. Besides being served as salad, all the above, when properly dressed, make an excellent entremet.

To prepare.—Take off the outer leaves, that is, all those that are too green or too hard, then clean and wash well, but without cutting it off, or without detaching the leaves. To stew lettuce, select hard heads, so that they can be cleansed without detaching the leaves. When cleaned, drop the heads in boiling water and a little salt, boil about five or ten minutes, according to how tender the lettuce is, and drain dry.

Stewed.—When cleaned and prepared, sprinkle on the top of each, salt, pepper, and a little grated nutmeg; then tie each head with a string. Place in a stewpan two or three slices of bacon, put the heads of lettuce in, season with two sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, a bay-leaf, and a clove, also salt and pepper; cover with water, and simmer about two hours in an oven; then take them from the pan, drain, pressing on them to extract all the water, and put them on a dish, the top upward. Have butter in a stewpan, and on a good fire; when melted, sprinkle in it a teaspoonful of flour, stirring with a wooden spoon; subdue the fire, add a little milk, and stir and simmer ten minutes longer; take from the fire, mix in the beaten yolks of two eggs, pour it on the lettuce, which you have kept warm, and serve.

Another way.—When prepared, chop it fine. Put in a stewpan, for four heads of lettuce, three ounces of butter, and set it on the fire; when melted, put the lettuce in with a little chopped chervil, stir now and then till cooked; then sprinkle in it a pinch of flour, wet with broth, boil ten minutes longer, keeping it stirred, and serve. (For a salad of lettuce, see Salad.)

Stuffed.—Proceed as for a stuffed cabbage.

Mushrooms.—Preserved mushrooms are used for sauces only. The first thing to consider very attentively in mushrooms is, not to eat any that you do not know to be good to eat. There are so many kinds of good and bad ones, that it is necessary to be very careful about even the edible ones, or the ones known as such when young; it is better and safer never to use them when old; they are considered old when the comb underneath is black before picking, while when young it is of a pink color.

How to clean and prepare them.—Cut off the lower part of the stem; skin them with a steel knife, commencing at the edge and finishing at the top; cut in pieces, put them in cold water, to which you have added a few drops of vinegar; leave them in it two hours, moving them occasionally; then wash well in two or three waters, and drain.

When cleaned and prepared thus, they are ready to be used in sauces, or to cook.

Broiled.—If you have large mushrooms, clean and prepare as above, except that you do not cut them; but when drained, put them upside down on a greased gridiron, and on a moderate fire; place a little butter around the stem upon the comb, and when done place them on a dish which you have warmed in advance, and in the same position they had on the gridiron; put again around the stem some butter kneaded with a little chopped parsley, salt, and pepper, and serve. They must be served warm.

As an ornament, you may make, with common white note-paper, as many little square boxes as you have mushrooms to broil; grease them with butter, put the mushrooms in, set them on the gridiron, and on a moderate fire, and serve them in the boxes when done.

The same, stewed.—When cleaned and prepared as directed, and drained, throw a quart of them in boiling water, to which you have added a few drops of vinegar; boil five minutes, take them out, put them in cold water to cool, drain and dry them in a towel. Put two ounces of butter in a stewpan and set it on a good fire; when melted, sprinkle in it a pinch of flour, add also a sprig of parsley, two small onions, a little piece of carrot, a bay-leaf, salt, and pepper, cover with broth, and boil till the onions are cooked; then take from the pan onions, parsley, and bay-leaf, and put the mushrooms in instead; boil slowly about twenty minutes, take from the fire, add to the sauce the yolks of two eggs well beaten with a few drops of vinegar, and serve warm.

Mushroom Catsup.—Clean and wash them well, stems and all; cut them in two or four pieces; then place the pieces in a crockery vessel, sprinkling salt on every layer of mushrooms, and leave thus twenty-four hours. Take them out and press them well, so as to take all the juice out, which you bottle at once, and cork. Put the mushrooms back in the vessel, and twenty-four hours after press them again; and again put the juice in bottles, and the mushrooms in the vessel, and repeat this process again after another twenty-four hours. Then mix well together the juice of the three pressings; add to it pepper, allspice, one clove (or more, according to the quantity) broken in pieces; boil the whole, skim off the scum as long as you see any on the surface, and strain. Bottle when cool; put in each bottle two cloves and a pepper-corn, cork air-tight, put in a cool and dry place, and it will keep for years.

Dried.—Dried mushrooms are imported from Italy, they come cheaper than the preserved ones in cans, and are as good for brown sauces. Soak them in water over night; drain them, and they are ready for use.

Onions à la Crème.—(With Cream.)—Only small white onions are prepared à la crème. Have water and a little salt on the fire, and drop two dozen small white onions into it at the first boil. When cooked, drain, and wipe them dry carefully, in order not to bruise them. Set a saucepan on the fire with about two ounces of butter in it, and when melted put the onions in, stirring gently for two or three minutes, then turn about a gill of cream in, little by little, stirring the while, and as soon as the whole is in take from the fire, salt to taste, and serve hot.

Glazed.—Peel a dozen of middling-sized onions and put them in a saucepan with four ounces of butter, and set them on a slow fire; stir occasionally till they are about three-quarters done, when add about two ounces of powdered sugar, stir now and then and finish the cooking. When done and well browned all around, add one or two tablespoonfuls of good meat-gravy, keep a few minutes on a rather brisk fire in order to reduce the sauce, but keep stirring and use. Onions prepared that way are excellent, and generally used to decorate meat.

Stewed.—Clean a quart of small onions, throw them in boiling water, add two sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, a clove, a bay-leaf, a little piece of nutmeg, a clove of garlic, salt, and pepper; boil twenty minutes, drain the onions only, and throw away the seasonings. Put two ounces of butter in a stewpan on a good fire, and when melted sprinkle in it a teaspoonful of flour; then add the onions, cover with half broth and half white wine, boil gently till well cooked and the sauce reduced, serve warm. It is a very wholesome dish.

Parsnips.—Sautées.—Scrape, wash, drain, and put about two quarts of parsnips in a saucepan with cold water and a little salt, set on the fire and boil till done, then drain. Cut the parsnips in slices, put two ounces of butter in a frying-pan, and when melted put the sliced turnips in, toss gently till they are of a fine golden color, then add salt and pepper to taste, turn over a dish, sprinkle chopped parsley all over, and serve warm.