Cucumbers.—The small green ones are the best. Clean them well in cold water with a brush, removing the prickles. Put cold water in a vessel with rock-salt in it, and shake it to dissolve the salt; soak the cucumbers in it for about three days. Take them out and immediately put them in pots or jars with small onions, a few cloves of garlic, pepper-corns, rock-salt, cloves, and a bunch of seasonings composed of bay-leaves, tarragon, and burnet; cover them with boiling vinegar (turn the vinegar on them as soon as it boils), cover the pots or jars air-tight when perfectly cold. Look at the cucumbers every two or three days for the first three weeks, and after that only once in a while. According to the quality of the vinegar or of the cucumber itself, the whole may turn white after a while; in that case throw away vinegar and spices, put new spices in, the same spices as above, except the onions, which you keep with the cucumbers; cover again with boiling vinegar, and cover when cold as before. If they have not been kept too long in that state before changing the vinegar, they will be just as good as if they had not turned white.

EGGS, MACARONI, AND RICE.

With Cheese and Parsley.—Put about two ounces of butter in a saucepan on the fire, and when melted fry in it a tablespoonful of parsley, chopped fine; then add a pinch of nutmeg, salt, pepper, about four ounces of pineapple or Gruyère cheese, grated, and a gill of white wine; stir till the cheese is melted, when you add eight or ten eggs, one after another, stirring the whole time and mixing them with the cheese; serve when done. More cheese may be used, according to taste.

In Fricassée.—Put about half a pound of stale bread with one pint of milk in a saucepan on the fire and boil for two or three minutes, then mash well so as to mix the two together, put back on the fire, stir continually till it makes a rather thin paste, then take off, mix with it six or eight eggs, grated cheese to taste, salt and pepper, put back on the fire, stir, and serve when cooked. Lemon-juice may be sprinkled on just before serving.

A la Lyonnaise.—Chop fine two white onions and fry them with two ounces of butter, then add salt, a pinch of nutmeg, half a pint of broth; boil gently and stir now and then till it turns rather thick, when you add also eight whites of eggs, chopped; give one boil, and serve. Place the eight yolks, whole, all around, and between and alternately a small cake feuilleté, and serve warm.

A la Béchamel.—Slice the eggs or cut them in four pieces lengthwise, put them in Béchamel sauce, set on a slow fire for two minutes, and serve warm.

Fines Herbes.—Mix well together in a saucepan, and cold, two ounces of butter with a tablespoonful of flour; set on the fire, stir, and when melted thoroughly, add a teaspoonful of parsley and one of chives, chopped fine, salt, pepper, and about a gill of white wine; stir, and boil gently for about five minutes, and turn over hard-boiled eggs in a dish; serve warm. The eggs are served whole, shelled, but not cut.

Piquante-Sauce.—Dish hard-boiled eggs as for fines herbes, and turn over them a piquante sauce; serve warm. They may be served in the same way with any other sauce.

Stuffed, or à l'Aurore.—Cut six hard-boiled eggs in two lengthwise; take the yolks off the whites; chop them fine with six or eight sprigs of parsley, put both eggs and parsley in a bowl; add salt, pepper, a little nutmeg grated, a piece of the soft part of bread soaked in milk and squeezed, three ounces of butter, mix the whole well. Then with the mixture fill the whites, that is, the place where the yolks were; fill a little more than full, so that all the mixture will go into and upon the twelve halves. Lay in a saucepan a purée of spinach or of sorrel, or of any other vegetable, according to taste; lay the halves of eggs on it, the mixture upward; put for ten minutes in the oven, and serve warm.

In Boxes.—Fold note-paper so as to make a kind of square box without a cover; put half an ounce of butter in it with a pinch of chopped parsley; lay it on a gridiron and on a slow fire, break an egg in it, and when nearly done add salt and bread-crumbs, to taste; serve warm when done.

With Cheese.—Prepare as the above; add grated cheese at the same time you add salt and bread-crumbs; finish the cooking, and serve warm.

Au Gratin.—Chop fine six or eight sprigs of parsley, a shallot if handy, or a small onion, half an ounce of the soft part of bread, an anchovy, and then mix the whole well with two ounces of butter; mix again with two yolks of eggs, place the mixture in a tin dish, place on a slow fire, and when getting rather dry break half a dozen eggs over it, dust with bread-crumbs, season with salt and pepper, and when nearly done spread two yolks of eggs beaten, with a teaspoonful of water over the whole, and serve warm.

With Ham.—Prepare as scrambled eggs with the exception that you put in the pan, at the same time you put in the eggs, four ounces of boiled ham cut in dice. Serve the same.

With Milk, Water, or Cream.—These three names are wrongly applied to eggs in many cook-books; they are creams, and not eggs.

Ham and Eggs.—There are several ways of preparing this good dish; the ham may be raw or boiled; in slices or in dice; mixed with the eggs, or merely served under. Fry the ham slightly, dish it and then turn fried eggs over it; or fry both at the same time, the eggs being whole or scrambled, according to taste.

With Asparagus.—Cut in pieces, about a quarter of an inch long, a gill of the tender part of asparagus, throw it in boiling water with a little salt; boil as directed, and drain. Beat eight eggs just enough to mix the yolks with the whites; put them in a stewpan, season with a pinch of grated nutmeg, salt, and pepper; add also a tablespoonful of warm water, set on a slow fire, stir till they are becoming thick; then add four ounces of butter, stir five minutes longer; add the gill of asparagus; simmer about five minutes longer, and serve.

Boiled.—(See Eggs in the Shell.)—Put the eggs in boiling water with a little salt, as near as possible at the first boiling; leave from five to ten minutes; take out and put them immediately in cold water; then shell them without breaking them, and use.

With Brown Butter.—Break gently in a plate or dish, and without breaking the yolks, eight eggs; sprinkle salt and pepper on them. Put two ounces of butter in a frying-pan, and on a good fire; when turning brown subdue the fire. Put also, and at the same time, the same quantity of butter in another frying-pan, and on a good fire, and when hot, place the eggs in without breaking the yolks; then spread over the eggs the brown butter you have in the other; take from the fire when you see the whites becoming hard; put them on a dish, pour on them a tablespoonful of vinegar which you have warmed in the pan after having used the brown butter, and serve.

Fried.—Put half a pound of lard in a frying-pan, and on a good fire; when hot, break gently, one by one (being careful not to break the yolk), the quantity of eggs you can put in the pan without allowing them to adhere together; turn them upside down once with a spoon or skimmer; take from the pan with a skimmer as soon as the white part becomes hard, and serve with fried parsley around.

Scrambled, or Mashed.—Beat six eggs just enough to mix the whites and yolks together; put two ounces of butter in a stewpan, and set on the fire; when melted, take from the fire, add salt, pepper, and a pinch of grated nutmeg, then the eggs, also a tablespoonful of broth; put back on a very slow fire, stir continually till cooked, and serve warm.

Sur le Plat.—Butter the bottom of a crockery or tin dish with two ounces of butter; break into the dish and over the butter, gently and without breaking the yolks, six eggs; sprinkle salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg all over, put the dish on a slow fire, or on warm cinders, and when the white is hard, serve. They must be served in the dish in which they are cooked.

In the Shell.—Bear in mind that some eggs cook quicker than others. Put eggs in boiling water for two minutes, if liked soft or underdone; and three minutes, if liked more done. They are generally served enveloped in a napkin.

In Matelote.—Put a bottle of claret wine in a stewpan and set it on a good fire; add to it two sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, a clove of garlic, a middling-sized onion, a clove, a bay-leaf, salt, and pepper; boil fifteen minutes; then take all the seasonings out and have your wine boiling gently; break one egg in by letting it fall gently in order to have it entire, and then take it out immediately with a skimmer, and place it on a dish; do the same with eight eggs; keep them in a warm (but not hot) place. After which put in the wine, without taking it from the fire, four ounces of butter kneaded with a tablespoonful of flour; boil till reduced to a proper thickness, pour it on the eggs, and serve.

With Onions.—Cut in dice three middling-sized onions and put them in a saucepan with four ounces of butter; set it on a moderate fire and stir now and then till the onions are turning yellow, then sprinkle on them a teaspoonful of flour, salt, and pepper; add a pint of warm water and boil gently till rather thick, but not too much so. Put into the saucepan half a dozen hard-boiled eggs cut in four pieces each, lengthwise, boil gently two or three minutes longer, and serve warm.

With Green Peas.—Proceed as for eggs with asparagus, except that you boil a gill of peas instead of asparagus; prepare and serve in the same way.

With Cauliflowers.—Blanch the cauliflowers and proceed as for the above. Eggs are prepared as above, with celery, lettuce, etc.

A la Tripe.—Proceed exactly the same as for eggs with onions, except that you use milk or broth instead of water.

A la Neige, or Floating Island.—Beat four (or more) whites of eggs to a stiff froth. Put in a tin saucepan one pint of milk and one ounce of sugar, set on the fire, and as soon as it rises put lumps of the whites into it with a skimmer, turn the lumps over after having been in about half a minute, leave them in another half minute, take them off with a skimmer also, place them on a sieve to allow the milk that may be around the lumps to drop. Put in a tin saucepan four yolks of eggs, two ounces of sugar, and mix well; add the milk that has been used to cook the whites, after having strained it, and mix again. Set on the fire, stir, give one boil, take off, add a few drops of essence to flavor; turn into a dish; place the lumps of whites gently on the liquor and they will float, and serve cold. If the liquor is desired thicker, use only half of the milk.

To poach Eggs.—Set cold water on the fire in a frying-pan, with salt and vinegar in it, a tablespoonful of vinegar to a quart of water. As soon as it boils, break a fresh egg in the water or in a small plate, and slide it gently into the water. Then with a skimmer turn the white gently and by degrees over the yolk, so as to envelop the latter in the former, giving the eggs an elongated shape. They may be poached hard or soft—hard when the yolk is cooked hard; soft when the yolk is still in a soft state.

Fondue of Eggs.—Beat well six eggs, and put them in a stewpan with two ounces of Gruyère, well grated, and about one ounce of butter; set on a brisk fire, and leave till it becomes rather thick, stirring all the time with a wooden spoon; take from the fire, add pepper, and stir a little; turn over on a warm dish, and serve. This is a very favorite dish in Italy, and also in Switzerland, where it originated.

To beat Whites of Eggs.—Have a convenient basin; break the eggs gently; allow the whites to fall in the basin and retain the yolks in the shell. This is very easily done by breaking the shell about the middle, opening slowly so as to let the white fall, and at the same time retain the yolk in one of the halves of the shell; if some white remains, turn the yolk from one half into the other, and vice versa, till the whole of it has fallen. Then add a very small pinch of salt to prevent the curdling of the eggs; commence by beating slowly; beat faster and faster, till they form a stiff froth. They are well beaten when, placing a twenty-five and a ten-cent silver piece on the top, they are firm enough to bear them. If the pieces sink, beat again. Always beat eggs in a cool place, they will rise better and faster. (See Egg-beater.)

Basin.—Pay no attention to the old prejudice and belief that metal is not good to beat eggs in. The best and easiest for family use, in which one as well as a dozen whites of eggs can be easily whisked, is of block-tin, and can be made by any tinsmith. It has the shape of an ordinary goblet or tumbler if the foot is cut off, the bottom being round. Size: six inches deep from the centre of the bottom to the top; eight inches in diameter at the top, and only six inches in diameter where the bottom commences (or five inches from the top); the basin being broader at the top than at the bottom, and the bottom being one inch deeper in the centre than on the sides.

Omelets—how to beat the Eggs.—Break in a bowl the quantity of eggs you want, or as many as there are persons at the table; beat them well with salt and pepper, by means of a fork. A little grated nutmeg may be added, if liked. The adding of milk to the eggs makes the omelet soft.

To make it.—Always have a brisk fire to make an omelet; the quicker it is made the better, and the less butter it requires. If possible, have a frying-pan to make omelets only in; keep it in a clean place and never wash it if you can help it; by warming it a little before making the omelets and wiping it with a coarse towel, you can keep it as clean as can be without washing. To wash it causes the omelet to adhere to it while cooking, and injures its appearance. Commence by beating the eggs, then put the butter in the frying-pan, about two ounces for eight eggs; set on the fire and toss gently to melt the butter as evenly and as quickly as possible, else some of it will get black before the whole is melted. As soon as melted, turn the beaten eggs in, and stir and move continually with a fork or knife, so as to cook the whole as nearly as possible at the same time. If some part of the omelet sticks to the pan, add a little butter, and raise that part with a knife so as to allow the butter to run under it, and prevent it from sticking again. It must be done quickly, and without taking the pan from the fire. When cooked according to taste, soft or hard, fold, dish, and serve warm.

It is folded in this way: run the knife or fork under one part of the omelet, on the side nearest to the handle of the pan, and turn that part over the other part of the omelet, so as to double it or nearly so; then have an oval dish in your left hand, take hold of the frying-pan with the right hand, the thumb upward instead of the fingers, as is generally the case in taking hold of a pan, incline the dish by raising the left side, place the edge of the pan (the one opposite to the handle) on the edge of the dish, turn it upside down—and you have the omelet on the dish, doubled up and sightly. Cooks do not succeed in turning out a decent omelet generally, because they cook it too much, turn it upside down in the pan, or because they do not know how to handle the pan.

In holding the pan as it is generally and naturally held, that is, with the palm of the hand resting on the upper side of the handle, it is impossible for anybody, cook or other, to dish the omelet properly without extraordinary efforts; while by resting the thumb on the upper part of the handle, the fingers under it, the little finger being the nearest to the pan, it is only necessary to move the right hand from right to left, describing a circle and twisting the wrist, so that, when the pan is turned upside down, the fingers are up instead of downward, as they were when taking hold of the pan.

An omelet is called soft if, when you commence to fold, only about two-thirds of the eggs are solidified; and hard, when nearly the whole of the eggs are solidified. With a good fire it takes only about four minutes to make an omelet.

By following our directions carefully, it will be very easy to make an omelet, and make it well and sightly, even the first time, and will be child's play to make one after a few days' practice.

With Apples.—Peel two or three apples, cut them in thin, round slices, fry them with a little butter, and take them from the pan; then put a little more butter in the pan, and when hot, pour in it six beaten eggs, in which you have mixed the slices of apples; cook, dish, and serve as directed above.

With Asparagus.—Cut the eatable part of the asparagus half an inch in length, throw them in boiling water with a little salt, drain them when cooked, and chop them fine; beat them with eggs and a little milk; have hot butter in a frying-pan on a good fire; pour the eggs in, tossing continually till done, and serve on a dish as directed.

With Bacon.—Put two ounces of butter in a frying-pan; when melted, add two ounces of bacon cut in dice; when turning brown and very hot, pour in eight eggs, beaten as directed above; toss the pan nearly all the time till done, and serve as directed.

Au naturel.—Beat five eggs, with salt and pepper, as directed. Put about an ounce of butter in a frying-pan on the fire, and when melted, turn the eggs in; cook, dish, and serve as directed.

Aux Fines Herbes.—Proceed as for au naturel in every particular, except that you beat with the eggs a tablespoonful of chopped parsley, or parsley and chives, when handy; cook, dish, and serve in the same way.

Célestine.—Beat eight eggs as directed. Dip the point of a small kitchen knife in water and cut with it little lumps of butter the size of a pea and of any shape; about two ounces of it, drop them in the eggs and beat a little to mix, then melt butter in a frying-pan and cook, dish, and serve as directed.

In the Oven.—When the omelet au naturel or Célestine is cooked enough to commence folding, put the frying-pan in a quick oven for about one minute and serve. The omelet swells and does not need folding, but if it gains in bulk, it loses in taste.

Jardinière.—Chop fine, parsley, chives, onions, shallots, a few leaves of sorrel, and a few sprigs of chervil; beat and mix the whole well with beaten eggs; cook, dish, and serve as directed. It requires a little more butter than if made with eggs only.

With Cheese.—Grate some pine-apple or Gruyère cheese, about two ounces to four or five eggs, and mix and beat it with the eggs; then make the omelet as directed.

With Kidney.—Sauté as directed, till about half done, part of a beef or calf's kidney, or one sheep's kidney, and mix it with beaten eggs. Cook and serve as directed. It makes an excellent dish for breakfast. The kidney may be cooked till done, and when the omelet is to be folded in the pan, put five or six tablespoonfuls of the kidney on the middle of the omelet, fold, dish, and serve as directed. When dished, none of the kidney is seen, being under the omelet.

With Mushrooms.—Cut mushrooms in pieces, and mix them, with beaten eggs; then cook and serve them as directed. This also makes an excellent dish for breakfast, especially if made with fresh mushrooms.

With Sorrel.—Make an omelet au naturel or Célestine, and serve it on a purée of sorrel. The same may be served on a purée of tomatoes or onions.

With Lobster.—Cut two ounces of boiled lobster in small dice, mix it well with beaten eggs, and cook and serve as directed.

With Sugar.—Mix well the yolks of eight eggs with two ounces of fine white sugar and a pinch of salt, and beat well the whites; then mix well yolks, whites, and the rind of half a lemon, having the latter chopped very fine. Put four ounces of butter in a frying-pan, and set it on the fire; when melted, pour the eggs in, and toss and stir as directed. Then dust a dish with fine white sugar, put the omelet on, then dust again the upper side with the same; have ready a red-hot shovel, or any other flat piece of iron, pass it over the top of the omelet, so as to color it while melting the sugar, and serve warm. The whole process must be performed quickly. The sugar may be beaten with the eggs whole; both ways are good; it is only a question of taste.

With Rum.—Make an omelet with sugar as above, and when on the table, pour a gill or so of rum on it, set fire to it, and let it burn as long as it can, taking slowly but continually with a silver spoon the rum from the sides, and pouring it on the middle while it is burning, and until it dies out by itself; then eat immediately.

With Truffles.—Slice four ounces of truffles, beat them with six eggs, a little milk, and a little salt and pepper. Put in a frying-pan four ounces of butter, and set it on a good fire; when melted, pour the eggs in, toss almost continually till done, and serve as directed for omelets.

With Ham.—Cut four ounces of ham in small dice, and set it on the fire in a frying-pan with about two ounces of butter; stir, and while the ham is frying, beat six eggs and turn them over the ham in the pan when the latter is fried; stir with a fork, to cook the eggs as quickly as possible; turn the part of the omelet nearest to you over the other part by means of a fork, and serve like an omelet au naturel.

With Boiled Ham.—Proceed as for the above in every particular, except that you mix the ham with the eggs after the latter are beaten; put the mixture in the frying-pan, and finish as the above.

With Salt Pork (called omelet au Lard).—Beat half a dozen eggs with a fork. Cut four ounces of salt pork in dice, set it on the fire in a frying-pan, and when nearly fried turn the eggs in; stir, and finish as other omelets. Lean or fat salt pork (according to taste) may be used, or both. If it is all lean, use some butter, otherwise it will burn.

Soufflée.—Put in a bowl four ounces of pulverized sugar with four yolks of eggs; then with a wooden spoon mix well and stir for two minutes; add a few drops of essence to flavor. Beat the whites of four eggs to a stiff froth in another bowl, and when you see that they are beaten enough, turn two tablespoonfuls of the yolks and sugar into them, and while still beating, but not as fast; then turn the rest of the yolks and sugar into the whites, and mix gently with a wooden spoon. Butter a tin or silver dish, turn the mixture into it, smooth or scallop with the back of a knife, dust with sugar, and bake in an oven at about 310°. It takes about twelve minutes to bake.

Another.—Mix well six yolks of eggs with four ounces of sugar; beat the six whites to a stiff froth and mix them with the rest, add some lemon-rind chopped very fine or grated. Put four ounces of butter in a crockery dish, set on a moderate fire, and when the butter is melted pour the eggs in; stir with a fork, and as soon as you see some of the mixture becoming hard, place the dish in a hot oven for about five minutes; take off, dust with sugar, and serve.

Macédoine, or à la Washington.—Make four omelets of four eggs each, one with apples, one with asparagus or sorrel (according to the season), a third with fines herbes, and the fourth au naturel; you serve them on the same dish, one lapping over the other. It makes a fine as well as a good dish.

This omelet, or rather these omelets, were a favorite dish with the Father of his Country; they were very often served on his table when he had a grand dinner. It is also served with the four following omelets: au naturel, with salt pork, fines herbes, and with cheese.

With Oysters.—Blanch a dozen oysters, drain, and beat with the eggs, and then proceed as directed.

With Tunny, or any kind of smoked or salt Fish.—Beat the eggs as directed, using little or no salt; then chop the fish fine, mix and beat it with the eggs, and cook as directed. It requires a little more butter than if there were no fish. A few drops of lemon-juice may be added when dished.

With Sweetmeats.—Make an omelet au naturel, and when ready to be folded in the pan, place on the middle of it two or three tablespoonfuls of any kind of sweetmeats, then fold and serve.

Omelets are served as entremets after the vegetables, and at breakfast. All but four are served as entremets, and all are served at breakfast; the four excepted are: with bacon, ham, salt pork, and kidneys. By using different kinds of sweetmeats, an infinite number of omelets can be made, and, except the soufflée, they are all made alike.

Macaroni.—This excellent article of food is now as well known here as in Europe. The harder the wheat the better the macaroni. The manufacturers of this country use Michigan flour in preference to any other.

To blanch.—Put about three pints of cold water and a little salt on the fire, and at the first boiling drop half a pound of macaroni into it; boil gently till tender but not soft. It takes about twenty minutes to boil it, according to quality. A little butter, about two ounces, may be added in boiling. As soon as tender, turn it into a colander, and it is ready for use.

Au Gratin.—Blanch the macaroni, and when drained put it on a tin or silver dish, and mix with it a Béchamel sauce; add salt, pepper, two or three ounces of butter, a little nutmeg grated, about four ounces of grated cheese, either pine-apple, Gruyère, or Parmesan; dust with bread-crumbs, put about eight pieces of butter the size of a hazel-nut here and there on the top, set in a warm but not quick oven till the top turns rather brown, and serve warm as it is, that is, in the dish in which it is. If in a tin dish, put it inside of another dish, and serve.

A l'Italienne.—Blanch half a pound of macaroni and drain it. Put it in a saucepan with four ounces of butter, and mix well by stirring the butter in the warm macaroni. Then add also three or four tablespoonfuls of gravy; mix again half a pint of tomato-sauce and grated cheese, as for au gratin; set on the fire, stir, add salt to taste; keep on the fire for about ten minutes, stirring now and then, and serve warm.

Napolitaine.—This is the most expensive way of preparing macaroni. Wealthy Italians have it prepared with beef à la mode gravy only, or gravy made especially for it, with good lean beef cut in dice, and using as many as twelve pounds of meat to make gravy for one pound of macaroni, the meat being prepared as boiled beef afterward, but it can be prepared with ordinary gravy.

Blanch four ounces of macaroni and drain as directed, then put it in a saucepan with two ounces of butter, salt, pepper, a little grated nutmeg, and set on the fire; stir till the butter is melted, and then add grated cheese as directed for au gratin, and half a pint of gravy; stir and mix for about ten minutes, and serve. Macaroni requires much butter; the quantity of cheese is according to taste; some put weight for weight of macaroni, butter, and cheese. It is also prepared in a mould (en timbale) for chartreuse; it is macaroni Napolitaine, when every thing is mixed with it; instead of leaving it ten minutes on the fire, put it in the mould, set in the oven for about fifteen minutes, turn over a dish, and serve warm. In using much cheese, the macaroni will preserve the form of the mould when served.

In Croquettes.—Proceed as for rice croquettes.

Rice—to boil.—Wash half a pound of rice in water and drain it; put it in a saucepan with one quart of broth taken from the top of the broth-kettle, and before having skimmed off the fat; set on the fire, boil gently for about fifteen minutes, or till rather underdone, and put on a very slow fire to finish the cooking. Water and butter may be used instead of broth. If the broth is absorbed or boiled away before the rice is cooked, add a little more to keep it moist; add salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste, and it is ready for use.

Another way.—When boiled, place it in a slow oven to dry it, and then pour over it, little by little, stirring the while, four ounces of melted butter.

Another.—Wash half a pound of rice in cold water and drain it. Put it in a saucepan with two quarts of cold water, salt, and the juice of two lemons; boil six minutes, and drain; put it in a saucepan then with about six ounces of melted butter; mix, cover the pan well, and put it in a slow oven for about half an hour; take off and use.

Rice may be boiled in several different ways, or rather with several ingredients. To the above ways, in India or other southern countries, they add, besides salt and nutmeg, a teaspoonful of curry-powder to a pound of rice. In Italy they add slices of ham, sausage, saffron, and even Parmesan cheese. When cooked, chopped truffles may be added at the same time with the butter. Oil is sometimes used instead of butter.

In Border.—When thus prepared, take it with a spoon and place it all around the dish, leaving room in the middle to serve a bird, and then serve warm.

Another way.—When prepared as above, put the rice in a mould for border; the rice must be rather dry and the mould well buttered. Press on it so as to fill the mould well, then put it in an oven at about 350 deg. Fahr. for ten or twelve minutes. Take off, place a dish on the mould, turn it upside down, and remove the mould. The inside of a mould, for border, is plain, but the outside and bottom are scalloped; the bottom makes the top of the rice when served. There is an empty place in the centre to hold a bird.

Cake.—Butter a mould well and then dust it with sugar. Prepare rice as directed for croquettes, and instead of spreading it on a dish to cool, fill the mould about two-thirds full with it, and bake in a warm but not quick oven for about half an hour. Serve on a dish. The mould may be prepared with sugar only in this way: put pulverized sugar into the mould, set it on a rather slow fire, and when turning rather brown turn the mould round and round, so as to have it lined all over with sugar; bake as above, turn over a dish, remove the mould, and serve hot or cold, with or without a sauce for puddings.

In Croquettes.—Wash four ounces of rice in cold water and set it on the fire with a pint of milk and the rind of half a lemon; when done or nearly so, the milk may be boiled away or absorbed by the rice; add a little more to keep the rice nearly covered with it. When done, take off and mix with it two tablespoonfuls of sugar, two ounces of butter, two tablespoonfuls of milk, three yolks of eggs, a little pinch of salt, and the same of nutmeg—the latter, if liked. Put back on the fire for one minute, stirring the while. Spread the mixture on a dish and let cool. If the croquettes are for breakfast, the above may be done the evening previous. When cold, stir the mixture, so as to mix the upper part with the rest that is less dry. Put it in parts on the paste-board, about a tablespoonful for each part. Have bread-crumbs on it, roll each part of the shape you wish, either round, like a small sausage, or flat, or of a chop-shape. Then dip each croquette in beaten egg, roll in bread-crumbs again, and fry in hot fat. (See Frying.)

To shape them, roll each part round at first, and with a few bread-crumbs; then with a knife you smooth both ends, while you roll them round with the left hand; the two must be done at the same time. When fried and in the colander, dust with sugar, and serve as warm as possible. Croquettes are generally served in pyramid. A napkin may be spread on the platter, and the croquettes served on it.

In Fritters.—When a rice-cake is cold, it may be cut in pieces, dipped in batter for fritters, fried (see Frying), dusted with sugar, and served hot.

Soufflé.—Prepare rice as directed for croquettes, and when ready to be spread on a dish, add a few drops of essence to flavor; have five whites of eggs beaten to a stiff froth, and mix them gently with it; butter a mould well, fill it two-thirds full with the mixture, dust with sugar and set in a warm but not quick oven, and serve as soon as brown and raised. It takes from fifteen to twenty minutes. If the oven is warmer under the cake than on the top, it would be necessary to place something under the mould, the cake rises better and is lighter. This cake, like every soufflé, must be served promptly and before it falls.

With Fruit.—This dish is excellent, sightly, easily made, and can be varied infinitely. The rice is prepared as for croquettes, and is used when ready to be spread over a dish to cool. The fruit, if it be apples, pears, plums, etc., is stewed. One or several kinds may be used for the same dish. It is served warm or cold, according to taste. Place a layer of stewed fruit on a dish and then a layer of rice over it; another layer of the same or of another stewed fruit, and over it a layer of rice. Place as many layers as you fancy, imitating a pyramid, and you have a fine dish.

Rice-water.—This being often prescribed by doctors against diarrhroea, we will give the receipt for it. See that the rice is clean, but do not wash it. Put one pint of rice in a pan with a quart of cold water, and boil gently till the rice is quite soft or a little overdone; if the water boils away, fill up with cold water so as to have the rice always covered by it. When done, mash it through a colander, put back on the fire, add water to make it thin or thick, according to prescription; as soon as warm, sweeten to taste with sugar or honey, and take cold or warm, also according to prescription.

Nouilles.—Put four tablespoonfuls of flour on the paste-board; make a hole in the middle, and break two eggs in it, add a pinch of salt, and knead well; then roll down to a thickness of one-twelfth of an inch; dust it slightly with flour; cut it in strips about an inch wide; then cut these strips across, so as to make fillets one inch long and one-eighth of an inch broad. Spread the strips on a sieve for half an hour, to dry them a little. Put cold water and a pinch of salt in a saucepan, and set it on the fire; at the first boiling throw the nouilles in, boil two minutes, stirring occasionally; drain, throw them in cold water and it is ready for use. It may be kept in cold water half a day. Nouilles are used to make soup, and are prepared in the same and every way like macaroni.

SWEET DISHES.

A copper pan is the best and handiest of all; it can be done in another, but it is more difficult; the sugar turns brown before being thoroughly cooked or reduced. Always use good loaf sugar. If it be necessary to clarify it, do it in the following way: for five pounds of sugar, put the white of an egg in a bowl with half a pint of water, and beat well with an egg-beater; then turn into it nearly three pints of water, stir, put away half a pint of it to be used afterward. Then add to the rest five pounds of sugar, in lumps, set on a rather slow fire, and as soon as it comes to a boil, mix with it the half pint put away, little by little, skimming off carefully the while, and when no more scum gathers on the surface, strain through a towel and commence the working. If the sugar does not require to be clarified, that is, when it is good white sugar, set five pounds of it on the fire, in a copper pan, with nearly two quarts of water, and skim off carefully as soon as the scum gathers. It may be stirred a little to cause the sugar to melt evenly, but as soon as it commences to boil, stop stirring, else it will turn white and stringy. It passes from one state or degree to another in a very short time, and must be watched closely. It is at the first degree when, by dipping a piece of wood into it so as to retain a drop of it at the end, and which you touch with another piece of wood—if, by pulling them apart, slowly and immediately, instead of separating it at once, it forms a thread, but that soon breaks. It marks then 34 at the hydrometer. It is at the second degree when, by repeating the same process, the kind of thread formed does not break as easily as the first. It marks then 36. It is at the third degree when, by dipping a skimmer in it, holding it horizontally and striking it on the pan, then blowing on it, it forms small bubbles. It marks 39 at the hydrometer. It is at the fourth degree by trying again with the skimmer after a short time, and when, instead of forming bubbles, it will fly away like threads. It marks then 41. The fifth degree is when, by dipping a piece of wood in the sugar and quickly dipping it also in a bowl of cold water, shaking it at the same time and then biting it; if it breaks easily between the teeth, but at the same time is sticky, it has attained the fifth degree, and marks 44. A few boilings more and it is at the sixth degree, and by trying in the same way as the preceding one, it will break under the teeth, but will not stick to them. Above 44 the mark is uncertain, the syrup being too thick; it passes from that state to that of caramel; is colored, and would burn immediately. When that happens, make burnt sugar with it according to direction.

Apples au Beurre.—Peel and core the apples with a fruit-corer. Cut slices of stale bread about one-quarter of an inch in thickness, and then cut them again of a round shape with a paste-cutter and of the size of the apples. Spread some butter on each slice and place an apple on each also. Butter a bakepan, place the apples and bread in, fill the hole made in the middle of the apple to core it with sugar; place on the top of the sugar and on each a piece of butter the size of a hazel-nut, and set in a warm, but not quick oven. When about half done, fill the hole again with sugar and a pinch of cinnamon, place butter on top as before, and finish the cooking, serve warm. When done, they may be glazed with apple-jelly and put back in the oven for two minutes; the dish is more sightly.

Flambantes.—Lay apples in a saucepan, after being peeled and cored, add sugar to taste, and water enough just to cover them, also a stick of cinnamon, and set on a rather slow fire, and leave till done. Take them from the pan carefully and without breaking them; place them on a tin or silver dish, forming a kind of pyramid or mound; turn the juice over them, dust with sugar, pour good rum all over, set it on fire, and serve immediately and warm. As soon as on fire it is placed on the table, and the host must baste with the rum so as to keep it burning till all the alcohol is exhausted, then serve.

The following cut represents either a dish of apples flambantes before being in flames, or apples with rice.

In Fritters.—Peel, core, and cut apples in slices, and then proceed as directed for fritters. Serve hot.

With Wine.—Proceed as for apples flambantes in every particular except that you slice the apples, and instead of pouring rum over, you pour Madeira wine, and do not set it on fire.

Meringués.—Peel, quarter, and core half a dozen apples; set them on the fire in a saucepan with two tablespoonfuls of water; stir occasionally till done, then mix with them two or three tablespoonfuls of sugar, and when cold put them on a tin or silver dish; arrange them as a mound on the middle of the dish. Beat three whites of eggs to a stiff froth, and mix three ounces of pulverized sugar with them; spread two thirds of that mixture all over and around the apples, smooth it with a knife; then put the other third in a paper funnel, and by squeezing it out, decorate the dish according to fancy. You may squeeze some small heaps of the mixture here and there, over and around the dish, or squeeze it out all around, giving it a rope-like shape. Dust with sugar, and put in an oven at 250 degrees for twenty to twenty-five minutes. Serve warm in the dish in which it has been baked.

Charlotte.—Peel, quarter, and core six apples; put them in a pan with two tablespoonfuls of water, cinnamon, and stew till done, when add three or four ounces of sugar, mix gently so as not to mash the apples, let cool. Butter a mould well, line it, bottom and sides, with strips of stale bread, about one quarter of an inch thick, one inch broad, and of a proper length for the mould. Fill till about half full with some of the apples, then put a rather thin layer of any kind of sweetmeat on the apples; finish the filling up with apples; cover with pieces of stale bread, bake in an oven at about 340 degrees for about twenty minutes, turn over on a dish, remove the mould, and serve hot.

With Sweetmeats.—Prepare apples au beurre, and when ready to be served, fill the hole with any kind of sweetmeats or with currant-jelly. Serve warm.

In Pine-Apple.—Core the apples with a fruit-corer and then peel them with the scalloped knife (the peels are used to make syrup or jelly), place them tastefully on a dish, so that they will form a pyramid, filling the place where the core was with sugar and a little cinnamon; then pour a little apple-syrup on the whole, and bake. When done, pour a little more syrup over, and serve cold or warm.

Apple-Syrup.—Peel, quarter, and core four or six apples, of the pippin variety; cook them well in about a pint of water, a wine-glass of brandy, and a pinch of grated cinnamon; when well cooked, put them in a coarse towel, and press the juice out; put it in a stewpan and set it on a good fire; add a pound of loaf-sugar, take the foam off with a skimmer a little before it boils, and boil about five minutes; take from the fire, let cool, bottle it, corking well. It may be kept for months. Syrup with pears, pine-apple, etc., is made in the same way.

Blanc-Mange.—Set on the fire in a block-tin saucepan one quart of milk with the rind of a lemon and two tablespoonfuls of sugar; stir occasionally to melt the sugar. Then mix about six ounces of corn-starch with half a pint of milk in a bowl. As soon as the milk rises, take it from the fire; take off with a skimmer the rind of lemon, and the skin that has formed on the top of the milk; put the milk back on the fire; turn the corn-starch into it, stir continually and very fast till it is very thick. It will take hardly a minute to get thick. Turn into a mould wetted with cold water and put away to cool. When perfectly cold, serve with the following sauce: Mix well in a tin saucepan two ounces of sugar and two yolks of eggs, then add half a pint of milk and mix again; set on the fire; stir continually, give one boil; take off; let cool, and serve.

Blanc-Manger.—Throw in boiling water two ounces of sweet almonds and the same of bitter ones, or pour boiling water over them, and then skin them as soon as the skin comes off easily. Pound them well with four ounces of sugar, lay the whole in a pan with about a pint of water, set on the fire, and when on the point of boiling, take off and strain. Put in a tin saucepan about a pint of milk, the strained juice, an ounce of gelatin, a little rind of lemon, and a little nutmeg, both grated; set the whole on a moderate fire; simmer just enough to melt the gelatin and mix it with the rest, and then strain. Wet a mould with cold water, put the mixture in it, set it on ice, and serve when cool. It may be served with a sauce like the above.

Charlotte Russe.—Wipe a mould well, see that it is dry, and then line the bottom and sides with lady's-fingers, or sponge cake cut in pieces about the size of a lady's-finger. Commence by lining the bottom, placing the pieces so as to form a star or rosette, or plain, according to fancy. Then place some of them upright all around, rather tight, and even with the top of the mould. Fill with cream, well whipped, sweetened, and flavored with essence; place the mould on ice, and when ready to serve, place a dish on it, turn upside down, remove the mould, and serve as it is, or decorated.

To decorate.—Make a paper funnel, fill it with cream, or icing (sugar and white of egg worked), then spread some all over the top according to fancy; it is quickly done and is sightly. The mould may also be filled with some other cream; as crème légère, crème cuite, etc.

Charlotte à la Chantilly.—It is a Charlotte made exactly as the above one, but filled with crème à la Chantilly.

A la Polonaise.—Make a sponge cake, cut it transversely, dip each piece in cream (any kind) and then place them back where they were so as to give the cake its original form as near as possible. When thus re-formed, cover it with cream, dust with sugar, and decorate with any kind of sweetmeats. Besides the sweetmeats that are placed here and there all around, some currant-jelly may also be used to decorate. Place on ice for some time, and serve.

Italian.—Peel, quarter, and core about a quart of pears and set them on a rather slow fire, in a saucepan with half a pint of white wine, sugar, cinnamon, and lemon-rind. While they are cooking, line a mould as for Charlotte Russe, remove the lemon-rind, and fill the mould with the pears; place it on ice when cool, turn over on a dish, remove the mould, decorate with icing, or cover entirely with apple-jelly, and serve. It is also made with génoise cake instead of sponge cake.

Française.—This is prepared and served like a Charlotte Russe, with the exception that it is filled with blanc manger or fromage à la crème instead of cream.