Part 15

=Oyster Plant=--Cover omelet with stewed oyster plant in slices with a little of the liquor seasoned with butter, cream or cream sauce, before folding.

=Parsley=--Chopped parsley in omelet mixture and omelet served with parsley butter.

=Peas-green=--Same as oyster plant omelet. The dried chick peas, cooked and richly seasoned as on p. 194, make a delightful accompaniment.

=Peas-mashed=--1 tablespn. of mashed peas and ½ tablespn. of water to each egg. Salt.

=Prune=--Prunes stewed in a small quantity of water so that the syrup is rich; pitted, quartered and folded into omelet.

=Rice=--Mix boiled rice with eggs, cook soft, serve with tomato sauce if desired.

=Tomato=--Drain stewed tomatoes, season well with butter and salt, or salt only. Serve in and around omelet. Or, thick tomato pulp may be added to the egg mixture. Serve omelet plain or with cream sauce.

=Trumese Salad Entrée=--Lay strips of trumese salad entrée on half of omelet; fold, turn on to platter, pour dressing around, garnish with parsley or spinach leaves.

=Omelet with Okra in Almond Cream Sauce--delicious=

¾ tablespn. almond butter, ⅓ cup water, salt, mix, boil; add ⅔ cup drained stewed okra, heat. Serve in and around 3-egg omelet.

=Vegetable Pudding Omelet=

Put hot creamed vegetables--asparagus, peas, peas and carrot, or any preferred, in bottom of pudding dish. Cover with omelet mixture, bake in moderate oven till eggs are just creamy and delicately browned; serve at once.

=Puff Omelet=

2 eggs 2 tablespns. water salt

Mix yolks, salt and water; beat the whites to a stiff froth with a little salt, and chop into them the yolk mixture. Turn into a hot well oiled pan and set on an asbestos pad back from the direct heat of the fire. Cover and cook until the top will not stick when lightly touched with the finger. It should take from 15 to 20 m. If cooked too rapidly the omelet will fall. Fold, or slide on to a hot dish without folding. Serve plain or with any desired accompaniment.

Sauces 16, 18, 44, 50 or 75 are all suitable for the puff omelet.

If the oven is not too hot, the omelet may be baked, but it should be set on something to keep it from the bottom of the oven and may need to have a pan turned over it. May score across the top with a hot iron when omelet is not folded.

One egg only, makes a nice little omelet. It may be baked in a large muffin ring (or two small) on a griddle and served on a thin slice of toast, with or without cream sauce.

These omelets are delightful and one requires but little practice to attain perfection in them. They will admit of the same variations as the French omelet.

Fruit juices with a little sugar may be substituted for the water sometimes. The water may be omitted.

Omelet may be tinted with tomato, spinach or other colors for variety.

A delightful omelet may be made by mixing 2 teaspns. of pine nut, almond or steamed nut butter with the water.

=Foam Omelet=

Mix beaten yolks with ⅓ less water than for the puff omelet; cook until delicately jellied, spread stiffly-beaten whites near the edge of half the omelet; set on top grate of oven to warm. Fold and serve at once. Omelet may be dotted with jelly before putting the whites on. Half the beaten whites may be mixed with yolks as in puff omelets.

=Savory Puff Omelet=

2 eggs 2 tablespns. cream of nut butter 2-4 tablespns. chopped, thoroughly soaked, dried olives chopped parsley

Add olives and parsley to yolk mixture and fold in beaten whites.

=Orange Omelet=

2 eggs 2 tablespns. orange juice 2 teaspns. sugar salt bits of orange pulp with sugar

Beat yolks, add 2 teaspns. of sugar, then orange juice and then the stiffly-beaten whites. Cook, spread half of omelet with orange pulp sprinkled with sugar, fold, serve.

=Another=

Add orange juice and grated rind with a little vanilla to yolks, then beaten whites as usual. When baked, fold and dust with powdered sugar.

=Grape Omelet=

Use grape juice instead of water in puff omelet. Fold and dust with powdered sugar.

=Unroasted Nut Butter Omelet. Choice=

2 teaspns. steamed nut butter 1½ tablespn. water 2 eggs

Mix nut butter, water, yolks and a little salt; add stiffly-beaten whites and cook as puff omelet. 1½ tablespn. of cooked cream of raw nut butter may be used if more convenient.

=Almond Butter Omelet=

1 teaspn. almond butter and ½ tablespn. water to each egg; combine and cook as above.

BREAD AND BAKED OMELETS

Bread and baked omelets may be served with gravies, sweet sauces or jelly, or with green peas or asparagus, or may have corn, peas, etc., mixed with omelet before baking. They may be made of milk, cream or water. Water makes the lightest and most delicate omelets. Stale, not dry, crumbs are used.

=Baked Omelet=

2 eggs ½ teaspn. flour 2 tablespns. water 1 teaspn. oil salt

Beat all together or beat the whites of eggs separately, and bake in a slow oven until set. Fold or serve without folding. A few chopped nuts may be added when desired.

=Bread Omelet=

Pour 1 cup boiling water over 1 cup bread crumbs; let stand until soft. Beat 6 eggs just enough to mix them, add moistened bread crumbs, salt and a little chopped parsley. Turn into hot oiled omelet pan and bake on top of stove or in oven. This omelet may be baked in muffin rings on a griddle as may many omelets. Try molasses sauce with it.

=Bread and Milk Omelet=

Soak 1 cup of bread crumbs in 1 cup of sweet milk; add yolks of 3 eggs with salt, then the stiffly-beaten whites. Cook as puff omelet. Serve with or without jelly in the center.

=German Crumb Omelet=

6 eggs 1 cup water 1 cup fine bread crumbs 1 tablespn. corn starch salt a little chopped onion and parsley

Beat yolks of eggs, add corn starch blended with water, then crumbs, salt, onion and parsley. Chop in stiffly-beaten whites. Bake in oven.

=Miss Chaffee’s Cracker Omelet=

⅔ cup of cracker crumbs, fill cup with milk; when crumbs are soft, add well-beaten yolks of 3 eggs, then stiffly-beaten whites.

Cook as puff omelet. Fold and serve.

=Bread Omelet Pie=

Soak 1 cup soft bread crumbs in 1 cup hot milk or water, add 1 tablespoon of oil or butter, 1 teaspn. each chopped onion and parsley, salt, and 2 well beaten eggs. Have hot, in baking dish, a thin layer of nicely seasoned drained tomato, or trumese seasoned with oil and lemon juice, or any desired filling; cover with the omelet and bake until just set.

=Breaded Tomato Omelet=

¾ cup of crumbs soaked in 1 cup strained tomato. Add yolks of 3 eggs, 2 or 3 tablespns. cream, salt, chopped parsley and stiffly-beaten whites of eggs. Bake.

=Corn Starch Omelet. Extra Good=

3 eggs 1½ tablespn. corn starch ½ teaspn. salt ½ cup milk

Beat yolks of eggs, corn starch and salt together; add milk gradually; beat and chop in the stiffly-beaten whites of eggs. Cook as puff omelet.

=White Sauce Omelet. Unequaled=

1 cup rich milk 1 tablespn. oil or butter 5 eggs 2 tablespns. flour ½ teaspn. salt 1 teaspn. sugar

Heat butter, add flour, then hot milk and salt; pour over beaten yolks of eggs, add sugar, fold in stiffly-beaten whites; turn in to well oiled omelet pan and cook as puff omelet.

This recipe is copied almost verbatim from “A Book for a Cook,” by permission of the Pillsbury Flour Mills Company.

=Omelet Soufflé=

6 eggs 3 tablespns. powdered sugar 1 tablespn. lemon juice

Beat the yolks of the eggs with the sugar, add the lemon juice, chop in stiffly-beaten whites, heap in buttered baking dish; bake in slow oven till set. The yolks of 4 eggs only may be used.

Top of soufflé may be dusted with sugar before baking.

=★ Omelet Soufflé No. 2=

1 cup flour 1 pt. milk 1 tablespn. sugar 1 tablespn. oil or butter 5 eggs ¾ teaspn. salt

Mix flour, butter and sugar, pour boiling milk over, stirring. Boil well.

When partially cool add yolks of eggs, then the stiffly-beaten whites with salt; bake in a slow oven; serve plain or with maple syrup, honey, or hard sauce.

=Egg Timbales=

4 eggs ½ teaspn. salt a few drops of onion juice 1 cup water, milk or thin cream

Beat eggs, salt and onion juice until blended only; add liquid gradually. Divide equally among 6 well buttered timbale molds (common cups will serve the purpose). Stand in a pan half filled with hot water and bake in a moderate oven about 20 m., or till firm to the touch. Turn out carefully on heated platter and pour bread or tomato sauce around. 5 or 6 eggs are sometimes used.

A teaspn. of chopped parsley with or without onion, a few peas or a little stewed corn may be added to eggs before putting into cups.

The timbales may be served on rounds of toast or of broiled trumese or nutmese.

=Rice and Egg Timbales=

4-6 hard boiled eggs 2 cups boiled rice ¼ cup oil ½-1 cup finely-sliced celery 1 tablespn. chopped parsley salt

Slice eggs and chop a little, leaving coarse; mix with rice, celery, parsley, oil and salt and press into well oiled mold; set in pan of water in oven, cover and bake ¾-1 hour. Unmold and serve with cream sauce. Celery may be omitted and creamed celery or creamed peas served with the loaf. Individual molds may be used.

=Scalloped Eggs and Potatoes=

4 cold boiled potatoes 4 hard boiled eggs 1 pt. white sauce crumbs chopped parsley salt

Put alternate layers of sliced potatoes and eggs in serving dish, sprinkle with salt, pour white sauce (with parsley stirred through it) over. Cover with oiled crumbs and bake. Sage, savory, onion or celery salt may be added.

=★ Scalloped Eggs and Celery=

2 large bunches celery 5 hard boiled eggs 1 pt. cream sauce

Slice and cook celery and arrange in layers with the cream sauce and sliced hard boiled eggs, in oiled baking dish with the sauce on top. Sprinkle with oiled crumbs, bake.

=Eggs in Perfection=

For luncheon or for an invalid

Poach yolk of egg and rub through coarse strainer; beat white stiff with a trifle of salt and place in mound on a gilt edged plate or small platter; dot with riced yolk, sprinkle with salt, press slightly salted, green tinted, whipped cream through pastry tube in small roses on to the top. Serve immediately with wafers or long strips of zwieback.

This dish gives both the yolk and white in their most digestible form. A little thick tomato pulp may be added to the white. The cream may be dropped on with a teaspoon.

UNCOOKED EGG DISHES

Egg creams, in their great variety, are the most delightful ways of serving uncooked eggs, both for desserts and for invalids.

For preparing them, the ingredients and all utensils and dishes should be as nearly ice cold as possible.

The white of the egg should be beaten very stiff. The milk and cream should have been sterilized.

The creams must be prepared just at the time of serving as they become liquid and lose their creamy consistency very soon.

Set the glass or dish of cream on to a small plate with a doiley, and if possible lay a delicate flower or leaf beside it.

The recipes are given for one egg but several may be prepared at once, when required, by using a cake bowl for beating.

Lemon juice added to the white renders it stiffer, but other juices and liquids soften it, so small quantities of them should be used and they should be mixed in very lightly.

High colored fruits and juices should be poured between layers of the egg, not mixed with it.

=Lemon Egg Cream=

Sprinkle a trifle of salt on to the white of an egg in a bowl and beat with a revolving egg beater to a very stiff froth; then add 1 tablespn. of sugar and beat until smooth and creamy. Remove the egg beater, chop in lightly 2 teaspns. of lemon juice and remove ⅓ of the beaten white to a cold plate. Add the yolk and another teaspoon of lemon juice to the white remaining in the bowl. Chop them in lightly and quickly, not mixing very thoroughly. Drop this egg mixture into a cold glass and on top of it lay the white which was taken out. Serve at once.

All of the white may be beaten with the yolk if preferred. The whites of 2 eggs and yolk of one may be used.

A company of ladies to whom I once served this cream as a dessert pronounced it “the most delicate boiled custard” they had ever tasted.

=Raspberry Egg Cream=

Beat the white of 1 egg to a stiff froth with 1 teaspn. of sugar, chop in the yolk with 1 tablespn. of cream, drop a spoonful or two into a glass, then pour over a little rich red raspberry juice or drop on a few crushed or stewed berries. Continue this until all the egg is used. Serve at once.

A little lemon juice may be mixed with the raspberry if desired. The cream may be omitted. A part of the white may be left for the top. Strawberry, grape, currant and other juices may be substituted for raspberry. Pineapple and orange juices can be mixed with the egg: they are improved by combining with lemon juice.

=Banana Egg Cream=

Combine 1 or 2 tablespns. of fresh banana pulp and 1 tablespn. of cream with a beaten egg, leaving a part of the white on top if desired.

=Vanilla Egg Cream=

Beat the white of an egg with 1-2 teaspns. of sugar, reserving a little for the top; chop in the yolk with 1 tablespn. of cream and a delicate flavoring of vanilla; serve in a glass, with white on top of yolk mixture.

Or, for a change, beat the white and yolk separately, add half the sugar and cream to each, flavor yolk with vanilla, pile white in a dainty glass dish and pour yolk mixture over it. A little of the white may be chopped with the yolk.

=Almond Egg Cream=

Use 1 teaspn. almond butter, mixed to a thick cream with water, in place of dairy cream, in preceding recipe. Vanilla may be omitted.

=Maple or Honey Egg Cream=

Beat the white of an egg, add ⅔-1 tablespn. of maple syrup or of honey (malt extract sometimes); chop in yolk and if desired, 1 tablespn. of cream.

=Caramel Egg=

Beat white of 1 egg, add 2 teaspns. of sugar, beat, chop in yolk; pour over, stirring, the hot liquid made from boiling 1½-2 tablespns. of cereal coffee in ¾ cup of water to which 1 teaspn. of melted cocoa butter has been added. Liquid may be added cold, with a few drops of vanilla instead of cocoa butter.

=Egg and Milk=

Take 1-2 teaspns. of sugar and 3 tablespns. of milk, with the beaten egg in vanilla cream.

=Egg and Hot Milk=

Beat whole egg with 1-2 teaspns. of sugar until creamy; add a few drops of vanilla and pour over ½ cup boiling milk, stirring.

=Carbonated Egg=

Beat an egg, all together, with salt, add 1-3 tablespns. of cream and as much carbonated water as desired.

Fruit juices may be used, with or without dairy or nut cream.

The carbonated water may be used with the beaten egg only.

MUSHROOMS

The delightful flavors of mushrooms make them a valuable adjunct to the vegetarian dietary, whether or not they are classed with meat foods.

No one need to be in ignorance as to the edible ones with the many reliable books now published in regard to all varieties. But if you have not studied the subject, consult some one who is a judge before you use those you have gathered. Or, use only canned ones or those sold in the markets. Many cases of sickness have come from using mushrooms partially decayed, rather than from poisonous varieties; so be sure to reject those not entirely sound.

Mushrooms will not admit of many combinations without losing character. The simplest ways of preparing them are the best. It is a waste of time to peel any of the varieties except the puff ball.

Puff ball mushrooms are all edible when gathered at the white stage.

Overcooking toughens mushrooms. 5-20 minutes is sufficient time for any, except, perhaps, when cooked in a double boiler, then a half hour may not be too long.

Cream with water develops the flavors better than milk. Butter when used gives the same result.

When necessary to wash mushrooms, rinse up and down in cold water, rub the caps quickly, shake and drain in a colander. Often they will require rubbing only, with a soft flannel. Always cut off a thin slice from the end of the stalk and throw it away.

When the caps only are to be used in a dish, chop the stems and imperfect caps and cook for soups and sauces. Mushrooms are not expensive, as a few fresh or dried ones go a long way for flavoring. Unless plentiful, do not use mushrooms in timbales or roasts but in the sauces, where they will count. In the recipes, fresh ones are meant unless canned ones are mentioned.

=Broiled Mushrooms=

Remove stems, place in fine wire broiler, turn the gills first to the fire for 5 m., then the other side. Put a small piece of butter in the center of each mushroom, sprinkle with salt, broil 5 m. Lay carefully on to pieces of toast or thin toasted wafers or slices of broiled trumese, skin side up, and serve at once. Melted butter may be poured over mushrooms on toast instead of putting butter into them while broiling. Caps are sometimes dipped in salt and olive oil and broiled after standing in a cold place for an hour. The heat should not be too intense for broiling.

=Baked Mushrooms=

Cut off part of stems, lay tops down in shallow baking pan, dust with salt, put a small piece of butter in each mushroom, bake 20 m. in hot oven. Serve in pan, or on toast with sauce from pan poured over.

=Steamed Mushrooms=

Put mushrooms in saucepan or double boiler with salt and no water. Cover close, cook 20-30 m. Add hot cream or butter mixed with a little flour, heat. Serve on toast, cutlets of corn meal porridge, rice cutlets or slices of broiled trumese. Butter, 2 tablespns. to the pound of mushrooms, may be added when put to cooking and no milk or cream used.

=Stewed Mushrooms=

Cut mushrooms into sixths or eighths or slices. Cook in small quantity of water 10-15 m., add cream, or milk and butter, enough to moisten toast. Heat, serve on toast.

=★ Creamed Mushrooms=

Stew mushrooms in a larger quantity of water, add cream, and thicken to the consistency of very heavy cream. Serve in dainty shells of pastry crust, or on toast or wafers, surrounded with green peas or not.

A small quantity of mushrooms will go a long way in this way.

=Mushroom Stew=

Add cooked fresh or dried mushrooms to thickened consommé. Serve over rice or macaroni or in rice border.

=Stewed Canned Mushrooms=

Drain mushrooms, if large cut into quarters and put into rich egg or cream sauce without further cooking.

Canned mushrooms (except home canned) are esteemed more for the feeling between the teeth than for their flavor and are at their best in pies, scallops and creams.

=Dried Mushrooms=

Wash dried mushrooms well, soak 4-12 hours in water or milk, simmer for 5 m. only, in the liquid in which they were soaked. Use in soups, sauces or stews, in small quantities, as the flavor is very rich.

=Pickled Mushrooms=

Soak mushrooms pickled in salt, for 24 hours, changing the water several times; drain, and if to be cooked in batter dry between the folds of a towel. Use cutlets of trumese batter with them, or with soaked dried mushrooms.

=Puff Balls=

Pare and cut puff ball mushrooms into half-inch slices. Simmer in butter or olive oil, with or without dipping in egg, and season with salt. Or, stew and serve as other mushrooms.

=Mushrooms in Rice Rings=

Shape cups of steamed or boiled rice in muffin rings, fill with creamed mushrooms or Boundary Castle sauce, protose and mushrooms à la crême, thin, or with mushroom stew.

=Sister McBurnie’s Chop Seuey=

shredded cabbage shredded celery chopped onion mushrooms in quarters or eighths cream, salt a little butter if used

Put into close covered vessel in oven, bake 25-35 m. Onion may be omitted.

=Mushrooms à la Crême=

Use all mushrooms in recipe for celery and mushrooms à la crême p. 115, or all fresh mushrooms in trumese and mushrooms à la crême p. 165.

=Fresh Mushrooms--Under Glass Globe with Cream=

Cover the bottom of a porcelain dish with toast. On the toast pile mushrooms, gills down, several rows high, sprinkling with salt. Pour ⅓-½ cup of cream on to the mushrooms, cover with the globe or bell and simmer on the top of the stove 20-30 m.

The cover is removed after the plate is placed before the guest. This quantity is served for luncheon when the dish is the principal one of the meal. For a single course, a smaller portion of toast would be required and not more than 4 or 5 mushroom caps.

The dishes may be baked in the oven.

=Mushroom Timbales=

1 cup stewed mushrooms in pieces 1 tablespn. butter 1 tablespn. chopped onion 1 tablespn. chopped parsley 2 level tablespns. flour salt ½ cup consommé or milk 2 yolks of eggs 1 tablespn. milk

Simmer onion in butter, add parsley, flour, and milk or consommé. Remove from fire, add yolks of eggs beaten with the tablespn. of milk, salt and mushrooms. Fill small molds which have been garnished as desired, bake in pan of water 20 m. or until set. Unmold on to rounds of toast, surround with thick mushroom sauce.

The timbales may be made of canned mushrooms and served with rich cream sauce.

=Mushroom and Oyster Plant Pie=

_Sauce_--

2½ tablespns. melted butter 2½-3 tablespns. flour 1½ cup water (part mushroom liquor if any) ½ cup cream salt

Mix the flour and butter, pour boiling water over, stirring, add cream and salt.

Put cooked oyster plant and mushrooms in pieces (⅔ oyster plant, ⅓ mushrooms), 1 pt. in all, into baking dish. Pour sauce over, cover with universal or pastry crust and proceed as in trumese pie.

Substitute stewed potatoes for oyster plant with either crust, or cover with a thin crust of mashed lentils, or use celery in place of oyster plant and cover with a rice crust.

=★ Cream of Fresh Mushroom Soup=

Cook chopped imperfect caps and stems of mushrooms in water 5-10 m. Add more water if necessary and heavy cream; thicken with flour to the consistency of heavy cream. Add salt and a few cooked caps if desired, or, from 1-3 caps may be placed in each dish when the soup is served.

This soup cannot be improved upon.

=★ Boundary Castle Soup=

Add sufficient water with salt to Boundary Castle sauce to make of the consistency of soup. Very delicious.

Directions for canning and drying mushrooms pp. 71 and 72.

STUFFINGS AND DRESSINGS

The quantity of liquid, if any, must be determined by the purpose the dressing is to be used for and the dryness of the ingredients. As a rule, dressings are better without eggs.

Dressings may sometimes be put over the top of suitable meat pies for the crust.

They may also be put into the bottom of a well oiled tin or pudding dish with slices of or minced nut meat or mashed legumes on top, baked and inverted on a platter or chop tray for serving; garnished with halves of nut meats, accompanied of course with a suitable gravy.

Whole pine nuts, or broken nuts of different kinds may sometimes be used in stuffings.

=Simple Dressing=

Dip slices of stale bread into salted hot water quickly. Lay them in a baking tin and sprinkle delicately with powdered leaf sage or savory. When a sufficient number of layers is prepared, sprinkle with crumbs and a little more water if necessary. Bake in a quick oven about 20 m., or until browned over the top. Serve on a platter with some ragout over it.

Or, bake in a pudding dish and send to the table to be served with the meat dish with gravy.

=Savory Dressing=

Crumbs, egg or not, butter or oil, parsley, thyme, sage, summer savory, onion juice and salt.

=Danish Dressing=

3 large tart apples, chopped 1 cup cooked rice 3 chopped onions ½ cup dry bread crumbs 1 cup English currants a very little thyme, sage or savory salt a little melted butter hot water if necessary

=Onion and Parsley Stuffing=