The Century Cook Book Part 39

=ROASTED TOMATOES=

Peel the tomatoes; cut a piece off the top, and remove a little of the pulp. Put a piece of b.u.t.ter or a few drops of oil in each one; dust with salt and pepper, replace the top, sprinkle it with crumbs, pepper, and salt. Put a small piece of b.u.t.ter or a little oil on each one, and place on a slice of bread. Bake in oven fifteen to twenty minutes.

=BROILED TOMATOES=

Cut the tomatoes horizontally in two; leave the skins on. Place them on a broiler with the skin side down; dust with salt and pepper, and broil, without turning, over a moderate fire fifteen to twenty minutes, or until tender. Lay them on a hot dish, and spread each piece with either b.u.t.ter, oil, maitre d'hotel sauce, hot Mayonnaise or Bearnaise; or the tomatoes may be cut into thick slices, covered with oil, and then broiled, turning frequently.

=TOMATO FARCI=

Cut the tomatoes in halves; place them in a frying-pan, the open side down, in one half inch deep of hot fat. Move them about until they are cooked a little tender. Then lift them carefully without breaking, and place them side by side in a baking-dish. Pour a little sweet oil around them; sprinkle with chopped garlic, and parsley, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Bake in hot oven fifteen to twenty minutes. Serve in same dish.

=GREEN PEAS=

The flavor of peas, and also the time required for cooking them, depends very much upon their freshness. Put them into salted boiling water, and do not cover the saucepan; boil ten to twenty minutes, or until soft enough to be easily mashed. Drain off the water, and season with pepper, salt, and b.u.t.ter. Mix in the seasoning carefully with a fork, so as not to break the peas. Sometimes a little sugar improves them. Use plenty of water in boiling, and do not let them be overcooked, as this is as bad a fault as having them underdone. When canned peas are used turn them onto a sieve, and rinse them off with cold water (this will remove the taste of the can, which they sometimes have); add the seasoning, and let them become thoroughly heated. They do not require any more cooking.

=PUReE OF PEAS=

Boil the peas until very tender; mash and press them through a sieve.

Place them again in the saucepan, and stir into them enough hot milk, pepper and salt, to well moisten and season them; add also some b.u.t.ter, and a very little sugar.

Dried peas may be used in this way, but require soaking and long boiling. The puree makes a pretty garnish pressed through a pastry bag like potato roses (see page 202), or into a fancy border around a dish.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FORMS OF PUReE FOR GARNIs.h.i.+NG. (SEE PAGES 209, 210, AND 217.)]

=STRING BEANS=

Remove carefully all the strings; cut the beans into one-quarter inch pieces, laying a number together, and cutting them at one time; or cut each bean lengthwise into four strips, and lay them evenly together.

Place them in salted boiling water, and boil uncovered until tender; drain off the water, and season with salt, pepper, and b.u.t.ter, or mix with them just enough white sauce (page 277) to coat them well.

=FLAGEOLETS=

If the dried beans are used soak them several hours in cold water; then throw them into salted boiling water, and boil until tender, but not soft enough to break. Use plenty of water in boiling them, and drain well. Season with b.u.t.ter, salt, and pepper. If cooked right the beans will be glossy. They are good also as a puree, the same as puree of peas (see page 209).

=LIMA BEANS=

Put them into salted boiling water, and cook until tender, then drain off the water. Moisten them with b.u.t.ter, and season with salt and pepper; and add, if convenient, a little hot cream, or cover with white sauce.

=SPINACH=

Put a half peck of spinach into cold water to freshen; pick it over carefully, removing all the wilted and yellow leaves. Pa.s.s it through five changes of water to free it from grit. Put it in a saucepan; enough water will cling to it for the cooking. Cover the saucepan; stir occasionally so it does not burn. After fifteen minutes add a tablespoonful of salt, and cook five minutes longer; then turn it into a colander to drain; when it is dry chop it very fine. Put into a saucepan one and a half tablespoonfuls of b.u.t.ter, and one tablespoonful of flour.

After they are a little cooked add a teaspoonful of salt, dash of pepper, and the spinach. Cook five minutes; then add a half cupful of cream or milk, and cook another five minutes. Stir constantly, to prevent burning. Taste to see if the seasoning is right. Serve either in a vegetable dish, or in the center of a dish with chops around it, or in bread boxes as shown in ill.u.s.tration; or press the spinach into individual timbale molds, place each form on a square of toast, and garnish the top of each one in imitation of a daisy by placing in the center some of the yolks of hard-boiled eggs which have been pressed through a sieve, and around this center a circle of the whites of the eggs chopped fine; or a thick slice of hard-boiled egg may be pressed into the top of each mold.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SPINACH SERVED IN CROUSTADES OR BREAD-BOXES.]

=SPINACH SOUFFLe=

Take a cupful of spinach which has been prepared as directed above (any that is left over can be utilized in this way); mix with it the beaten yolk of an egg, and stir it over the fire until the egg is set. Let it cool. When ready to serve stir into it lightly the well-beaten whites of three eggs. Fill individual china cups or b.u.t.tered paper boxes half full, and place them in a hot oven for ten to fifteen minutes. Serve at once. Like any souffle, it will fall if not sufficiently baked, or if not served very promptly.

=CHARTREUSE OF SPINACH OR OF CABBAGE=

Boil a large carrot and turnip; cut them into slices lengthwise three eighths of an inch thick, then into strips of the same width. b.u.t.ter well a tin basin, with slightly flaring sides, or a plain mold. Ornament the bottom with hard-boiled egg, or with fancy pieces of the vegetables.

Around the sides of the mold place close together alternate strips of the carrot and turnip. If the mold is well b.u.t.tered they will easily hold in place. Fill the center with spinach or with seasoned chopped cabbage, and press it down so it is quite firm; smooth the top and cut off the strips of vegetable so that they are even. Heat the chartreuse by placing the mold in a pan of hot water and putting both in the oven for a few minutes. Turn the chartreuse on a flat dish to serve. A white or a vinaigrette sauce goes well with this dish. Birds, veal cutlets, chops, chicken, or sweetbreads may be placed on top of the chartreuse if desired.

[Ill.u.s.tration: CHARTREUSE OF SPINACH. (SEE PAGES 83 AND 211.)

Border of alternate strips of carrot and turnip. Top circles of carrot and turnip.]

=ASPARAGUS=

Sc.r.a.pe the stalks; let them stand in cold water for half an hour; tie them again into a bundle and make them uniform in length; put them into salted boiling water and cook about twenty minutes or until tender, but not so soft as to be limp. Place the asparagus on b.u.t.tered toast and remove the string. Serve with the asparagus, but separately, plain melted b.u.t.ter, a white, or a Hollandaise sauce. Cold boiled asparagus is served as a salad with plain French dressing (see page 375) or with cold Bearnaise sauce.

=ASPARAGUS TIPS=

Cut the asparagus stalks into pieces about an inch long, and as far down as tender. Cook them in salted boiling water. Drain and stir into them just enough white sauce to well coat them.

CABBAGE

[Sidenote: Cabbage.]

[Sidenote: Cauliflower.]

[Sidenote: Brussels sprouts.]

[Sidenote: Kohlrabi.]

Four vegetables are the result of the cabbage plant by cultivation. As the rose changes its character under the hand of the floriculturist, so it is with cabbage at the hand of the gardener. First is the cabbage, which is the leafy bud that stores up food for a flower the next year.

Second, the cauliflower, which is a cl.u.s.ter (corymb) of forced cabbage flowers. Third, Brussels sprouts. The leaves are picked off, and small buds form along the stem; and fourth, kohlrabi, which is the leaves turned into a fleshy tuberous-like vegetable. In these results two of the phases, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts, are much esteemed, and are given rank with the best vegetables, while cabbage and kohlrabi have little favor, and are considered coa.r.s.e and vulgar foods.

The cabbage, however, if properly cooked, will be found an exceedingly palatable vegetable, which very closely resembles cauliflower.

=BOILED CABBAGE=

If this receipt is exactly followed, this much-despised vegetable will be found very acceptable, and its odor will not be perceptible through the house. Cut the cabbage into good-sized pieces, take off the outside leaves, and cut away the hard core. Wash it well in two changes of water, and place the pieces, open side down, on a colander to drain.