“EntrÉes are the dishes served between any of the regular courses,” one writer says. Another, “EntrÉes—a conventional term for side dishes.” EntrÉes proper may or may not have a large proportion of strength giving elements; but in this book we are placing the foods richest in proteids under the head of “true meats.”

As many entrÉes make good breakfast, luncheon and supper dishes and vice versa, it seemed best to group these all together.

CROQUETTES

Egg for dipping croquettes should be slightly beaten with a pinch of salt and 1 teaspn. to 1 tablespn. of water to each egg.

The whites of eggs alone (beaten just enough to mix with the water), also yolks alone or crumbs without egg may be used.

Crumbs may be cracker, zwieback, dry bread or granella. Corn meal, flour, or a mixture of crumbs and flour are used for dipping. For vegetable and cereal croquettes, the nut meals are excellent.

Mix fine chopped onion and parsley with egg or crumbs sometimes for croquettes.

Full directions for shaping and baking are given with trumese croquettes.

Suitable croquettes or patties may be served on beds of pilau, or on plain boiled rice with gravy, or with macaroni in cream sauce, and some are used as garnishes or accompaniments for true meat dishes.

Croquette Sauce

• 1–2 tablespns. butter
• 2–2½ tablespns. flour
• 1 cup hot milk
• ¾–1 teaspn. salt

1 teaspn. grated onion may be used when suitable and also 1 egg, but croquettes are more creamy without the egg.

Rub the butter and flour together, add boiling milk, stirring; boil, remove from fire, add whatever is to be used for croquettes, cool thoroughly, shape into cones or rolls, set in cold place until ready to use.

This quantity is sufficient for the equivalent of 2 cups of fine chopped meat.

Corn Croquettes

• 1 pt. grated corn, (or 1 can of corn well drained)
• 1 pt. stale bread crumbs
• 2 tablespns. flour.
• 1 egg
• salt

Mix, shape, bake. These croquettes may be breaded only. They may be used as garnish for a timbale if shaped in cones or balls, or served with cream sauce as a separate course.

Celery Croquettes

• 1 cup mashed potato
• ¾ cup finely-sliced celery
• 1–1½ teaspn. butter
• 2 tablespns. chopped nuts (not too fine)
• salt

Do not cook celery. Mix all ingredients while potato is hot. Cool, shape, egg and crumb. Stand in cold place until ready to bake.

Rice Croquettes—cold boiled rice

Add 2 or 3 tablespns. milk to 2 cups cold boiled rice. Heat in double boiler until softened; then add 1 tablespn. butter, 1 beaten egg and salt. Cream may be used instead of milk and butter. Cool, shape, roll in nut meal, bake. Serve as garnish for a ragout, or with stewed green peas, cream or lentil gravy, or maple syrup or jelly.

Rice Croquettes No.2

Cook 1 cup of rice in a quart of milk with a level teaspn. of salt, in a double boiler until rice is tender and milk absorbed. Add yolks of 4 eggs or 2 whole eggs, and 2–4 tablespns. sugar. Cool, shape, egg, crumb, bake. Serve with strawberry or fig sauce, or with quince, elderberry, or some not too tart jelly. May cook rice in half milk and half water, and if desired add a little butter. Sugar may be omitted.

Rice and Fig Croquettes

Add 1 cup of fine cut or ground fresh figs to the preceding recipe, with less or no sugar: 1 teaspn. of vanilla also if desired, and serve with orange or cream sauce as dessert at luncheon.

Bread Croquettes

• 1 tablespn. butter
• 2 tablespns. flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 egg
• salt
• bread crumbs

Heat, do not brown, butter, add flour and stir smooth; pour milk in hot, when smooth, remove from fire, add salt and egg and enough bread crumbs to shape. Cool, shape into balls or rolls, bake. Serve as a garnish or as a separate dish with or without sauce. The mixture may be flavored with some of the sweet herbs or minced onion.

Oyster Plant Patties

• 1 pt. cooked pulp of oyster plant
• 2 tablespns. cream, with oyster liquor to make a large half-cup (or 1 tablespn. butter with milk and the liquor)
• 2 eggs, or about ¼ cup cracker crumbs
• salt

Mix all ingredients; sprinkle buttered shells or scallop dishes with crumbs, put a spoonful of the mixture in each and sprinkle tops of patties with crumbs. Bake in moderate oven on top grate 5–10 m., serve at once.

Patties may be served as a second course at dinner, or for a luncheon dish.

For pulp, grind about three bunches of oyster plant through the medium cutter of a food chopper. Cook in a small amount of water until just tender, adding salt about 5 m. before removing from the fire.

Asparagus en Croustade

Cut the top crust from gems baked in flat oblong, or round gem pans, and remove the soft inside part. Warm in oven. Have ready one cup hot cooked asparagus tips.

• 3 tablespns. butter
• 5–6 tablespns. flour
• 3 cups hot milk
• salt
• 1 egg

Prepare the sauce as usual, adding beaten egg last, heat without boiling, carefully stir in the asparagus tips, fill the crusts and serve. A few tips may be reserved and pressed into the sauce after crusts are filled, leaving the heads sticking up. Green peas or stringless beans may be substituted for asparagus. Patty pan pastry crusts may be used.

Oyster Plant en Croustade

Remove soft inside crumbs (they will go into a roast) from gems. Fill with oyster plant in cream sauce, sprinkle with crumbs and chopped parsley. Heat in oven, serve with celery plain or fringed.

May use pastry crusts.

Vegetable Cutlets

Grate or grind carrots; cook, salt, drain. Cut young tender string beans into small pieces and cook in salted water. Mix with nicely seasoned mashed potato, add grated onion, a trifle of crushed garlic if liked, chopped parsley, and salt if necessary; shape into oblong cakes, egg, crumb or dip into corn meal or flour. Pour a little melted butter over them in the pan and brown in a quick oven. Serve with cream sauce, at once.

The mixture may be enclosed in pastry crust as surprise biscuit.

? Squash Cutlets

Cook young, tender Fordhook or crook-neck squash in ½ in. slices. Dip in egg and flour or crumbs. Bake, covered at first. on well oiled griddle or in covered pan in rather hot oven 25–35 m. or until squash is tender. Serve as soon as done as an entrÉe or as a garnish.

May soak slices in ice water ½–1 hour; drain and wipe dry before dipping.

Cucumber Cutlets

Slice cucumbers in thick slices across, or if small cut into halves lengthwise. Wipe dry with a towel if soaked in ice water. Dip in egg and crumbs or cracker dust. Bake covered in hot oven until tender, 20–30 m. Serve as luncheon dish or as garnish for a meat dish.

A little fine chopped onion may be sprinkled over before baking.

? Cutlets of Corn Meal Porridge, or Hasty Pudding

Make corn meal porridge just thick enough to mold, not stiff. Cook thoroughly and turn into bread tins or other molds which have been wet in cold water. When cold, slice, egg and crumb, or dip in flour (No.1, browned, best). Brown in hot oven. Serve plain or with mushroom sauce or maple syrup for supper, breakfast or luncheon. In small round or square slices it may be used as a garnish for creamed vegetables or true meat dishes.

For variety, coarse chopped nuts may be stirred into the porridge before molding.

Porridge may be molded in small egg cups and finished the same as slices.

Rice Cutlets

Put hot boiled rice (cooked in water or part milk) into square mold or brick shaped bread tin which has been wet in cold water, cover close and stand in cold place. Slice, dip in oil or melted butter and crumbs and bake in quick oven. Serve with green peas, mushroom or any desired sauce, or with jelly, honey or maple syrup.

Dip in egg and crumbs, or in French toast mixture when preferred.

Corn Cakes

Bake in thick cakes on griddle on top of stove or in oven.

Corn Cakes No.2

• 2 cups grated corn (about 8 ears)
• 3 eggs
• 2 tablespns. milk.
• salt
• cracker crumbs to thicken

Bake on griddle on top of stove or set in oven on grate after being dropped on to hot griddle, or bake in shallow gem pans.

? Corn Oysters

• 2–2½ cups (8 small ears) grated corn not too young
• 2 beaten eggs
• salt

Drop batter in small spoonfuls on hot buttered griddle. Brown delicately on both sides and serve at once. Fine cut celery may be added to the batter before baking. Add a few cracker crumbs (not bread crumbs or flour) if corn is very milky. Canned corn does not make good oysters.

? Oyster Plant Griddle Cakes

• 1 cup mixed rich milk and oyster plant broth
• 2 level tablespns. flour
• 1½ cup oyster plant cooked in slices
• 1 egg
• salt
• about ½ cup rolled cracker

Bake on hot buttered griddle on stove or top grate of oven.

? Corn Custards

• ½ cup grated corn
• 1–2 teaspns. sugar
• ¾–1 teaspn. salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk

Beat eggs and mix with other ingredients, turn into oiled custard cups, set in pan of water in oven and bake until firm in the center. May be served in the cups, or turned out carefully after standing a few minutes. Serve with wafers or as accompaniment to meat dishes.

? Celery Custards

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• ¾ cup fine cut celery
• 1 tablespn. melted butter
• ½ tablespn. chopped onion
• ½ teaspn. salt

Simmer onion and celery in butter without browning. Beat eggs and mix all ingredients. Turn into custard cups; bake in pan of water, covered, until egg is set; after standing a few minutes, turn out of cups on to individual dishes. Serve with ripe olives and wafers or as a garnish to meat dish. May turn on to broiled rounds of trumese.

? Onion Custards

• 2 cups fine sliced onion
• a little fine sliced celery
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespns. cream
• salt

Cook onions in very little water until tender; drain slightly, add celery and other ingredients. Bake in custard cups or individual soufflÉ dishes until firm in center. Unmold on to platter or chop tray and surround with green peas in cream sauce. Onions may be rubbed through colander after cooking.

Celery and Mushrooms À la CrÊme

• 1¼ qt. celery in inch slices
• 1 cup mushrooms in quarters or eighths

Cook celery and mushrooms separate and drain.

• ¼ cup oil and melted butter
• ¼–½ cup chopped onion
• ¾ cup flour
• 1 egg or yolk only
• 1 teaspn. chopped parsley
• salt

Simmer onion in oil and add flour, then boiling water to leave stiff (perhaps about 1 pt.); when smooth remove from fire, add salt, parsley and beaten egg. Use liquid drained from celery and mushrooms with water in the sauce. Put layers of sauce, cooked celery and mushrooms in baking dish with sauce on top. Sprinkle with crumbs or corn meal, heat and brown in oven. A little garlic may be used and sometimes a small quantity of cream with a very little strained tomato in the sauce.

Young Lima Beans À la CrÊme

Cook young tender Lima beans and use in place of celery and mushrooms in above.

Asparagus Tips À la CrÊme

Use cooked asparagus tips with the heads sticking up out of the cream a little, instead of celery and mushrooms, in Celery and Mushrooms À la CrÊme.

Oyster Plant and Mushrooms À la CrÊme

Cook sliced oyster plant (large slices cut in quarters) not too soft in a small quantity of water. Drain and use in place of trumese in Trumese and Mushrooms À la CrÊme, of Trumese Dishes, using oyster plant liquor instead of water in the sauce.

Macaroni and Mushrooms À la CrÊme

Use one of the smaller varieties of macaroni, one that will make the desired size when cooked, in place of trumese in Trumese and Mushrooms À la CrÊme, of Trumese Dishes.

Green Corn Pudding

Accompaniment to roasts, timbales or other meat dishes, or a luncheon or supper dish.

• 3 cups (12 ears) grated corn
• 1 tablespn. sugar if corn is not sweet
• 2 tablespns. butter if desired
• 1 qt. milk
• 1 teaspn. salt
• 4 eggs

Rub butter and sugar together, add yolks of eggs, beat a little, add corn and salt, mix; add milk, and when smooth chop in the stiffly-beaten whites of the eggs. Bake in slow oven about 1 hour. Cover until near the last.

Corn Pudding—no milk

• 3 cups corn pulp
• 2–3 tablespns. melted butter
• 1 tablespn. sugar if necessary
• 1 egg
• salt

If corn is very old a little liquid may be required, or if very milky a few cracker crumbs. Bake in pie plates or pudding dish to a nice brown.

Corn Pudding—no eggs

• 3 cups corn pulp
• 1 pt. milk
• 1 tablespn. melted butter
• 1 tablespn. sugar if required
• 1 teaspn. salt.

Bake one hour in moderate oven.

Canned corn may be used in winter. Add ½ cup of sugar and serve as a dessert sometimes.

Oyster Plant Pudding—no eggs

• 8 large roots of oyster plant (1 pt. after cooking)
• 2 level tablespns. butter
• 1 tablespn. cream
• 1 tablespn. oyster liquor
• 1 tablespn. milk
• salt

Grind scraped oyster plant through medium cutter of food chopper, cook in as small an amount of water as possible until tender, not soft; add salt, drain and add the other ingredients. Put into a baking dish, sprinkle with cracker crumbs or granella and chopped parsley. Turn a little melted butter over and brown in oven.

Sweet Potato Pudding

• 1 large sweet potato
• 1 qt. milk
• 1 tablespn. butter
• 4 eggs
• salt

Peel and grate raw potato. Pour hot milk over and let it boil up. Remove from fire, add salt, butter and beaten eggs; bake in buttered pudding dish in moderate oven 20 m. or until firm in center.

This dish (with the eggs and milk) may serve as the meat dish of a meal.

Squash Pudding

To each pint of mashed winter squash add 1–1½ tablespn. almond or dairy cream (and if squash is very dry, a little milk), ¾–1 teaspn. salt, 1 teaspn. sugar and 1 beaten egg. Bake in pudding dish in moderate oven about 20 m. May sprinkle with bread crumbs. A little minced onion may be used in the pudding.

? Carrot Pudding

• 1 cup mashed carrot
• ½ cup corn
• ½ cup stewed tomato from which the juice has been drained
• 1 tablespn. chopped onion
• 2 eggs
• salt
• chopped parsley

Mix all ingredients, beating eggs slightly, turn into baking dish, sprinkle with crumbs and parsley. Bake until firm in the center.

Scalloped Asparagus

Make a thin cream sauce of cream and the water in which the asparagus was cooked, cover the bottom of a serving dish with sauce, put in a layer of asparagus cooked in short pieces (the tips may have been used for croustades) and sprinkle with cracker crumbs; continue layers, cover top with thin or split crackers, pour sauce over, sprinkle with chopped parsley, bake 15–20 m.

Sister Ford’s Scalloped Cabbage—Delicious

Chop a nice head of cabbage or shave it fine and put it into a baking dish with alternate layers of bread or zwieback crumbs. Turn over it enough rich milk, to which a little salt has been added, to half cover it. Let it boil up once and then set where it will stew slowly until the cabbage is tender, but no longer.

Scalloped Egg Plant

Cut egg plant into slices ½–¾ in. thick. Peel and put into a large quantity of cold water over the fire and bring to the boiling point, boil 5 m. and drain. Repeat the process, add salt to the third water, boil 10 m. and drain. Put into scallop dish in layers with bread or cracker crumbs—just a few, cover with rich milk or thin cream and bake covered until the slices are tender, ½ hr. or longer. Uncover, brown and serve. The egg plant may be cut into large cubes.

Armenian Scallop of Egg Plant

• 1 large egg plant
• 1½–2 cups strained or unstrained tomato
• ½ cup sliced or chopped onion
• 3 or 4 cloves of garlic, fine
• chopped parsley
• salt
• 2 tablespns. butter or oil
• a few bread crumbs

Prepare egg plant as in preceding recipe; mix onion, garlic, salt and a part of the crumbs. Sprinkle mixture in bottom of baking dish, and between and on top of layers of egg plant. Turn the tomato over all, cover with crumbs, sprinkle with parsley, dot with butter or pour oil over. Cover and bake 1½–2 hours. Brown on top grate of oven.

Scalloped Onions

Stew sliced onions until tender, drain and put in baking dish with layers of bread crumbs; add salt and a little melted butter to each layer, nearly cover with milk, sprinkle with crumbs and bake until well browned. The butter may be omitted and a little cream added to the milk.

Scalloped Raw Potatoes

Slice potatoes very thin, put in layers into scallop dish, sprinkling each layer lightly with flour or cracker crumbs and salt until dish is ? full. Nearly cover with milk, sprinkle with crumbs, bake 1 hour or until potatoes are tender. Cover at first and watch that milk does not boil over. A very little chopped onion in the potatoes improves them. When flour is used it is better to mix the milk and flour and pour over the potatoes.

A quicker way is to cook the sliced potatoes in boiling salted water for 10 m., before putting them into the scallop dish.

Potatoes Scalloped—raw nut butter and onions

Cooked sliced potatoes for 10 m. in boiling, salted water, drain, put into baking dish in layers with fine chopped onion, and pour a liberal amount of nut milk (made in the proportion of 4 tablespns. of raw nut butter, with salt, to each qt. of water) over them. When the potatoes are tender and the milk just creamy, sprinkle the top with browned flour No.1, pour a little oil over, and brown on top grate of oven. Serve at once.

Scalloped Cooked Potatoes

Potatoes cooked in their jackets until nearly done are best for this purpose and it is a good way to use up small and irregular shaped ones. Slice or dice the potatoes, put into dish in layers with thin cream sauce, chopped parsley and onion, have sauce on top, sprinkle with crumbs, bake 20 m. Without the onion they are called Cottage Potatoes.

Scalloped Sweet Potatoes

Prepare and cook the same as scalloped Irish potatoes, without onion.

Scalloped Squash

A squash that is not as good cooked in other ways may be used for this dish. Pare and cut into small pieces, boil or steam until just tender, not soft. Arrange in layers in oiled baking dish with salt, a little sugar and if used, a little butter. Pour over a very little milk or (if no butter is used) thin cream, not more than ½–? of a cup for a good sized dish. Bake covered at first, then brown. Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving. A trifle of ground coriander or anise seed may be used, but the natural flavor of the squash is best.

Scalloped Oyster Plant

• 1 qt. cooked sliced oyster plant (1½ qt., 2 bunches, before cooking)
• ? cup cracker crumbs
• 1¼ cup oyster liquor
• 1¼ cup milk
• 2 tablespns. melted butter
• 1 egg
• salt

Mix oyster plant liquor, milk, butter and salt. Put oyster plant into a baking dish with a sprinkling of cracker crumbs between layers, pour part of mixed liquid over. Sprinkle crumbs on top and turn the last cup of liquid over, after beating the egg with it. Bake covered until just bubbling, then remove cover and brown by setting on top grate of oven.

Scallop of Oyster Plant

Cook 1? qt. sliced oyster plant in 1? qt. water, adding salt before draining. To the water drained off add ½–1 cup heavy cream. Boil and thicken with flour to the consistency of thin cream; add salt and pour over oyster plant which has been arranged in baking dish with a slight sprinkling of stale bread crumbs between the layers and on top. Be careful not to use too many crumbs. Bake a half hour or until well heated through and nicely browned. Sprinkle with chopped parsley before or after baking.

Oyster Plant Scallop

• 1 pt. cooked oyster plant pulp prepared as for patties
• 2 level tablespns. butter
• 2 level tablespns. flour
• 1 cup cream (or ½ cream and ½ oyster liquor)
• salt
• 2 eggs

Rub butter and flour together; add cream hot. Boil, remove from fire, add beaten eggs, salt and oyster pulp. Put into patty cases, other individual dishes or baking dish, buttered. Sprinkle with crumbs and chopped parsley, heat to bubbling and brown, in oven.

Scalloped Tomatoes

Place equal quantities of salted stewed tomatoes and delicately browned croutons in dice as for soup, in layers in baking dish with a little melted butter poured over each layer. Cover with the croutons and sprinkle with melted butter. Bake, covered part of the time, 15–20 m. Crumbs or thin slices of zwieback, or granella may be substituted for dice.

Scalloped Tomatoes—onion flavor

Thin layers of bread or zwieback, or of cracker or bread crumbs, with thick slices (or double layers) of peeled tomatoes, salt and onion juice. Cover with crumbs, turn a little melted butter over, sprinkle with chopped parsley. Bake, covered most of the time.

Scalloped Celery and Tomato

• 1 qt. finely-sliced celery
• 1½ qt. stewed tomato with a little of the juice drained off
• ¼–½ cup chopped onion
• 2–3 teaspns. salt

Put half the celery, onion, tomato, and salt into a baking dish in the order given, and repeat with the remaining half. Cover with small dice or coarse crumbs of bread. Turn a little cream or melted butter over the top, cover and bake 1¼–1½ hr. in moderate oven. The onion may be omitted.

Tomatoes Scalloped with Rice and Onion

Put layers of boiled rice and tomato with thin sliced onion, salt and a little butter or oil in baking dish, sprinkle with crumbs and parsley. Bake, covered, in moderate oven, brown on top grate just before serving.

Creamed Sweet Potatoes

Cover sliced, cooked sweet potatoes in serving dish with cream or thin cream sauce. Sprinkle with crumbs and parsley if desired. Heat gently in oven until a delicate brown.

? Baked Creamed Tomatoes

• 1 pt. strained stewed tomatoes
• 1¼ cup stale bread crumbs
• ¼–½ cup sweet cream
• salt

Let crumbs stand in tomato until well softened, rub through a colander, add cream and salt. Bake in serving dish until delicately browned on top and well heated through. Let stand in warm place 10–20 m. before serving.

Spinach SoufflÉ

½ peck spinach (2 cups cooked). Cook; drain very dry and rub through a fine colander. Add 1 teaspn. oil or melted butter, beat in the yolks of 2 eggs and fold in the whites beaten moderately stiff. Fill well oiled mold about ¾ full. Set in pan of hot water and bake (covered until nearly done) in moderate or slow oven until firm in the center, 45–60 m. Do not bake too rapidly or too long. When done, set the mold out of the water, let it stand a moment to settle, and invert carefully on to a platter or chop tray. Serve at once with quarters or sixths of lemon or with one of the cream sauces, or with Sauce AmÈricaine.

Baked tomatoes are very suitable for a garnish or accompaniment.

Individual Daisy SoufflÉs make pretty garnishes for timbales and molds. Small custard cups, or the imported tin molds, being suitable for them. Oil molds well with cold oil or softened (not melted) butter and leave in a cool place.

Prepare daisies by cutting a small round piece from a slice of hard-boiled yolk of egg and six diamond shaped pieces from the poached white, for each, and arrange like daisies in the bottom of the mold, the oil holding them in place.

Press the spinach mixture into the molds, taking care not to displace the daisies, and bake the same as the large mold, only a shorter time, 30–35 m., or until puffed in the center and firm to the touch. Invert on to rounds of toast and place as desired.

Mashed Potato Loaf

Add grated onion to nicely seasoned mashed potato; put into a long, well buttered tin; brown in hot oven, turn out on to a platter and serve cut in slices for luncheon or supper.

Timbale of Carrot—unusually desirable

• 2 cups mashed carrot
• 1 teaspn. salt
• 2 teaspns. chopped parsley
• 1 pint rich milk
• whites 3 eggs

Add stiffly-beaten whites of eggs to other ingredients which have been mixed. Bake in buttered mold in pan of water, until firm in center, about ½ hour. Let stand a moment after removing from oven, unmold on to platter or chop tray, surround with spinach leaves or garnish with other green and serve with sour sauce.

Corn and Egg Timbale

• 1¼ qt. milk
• 3 cups flour
• 1 pt. corn, drained dry
• 2 teaspns. salt
• 4 chopped hard boiled eggs
• 4 beaten raw eggs
• 2 teaspns. chopped onion
• 2 teaspns. chopped parsley

Blend flour with 1 pt. of the milk, heat remainder of milk in oiled frying pan, stir in flour, remove from fire, add other ingredients, bake in well oiled mold. Serve with sauce 16, 23, 28, or 31.

Timbales of Corn—individual

• 1½ cup corn (cut from cob) put through fine chopper
• 2 eggs
• salt
• 1½ tablespn. melted butter
• 1 pt. hot milk

Set molds in pan of hot water, cover, bake.

Vegetable Pie

Prepare vegetables (half or whole quantity) as for Trumese en Casserole, of Trumese Dishes, use a little more liquid, thickened a trifle. Cover and bake until vegetables are nearly or quite tender, 1–1¼ hours. Remove from fire, cool to just warm (if universal crust is to be used), cover with crust, let rise, and bake; or, the crust may be baked or steamed in a pie plate separately and laid over the baked filling. If steamed, it will be dumplings.

A combination of equal quantities potatoes, turnips, parsnips, carrots and onions covered with consommÉ, or very fresh milk, and baked, may be used for a pie. Sometimes, when no potatoes are used, lay sliced tomatoes on top of the vegetables.

Chopped parsley is suitable for all combinations. Garlic, if liked, is nearly always an improvement.

Cooked instead of uncooked vegetables may be used.

Sliced hard boiled eggs give variety and add to the nutritive value of pies.

When liquid is not thickened, sprinkle a little fine tapioca between layers of vegetables.

Oyster Plant Pie

• 1–1¼ qt. sliced oyster plant (2 large bunches)
• 1½ qt. boiling water
• 1 teaspn. salt

Cook oyster plant until nearly tender, add the salt, boil up well and drain.

• 4 tablespns. oil or melted butter
• 6–6½ tablespns. flour
• 1 qt. and ¼ cup of oyster plant broth and water
• ½ cup cream
• ½ teaspn. salt

Heat oil, add flour, then liquid, and when smooth and well cooked, the cream and salt, and a little chopped parsley if convenient.

Crust—Universal crust of ¾–1 cup of liquid, or one cup of rice as for rice and trumese pie, or dish lined and covered or covered only, with pastry crust. Pour part of the sauce into the baking dish, sprinkle the cooked oyster plant in and pour the remainder of the sauce over. Cover with the crust. Let rise until very light (if universal crust). Bake ½–¾ hour.

May make small individual pies.

Sauce without Cream—½ cup of raw nut butter maybe rubbed smooth and boiled up with the oyster broth and the cream omitted. With this, 1 teaspn. of celery salt may be used, or 3 level tablespns. chopped onion and 1 level teaspn. sage. Chopped parsley with either. 7 or 8 tablespns. of cracker dust may be used for thickening the sauce instead of flour.

Oyster Plant Pastry Pie

Cook oyster plant in small quantity of water, add salt when nearly tender, boil up well and drain; thicken liquor slightly, add a little butter and the cooked oyster plant. When cool, put into custard pie pan lined with pastry, cover, bake. Serve hot with celery stewed in tomato if desired.

Mushroom and Celery Pie—Rice or pastry crust

• 1¼ qt. celery in inch lengths
• 1–1½ pt. mushrooms in quarters or eighths
• chopped parsley

Cook and drain celery. Cook mushrooms 10–15 m. in salted water and drain. Arrange cooked celery and mushrooms in baking dish with parsley sprinkled between layers. Pour over the following sauce, cover with rice (as for rice and trumese pie) or pastry crust, bake.

Sauce—5 tablespns. melted butter, 5½–6 tablespns. flour, the liquid drained from the mushrooms and celery with water to make 1 qt., salt. Rub the butter and flour together, pour boiling liquid over, boil up well, add salt.

Carrot Pie. Excellent

• 1 qt. cooked sliced carrots
• chopped parsley

• 5 tablespns. oil or melted butter
• 2 tablespns. chopped onion
• 5½ tablespns. flour
• 1 qt. boiling water

Simmer, not brown, onion in oil, add flour and water, pour into baking dish with carrots and parsley and cover with any desired crust—universal, pastry, rice, mashed potato, dressing, or mashed dried green peas. With the last, one would have a hearty meat dish.

Potato Pie

Use potatoes instead of carrots and more onion in preceding recipe. Celery may be used (without simmering in oil) instead of the onion. ?–½ cup of raw nut butter, instead of the oil, rubbed smooth with water and boiled with it would give a meaty flavor with the potatoes and onions. A mashed lentil crust, when desired, adds to the nutritive value of the pie.

Stuffed Winter Squash

• ½–? of a medium sized, nice shaped winter squash
• 3 cups dry bread crumbs
• sliced onion
• garlic if desired
• chopped parsley

• 3 tablespns. oil or melted butter
• 3–3½ tablespns. flour
• 3 cups rich consommÉ

Heat oil, add flour, then consommÉ, and salt if necessary. Saw squash in two in the middle, or a little above the middle as required. Scrape out the seeds and stringy pulp and rub with salt. Let stand while preparing other ingredients; drain before stuffing. Mix crumbs and flavorings, leaving out a little parsley: pour part or all of the sauce over the crumb mixture. (The quantity of the sauce will depend on the quality of the squash. If it is a dry one it will probably take it all, and if it is quite a large one, more of all the stuffing will be required). Fill the squash, sprinkle with crumbs or corn meal, and chopped parsley. Set into covered baker or cover with waxed paper and bake until squash is tender which will be in 2–3 hrs. according to the squash. Give it plenty of time. Serve on chop tray and send plain onion sauce to be served with it.

Coarse chopped nuts may be put into the dressing and the top of the squash garnished after baking with halves of nuts. This makes a beautiful as well as palatable dish.

Baked Squash with Celery Stuffing

Make a thick sauce of rich milk and browned flour No.1. Add to it chopped onion, minced garlic if liked, a few coarse bread crumbs and a large quantity of fine sliced celery. Fill the squash which has been prepared as in the preceding recipe, sprinkle with crumbs, cover with slices of tomato from which the seeds have been removed, or with pieces of canned tomato. Finish with chopped parsley; bake covered until time to brown over the top.

Nuts may be used with this also, and unbrowned flour in the sauce if preferred.

A simple dressing of bread or cracker crumbs and milk with a little cream or butter and chopped onion is nice in squash.

With such summer squashes as are of the right shape to bake, the greater part of the inside may be scraped out, chopped and put in with the dressing.

Claudia’s Stuffed Egg Plant

• ½ large egg plant
• ? cup boiled rice
• 4 tablespns. tomato
• 4 tablespns. grated onion (or 3 of chopped)
• ?–1 tablespn. browned flour
• ½ cup fine cut celery
• 3–5 truffles cut fine
• 2 tablespns. oil or melted butter
• salt

1 dozen chopped ripe olives may be used instead of truffles, or 3 or 4 soaked dried mushrooms chopped, or all may be omitted.

Boil whole egg plant in unsalted water 20 m. Cut in halves lengthwise, or if only one piece is to be baked cut a little one side of the middle, using the larger piece for stuffing. The quantity of stuffing given is for one piece only. Scrape out the pulp with a spoon, leaving a wall ½–¾ in. thick. Chop pulp and mix with the other ingredients, using only half the oil or butter. Rub a little salt over the inside of the egg plant, press the stuffing in firmly, sprinkle with crumbs and chopped parsley and pour oil over. Bake in quick oven about ½ hour, covered when sufficiently browned.

Stuffed Potatoes

Cut slices off the sides of nicely baked potatoes (if large they may be cut into halves, or they may be cut in two in the middle crosswise, or a piece may be cut off from one end), scrape out the inside, leaving a thin coating of the potato so that the skin will not be broken. Prepare the same as mashed potato and beat very light, refill the skins, brush with cream or sprinkle with crumbs and chopped parsley, set in shallow tin and brown on top grate in oven. To serve, arrange on a napkin on a platter, with sprays of parsley.

Meringued Stuffed Potatoes

Add 1 or more yolks of eggs to the mashed potato, fill skins and heat as in preceding recipe, then pile the salted, stiffly-beaten whites of eggs on the tops and brown delicately.

Stuffed Tomatoes

Select large firm tomatoes, cut out the stem end, remove the inside with a teaspoon and turn upside down on a drainer for the liquid to drain out.

Stuffed tomatoes may be served as a garnish for meat dishes or on rounds of toast as a separate course, often the second course. When suitable, they may be served on rounds or squares of broiled trumese. Sometimes they are set into a rich cream sauce on a platter, or in ramekins, and sprinkled with chopped truffles. Chopped nuts and parsley may be substituted for truffles. When desired, a half nut meat may be laid on top of each tomato before sending to the table.

Fillings for Stuffed Tomatoes

Buttered crumbs, the tomato pulp and salt: to this may be added grated onion or onion and sage. Cracker crumbs instead of bread are sometimes used.

Crumbs, chopped nuts or trumese or nutmese, garlic, onion and salt. Or, ripe olives and celery salt with chopped parsley in place of onion and garlic.

Boiled rice, onion, browned flour, melted butter, tomato pulp. Salt tomatoes well inside and sprinkle with chopped parsley after stuffing.

Soaked dried mushrooms chopped, butter, crumbs, tomato pulp, onion, salt.

Fresh mushrooms chopped, crumbs, cream or butter, salt.

Macaroni or spaghetti, tomato pulp, onion, butter, crumbs on top.

Left-overs of macaroni may be chopped slightly for filling, with small rings as top finish.

Always fill tomatoes to the top and finish with crumbs or something suitable.

Bake 10–30 m. (according to the filling, and the ripeness of the tomatoes) on oiled pans without water.

Fruit and Nut Tomatoes

Mix equal parts chopped nuts, currants and fine cut citron with two parts raisins cut fine and a little sugar. Fill hollowed and drained tomatoes. Bake, serve plain or with cream or whipped cream. Raisins and cocoanut with sugar, may be used, or either one alone.

Stuffed Green Tomatoes

Mixture of onion, garlic, salt, sage, a trifle of thyme and the chopped pulp of tomato in bottom of hollowed out tomatoes; then each tomato partly filled with dice of nutmese, covered with some of the mixture, and the top finished with a slice of ripe tomato or pieces of canned tomato. Bake covered 1½ hour or until tomatoes are tender. Serve on crisped large crackers with Tomato Cream sauce or Chili sauce sprinkled with chopped parsley. Use large tomatoes turned a little white.

Peeled Tomatoes Baked

Set whole peeled tomatoes in pudding dish, sprinkle generously with salt, cover with buttered crumbs and bake: or, omit crumbs and when tender, pour over them a thin cream sauce; sprinkle with parsley and leave in oven 10–15 m.

Rich Baked Sliced Tomatoes

Cut tomatoes that are not too ripe into thick slices (halves if thin), sprinkle with salt, chopped onion and garlic if liked, and pour a little melted butter over. Bake. After laying slices of tomato on to rounds of toast, add butter and flour to liquid in pan, then a little cream; boil up and pour around tomatoes on toast.

Oil and nut milk or cream may be used instead of butter and dairy cream.

Broiled or Baked Tomatoes

Dip thick slices of not too ripe tomatoes in Mayonnaise or Improved Mayonnaise dressing, then in fine sifted bread or cracker crumbs. Brown in wire broiler or lay in agate pan and bake in hot oven.

Tomato Short Cake

Cover layers of split hot short cake crust of universal dough with Cream of Tomato sauce and serve. Or, prepare unstrained tomatoes the same as for sauce and serve over the crust.

Pilau—stewed rice

• 1 cup rice
• 3–5 tablespns. oil or melted butter
• 1 onion
• 2–4 cups tomato
• 3–5 cups water
• 1½–2½ teaspns. salt

Simmer sliced onion in oil (without browning), add salt, boiling water and rice. Cook until rice is about half done, then add tomato hot, and finish cooking slowly without stirring. If convenient, set into the oven after the tomato is added. When the larger quantity of tomato is used, the smaller quantity only of water will be required.

1½ cup sliced celery may be substituted for the onion.

Spanish rice calls for 2–3 cloves of garlic in addition to Pilau with six cups of water and one only of tomato.

Macaroni with Onion or Celery, and Tomato

Substitute 1¼–1½ cup of macaroni for the rice in pilau. Hominy also may be used in place of rice.

Parsnip and Potato Stew

Cut potatoes in quarters lengthwise, then across the center, and cut parsnips into about the same size; cook separately or together and drain; add both to cream sauce, heat, and serve on toast, or put small slices of toast (zwieback) in the stew. This is a delightful dish though simple.

Succotash—Corn and Beans

In the summer cook shelled Lima or other beans until tender. Add corn which has been cut from the cob, boil 10–15 m., pour in a little heavy cream, heat but do not boil; add more salt if necessary. Succotash is one of the dishes which calls for cream. Just a few spoonfuls is all that is required for a large quantity of succotash, but that little perfects it. Corn and beans may be cooked separately, combined and seasoned. All sorts of corn and all sorts of beans may be combined with great satisfaction, but the richest and most delightful of all is nice dried corn (the yellow sweet corn is best) and dry common white beans. Raw nut butter cooked to a cream is good with the dry bean succotash.

Dried and Hulled Corn

A very near relative (which some prefer) to succotash is the combination of dried and hulled corn; 2 parts dried and 1 part hulled corn, finished with cream the same as succotash.

Vegetable Hashes

My first experience with a vegetable hash was at a hotel in one of the new towns in North Dakota where the landlady herself did the cooking. The hash was made from the different vegetables left from a boiled dinner chopped and heated, and was one of the happy gastronomic surprises.

Just such a surprise is in store for the vegetarian who utilizes the remains of the trumese boiled dinner.

One rule with few exceptions to be followed in hashes, is not to chop the ingredients too fine; they should be distinguishable one from another.

Always finish hashes in the oven when possible, either in frying pan or baking dish.

Cold baked potatoes or those boiled in jackets are preferable for hash, but steamed or plain boiled ones will do if not too soft. Rice may be substituted for potato. Do not be skeptical in regard to these dishes; try them.

Acushnet Hash

Heat chopped onion in oil or butter, add 2 parts chopped potatoes and ½–1 part coarse zwieback crumbs or granella, with salt. Pour a little nut milk or dairy cream, and water over. Cover and heat well, then brown in oven uncovered. A little sage may be used sometimes, or both onion and sage may be omitted.

Cabbage and Potato Hash

1 or 2 parts cold boiled or steamed cabbage and 2 parts potato, with cream, or butter and water makes a very meaty flavored combination. Do not brown this hash. Heat slowly, covered.

Use parsnips or carrots in place of cabbage for other varieties. Cream is used to advantage in these dishes. The recipes given are merely suggestive of the many combinations possible.

Hash with Poached Egg

Nicely poached eggs, one for each serving, may be laid on to any of the hashes spread on a platter.

Savory Hash

Equal quantities mashed or whole stewed lentils and rice or chopped potato, with sage and onion, cream, or butter and water, salt.

Toasts

We learn from Dr. Vaughn of the Michigan University, and other eminent authorities, that yeast bread browned on the two cut surfaces only, is as unwholesome as when fresh baked, the slice being soggy and indigestible on the inside. So, for all dishes where the ordinary toast is usually used, we recommend the following:

Zwieback

Cut slices of light yeast bread into any desired shape or size. (Square slices cut diagonally across are convenient and attractive). Lay in a flat pan or wire dish drainer and put into a warm oven. Dry well, then increase the heat of the oven gradually and bake to a cream color all through. This process partially digests the starch and renders the bread crisp, tender, and nutty in flavor. Keep zwieback in a paper sack hanging near the fire and it will not loose its crispness. Eaten dry with porridge and other soft foods it furnishes material for mastication. It is also a suitable and delightful accompaniment to fruits and nuts, and may be used when toast points are called for as a garnish. A recipe for special zwieback bread will be found among the yeast recipes. Salt rising bread makes especially tender zwieback.

When moist toast is desired, dip the crust part of the slice into the liquid first, then drop the whole slice in, taking it out quickly with a skimmer so that it will not be mushy, and lay it in a covered dish to steam for a few minutes.

Always salt the water for dipping.

When cream or milk are the liquids for dipping, do not have them quite boiling as boiling milk toughens the toast. Do not moisten toast when the dressing is thin enough to soften it.

Prepared toast and dressing may be sent to the table separate and served on individual dishes.

With many, acid or sub-acid fruit dressings served over moistened toast cause acidity in the stomach.

Never use milk for moistening toast for fruit dressings, always water or cream.

When delicate fruits are to be used, strain off the juice, bring it to the boiling point and thicken it a very little with cornstarch. When perfectly boiling add the fruit, heat carefully and dip over toast.

Many little left-overs of foods may be made into dainty and satisfying dishes by being served on toast.

Blueberry Toast

The blueberry is one of the most suitable fruits for toasts. The slightly sweetened stewed fruit may be thickened without straining, as the berries do not break easily. Serve with Brazil nuts or dried blanched almonds, or with chopped or ground nuts.

Prune Toast

Use sweet California prunes stewed without sugar, whole stoned with juice, or in marmalade. Serve with halves of English walnuts on or around slices when required.

? Sister Betty Saxby’s Toast

Moisten white or graham zwieback according to directions and put in layers in a tureen with the following dressing. Cover and let stand in a warm place 10–15 m. before serving.

Dressing—To a pint of milk take about 1? tablespn. graham (not white) flour, or for skimmed milk, 1½ tablespn. flour, add salt and cook in a double boiler 15 m. to ½ hour.

Old-Fashioned Milk Toast

Lay slices of zwieback in a deep dish with salt and bits of butter. (Butter is not a necessity if the milk is rich). Pour hot milk over and send to the table at once.

Cream Toast

Use hot thin cream without butter or salt in above recipe.

Creamed Toast

• 1–2 tablespns. butter
• 1½ tablespn. flour
• 1 pt. milk
• salt

Heat butter, stir in flour, add milk hot, and when smooth a trifle of salt. Dip slices of zwieback in sauce, lay in deep dish and pour remaining sauce over. Set in a warm place for a few minutes before serving.

Cream of Corn Toast

Thicken cream of corn soup a little more if necessary, or, add corn to thin cream sauce, and serve on toast. Left-overs of all sorts of cream soups may be utilized for toast: celery, asparagus, string bean, oyster plant and spinach, also succotash and other stewed or creamed vegetables.

Lentil and Other Legume Toasts

Use any lentil gravy or thickened lentil soup, cream of peas or peas and tomato soup thickened, red kidney beans purÉe or thickened soup, on moistened slices of zwieback.

Toast Royal

• 1 cup drawn butter sauce
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup minced trumese or nutmese or ½ cup chopped nuts

Add meat to hot sauce and pour all over beaten salted eggs; cook as scrambled eggs. Serve immediately on moistened slices of zwieback, with baked tomatoes when convenient.

The following toasts are of a different nature (though slices of zwieback may be used instead of bread), but they are good emergency dishes.

French Toast

Add ½ cup of milk with salt to 2 or 3 beaten eggs. Dip slices of stale bread or moistened zwieback in the mixture and brown delicately on both sides on moderately hot buttered griddle or in quick oven, or in frying pan covered. Serve plain or with any suitable sauce.

Drain slices after dipping in egg mixture; crumb, bake, and serve with honey, maple syrup or jelly for Breaded French Toast.

German Toast

Add grated or fine chopped onion to egg mixture and finish the same as French toast.

Spanish Cakes

Batter—2 eggs, 2 tablespns. flour, 1 teaspn. of oil, milk for smooth thin batter. Nut milk may be used and oil omitted.

Cut thin slices of bread into any desired shape (round with biscuit cutter), spread each one of half the pieces with jelly, jam or marmalade and press another on to it; dip in the batter, lay on oiled baking pan, stand 15 m. or longer in a cold place. Bake in a quick oven, serve with a bit of the preserve on top and half of a nut pressed into each, or, dusted with powdered sugar.

Mamie’s Surprise Biscuit

Inclose small cakes of nicely seasoned mashed potato in pastry crust; bake, serve with milk gravy, drawn butter or cream sauce, or with celery only. This is the original recipe which leads to the following variations:

Mix finely-sliced celery with the potato. Use the mixture of black walnut and potato stuffing, or mashed lentils or mashed peas for filling.

Serve peas biscuit with tomato or tomato cream sauce.

Serve lentil biscuit with cream, cream of tomato or mushroom sauce.

Lentil biscuit with fresh mushroom or Boundary Castle sauce, with or without celery, might constitute one course at a dinner.

Make a filling of minced trumese, salt, oil, chopped parsley, onion and mushrooms into small cakes or balls, inclose them in universal crust, and when light, steam 25–30 m. Serve with drawn butter, flavored with onion and parsley, or as garnish for a meat dish. Make balls quite small for garnish.

Yorkshire Pudding

• ½ cup flour
• salt
• 1? cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspn. oil

Beat eggs, add milk and pour gradually into flour mixed with salt; add oil, beat well, turn into well oiled, or oiled and crumbed gem pans; bake in moderate (slow at first) oven.

Serve as garnish or accompaniment to ragout, or if baked in flat cakes, with slices of broiled or À la mode meats laid on them, and gravy poured around. The pudding may be baked in a flat pan and cut into any desired shape for serving. Whites and yolks of eggs may be beaten separately. A large onion chopped may be used in the pudding.

Rice Border

Pack hot boiled rice into well oiled border mold and let stand in a warm place (over kettle of hot water) for 10 m. Turn on to serving dish carefully.

Or, parboil 1 cup of rice in salted water 5 m.; drain and cook in a double boiler with 2½–3 cups of milk and salt, until the rice is tender and the milk absorbed, then pack into the mold.

1 tablespn. of butter and the yolks of 2 eggs may be added to the rice about 2 m. before it is taken from the double boiler.

Oyster Plant and Potato Omelet—without eggs

With nicely seasoned, not too moist, mashed potato, mix slices of cooked oyster plant which have been simmered in cream or butter. Spread in well oiled frying or omelet pan. When delicately browned on the bottom, fold, omelet fashion, turn on to a hot platter, garnish. Serve plain or with cream sauce or with thin drawn butter. Or, grind oyster plant, cook in a small quantity of water, add cream or butter and mix with plain potato. Finely-sliced raw celery or chopped raw onion and parsley may be used in the potato sometimes.

Baked Potatoes and Milk

Wash potatoes well, scrubbing with vegetable brush. Cut out any imperfect spots. Bake until just done. Break up, skins and all, into nice rich milk and eat like bread and milk for supper. A favorite dish of some of the early settlers in Michigan.

Bread and Milk with Sweet Fruits

Add nice ripe blueberries to bread and milk for supper, also ripe black raspberries or baked sweet apples. They are all delicious.

? Apples in Oil

Simmer finely-sliced onion in oil 5–10 m. without browning; add salt and a little water, then apples which have been washed, quartered, cored and sliced without paring. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Cover and cook until apples are just tender, not broken. Serve for breakfast or supper, or with a meat dish instead of a vegetable, for luncheon or dinner.

The onion may be omitted. Use a little sugar when apples are very sour.

Onion Apples

Simmer sliced onions in oil, with salt, in baking pan. Place apples, pared and cored, on top of the onions; sprinkle with sugar and put ¼ teaspn. in each cavity. Cover, bake; uncover and brown. Serve for luncheon, or as garnish for meat dish.