KITCHEN CORNER

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXI, 11 September 1937, Page 12

KITCHEN CORNER

ART OF BOILING ASPARAGUS HOW TO GO ABOUT IT “Surely such a simple thing is not an art,” mere man may say. Yet let him try and without the necessary technique he will not be likely to obtain an artistic result. Tie the asparagus with the heads in the same direction. Stand in a deep saucepan which contains a few inches of boiling salted water. Stand the bunches upright so that the tips are in the steam, and the white part in the water. Cover the saucepan with a lid.

The tougher white part and the tender tips will be cooked at the same time, and neither damaged. They may be served either on toast with melted butter, or with a rich white sauce. Asparagus Points Cut the tops and tender green part of the asparagus in small pieces and cook for live minutes in salted boiling water. Then drain, and put in a saucepan with an egg-sized lump of butter, one teaspoon of sugar, and two tablespoons of water in which they were boiled. Simmer gently for a quarter of an hour, then stir in a dessertspoon of flour till the whole is thickened, and the Hour cooked. Take off the lire for two minutes and add the yolk of an egg beaten and mixed with a little water. Reheat, but do not boil. Serve on toast or with crisp crackers. Asparagus and Cheese Asparagus alone does not contain much food value, and may be well for the slimming woman and the epicure, but not alone as a course for growing children. But with cheese this way, they will find it more delicious and satisfying:— Slightly boil the asparagus. Drain it and cut oil the tender green parts. Place a piece of butter in a baking dish, and lay on top a row of asparagus. Sprinkle well with grated cheese. Repeat this till the dish is filled. On the lop put a thick layer of cheese and a little butter. Bake in a hot oven till a good colour. ASPARAGUS SOUP One tin of asparagus tip.s each tip chopped into four portions. Add one pint of milk or cream. Bring to boil for few minifies. Thicken with corn- , Hour, dessertspoonful of butter. Add pepper and salt to taste. BOTTLED ASPARAGUS I Wash and trim the asparagus into even lengths, put -into a saucepan, j heads up, cover with boiling water ancl cook for 15 minutes. Drain and

arrange neatly in small jars, add one teaspoonful salt, and iill to the brims with cold water. Put on rubbers and cover partially; put in wash-boiler j and boil for 30 minutes; screw on the ' | tops tightly; invert to test for leakage. | Salmon and Asparagus Pie (Iced or Hot) • , ! ( | Make a sauce of the following: 1 I dessertspoon butter. 1 big tablespoon ’ j Hour (plain), 7 tablespoons liquid j (milk and liquid from tin of salmon I mixed) good pinch salt, pepper to ; taste. j Melt the butter, add the Hour and blend with wooden spoon off tire, cook | for one minute, then add the liquid, j an d stir till it is thick and leaves the | sides of saucepan. Mix this with a large tin of salmon, put in layers, a layer of this mixture, one of hardI boiled eggs cut in rings, and a layer|°f tinned or fresh cooked asparagus 1 tips. Fill the dish with alternate layers, cover with breadcrumbs, and heat thoroughly in the oven. Serve hot or cold. If possible, bake this in individual dishes ready for serving. Asparagus with Eggs Take some well cooked asparagus tips, half a cup of milk, 3 eggs and •salt and pepper to taste. Scramble he eggs and add the asparagus cut into inch lengths. Serve on hot buttered toast. Sauteed Kidneys Slice lambs’ kidneys from jin to tin thick, soak in cold salted water for 31) minutes, then drain, wipe. sprinkle with salt and pepper, and saute quickly in butter, turning frequently (this should not take longer than live minutes). Serve on toast, with grilled or dried bacon. Season butter in frying;pan with lemon juice or sauce, adding more butter if necessary, and pour over kidneys. j Ilagoul of Kidneys Six lambs kidneys, salt and pepper, •1 tablespoons butler, 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion, 3 tablespoons flour, It cups hot brown stock. Scald and skin kidneys, and soak them in cold water for 30 minutes. Slice them, sprinkle with salt and peppei, saute in 2 tablespoons of butter for 5 minutes, then remove them to a hot dish. Brown onion in remaining butter. Add Hour and stock slowly, bring to boiling' Point, season to taste, strain, and add kidneys. Diced cooked vegetable, such as carrot or turnip, may be added if liked. Serve with French mustard or forceslershire sauce, and grilled bacon. Kidney Rolls Half-cup breadcrumbs, j a small onion, finely chopped; j -tablespoon parsley, finely chopped; salt and pepper, 1 slightly beaten egg. bacon, lambs' or veal kidneys. Mix crumbs, onion, and parsley with enough egg to moisten: season, and spread on thin •slices of bacon. Fasten with skewers round pieces of kidney, which have been scalded, peeled, soaked, (hen cut into pieces. Put in a greased dish, and bake for 20 minutes in a hot oven. Whitebait in Basket Wash the fish, thoroughly dry, and -prinklc with (lour. Shake to remove superfluous flour. Have ready hot fat giving off the conventional blue smoke. Put the whitebait in a wire basket. Cook (hem until crisp, about two minutes, but beware—long cooking spoils the flavour. Take the basket out and turn the fish on to absorbent paper to drain. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve them very hot. If

| reheating should be necessary, do not I cover (he dish when il is put in the oven, as the steam will spoil the 1 crispness. Vienna Steaks Take half a pound of raw lean beef, chopped or minced; a few slices of fat bacon, minced: half a cup of fresh breadcrumbs, salt and pepper to taste, one teaspoon lemon juice, few drops of onion juice, one egg (well beaten). Mix thoroughly, form into oval cakes, and fry in pan containing a little butter or dripping, for 20 minutes. Rings of fried apple are delicious served with the steaks, which should be put in a hot dish while the apples are browned quickly on both sides in remaining

fat. If the oven is satisfactory the j steaks may be baked for about 35 minutes instead of being fried. Snow Budding Ingredients: One pint of milk, three dessert-spoons sugar, two tablespoons arrowroot, whites of two eggs, essence if liked. Blend arrowroot with a little of the milk. Heat rest of milk almost to boiling point, add the blended arrowroot off the lire, return to lire, and stir with a wooden spoon till thick. Cook over an asbestos mat for about live minutes, stirring occasionally, then I take from fire and stir in the stiffly i whipped egg whites. Cook for about two minutes longer. Pour into a wet j mould to set.

Mutter Sponge | Three eggs, small cup sugar, beat well together, add one breakfast cup flour, pinch of salt, and one teaspoon cream of tartar, then add J-cup milk ; in which is melted butter tsizc of a n

“Sculptured Coiffures” All hair is Hat and looks “sculptured.” egg) and 1-teaspoon sdoa. Cook in sandwich tins 10 minutes in good oven. Caramel Cake Half-pound butter, 1 cup sugar, 3 eggs, 2 cups Hour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, U cups fruit and nuts, J-cup caramel. Beat butter and sugar to a cream, add eggs one at a time, and beat well, then other ingredients. Bake two hours in moderate oven. To make caramel place li tablespoons sugar in pan and brown well, add \- cup water gradually and let it boil. Chocolate and Nut Buns Take ?:07. flour. 2oz finely-chopped nuts, 1 egg, 3oz castor sugar, 2oz stoned

raisins, 1 heaped leaspoonful baking i powder, 2n/, butter, 2 tablespoonlills J grated chocolate, f leaspoonful ground I cinnamon, milk to mix. Hub Ihe bnller into the Hour with ! the lips of tin l lingers, then stir in | the sugar chocolate, nuts, raisins, cin- | iiainon. and baking powder. Heat up liie egg, and stir il into Hie mixture till you get a still' dough, adding milk j as required. Shape into small balls j with (loured hands, place the balls on a (loured baking sheet, and bake tor 20 minules in a fairly quick oven.