RECOMMENDED RECIPES

Taranaki Daily News, 9 April 1927, Page 18

RECOMMENDED RECIPES

A DAINTY DINNER. Tha little dinner is at this time of tlio year a most pleasant way of entertaining a few friends, and is genet ally much appreciated. The menu may be simple and not long, and need not cause a great amount of trouble, writes Mrs. Wetherell. * * * * Soup Bonne Femme.—l quart white stock, 2 small onions, 1 lettuce, few sprigs of tarragon and chervil, Ai-cucum-ber, 1 gill green peas, IJoz butter, 2 yolks of eggs, 1 gill cream, salt and pepper. Cut the onions in thin slices, wash the lettuce, tarragon, and chervil, and drain them, then shred them all with a very sharp knife. Shred the cucumber after peeling it, and wash the peas. Melt the butter in a pan and cook the vegetables in it for five minutes. Boil up the stock in another pan and pour over the vegetables, then simmer very gently until all the vegetables are tender —about half an hour. Beat the cream and egg yolks together with a fork in a basin, draw the pan of soup to the side of the fire, and strain them into it, stirring all the time. Continue stirring until the soup thickens, and be most careful it does not boil again or it will curdle. Season to taste, and servo with fried croutons, or pyilled bread. » » • »

Fried Fillets of Sole.—Wipe the fillets with a cloth, and ruh them over with lemon juice. Mix a tablespoonful of flour with a seasoning of salt and pepper; dip the fillets in this, coating them thinly and shaking any loose flour off. Then egg and breadcrumb them; put two or, at the most, three fillets in a frying basket at a time and fry them in deep boiling fat until a golden brown. When all the fish is fried arrange on a hot dish with a dish paper under them, and garnish with sprigs of parsley and cut lemons. Serve cold horse-radish cream with them and brown bread and butter.

Horse-radish Cream Sauce.—l’/e’oa grated horse-radish, 1 gill thick cream, 1 tablespoonful white wine vinegar, 1 tcaspoonful castor sugar, %-spoonful dry mustard, J-saltspoonful salt. Put the horse-radish in a basin, add the sugar, mustard, salt, and a little cayenne; mix in the vinegar, stir in lightly the cream, whisk for a few minutes, and stand the basin in ice for a short time if convenient.

Chestnut Puree.—Wash 31b of chestnuts, cut the tops oil’, and cook in boiling fat. The skins will then come off easily. Simmer the skinned nuts in some well-flavoured stoick until soft, then drain and ruL through a wire sieve, using a little stock and butter to moisten them. Season with salt and pepper, and add a few drops of carmine. This will improve the colour.

Salad for Pheasant. —Rub a salad bowl with a slice of onion or cut garlic. Wash and dry carefully Ailb chicory, divide it into small pieces, and place these in the bowl. Allow for each person two halved walnuts, four small dice of pineapple, and two dice of pimento. Add a little salt and pepper, and pour enough thick cream to moisten the salad. This may be arranged on individual plates if preferred.

Banana Cream. —6 bananas, (.(.-pint custard, %oz gelatine, %-gill water, 1 gill double cream, 1 desertspoonful brandy, yellow colouring sugar. Peel the bananas and rub them through a sieve, using a silver spoon. Add this puree to %-pint of warm custard and strain in the gelatine, which has previously been dissolved in %-gill of water. Sweeten to taste, add the brandy or any other flavouring preferred, and colour with a little yellow colouring. Pour thia mixture into a mould that has been decorated with a little sweet jelly, thin slices of banana, and a few chopped pistachio nuts. When cold and set turn out and serve with chopped jelly around or with fern leaves.

Prune Savoury.—Choose some large prunes ami stew until tender, but not too soft. Remove the stones and stuff the prunes with chopped devilled almonds. Serve each prune on rounds of crisp fried bread on which has been placed some very finely minced cooked bacon or ham. Serve very hot.

Savoury No. 2.—Stone some French plums; turn some olives, and roll some fillets of anchovies with two or three capers inside. Put the rolled anchovies into the turned olives and the olives inside the plums, and around these some thinly cut slices of bacon—streaky is best, and it must be very thinly cut. Tie up with cotton and bake in a good oven for eight to ten minutes. Serve on rounds of buttered anchovy toasts. Fried Breadcrumbs. —Take some stale white bread and rub it through a sieve to make the crumbs—about a breakfastcupful will be sufficient. Melt about an ounce of fresh or clarified butter in a frying pan, put in the crumbs, and stir them gently over the fire until lightly browned, dry, and crisp. The fat should be all absorbed. Drain on soft paper, and serve hot.

v egetable Marrow and Tomatoes. — Press four or five large ripe tomatoes through a sieve or strainer. In a little butter fry a good teaspoonful of finely chopped onion very slowly. Pare and cut one large or two small marrow's into pieces suitable for serving. When the onion is quite soft draw it to the side of the pan, heat more butter or margarine, and in it fry the marrow, browning both sides. When soft, but not broken, add the tomato pulp, salt and pepper, a little sugar, and a halftablespoonful of vinegar. Mix lightly, and make thoroughly hot before serving. Use butter liberally.