DAINTY DISHES

Taranaki Daily News, 20 July 1935, Page 3 (Supplement)

DAINTY DISHES

SWEETS FOR THE PARTY r £ c HE first of the dishes selected contains cooking sherry and brandy, but if the latter is not liked, sweetened lemon juice may be substituted. It is a favourite party dish, which looks as goods as it tastes. Put a large ring sponge cake in a basin, and pour over it slowly a little cooking sherry and brandy (or lemon juice). Leave until the liquid has been absorbed by the cake. Beat about half a pint of cream to a stiff froth, adding a spoonful of castor sugar. Put the soaked cake in a decorative dish, fill the centre with the prepared cream, stick quarters of blanched almonds all over it and decorate the cream with glace fruits. Sauces—All Hot! Some cooks’ idea of a sauce is a somewhat glutinous mass composed of flour, butter and milk, flavoured with little regard to the dish with which it is to be served, except that sweet sauce naturally goes with sweets and savoury with fish or meat. In France the housewife will spend much time and care in preparing even the simplest sauce, and never is this sent to the table with the slightest suggestion of a lumpy “sticking paste.”

The basis of most sauces— Bechamel —is made from butter, flour and milk, certainly, but these ingredients are very carefully blended. Put a piece of butter the size of an egg into a stew jar, stand the jar in a pan of boiling water, and let the butter melt. When melted, add two tablespoonsful of cornflour with a pinch of salt, stir well until thoroughly blended, then mix in, slowly and stirring all the time, a pint of boiling milk, Cook slowly,

still stirring, for fifteen minutes, and finally add a gill of cream. Do not let the sauce boil again when the cream is in. Most kinds of sweet and savour flavourings may be added to this foundation. The Epicure’s Sauce. Here is a recipe given by a real epicure. It is excellent with grilled or boiled fish. Skin half a cucumber, slice it finely, sprinkle with salt, pepper and

a little grated nutmeg. Mix together two tablespoonsful of water and half a gill of white wine vinegar, adding a pinch of salt. Put the cucumber slices into a saucepan, pour the vinegar and water over them, and then pour in two tablespoonsful of olive oil and add half a teaspoonful of chopped tarragon. Bring slowly to boiling point, stir carefully to avoid breaking the cucumber, and cook gently for ten minutes. -

Viennese Toasts. Mince some raw beef, about three ounces for each person, season with pepper, salt, a pinch of sweet herbs, chopped parsley and minced onion. Mix with about half the quantity ofbreadcrumbs, and bind with beaten egg. Form into flat cakes the size of the round of bread’on which the mince is to be served, fry in butter, and drain well. Place a savoury cake on each round of toast,