VARYING THE MENU

Taranaki Daily News, 27 July 1935, Page 3 (Supplement)

VARYING THE MENU

TUSHES W JEL OCCASIONS

American Steak.

Mince a pound of 1 beef steak which you have freed from fat and gristle. Melt some butter in a stew pan, and add two diced onions. When the onions are cooked a little, add the minced steak and fry lightly. Meanwhile boil eight ounces of spaghetti in salted water for 15 minutes, strain and add to the other ingredients in the v pan. Season with salt. Pulp four good-sized tomatoes, break a small washed cauliflower into sprigs, put these into the stew pan, cover and simmer the contents slowly for 45 minutes. At the end of this time turn the preparation into a well-but-tered earthenware dish, sprinkle with breadcrumbs, dot with butter and brown in a hot oven or under the grill.

Tasty Dishes From Anchovies.

The woman who keeps in her store cupboard a bottle or two of anchovies has at hand the wherewithal for a number of tasty dishes, easy to prepare and simple to serve. Such dishes may be included in the hors d’oeuvres course, or figure in place of a sweet for those who prefer a savoury to a pudding. Fried Anchovies should come either at the beginning or the end of a meal. They require a special type of batter in order that the fish may be surrounded by a very light coating. Mix three ounces of sieved flour with a quarter of a pint of luke-warm water and one tablespoonful of olive oil. Work into a smooth batter, then fold in the stifflywhipped white of an egg, but dp not over-stir. Coat the scraped and boned fish with this batter and fry in boiling fat until nicely browned. Parsley sprigs, browned in the same pan, make a good garnish. Serve with lemon slices. Anchovy Slices, a variation of Anchovy Straws, are made from fingers of puffpastry, served hot, with one side of a boned anchovy on top of each, but not cooked with the pastry. _ To some palates an uncooked anchovy in a hot setting is more acceptable than one which has actually been over the fire. In anchovy straws the pastry is made as for cheese straws, with chopped anchovies mixed in with the ingredients. A little cheese sprinkled over the slices or the straws gives added piquancy. Both require a quick oven. Anchovies left for a morning to soak in salad oil and chopped chives gain

French Fillets.

Cut raw steak into neat rounds about half an inch thick, sprinkle with pepper and salt, and leave them thus seasoned for a short time. Cut slices of bread the same size as the, fillets, and fry them until crisp and lightly browned. Drain well, and keep hot. Rub the fillets with olive oil, then fry them lightly. Put one fillet on each round of fried bread. Pulp two or three tomatoes, add a pinch of herbs, some chopped parsley and a light seasoning of salt and pepper. Fry in the pan in which the fillets were cooked, thicken with cornflour, add a little stock, cook for a few minutes, and pour qver the fillets in an entree dish. Serve piping hot with a mould of creamy mashed potato on each.

additional mellowness and flavour. Mixed with a little whipped cream they then make a delicious filling for small tartlet cases, or for the cocktail wafers now sold for ’home-filling. A few chopped capers on top give distinction.

When serving scrambled eggs or an omelette lay some prepared anchovies on top. They will mhke the dish more appetising and sustaining. A better result is gained this way than by adding them to the raw eggs.

Meringue Tartlets. These little tarts also go well at a party, especially one of the buffet kind. Make a good short paste from half a pound of sieved flour, a pinch of salt, half a teaspoonful of baking powder, three ounces of butter, and enough water to make a dough. Roll out, cut into rounds, and line greased patty pans. Fill with raw rice, and bake light brown in a brisk oven. Meanwhile beat two eggs’ whites with a pinch of salt, then stir in four tablespoonsful of castor sugar and add a little vanilla essence to flavour. Mix well. Remove pastry cases from oven, take out the rice, put a good spoonful of strawberry jam into each, and top with the meringue. Return to the oven, which must now be cool, and leave until the meringue has browned slightly. Early Morning Orange.

One of the best things to take first thing in the morning, as many women have found, is the strained juice of a large orange.