The art of cooking

When the beans are done, drain the water from them in the quickest and most convenient way, so that they be rendered perfectly dry, place them in a deep vegetable dish, take the sauce from the fire, drop into it the yolk of egg, and pour all immediately over the beans. Take the shells from the hard-boiled eggs, cut them in two, and arrange them around the dish of beans with the rounded sides up. Sprinkle over each piece of egg a little of the chopped parsley, when the dish is ready for serving. Notes — It is contended that the dried Haricot beans cannot be properiy cooked through, without breaking their skins, but if the above directions are strictly foUowed in the particularities of adding cold water, and boiling rapidly^ the result will be that the beans are not only thoroughly cooked to their centres, but have preserved their form unbroken. The dried white bean in ordinary use, may also be successfully boiled in this way. Green Corn. — Prepare : ten ears of com, one tablespoonful of salt. Strip off the outer husks and turning the fine inner leaves carefully down, remove the silk from about the kernels, when the remaining husk must be again brought I06 VEGETABLES. to cover the ear in its natural fashion, and secured at the tip end with a piece of twine. Prepare a large saucepan of boiling water into which throw the salt and then the com, laying the ears in the^ fashion of a cob-house, that the water may boil equally through and around all. . The corn must be left to boil twenty-five or thirty minutes, unless very young, when twenty minutes will do. Serve in the husk, having first removed the binding twines, and covered closely with a folded napkin. Notes — Corn may be overdone as well as other vegetables, but by watching when the kernels are swelled to their largest size and the prick of a fork will bring a little puff of steam followed by the shriveling of the kernel, no mistake of this kind need be made. An instants longer boiling when this point is reached, will cause the small puff of steam generated, to find its own outlet, and the com will shrivel and become watery in consequence. Green corn may also be stewed very palatably by being cut from the cob, put into a saucepan with such equal parts of milk and water as will cover the com nicely, and when stewed until the kernels lose their milky rawness, season with the pepper, salt, and a lump of butter. Oyster Plant. — For this take; one-half dozen oyster plants, one-half tablespoonful of salt, three ounces of flour, one dessert spoonful of salad oil, one gill of tepid water, white of one egg. The oyster plants must be scraped and thrown into cold water in order to keep their color. Cut them when scraped, into convenient pieces and preparing a saucepan of boiling water into which throw the salt, put in the plants to boil until tender, the time for which depends upon the age of the plants. While the plants are boiling, place in a bowl the flour. FRENCH ARTICHA UTS. pour into the centre of it the salad oil and mixing this, add by degrees the tepid water. When this mixture is well beaten together, whip up the white of egg and add it, with a little salt. The plants being boiled, they must be taken from the water and dried thoroughly in a towel. The pieces must be thrown into the batter and each piece taken separately therefrom with a skewer or fork, dropped into hot clarified fat or lard and allowed to cook for three minutes. When done drain them for a moment upon a piece of kitchen paper and serve them piled high in a vegetable dish. French Artichokes. — Provide: six large arttchauts^ two ounces of butter, one ounce of flour, one gill of cream, one and one-half gills of milk, one grain of cayenne, one dessert spooonful of salt, one saltspoonful of pepper.