The art of cooking

Oxtail Soup. — Ingredients to be used in the following proportions: two oxtails, two quarts of second stock, ten cloves, one teaspoonful of pepper-corns, one dessert spoonful of salt, one large carrot, one turnip. First cut the oxtails into pieces about two inches in length, wash them well in cold Water, put them together with the stock into a saucepan, and bring quickly to the boiling point When boiling, skim well and add the salt, also the pepper-corns and cloves secured in a piece of muslin or bag, after which allow it to boil slowly for two hours. Then the carrot and turnip should be cut into dice, or with a French cutter into balls, and added to the soup, boiled therein half an hour, when removing the, cloves and pepper-corns, the soup is ready for use. PUREES. Puree a-la-Conde.— Forr this will be required: one pint of haricot beans, three pints of white stock, one carrot, one small turnip, one Bermuda onion and a bouquet garni, two ounces of butter, one-half pint of cream, two tablespoonf uls of tomato sauce. The beans must have been soaked over night in cold water, and when ready to begin the preparation of the puree, the water must be drained off, and the soaked beans put on to boil in the stock. When the stock boils, the vegetables, the bouquet garnee and the butter must be added, and these together allowed to boil for two hours, when it should be taken from the fire and passed twice through a fine sieve. The cream and the tomato sauce should now be put in, also Pur£e of green pea^toma to purAe. 13 the pepper and salt, of which one-half saltspoonful of each is sufficient, and the whole be brought to the boiling point, great care being taken to take it from the fire the instant this point is reached or the cream will curdle and the dish be spoiled. Note.— To prepare a 'bouquet garni' ' tie a morsel of celery and a sprig of thyme into a bay leaf. The small dry white bean, such as is commonly used for baking, may be used in making this puree. Puree of Green Peas.— Take for this : One quart of shelled peas, one and one-half pints of white stock, one Bermuda onion, two ounces of butter, three tablespoonfuls of cream, one teaspoonful of sugar, one-half saltspoonful of salt and an equal amount of pepper.' Put first the peas, the onion and the stock into a saucepan and boil them together twenty or thirty minutes, after which pass the whole through a sieve, in order that the stock may become smoothly thickened with the peas and the skins removed. Add then to this mixture the cream, the butter and the sugar, and let all be brought to the point of boiling, keeping in mind that the cream has been added and will curdle if permitted to remain upon the fire an instant too long. Season now with the pepper and salt and serve very hot. Note.— The peas for this Puree should be very young in order that the color of the dish may be a pretty bright green. Tomato Puree.— Forr this provide : One quart of canned tomatoes, one and one-half pints of white stock, two ounces of butter, one ounce of flour,* one teaspoonful of sugar, one gill of cream, one-half saltspoonful of salt and as much pepper. In preparing this pur^e begin with boiling the tomatoes and the stock together for three quarters of an hour. ; Pass both then through a fine sieve, and while straining, melt in the saucepan the butter, into which stir the flour, and returning the strained liquor then to the saucepan, stir all together until it boils. Now add the sugar, the pepper and the salt, and pour' the puree into the tureen, after which add the cream, which if otherwise done, will be almost certain to curdle with the sour of the tomatoes. PURfiES.— SECOND DIVISION. Asparagus Puree.— For this there will be required::