Cookery for every household

Choose firm round tomatoes of a medium size. Wipe them, cut a slice off the stalk end of each, and scoop out the soft inside. Mix the parsley and onion together with a little pepper and salt, and sprinkle a little of the mixture inside each tomato. Then break a small fresh egg into the centre of each. (If the eggs are large, a little of the white should be kept back.) Cover the surface of the eggs with bread-crumbs, sprinkle with melted butter, and bake in a moderate oven 10 to 15 minutes, basting once or twice with the butter. Serve the tomatoes on the dish in which they were cooked. Probable cost. Is. 2d. 1408. Eggs in Tomatoes, 2 (CEufs a la Mazarine) 5 eggs. 6 tomatoes. 5 croutons of fried bread. Boil the eggs soft and remove the shells (see Recipe 1403). Reheat them in hot water slightly salted. Cut five croutons of bread, a suitable size on which to stand the tomatoes, and fry them in butter to a nice brown colour. Choose the tomatoes firm and ripe and of a medium size. Cut a small piece out of the stalk end of each, and remove the seeds and watery centre with a small tea-spoon. Then place them on a greased tin, season them well with pepper and salt, and cook them in a good oven for 10 minutes. (Unless the oven is hot, the tomatoes will soften and fall into a puree.) When ready, place each one on a crouton, arrange them on a hot dish, and stand the eggs inside. Probable cost. Is. 1410. Plovers’ Eggs in Aspic (CEufs de Pluviers en Aspic) Plovers’ eggs. Aspic jelly. Decoration. Salad. Boil the eggs hard as directed above, and lay them in cold water until required. Then take as many dariole moulds as there are eggs, and of an appropriate size to hold one egg. Rinse them out with cold water, and pour a little aspic jelly into each, just sufficient to cover the bottom. Allow this to set, and then place in some decoration, such as a fancy-shaped piece of truffle, tongue, or beetroot, tiny rounds of red radish, or a sprig of chervil, something that will make a pretty contrast to the bluish white colour of the egg. Set this decoration with a little more jelly, then place a whole plover’s egg in the centre of each dariole, and fill up with more liquid aspic. Place the moulds in a cool place or on ice until set, then turn them out on a silver dish, and serve garnished with some pretty green salad. Notes. — Tomato jelly (Recipe 1310) may be used instead of aspic, or half the moulds may be made in one colour and half in the other, thus giving a pretty variety. The eggs may be set in a border mould if preferred, and clear chicken or other meat jelly may be used if aspic jelly is objected to. OMELETS Although an omelet is considered by many to be one of the most difficult of egg dishes to make properly, and successful ones are more frequently met with on the Continent than in this country. there is no reason why they should not be made, and made well, by any intelligent cook who follows carefully the directions given for their manufacture. Two or three trials may be necessary, but ultimate success is sure to be the result of genuine effort to produce the right thing.