Original White House Cookbook

Melt an ounce of butter in a saucepan; mix smoothly with it one ounce of flour, a pinch of salt and cayenne and a quarter of a pint of milk; simmer the mixture gently over the fire, stirring it all the time, till it is as thick as melted butter, stir into it about three ounces of finely-grated parmesan, or any good cheese. Turn it into a basin and mix with it the yolks of two well-beaten eggs. Whisk three whites to a solid froth, and just before the soufflé is baked put them into it, and pour the mixture into a small round tin. It should be only half filled, as the fondu will rise very high. Pin a napkin around the dish in which it is baked, and serve the moment it is baked. It would be well to have a metal cover strongly heated. Time twenty minutes. Sufficient for six persons. SCALLOPED CHEESE. Any person who is fond of cheese could not fail to favor this recipe. Take three slices of bread well-buttered, first cutting off the brown outside crust. Grate fine a quarter of a pound of any kind of good cheese; lay the bread in layers in a buttered baking-dish, sprinkle over it the grated cheese, some salt and pepper to taste. Mix four well-beaten eggs with three cups of milk; pour it over the bread and cheese. Bake it in a hot oven as you would cook a bread pudding. This makes an ample dish for four people. PASTRY RAMAKINS. Take the remains or odd pieces of any light puff paste left from pies or tarts; gather up the pieces of paste, roll it out evenly, and sprinkle it with grated cheese of a nice flavor. Fold the paste in three, roll it out again, and sprinkle more cheese over; fold the paste, roll it out, and with a paste-cutter shape it in any way that may be desired. Bake the ramakins in a brisk oven from ten to fifteen minutes; dish them on a hot napkin and serve quickly. The appearance of this dish may be very much improved by brushing the ramakins over with yolk of egg before they are placed in the oven. Where expense is not objected to, parmesan is the best kind of cheese to use for making this dish. Very nice with a cup of coffee for a lunch. CAYENNE CHEESE STRAWS. A QUARTER of a pound of fiour, two ounces butter, two ounces grated parmesan cheese, a pinch of salt and a few grains of cayenne pepper. Mix into a paste with the yolk of an egg. Roll out to the thickness of a silver quarter, about four or five inches long ; cut into strips about a third of an inch wide, twist them as you would a paper spill and lay them on a bakingsheet slightly fioured. Bake in a moderate oven until crisp, but they must not be the least brown. If put away in a tin these cheese straws will keep a long time. Serve cold, piled tastefully on a glass dish. You can make the straws of remnants of puff pastry, rolling in the grated cheese. CHEESE CREAM TOAST. Stale bread may be served as follows: Toast the slices and cover them slightly with grated cheese ; make a cream for ten ‘ slices out of a pint of milk and two tablespoonfuls of plain fiour. The milk should be boiling, and the fiour mixed in a little cold water before stirring in. When the cream is nicely cooked, season with salt and butter ; set the toast and cheese in the oven for three or four minutes and then pour the cream over them. WELSH RAREBIT.