Modern cookery, in all its branches

Strip the outer leaves from a fine and fresh red cabbage ; wash it well, and cut it into the thinnest possible slices, beginning at the top ; put it into a thick saucepan in which two or three ounces of good butter have been just dissolved ; add some pepper and salt, and stew it very slowly indeed for three or four hours in its own juice, keeping it often stirred, and well pressed down. When it is perfectly tender add a tablespoonful of vinegar ; mix the whole up thoroughly, heap the cabbage in a hot dish, and serve broiled sausages round it ; or omit these last, and substitute lemon-juice, cayenne pepper, and a half- cupful of good gravy. The stalk of the cabbage should be split in quarters and taken entirely out in the first instance. 3 to 4 hours. BRUSSELS SPROUTS. These delicate little sprouts, or miniature cabbages, which at their fullest growth scarcely exceed a large walnut in size, should be quite freshly gathered. Free them from all discoloured leaves, cut the stems even, and wash the sprouts thoroughly. Throw them into a pan of water properly salted, and boil them quickly from eight to ten minutes ; drain them well , and serve them upon a rather thick round of toasted bread buttered on both sides. Send good melted butter to table with them. This is the Belgian mode of dressing this excellent vegetable, which is served in France with the sauce poured over it, or it is tossed in a stewpan with a slice of butter and some pepper and salt : a spoonful or two of veal gravy (and sometimes a little lemon-juice) is added when these are perfectly mixed. 8 to 10 minutes SALSIFY. We are surprised that a vegetable so excellent as this should be so little cared for in England. Delicately fried in batter — which is a common mode of serving it abroad— it forms a delicious second course dish : it is also good when plain-boiled, drained, and served in gravy, or even with melted butter. Wash the roots, scrape gently off the dark outside skin, and throw them into cold water as they are done, to prevent their turning black ; cut them into lengths of three or four inches, and when all are ready put them into plenty of boiling water with a little salt, a small bit of butter, and a couple of spoonsful of white vinegar or the juice of a lemon : they will be done in from three quarters of an hour to an hour. Try them with a fork, and when perfectly tender, drain, and serve them with white sauce, rich brown gravy, or melted butter. I to 1 hour. FRIED SALSIFY. (ENTREMETS.) Boil the salsify tender, as directed above, drain, and then press it lightly in a soft cloth. Make some French batter (see Chapter V.), throw the bits of salsify into it, take them out separately, and fry them a light brown, drain them well from the fat, sprinkle a little fine salt over them after they are dished, and serve them quickly. At English tables, salsify occasionally makes its appearance fried with egg and bread-crumbs instead of batter. Scorgonera is dressed in precisely the same manner as the salsify. BOILED CELERY.