English and French cookery

Semolina. — Put li pints of milk over the fire, and, when boiling, stir in \ cupful of semolina, and continue to stir over the fire for 10 minutes ; then mould and place aside to cool ; turn out, and serve with sugar or jam round. Souffle, Simple.— Sweeten J pint of milk, and flavour with Langdale’s lemon or vanilla essence ; boil, and stir in quickly when boiling a teaspoonful of flour which has been smoothly mixed with another £ pint of milk. Add a good-sized lump of fresh butter, draw the saucepan aside, and stir the batter till it thickens, then pour into a basin. When nearly cold, add a dessertspoonful of brandy and the well-beaten yolks of 2 eggs. Butter a cake-tin or deep pie-dish which the batter will only half fill, and heat it in an oven. Whisk or beat the whites of 3 eggs to a firm froth, and stir briskly into the batter. Spread a layer of preserve at the bottom of the dish, pour in the batter, and bake in a moderate oven, moving about occasionally. When the souffle has risen high, and is nicely browned and firm throughout, it is cooked. Serve instantly, or the dish will be spoiled. So important is this, that good cooks hold a salamander or red-hot shovel over the souffle while carrying from the kitchen to the dining-room. Time to bake about 25 minutes. Potato Souffle. — Take as many well-shaped large potatoes as you expect guests. Wash them well, put in the oven, and when done, cut in half, so that the halves will stand ; scoop out the inside with a spoon, which put in a stewpan with 2 or 3 spoonfuls of thick cream, or reduced-strength-condensed milk, a small bit of butter, a little salt, some sugar, a little lemon-peel rasped on sugar, or a few drops of lemon essence, 3 yolks of eggs, adding off the fire 4 frothed whites. Put this mixture into the hollow potatoes, placing them in rather a hot oven. The taste may sometimes be varied with different flavourings. Apple souffle is prepared in the same way, excepting that the apples are not baked previously to being filled with the ingredients, being merely cored, and the interior scooped out, as above directed. Toasts, Various. — Anchovy. — Bone, clean, and wash a number of anchovies, prepare some slices of toasts, plentifully buttered on one side. Cut these in finger-shaped pieces. Lay 1 or 2 fillets of anchovy on each piece, sprinkle a little pepper and the least bit of cayenne on them ; put in the oven just long enough to get thoroughly hot, and serve immediately. Marrow. — Take h pound of beef marrow, parboil it for 1 minute in salted water. Have ready some slices of slightly - buttered toast sprinkled with pepper, salt, dry mustard, and a few drops of lemon-juice. Drain the marrow, spread quickly on the toast, and serve hot. Mushroom. — Fry some mushrooms in butter, with a sprinkling of pepper and salt. Have some slices of buttered toast, and as soon as the mushrooms are cooked, lay them on the toast, and send to table at once. Salmon. — Cut some smoked salmon in the very thinnest possible slices ; lay these neatly on pieces of buttered toast, sprinkle with pepper, and put into the oven, with a piece of buttered paper over them, just long enough to get quite hot. Sardine.