The "Queen" cookery books: Vegetables

many varieties of this dish, for cold potatoes may be advantageously reheated in ^tomato, rich Allemande, maitre d’hotel, or indeed any good rich white sauce for a change. Floury jX)tatoes are not so good for this as more waxy ones, as the former, unless very carefully handled, are apt to go to pieces. Potatoes, baked. — For these choose large ones, as much of a size and shape as possible, wash them well, and scrub the skins perfectly clean ; then dry them thoroughly and bake in a good, but not too fierce oven, turning them now and again whilst baking. A few minutes before they are ready, prick them once or twice with a fine skewer to let out the steam, serving them when cooked on a napkin, and sending butter to table with them. There are many variations of this dish, one being the famous pommes Georgette ; for this, when the potatoes are baked (which, by the way, takes from an hour and threequarters to two hours, according to size), cut the top off neatly, and scoop out a good deal of the inside, being careful not to break the skin ; mash this through a masher, keeping it as light as possible, and mix it quickly with some rich shrimp sauce, replace it in the potato, cover it with the piece cut off, return it to the oven to get thoroughly hot, and serve. Another form of this dish is made by mixing grated Parmesan cheese, a good dust of coralline pepper, and a little minced parsley with the potato snow, and finish as before. The great secret in these last two dishes is to have the potato as light and floury as possible, as otherwise it soddens when mixed with the other ingredients. Baked potatoes need watching whilst cooking, for if left too long before pricking they will burst ; whilst if pricked too soon they dry up, shrivel, and harden. Potatoes, baked. — Another form of baked potatoes is not so often seen as it was formerly, when meat was roasted at the open fire. For these boil some good floury potatoes (be careful not to overcook them), then remove the skins carefully. About an hour before the meat is done, dredge the potatoes lightly with fine flour, and place them in the dripping-pan under the meat, letting them finish cooking with it ; now drain very carefully, and serve as hot as possible, either as a garnish to the meat, or separately. border. — Boil the potatoes and peel them, then rub them lightly through a wire sieve. For three average-sized potatoes allow loz. butter, one raw yolk of egg, and a dust of coralline pepper, mix these well, and shape it into a border with your wellfloured hands, using as little flour as you can ; when shaped brush it all over -ndth beaten egg, mark it with a knife, and bake a golden brown. This is very useful for mounting cutlets, fillets of beef, &c. Be careful to get the potatoes just cooked sufficiently, hut not too much, as they require to be very dry for this use. cases. — Peel some rather large potatoes, rinse them well in cold water, and halve them lengthways ; now, with a sharp-pointed knife, mark round the flat surface thus obtained about an eighth of an inch from the edge, and with a vegetable scoop carefully take out the inside, so as to leave a kind of cup an eighth of an inch thick ; of course the halves