My mother's cook book

thoroughly brown, turning them constantly meantime that they may brown evenly. Serve in" a flat vegetable dish upon a hot napkin, having drained them for a moment upon a sheet of kitchen paper after removing them from the frying pan. / . Banana Fritters, — Four bananas, three ounces of flour, one dessert spoonful of salad oil, one gill of tepid water, white of one egg. ^ Put the flour into a bowl, pour into the certtre of it the salad oil and add by degrees the water, mixing the flour in from the sides as the water is poured over. Whip the white of egg to a stiff froth and stir it together with the mixture in the bowl very lightly. Take the skin from the bananas and split them into halves. Melt in a frying pan three ounces of butter and when the blue smoke arises therefroni dip the slices of banana into the batter and placing them with the flat side downward into the frying pan baste them with the hot butter over the rounded sides until done to a nice light brown. When done they must be removed from the frying pan with a cooking shovel in order that they may not be broken in lifting, as they become deliciously tender in process of frying. Serve upon a flat china fruit plate and with fine sugar if desired. SOUFFLES. Potato Soufflé. — Four large potatoes, one ounce of butter, one-half gill of milk, one-half teaspoonful of white pepper, one-half teaspoonful of salt, yolks of three eggs, whites of four eggs. First scrub the potatoes well in cold water and then POTATO SOVFFLJE. 135 put them to bake in a moderate oven for half or threequarters of an hour which may be determined by testing the potatoes with a skewer, removing them from the oven when it will readily pierce through them. Cut off the tops of the potato when baked and scoop the flour from them, taking care not to break the skins. Rub the potato-flour through a sieve to make it perfectly smooth, and putting the butter into a saucepan, add to it the milk, pepper and 'salt and placing the saucepan over the fire, allow the milk to boil. ' When this boils throw into it the potato flour and stir all well together until the potato becomes hot. Take the saucepan from the fire and drop in the yolks of the eggs, stirring each one thoroughly together with the potato mixture before putting in the next, to prevent curdling. Put the whites of the eggs upon a plate and whip them with a knife to a very stiff froth. Mix this into the compound in the saucepan, being careful not to break the froth, and when this is done fill each of the potato skins two-thirds full of this mixture, place them upright in a baking-tin and bake them in a quick oven from seven to ten minutes. The length of time required for the baking is determined by the heat of the oven which should be quick, and the soufflé may be pronounced done when the finger may be pressed upon the top of the stuffing of the potato skins, and removed again without any of the mixture adhering. Serve on a small platter. NOTE— Sometimes in preparing these souffles, there will be a lit- 136 SOUFFLgS. tie of the potato flour mixture left after the skins are sufficiently filled, and when this occurs, the remnant may be utilized by baking it in a greased cup. Lemon Soufflé. — Two lemons, one pint of milk, two ounces of butter, two ounces of flour, one ounce of arrow root, two ounces of sugar, yolks of four eggs, whites of five eggs. Grease a broad band of paper and secure it with a piece of twine around the top of a quart souffl6 tin, in order that it may project and deepen the tin, and so prevent the souffle running over the sides as it rises. Grease the sides and bottom of the souffl6 tin.