Miss Corson's practical American cookery and household management

After washing asparagus, scrape off the woody portion of the stalks, or cut it off entirely, and tie the asparagus in small bunches ; put it over the fire in salted boiling water, and boil it until it is tender ; then drain it, and serve it on a napkin, or on toast, sending a dish of white or Dutch sauce, or melted butter, to the table with it. The toast served under asparagus is designed to absorb the water from it. To make Dutch or HoUandaise sauce, put over the fire a tablespoonful each of butter and flour, and stir them until they bubble, then gradually stir in a pint of boiling water ; when the sauce boils, season it palatably with salt and white pepper, and draw the saucepan to the side of the fire where the sauce cannot boil ; then stir in three tablespoonfuls of oil, drop by drop, or two tablespoonfuls of butter, one tablespoonful of vinegar or lemon-juice, and finally the yolks of two raw eggs ; serve the sauce as soon as the eggs are added, because it will be apt to curdle if it stands until the eggs are cooked. Boiled asparagus, served either hot or cold, with mayonnaise, is delicious. SUGAR BEETS BOILED. Carefully wash the beets, without closely trimming the leaves or roots or breaking the skin ; put them over the fire . in a large pot half full of boiling water, and boil them until they are tender, which will be in about three-quarters of an hour if they are small, an hour if of medium size, and longer if they are large ; all new beets will usually cook in about two hours' time, even if quite large. When the beets are done, rub off their skins with a wet towel, slice them, dress them with salt, pepper, and butter, and serve them at once. Vinegar may be added to them at discretion ; and they may be allowed to stand in it long enough to become saturated with it, then being used hot or cold. Red beets may be cooked in the same way. After beets are boiled, they can be cut in dice, and heated in white sauce ; or scalloped with white sauce and bread-crumbs, and browned in the oven ; or covered with cold vinegar and pickled. NEW TURNIPS. Peel and slice a quart of new turnips ; boil them in salted boiling water until they can be mashed ; then drain and mash them, season them with salt, pepper, and plenty of butter, and then stir them over the fire constantly until all the water has evaporated, and serve them. Instead of mashing the boiled turnips, they can be cut in dice and heated in white sauce, or milk, or simply with salt, pepper, and butter. Cold boiled turnips, mixed with an equal quantity of cold potatoes, seasoned with salt, pepper, and butter, and fried, make a good vegetable for luncheon. CARROTS. Boil two large carrots until tender in salted boiling water, after having washed and scraped them ; when they are just tender, cut them in half-inch squares, or in fancy shapes with a vegetable-scoop, several of which are shown in the engravings given elsewhere ; put over the fire in a saucepan one tablespoonful each of butter and flour, and stir them until they bubble, then gradually stir with them a pint of boiling milk, and let the sauce thus made boil once ; season it with a level teaspoonful of salt, a quarter of a saltspoonful of pepper, and a very little grated nutmeg ; heat the carrots in this sauce, and serve them.