Culinary jottings

cook them as I have described. You can serve them with a poached egg or two on the top of them ; or you can fry some slices of bread, batter them, and dress your minced spinach over them, with a cap, for each piece, of "buttered-egg,"''^ or a tiny pat of mattre d'hotel butter, A nice mild anchovy toast, kept hot in the oven, and served with a layer of spinach over its surface is very nice : whilst a little mound of chopped spinach, garnished with hard boiled eggs, forms an attractive centre for an entree of cutlets. A pleasing looking entremets of spinach is made by shaping the greens in a circle, and leaving a hollow centre to be filled with " buttered-egg" coloured red with tomato-pulp. Endive (chicorée) may be treated exactly as I have described for spinach, but being a tougher leaf, it will require a little more time in the stew-pan. The young leaves of beetroot, " turnip tops" (leaves), and water-cress, are capable of similar dressing. Sorrel (oseille) which should be dressed in the manner described for spinach is not half enough used. Your cook will know it if you order " sorley," — (Ramasamy's pronunciation of the double ' r' being peculiar) — and nothing is nicer than a mutton (neck) cutlet or fillet of beef with a sorrel puree, for the pungent taste of the vegetable suggests a novelty to your palate. My readers who are in the habit of enjoying themselves on the Neilgherries ought to try a dish of pork cutlets with a puree of sorrel (menu N'o. 12), for with a rich white meat, sorrel is especially agreeable. I mentioned this vegetable in connection with poiage d, la honne femme when talking about soups, and I may add now that a plain gravy soup thickened, and flavoured with sorrel puree is far from bad. In cooking sorrel, onion and a little sugar are essential, and lettuce leaves are a great assistance. This vegetable is largely cultivated by the Natives. Hind : — chookeh-juluk. The Jerusalem artichoke (topinamhour) is a vegetable which, as a rule, people either dislike exceedingly, or are very fond of. I place it amongst the best we have. Wash the artichokes, peel and shape them nicely, dropping each one into salt and water at once to prevent its turning black ; when all are ready, put them into a saucepan with a gallon of cold-water, and two table-spoonfuls of salt ; boil till tender (which will take about twenty minutes after boiling-point has been attained) and drain, serving them with a nice sauce blanche. Or, when three parts done, you can lift them up, and simmer them till quite done, in rich brown gravy. Or, you can, when half-boiled, drain them dry, and bake them upon a well-buttered tin, serving them with plain melted butter, a dressing of oil, vinegar, minced shallot and salt, or any sauce piquante you fancy. But, like the cauliflower, the Jerusalem artichoke is worthy of the epicure's attention when sent up " au gratin." The combination being a puree of plain boiled artichoke, slightly diluted with cream, and seasoned with pepper, and salt : this, turned into a well-buttered pie-dish, its surface dusted over with finely grated mild cheese, and the whole baked until the top takes colour. Good milk with the yolks of two eggs may take the place of cream, or a sauce blanche, but if perfection be desired, pray use cream.