Culinary jottings

Fonds d'artichauts à la béchamel, or à la crème, make a very excellent entremets. Trim as already described, simmer them in blanc, and serve either with béchamel sauce, or boiling cream. I have been successful withfonds d'artichauts à la moelle. Cook the fonds till tender in blanc. Prepare some beef marrow — i.e., cut the marrow into pieces, and blanch them in scalding water. Take as many coquilles as you have fonds, put a little of the marrow into each shell, over that place Sifond, fill the cavity of the fond with marrow, heat the coquilles hot, and just before you serve, pour over each a little Espagnole sauce. If you have no coquilles, pastry cases answer very well : make them in round patty pans. Cold boiled artichoke bottoms can be mashed up with cream, and a little butter, seasoned with pepper and salt, top-dressed with crumbs, and baked in a little pie-dish, or in silver coquille shells. Or, the mixture can be placed inside little pastiy patties like oyster patties and served on a napkin (Bouchees d'artichauts). This latter method is equally practicable with Jerusalem artichoke puree, and if your cook can make light pastry, these little patties, will be found very nice indeed. Remember when writing your menu, with regard to these two vegetables, that the "artichaut is the globe or leafy kind. The Jerusalem artichoke should be called ' topinambour.' Turnips, (navets,) do not require much discussion ; it should be remarked, however, that when nice and young, they are well worthy of attention, especially as garnishes for entrees^ stews, &c. Think of appearance when serving them, and shape the roots into little cones or ovals, of an equal size. I once saw a dish of tui'nips served a la creme which was quite worthy of separate service as an entremets : the roots had been cut into pieces and shaped about the size of a bantam's Qgg, boiled to a turn, and served with a coffee-cupful of boiling cream poured over them to finish with. Trimmed in the same way, young turnips can be sent up a la youlette, or a la bechamel. The French dish of young turnips called navets glaces ought to be very popular. Trim the turnips into shapes like small pears, or cones, and boil them till nearly done in salt and water ; drain them, and put them into a saucepan with plenty of melted butter, and sprinkle them bountifully with powdered sugar, stir gently over the fire mitil they begin to brown, and then add a spoonful or two of clear stock : pepper and salt should now be given, let them simmer till quite tender and serve them in their own sauce. It is recommended by some to let tlie sugar form a sort of caramel round the turnips before adding the stock : in that case you must put the turnip pieces (when the caramel stage has been reached) into a separate sauce-pan, wash out the first one with a little stock, pour that oveithem, and stew gently as in the other recipe. Caramel is, of coui'se, sugar slowly melted over the fire, till it has attained a rich brown tint. Parsnips, knolkhol, and small round onions, (of the size usually pickled) are susceptible of similar treatment, and any brown entree may be garnished with vegetables glaces in this form.