Foods, their selection and preparation

Hollandaise sauce is served with, rather than over, the vegetable. It is especially desirable with asparagus and broccoli. Hollandaise sauce is a rich tart sauce, high in table fat and egg yolk. Basic proportions consist of 5 pound of table fat to 4 egg yolks and \ cup of hot water. The yolks, water, and approximately J of the fat are cooked in the double boiler over hot water with constant stirring until the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat, add the remaining fat grad¬ ually with constant stirring, then season with 2 tablespoons lemon juice, \ teaspoon salt, and a dash of cayenne. Return to the double boiler if necessary to combine the fat and bring to serving temperature. A less rich sauce may be made by the use of a medium cream sauce, further thickened with egg yolk and enriched with additional fat. To 1 cup of medium cream sauce, add 2 yolks over hot water, stirring constantly. Then add 2 tablespoons table fat, and 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Season as a true hollandaise sauce. Serve hot over vegetables. Hollandaise sauce adds richness and color to any vegetables. It is especially attractive with bright-green ones. Stuffed and Glazed Vegetables. Stuffed cucumbers, egg plant, or onions offer vari¬ ety and the opportunity to combine flavors. The vegetable is lightly cooked whole. The pulp pulp is removed from the shell, diced and combined with other materials for seasoning, such as fat, nuts, chopped onion, tomato, celery, and parsley, with or without crumbs. The mixture is replaced in the shell, covered with crumbs, dotted with fat, and placed in the oven to complete cooking and to brown the top. Partly cooked vegetables, such as carrots, parsnips, or sweet potatoes, may be glazed for serving. They are cut lengthwise and placed in a single layer in a baking dish. Any table sirup or a sirup of similar consistency prepared from white or brown sugar is [80] poured over the vegetables to half cover them; butter or margarine and fat are added. The dish is placed in a moderate oven. The vegetables should be turned in the sirup and cooked until they are lightly brown and have absorbed some of the sirup. Any sirup not absorbed should be served with the vegetable. Left-Over Vegetables. There are various ways of using left-over vegetables. The most common are these: in pan-frying, in fritters (see page 271), in croquettes (see page 146), in custards and as timbales and souffles (see pages 107 and 112), and in creamed soups (see page 64). CANNED VEGETABLES Any of the vegetables not easily stored are available canned. Those most in demand are tomatoes, peas, corn, green beans, lima beans, and asparagus. These withstand processing with the least change. The leafy vegetables lose character at the high temperatures required for processing nonacid vegetables. Sweet potatoes and pumpkins are available canned, largely as a matter of convenience. Cabbage is canned as kraut.