French dishes for American tables

374. Spinach with Cream. Boil your spinach as the foregoing, chop it extremely fine. Put in a saucepan on the fire four ounces of butter, a tablespoonful of flour, a little salt, nutmeg, half a teaspoonful of sugar, and half a pint of cream. Stir all well together until boiling, add your spinach, and, when hot, serve, garnished with pieces of bread fried in butter. 375. Salsify with Butter Sauce. Scrape three bunches of salsify, dip them in three quarts of water and two tablespoonfuls of vinegar, to prevent their turning black, then cut them three inches in length. Put two tablespoonfuls of flour in a saucepan, add, by degrees, some water, stirring constantly, until two quarts have been added, then a tablespoonful of vinegar, a little salt, and your salsify. Boil about an hour, or until it is perfectly tender ; drain, and serve with a white or butter sauce (Art. 84). Instead of butter sauce, you may serve with them a Spanish sauce (Art. 80), veloute (Art. 82), or bechamel sauce (Art. 83). 376. Fried Salsify. Prepare and boil your salsify as above, cut them two inches in length, and when very tender drain them. Put in a bowl half a pound of flour, two eggs, and some water. Mix well together until you have a soft, smooth paste, thin enough to pour from a spoon. Cover each piece of salsify with the paste, and fry one by one in very hot lard, drain them, and serve them on a dish, piled one on top of the other. 377. Stewed Tomatoes. Put a can of tomatoes in a saucepan, with four ounces of butter, a little salt and pepper, a pinch of sugar, and two tablespoonfuls of bread-crumbs. Boil five minutes, and serve. 378. Broiled Tomatoes. Slice eight tomatoes, sprinkle them thickly with bread-crumbs and a little butter, broil them on a moderate fire, and, when a bright yellow color on top, serve them on a dish in a circle, one on top of the other. 379. Farcied Tomatoes. Take eight mediumsized, firm tomatoes, cut a hole on top of each, and scoop out the inside of the tomato, chop an onion, put it in a saucepan on the fire, with an ounce of butter, to simmer gently. When slightly colored, add six ounces of bread-crumbs, which you have soaked in water, and then pressed out nearly all the moisture, a dozen chopped mushrooms, a tablespoonful of chopped parsley, a pinch of salt, pepper, and thyme chopped fine, a little red pepper, and four tablespoonfuls of tomato sauce (Art. 90) ; mix all well together, and then fill the inside of your tomatoes. Sprinkle the tops of each with bread-crumbs and a little melted butter. Send them to the oven, and, when colored a light brown on top, serve, with a tomato sauce around them. 380. Boiled Onions. Peel a dozen mediumsized white onions, boil them in a quart of water with a little salt. When very tender, drain them, and serve with a butter sauce (Art. 84), or a sauce bechamel (Art. 83). 381. Fried Onions. Peel eight medium-sized onions, cut them in slices across the top, roll them in flour, fry them in hot lard, drain, and serve.