The home cook book

Peel and core nice flavored apples. Take out the core with a corer. Make the dough the same as for baking-powder biscuit, using more or less milk as the flour may need to roll out nicely. Lay the dough on a pastry board, and roll out each dumpling the size of a small saucer. Lay one apple in each piece of dough, and sugar where the core has been taken out. Carefully fold the dough over the apple. To steam dumplings put a perforated pie-plate upside down in the steamer, and on this set a thin plate with the dumplings on it. Set the steamer over a pot of boiling water, and have ready a double piece of muslin a little larger than the top of the steamer. Cover it first with this and then with the lid, on top of which lay a heavy weight to keep it closely covered. Steam forty minutes. If you prefer to boil the dumplings, grease a cloth with a little lard, and sprinkle flour over it, then put the dumpling in and tie it. Drop into a pot of boiling water and boil half an hour. Serve hot with hard sauce, or simply open 1^ ■ Vol. 2 the dumpling and lay a piece of butter on to it, and add rich cream. To my taste this latter sauce is the best. FRIED APPLES A JEWISH DISH Peel and cut in halves five tart apples. Dip the halves in a beaten egg, then in powdered sugar, and fry in hot butter in a saucepan. When done lift out, strew with sugar, and serve. APPLE WITH MERINGUE Cook a tart, juicy apple till soft. Put through a colander, sweeten and flavor to taste ; then fold in lightly the white of an egg beaten dry. Heap the mixture in a pretty dish. APPLE AND SAGO PUDDING Wash half a pint of sago, cover with a pint and a half of cold water, soak an hour, and then cook in a double-boiler till the sago is clear and transparent. Have peeled and cored half a dozen tart apples of the sort which easily cook soft. Put them in a baking dish, pour the sago over and round them, cover, and bake till the apples are tender. Serve with sugar and cream. APPLE SNOW Pare and quarter six finely flavored tart apples. Cover with cold water and sweeten just enough to be slightly acid. Cook slowly until rich and clear, pressing out all the lumps. Beat the whites of two eggs to a stiff froth. Put the apple in the dish in which it is to be served. Turn the whites lightly through the hot apple with a silver fork. Stand in a cold place, and serve with cream. BANANA SHORTCAKE Make a good biscuit crust, according to the directions under "Strawberry Shortcake." Then proceed as in shortcake making. Split open and butter the crust while hot — buttering on the cut side. Peel three or four well-ripened bananas. Shred the bananas till they are finely broken. Spread thick on the buttered crust, sprinkle lightly with salt and add sugar if the taste directs. Then lay on the second buttered crust and another thick layer of bananas, which again salt and sugar to taste. The juice of an orange may be added also if the taste directs. Serve the shortcake with cream, or with a plain boiled custard. BANANA SOUFFLfi