How we cook in Tennessee ..

Smothered Chicken. — Split chicken down the back and break breast bone to make it lie flat. Put a piece of lard size of egg in a skillet; let it get very hot, then put the chicken in, inside down; cover closely and let remain a minute or two, then pour in boiling water. Do not fill the vessel more than half full, and if the water boils out replenish till the chicken is tender. Then dredge with flour and add butter, baste thoroughly with the gravy after butter is melted; put in hot oven and bake quickly, basting several times. Escaloped Chicken. — Make a cream sauce. Put a layer of the sauce in a baking dish, then a layer of the canned chicken, cut fine, then a layer of crumbs, then sauce, and so on until the dish is full, having crumbs and butter on top. Bake in a moderate oven till brown, sprinkle with grated cheese and chopped parsley and serve at once. Minced Chicken a la Creme. — Make the cream sauce and season to taste. Add a can of cold chicken, but not chopped. Serve on toast or in a deep platter. A favorite breakfast dish. Chicken Saute. — Cut up a can of chicken and pound the pieces with the potato masher till they are flat. Dust with salt and pepper, dredge with flour and fry, very slowly, in plenty of butter. Serve around a mound of mashed potatoes or green peas. Chicken Stew. — Cut up chicken as for frying, and put in a deep vessel covered with cold water; let boil, adding salt when partially done; when it is sufficiently boiled, add a generous amount of butter, salt and pepper to taste, and mix flour with the butter to thicken the right consistency; a little chopped onion (about one teaspoonful) is quite an addition. If dumplings are wanted, add them about half hour before taking up the stew. Take biscuit dough, roll very thin, cut three inches long and two inches wide and drop them in. — Tennessee Cook Book. Creamed Chicken. — Cut up fowl in dice. Make a cream dressing of one pint milk, tablespoon butter rubbed in with teaspoon flour ; salt and pepper to taste ; let dressing come to a boil, thicken, add chicken ; if necessary add more cream to thin the dressing. Creamed chicken on toast is a nice breakfast dish. Creamed Chicken. — Boil the fowl and bone it; cut the meat into cubes; make a cream dressing of one pint of nice cream, tablespoon of butter and flour ; beat two eggs into the cream and cook. Stir in the chicken and half pint of the water in which it was boiled; add one can mushrooms and let cook a few minutes. Just before serving add a wineglass of sherry. — Eleanor Freeman Lancaster. Chicken Timbals. — Chop chicken and a few mushrooms, and cover with cream dressing. Break two eggs; beat yellows in with chicken and dressing, and then add beaten whites very lightly, and put on in timbal shells to steam. Serve with cream dressing. To Make Fish Timbals. — Use fish instead of chicken and serve with tomato sauce. To make this sauce take piece of butter size of an egg; put on fire in skillet with a half of an onion chopped fine ; let brown and then pour a can of tomatoes in and let simmer. Add chopped olives and season very highly. — Mrs. C. N. Harris.