The Ideal cook book

onions, butter, salt and water. Salt a saucepanful of boiling water slightly, put the onions into this, leaving the skins on, and let them boil sharply for about an hour. When they are done, take them out, wipe them, and cover each in a piece of brown paper, bake in the oven for two hours. Add butter, pepper, and salt to taste, and serve in their skins. 296. Spanish Onions (Stewed)—Ingredients—5 or 6 mediumsized Spanish onions, 1 pt. of broth or gravy. In paring the onions be careful not to cut off too much of the tops and ends. Put them into a large saucepan (avoid placing one on top of another). Add the broth or gravy, and allow it to simmer gently until the onions are quite tender, then dish them, pour the gravy over them, and serve quickly. 297. Onions (Burnt, for Gravies)—Ingredients—Half lb. of onions, I glass of water, 8 oz. of moist sugar, 34 pt. of vinegar. Peel and mince the onions finely, and put into an iron stewpan, and add the water; allow to boil seven minutes. Then put in the sugar, and allow to simmer until the mixture is nearly black and begins to smoke. Have ready the vinegar boiling hot, and strain the liquor slowly into it, stirring with a wooden spoon until it is thoroughly mixed ; set aside to cool, when ready, bottle for use. -VEGETABLES. roY, 298. Onions (Stuffed)—Ingredients—Very large Spanish onions, cold fat pork or bacon, bread crumbs, pepper, salt, mace, 10 spoonfuls of cream or milk, a well-beaten egg, butter, juice of half a lemon, browned flour, milk. Wash and skin very large Spanish onions. Lay in cold | water an hour. Parboil in boiling water half an hour. Drain, and while hot extract their hearts, taking care not to break the outside layers. Chop the inside thus obtained very fine, with a little cold fat pork or bacon. Add bread crumbs, pepper, salt, mace, and wet with a spoonful or two of cream (or milk in default of cream). Bind with a well-beaten egg, and work into asmooth paste. Stuffthe onions with this; put intoa dripping pan with a very little hot water, and simmer in the oven for an hour, basting often with butter melted. When done, take the onions up carefully, and arrange the open ends upwards in a vegetable dish. Add to the gravy in the dripping pan the juice of half a lemon, four tablespoonfuls of cream or milk, and a little browned flour wet with cold milk. Boil up once, and pour over the onions. 299. Mushrooms. The cook should be well acquainted with the different sorts of things called by this name by ignorant people, as the deaths of many persons have been caused by carelessly using the poisonous kinds. ‘The eatable mushrooms first appear very small and of a round form on a very small stalk. They grow very fast, and the upper part and stalk are white. As the size increases, the under part gradually opens and shows a fringy fur of a very fine salmon color, which continues more or less till the mushroom has been picked, when it turns to a brown. The skin can be more easily peeled from the real mushroom than from the poisonous kind. A good test is to sprinkle a little salt on the spongy part or gills of the sample to be tried; if they turn black they are wholesome, if yellow they are poisonous. Give the salt a little time to act, before you decide as to their quality. 300. Mushrooms (Stewed) —Ingredients—Mushrooms, salt, butter and browned flour. Gather those that have red gills; cut off that part of the stem which grew in the earth; wash, and take the skin from the top ; put them in a stew-pan, with some salt; stew them 102 THE Domtnion Cook Book. till tender; thicken with a spoonful of butter and browned — flour. | 301. Mushrooms (Broiled)—Ingredients— Mushrooms, salt, pepper, butter. Prepare them as directed for stewing. Broil them ona griddle ; and when done, sprinkle salt and pepper on the gills, and put a little butter on them,