But the Italian is more abstinent than the Frenchman, and often lives in the simplest fashion. Great joints or masses of anything are repugnant to him. He delights in made dishes, in his own macaroni, and in stews of many orders, and the bill of fare holds many savory dishes, — above all, the many forms of risotto\ a preparation of rice, in which the grains are first browned in butter and then boiled so perfectly that each grain holds its shape. With this, bits of chicken, or meat, or fish, are mingled, according to the kind required, and a sauce added, the whole being formed in a mould before serv- ing. Often this makes the second breakfast, with a flask of wine and a bit of cheese. Poultry predominates, and is a part of nearly every dinner, Italian beef being taken chiefly from oxen whose long years of service have made it durable, but hardly eatable save after long cooking. The store-room has little or no place in Italian housekeeping. Supplies are bought from day to day, and to have them on hand would deprive both cook and mistress of the most interesting portion of the day, — the 90 IN FOREIGN KITCHENS, squabble with shop and market people. Custom has so settled every phase of house- keeping, that it moves in lines smoothed by the wear of centuries. The mistress scolds, but it is simply a habit. She is well served, and she knows it, and the Italian servant is the family friend, sharing the family for- tunes, and trusted and beloved to the end. When will the day come when this word can be said of America, or when care-ridden housekeepers will learn that certain phases of co-operation in the matter of laundry and bakehouse, would end forever much that now makes American housekeeping the most difficult rdle filled on the earth by civilized and intelligent women? CHOICE DISHES FROM ITALY. Lamb Broth with Savioli. — Piedmont. Make a broth of three pounds of neck of lamb, and any bones of roast lamb, three quarts of water, a tablespoonful of salt, half a tea- spoonful of pepper, a minced turnip, some sprigs of parsley, and two minced onions fried lightly in a tablespoonful of butter. ITALY. 91 Boil slowly three hours ; strain and take off the fat. It can be made the day ^before. For the ravioli, mince very fine the meat of a small chicken, roast or boiled. Season high with salt, pepper, and a pinch of mace ; add two thirds the amount of fresh bread- crumbs, and bind all with two beaten eggs and a spoonful of melted butter. Take half a pound of plain pastry✪ Lamb Broth with Savioli and divide it into two portions. Roll one very thin into an oblong shape, keeping the sides as straight as possible. On this arrange at equal dis- tances a teaspoonful of the mixture; roll the second piece of pastry the same size, and lay upon this, having first moistened the spaces between the mixture with water. Cut through the two layers and press the edges together, dropping each into boiling salted water and cooking ten minutes. Lay them in the soup-tureen, pour the boiling broth upon them, and serve. Lamb Broth and Sommer Squash. — Naples, Make a broth as above, ready for serving. Chop two summer squashes fine and fry ten minutes in a large spoonful of butter, sea^ 92 IN FOREIGN KITCHENS. soning to taste with salt and pepper. Butter a shallow pudding-dish, and cover the bot- tom with slips of bread dipped in broth. Grate over them a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. On this bread put the minced squash and cover with another layer of bread prepared in the same way. Bake in a quick oven till brown, and serve a large spoonful of it with each plate of soup. Ripe cucum- bers may be treated in the same way.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

But the Italian is more abstinent than the Frenchman, and often lives in the simplest fashion. Great joints or masses of anything are repugnant to him. He delights in made dishes, in his own macaroni, and in stews of many orders, and the bill of fare holds many savory dishes, — above all, the many forms of risotto a preparation of rice, in which the grains are first browned in butter and then boiled so perfectly that each grain holds its shape. With this, bits of chicken, or meat, or fish, are mingled, according to the kind required, and a sauce added, the whole being formed in a mould before serving. Often this makes the second breakfast, with a flask of wine and a bit of cheese. Poultry predominates, and is a part of nearly every dinner, Italian beef being taken chiefly from oxen whose long years of service have made it durable, but hardly eatable save after long cooking. The store-room has little or no place in Italian housekeeping. Supplies are bought from day to day, and to have them on hand would deprive both cook and mistress of the most interesting portion of the day, — the squabble with shop and market people. Custom has so settled every phase of housekeeping, that it moves in lines smoothed by the wear of centuries. The mistress scolds, but it is simply a habit. She is well served, and she knows it, and the Italian servant is the family friend, sharing the family fortunes, and trusted and beloved to the end. When will the day come when this word can be said of America, or when care-ridden housekeepers will learn that certain phases of co-operation in the matter of laundry and bakehouse, would end forever much that now makes American housekeeping the most difficult rôle filled on the earth by civilized and intelligent women? CHOICE DISHES FROM ITALY. Lamb Broth with Savioli. — Piedmont. Make a broth of three pounds of neck of lamb, and any bones of roast lamb, three quarts of water, a tablespoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, a minced turnip, some sprigs of parsley, and two minced onions fried lightly in a tablespoonful of butter. Boil slowly three hours ; strain and take off the fat. It can be made the day ^before. For the ravioli, mince very fine the meat of a small chicken, roast or boiled. Season high with salt, pepper, and a pinch of mace ; add two thirds the amount of fresh breadcrumbs, and bind all with two beaten eggs and a spoonful of melted butter. Take half a pound of plain pastry and divide it into two portions. Roll one very thin into an oblong shape, keeping the sides as straight as possible. On this arrange at equal distances a teaspoonful of the mixture; roll the second piece of pastry the same size, and lay upon this, having first moistened the spaces between the mixture with water. Cut through the two layers and press the edges together, dropping each into boiling salted water and cooking ten minutes. Lay them in the soup-tureen, pour the boiling broth upon them, and serve. Lamb Broth and Sommer Squash. — Naples, Make a broth as above, ready for serving. Chop two summer squashes fine and fry ten minutes in a large spoonful of butter, sea^ soning to taste with salt and pepper. Butter a shallow pudding-dish, and cover the bottom with slips of bread dipped in broth. Grate over them a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. On this bread put the minced squash and cover with another layer of bread prepared in the same way. Bake in a quick oven till brown, and serve a large spoonful of it with each plate of soup. Ripe cucumbers may be treated in the same way.

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Lamb Broth with Savioli

In foreign kitchens