Manual for army cooks

Boil and drain the onions. Prepare a sauce as follows : Melt a piece of butter the size of an egg ; as soon as it bubbles stir in gradually two tablespoonfuls of flour ; keep stirring it until it is cooked ; then add about one-half pint of thin cream or milk and a seasoning of pepper and salt. Stir it until it is perfectly smooth ; take it from the fire and pour it over the onions and simmer a few minutes. Young onions should be used for this dish. If the onions are strong they should be boiled in two or three waters. BOILED OKRA. The okra should be tender. Wash it and cut off a small piece from each end. Put it in cold water for fifteen or twenty minutes; drain and put it into a pot of boiling salt water — enough to cover it; cover and boil until soft; drain and season with butter, pepper, and salt ; or it may be served with a sauce made as directed for Stewed Onions. BRUSSELS SPROUTS. Wash and cut off lower part of stems. Lay in cold water, slightly salted, one-half hour. . Cook quickly in boiling water, with a little salt, fifteen minutes (or until tender). Drain well and heap upon dish, with pepper. BOILED PARSNIPS. Time, thirty minutes to one and one-quarter hours. Wash the parsnips; if young, scrape them; if old, pare and soak them in cold water for half an hour; if large, cut them across in two or three pieces. Put them into a pot of boiling salt water — enough to plentifully cover them. Cover; boil steadily until tender ; drain and slice lengthwise. Season them with butter, pepper, and salt, or a drawn-butter sauce. If boiled Avith meat, the butter and sauce may be omitted. Boiled parsnips may be placed in a baking pan with baked meat, sprinkled with pepper and salt, and browned, basting them when the meat is basted. Boiled parsnips may be mashed and served like Irish jjotatoes. STEWED PARSNIPS. Boil and slice the parsnips thin. Put them into a pot with enough stock, or the liquor from boiled fresh beef, to about half cover them. Season with pepper, salt, and mace, or grated nutmeg. Cover ; stew gently for fifteen minutes, stirring frequently. FRIED PARSNIPS. Boil the parsnips until tender ; scrape off the skin and cut them lengthwise into slices one-quarter inch thick. Dip each slice into beaten egg or flour. Put into a frying pan enough lard or beef dripping so that when melted it will just cover the bottom of the pan. When this becomes hot put in the parsnips and fry brown on both sides. When cooked take them up, drain off the grease, season with pepper, and serve. They may be fried without the egg or flour. PARSNIP CAKES. Scrape, wash, boil, and mash the parsnips. When cold, season with salt and pepper and, flouring your hands, form into cakes ; roll in flour and fry in boiling dripping ; drain dry and serve in a hot dish. BOILED GREEN PEAS. Time, fifteen to twenty-five minutes. The pot in which peas are to be cooked must be clean and free from odor.