The Pattern cook-book

Place the butter in a stew-pan, and when melted add the beef. Stir until the slices begin to curl ; then add the milk. When this boils up, stir in the flour wet with two table-spoonfuls of milk. Season with the pepper, and serve on toast or plainly, as preferred. BEEF a la Mode. Two pounds of beef. Two table-spoonfuls of beef or pork drippings. One onion, sliced thin. One bay-leaf. One lemon, cut in slices. Two tea-spoonfuls of salt. One-half tea-spoonful of pepper. One-quarter tea-spoonful of ground allspice. One-quarter tea-spoonful of cloves. One-eighth tea-spoonful of mace. The meat used for this purpose may be from the round or any other part that is lean. Cut it into pieces of about three ounces weight, and dredge well with flour. Put the beef drippings and the sliced onion in a large stew-pan, and when hot, put in the meat and stir constantly for ten minutes. Dredge in more flour until the mixture is well thickened, adding the bay-leaf, which should be broken, and sprinkling in the spices, which should be well mixed together ; add also the salt and pepper and sliced lemon. When these have been well stirred together, pour in gradually, still stirring, enough water to cover the meat. Place the cover on the stewpan, and simmer gently for four hours. USES FOR COOKED BEEF. There is a good-sized book written on this subject. As there are about two hundred ways of utilizing cold beef, there can never be any excuse for wasting a particle. BEEF BALLS. One large pint of chopped beef. One scanty pint of fine bread-crumbs. One and a-half tea-spoonfuls of salt. One-half tea-spoonful of pepper. One tea-spoonful of sage. One table-spoonful of butter. One egg. One small stalk of celery. One sprig of parsley. One table-spoonful of chopped onion. Milk to moisten the whole. The seasoning of these balls may be made with what is available, the celery, parsley or sage being used if convenient; but the onion is a necessity, for the balls are perfectly tasteless without some seasoning of this sort. The butter is not used if there is an equal quantity of fat on the beef. Add the seasoning to the bread-crumbs ; then chop the onion, celery and parsley fine, and when they are well mixed, put them with the chopped meat. Add the beaten egg, mixing all well together ; and lastly stir in the milk. The exact quantity of milk is hard to give. There should be enough to nicely moisten the mass so it may be made into smooth cakes. Form the mixture into cakes with the hands, and flour each side before frying. They should be cooked for five minutes in very hot fat. Lamb or mutton chops that may be left over from a former meal, or the tough ends of steaks, will do nicely for these balls. COOKED BEEF IN TOMATO. Cut the beef into thin slices, if possible ; if this cannot be done, have the pieces about the size of a large oyster. Place them in a frying-pan, and add a few spoonfuls of canned tomato, nearly covering the meat. Add butter salt and pepper, and stew slowly, with the cover on the pan, for half an hour. Serve on a platter. BEEF ON TOAST.