Practical household cookery

Soak in lukewarm water for a few minutes about three ounces of dry mushrooms ; then drain and put them in a stewpan with one pint of fish broth, an onion, a carrot, a bay-leaf, and a few sprigs of parsley. Simmer these for an hour on a slow fire, strain the broth and return it to the stewpan, save the mushrooms; soak three ounces of bread crumbs in water, strain and press the water well out of it ; put the bread with the cooked mushrooms into the stewpan with the essence just strained ; let these simmer and dry ; stir, and when well reduced and the bread crumbs as well as the mushrooms are crisp, pass them through a sieve. In the meantime cook and strain one pound of macaroni, put it in a sauté-pan with a gill of olive-oil ; add the bread crumbs and a little anchovy paste with it ; keep the saute-pan over the fire, stir the contents well, and when very hot pour it into a soup-tureen with three pints of boiling fish broth properly seasoned. This soup is thoroughly " maigre," and is generally served to Roman Catholics on fasting days. 88. PLAIN MACARONI CHEESE. Cook and strain one pound of macaroni ; put two ounces of fresh butter into a stewpan, and when melted pour the macaroni over with three tablespoonfuls of grated cheese; toss it up till well mixed and made hot; season with white pepper only, turn it into a hot dish, and serve with a little grated cheese and nutmeg sprinkled on the top. 89. MACARONI (ITALIAN STYLE). Put one pound of cooked and strained macaroni into a stewpan with two ounces of butter, three spoonfuls of tomato sauce, and as many of beef gravy ; toss up the lot on the fire so as to mix and warm it well together ; then sprinkle two handfuls of grated cheese over it, season with a little white pepper, toss up again and turn it into a hot dish, sprinkle again a little grated cheese on the top, with three tablespoonfuls of good beef gravy, and serve. 90. MACARONI (CITIZEN STYLE). Boil one pound and a half of macaroni ; strain, and put it in a stewpan on the fire with two ounces of butter, one pint of good broth ; salt and pepper to taste. Boil it ; sprinkle over two ounces of grated cheese, add a little more butter, toss it up gently, pour it into a hot dish, sprinkle a little more grated cheese and two or three tablespoonfuls of hot roast-beef gravy or brown sauce over it, and serve. 91. MACARONI A LA NAPOUTAINE. Cut one pound of leg of veal in thin slices of about six inches long by two wide, prepare about a quarter of a pound of veal or chicken stuffing (see Stuffing), and place it with a teaspoon in the centre of each slice of veal ; roll the slices round so as to enclose the stuffing, flour these and put them in a sauté-pan with two ounces of clarified butter, together with a calfs brains properly blanched and sliced ; fry the lot to a nice colour, then moisten with half a pint of good broth or gravy, and simmer till cooked and tender. Meantime break one pound of macaroni in short pieces, boil and strain in the usual way ; put it in a stewpan with half a pint of good broth or gravy, simmer till nearly reduced; then add a little butter, two handfuls of grated cheese, and a little grated nutmeg; stir well, pour it into a hot dish with the veal and brains nicely and alternately arranged at the top; sprinkle the remainder of the gravy out of the sauté-pan over it, and serve with grated cheese apart 92. MACARONI AU 6RATIN.