The profession of cookery, from a French point of view

The *' garniture '' of these dishes will call for as much taste as the arrangement of a bouquet. Finely chopped parsley is the cook's grand resource in nearly all these compounds, and truffles, capsicums, eggs, even flowers, all are pressed into the service of ornamentation. As it is the custom in France to serve most vegetables as a separate course, quite as much care is given to their preparation as to a coarse of meat, and various are the forms they are made to make ; the sauces which accompany or disguise them, and the dressings which, if served cold, transform them into delicious salads. A green vegetable, or " dish of greens," served as an English cook sends them to table, would in a French cuisine be considered quite an anomaly ; there they would, after being well drained, be tossed up in butter, seasoned, some fragrant herbs added, and, generally, fried bread would be sent up with them. Peas, haricots, broad beans, cabbages, and cauliflowers are certainly improved by this treatment, so are potatoes ; and white sauce, either with or without parsley, is a frequent accompaniment to these and many other kinds of vegetables. Some, again, after being partially boiled, are fried in batter, as salsify and parsnips ; these make an excellent luncheon or supper dish. When onions are used, they should be first lightly and quickly browned in fat, then drawn away from the fire, and allowed to cook slowly under cover; this draws the juices out, and makes tlicui very much more easy of digestion. Vegetables, if added to " ragouts '^ of meat, make them very much more savoury, and greatly economise the amount of meat. Carrots accord best with beef, turnips and parsnips best with mutton and veal, while tomatoes suit all meats. Remnants of cold meat, which are often a source of perplexity to the economical housekeeper, may, with a judicious use of very simple means, be turned into many a delicious dish. Green artichokes and asparagus are delicious, and do not come within the reach of the poor man, except he have a garden ; but Jerusalem artichokes are both cheap and delicate, also very nourishing. Mushrooms, either stewed or broiled, are the delight of all classes, and well replace a dish of meat. The forms which potatoes may be made to assume are almost legion ; while a good potato may be spoiled by bad cooking, an inferior one may, with proper management, be rendered comparatively good. P.O. D Large quantities of this most useful vegetable are constantly wasted in many families, owing to the way in which they are dressed. How is it that the stalls of the ^^ marchand de pommes-de-terre frites '^ are never seen in England^ while they are so common in France^ where they do a thriving trade ? Vegetables are not usually associated with "sweet dishes"; but tlie cook who has once succeeded in making a vegetable plum-pudding, will find it a formidable rival to her very best and most time-honoured recipe. It is an open secret that turnips and vegetable marrows are in great request in the large jam and marmalade factories ; and. it is really surprising how readily these two vegetables adapt themselves to this sort of use, having the faculty of absorbing whatever flavour is added to them.