The profession of cookery, from a French point of view

Next skin half a dozen fine tomatoes, and slice them into the butter, and stew them thus until quite dissolved. Have a quart of water, or the same quantity of clear broth, ready in the stewpan. When it boils throw in the white part of a slice of bread cut into dice. Add the contents of the smaller stewpan to this, let all simmer together for awhile, then pour through a strainer, rubbing the ingredients well that nothing good may be left behind. Return to the stewpan, season it well, stir in the yolk of an egg beaten up in a cup of milk, let it nearly boil again, then serve. Watercress Soup. Boil half a pint of white haricots until thoroughly tender, rub them through a fine strainer, and add a quart of boiling water to the puree thus obtained. Chop up quite finely a large bunch of washed and picked watercress, — and also a handful of green chives, a bunch of spring onions, some chervil, parsley, sorrel, — in fact anything green which you may be able to obtain. Melt two ounces of fresli butter, frizzle the chopped green stuffs in this until they show signs of turning colour, then stir them briskly into the liquor in the stewpan. Season well. The soup ought to be sufficiently thickened by the haricots, but if not, wet a teaspoonful of potato flour and stir that in, letting the liquor boil up once afterwards. Vermicelli Soup. Clear stock from mutton, beef or veal ; pour boiling water over a small quantity of thin vermicelli; then drain it, and cut into short lengths with a sharp knife, and throw into the stock. Cut quite small one carrot, half a head of celery, and half a dozen fine leeks. Let these all boil until tender in a separate vessel ; then add them to the stocky and season it well. If macaroni be added instead of vermicelli, let it boil separately in a saucepan for twenty minutes; then drain and add to the stock. Should it be preferred that the soup be thickened, use a spoonful of brown roux for the purpose; and cook the vegetables in a little clarified fat instead of water. Add tlie macaroni or vermicelli the last of all. White Stock Soup. A quart or more of stock made from knuckle of vealj chicken or ham bones. Boil an onion and a turnip in a small quantity of this stock ; when tender, chop them up finely, and add them to the remainder of the clear liquor. Boil half a pint of fresh milk, and thicken it with a tablespoonful of potato flour previously wetted ; stir it into the stock, season with salt, pepper, and a grate of nutmeg, and just before serving, stir in half an ounce of fresii butter. Puree of Haricot Beans. Let the beans soak over night ; set them on with sufiicient water to cover them, and boil them for three or four hours. Rub them through a sieve, leaving nothing but skins behind j to every pint of the puree thus obtained add a pint of boiling milk. Season liberally; chop a few shallots very finely, and cook them in a little butter ; dredge a little flour over them to absorb the butter, then stir into the puree. Add a tablespoonful of cream before bringing to table. When fresh. " button ^' mushrooms are obtainable, a score of them may be skinned ; then gently boiled for a minute or two, drained, and added to the soup. Puree of Peas or Lentils.