365 tasty dishes

9.— Creole Rice. From a large ripe red peppers remove the veins and seeds and chop fine; peel i. large white onion and chop fine with js( of a pound of raw, lean ham. In a kettle melt 2 tablespoonfuls of lard or butter, and when hot add the peppers, onion and ham and cook, stirring occasionally for ten minutes. Add i cupful of well-washed and drained rice and cook for five minutes longer, then add 3 cupfuls of strong beef soup or broth, cover and cook slowly for half an hour. Skin and cut fine 4 large tomatoes (or take about ^ of a can), add them to the rice with i teaspoonful of salt. Cover, draw aside where the cooking will be slow and the rice will not stick to the bottom of the kettle. When it is tender and has absorbed all the broth, stir in with a fork I tablespoonful of butter and let it stand for five minutes longer. 10.— Fairy Pudding. Put a tumbler of firm quince jelly into a saucepan, add i cupful of boiling water, stir until the jelly is melted and the liquid at the boiling point. Add quickly to it 2 tablespoonfuls of com- starch mixed with a pinch of salt and sufficient cold water to make a thin paste, stir until clear and smooth, then draw to one side and cook slowly for ten minutes. Turn into a large bowl and when cold and beginning to stiffen beat long and hard with an egg beater until it is quite light, add the whipped whites of 2 eggs and continue to beat until it is a feathery mass. Turn into wetted molds and set aside, serving very cold with cream or a custard sauce. Any firm jelly will do but quince gives a peculiarly delicate flavor. II.— Friar's Omelet Add to I pint of hot strained apple sauce sufficient sugar to sweeten and 3 tablespoonfuls of butter, then set aside until cold. Add to it 5 well-beaten eggs and turn into a deep baking-dish which has been thickly greased with soft butter, then dredged with fine bread crumbs. Over the top sprinkle a thick layer of the bread crumbs and bake in a hot oven ior about half an hour. 12. — Walnut Stew. From I pint of walnut meats remove bits of shell, pour over sufficient boiling water to cover, let stand for three minutes and drain. Put into a saucepan with sufficient beef stock to cover or, if no stock is at hand, use water to which is added y^ ofz. teaspoonful of salt, i blade of mace, a slice of onion, a stalk of celery and ^ of a bay. leaf. Boil for fifteen minutes and drain. Prepare a brown sauce by cooking together in another saucepan i tablespoonful of butter and i heaping tablespoonful of flour. When brown add i cupful of stock (that previously used may be taken) and stir until thick and smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper, add the nuts and simmer for ten minutes, then stir in ^ of a cupful of chopped celery and cook for two minutes. Serve garnished with toast points. 13.— Hot Potato Salad. A hot salad to be served at luncheon is prepared by putting 4 thin slices of bacon into a frying pan and cooking slowly until all the fat is tried out. To this is added 4 tablespoonfuls of vinegar and the pan drawn to the side of the fire, while 4 hot boiled potatoes are cut into slices or small dice. The vinegar dressing is poured over them, they are seasoned, turned out on a hot dish, sprinkled with finely chopped parsley and served as an accompaniment to fried sausages. 14. — Baked Rice and Cheese. When boiling rice for the noonday meal cook an extra quantity and set aside about i pint. Make a white sauce with i heaping tablespoonful each of flour and butter, }i of a teaspoonful of white pepper and ij4 cupfuls of milk. In a deep baking-dish place alternate layers of the rice, sauce and grated cheese, having the last layer cheese. Place in a hot oven until browned. 15. — Apple Salad.