Cookery for every household

Wash the lettuces carefully, drain them and throw them into a saucepan of boiling water, slightly salted. Allow them to boil for 5 minutes, then lift out and drain. Now chop or shred the lettuces and put them into a stewpan with a little butter or bacon fat and the milk or stock. Put the lid on the pan and cook slowly by the side of the fire, stirring occasionally until the vegetable is tender. Then sprinkle in the flour, season to taste with pepper, salt, and a pinch of nutmeg, and cook a few minutes longer. One or two table-spoonfuls of cream added at the last would be an improvement. Serve the lettuce on a hot dish and garnish with croutons of pastry or fried bread. Notes. — A little chopped onion may be cooked with the lettuce, if wished, and a little chopped mint may be added. Poached eggs or plovers’ eggs may be served on the top if a more substantial dish is desired. Time to stew, about 1 hour. Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons. 509. Stuffed Lettuces (Laitues Farcies) 2 lettuces. A little stock. 1 table-sp. dripping or bacon fat. 1 onion. A bunch of herbs. Stuffing. J lb. cooked meat. 1 egg. 2 oz. bread. Seasoning. 1 or 2 table-sps. milk. 1 tea-sp. chopped parsley. Choose nice fresh lettuces with a good heart. Remove any coarse leaves from the outside and the hard part of the stalk. Then wash them well and plunge them into a saucepan of boiling salted water. Allow them to boil quickly about 10 minutes, then drain, rinse with cold water and dry in a cloth. To Prepare the Stuffing. — Chop the meat finely and mix it with the bread soaked in the milk. Season well with pepper, salt, a pinch of nutmeg and the chopped parsley, and bind together with beaten egg. Divide the stuffing between the two lettuces, putting some into the centre of each, and tie them round with string or tape. Heat the dripping or bacon fat in a saucepan or fireproof dish, put in the lettuces, add the onion cut in thin slices, the bunch of herbs and a little stock. Cover with greased paper and a lid and cook the lettuces in a moderate oven or by the side of the fire until they are quite tender. When ready, arrange them neatly on a hot dish, removing the string. Reduce the liquid left from the cooking, or add a little more stock as necessary, and strain over the lettuces. Note. — Sausage meat or any other savoury stuffing may be used instead of the above. Time to cook, | to £ hour. Mushrooms (Champignons) The mushroom is not really a vegetable, but belongs to a family of plants called fungi. There are many different varieties of edible mushrooms, but great care should be taken in gathering them, as it requires some experience to distinguish them from the poisonous species. Field mushrooms are very common in this country ; they are also largely cultivated, so that it is possible to obtain Mushrooms them all the year round. They must be used very fresh. A good mushroom is distinguished by its firm white stem, pink gills, fleshy top, and pleasant smell. When they are sodden and Dlacklooking they are no longer fit for food. Mushrooms can be cooked and served in a variety of ways, but the more simply they are prepared the better, and it is always a mistake to add to them any powerful flavouring. They must never be overcooked, or they will harden. 510. Mushrooms, To Grill (Champignons grilles)