Mrs. Roundell's Practical cookery book

bake a golden brown. It will take about twenty minutes, and should be served as soon as the top colours. If required, the top can be browned with a salamander. Steamed Cauliflower. — See that the Cauliflower is thoroughly cleaned, washed, and drained. It must be free from all moisture. Pack good-sized lettuce leaves well round a stewpan, setting them upright against the sides, and leaving room enough for the Cauliflower in the middle. Melt three ounces of butter in the stewpan. Cut the stalk of the Cauliflower flat, and set it upright in the centre of the pan, adding white pepper and salt. Lay more lettuce leaves over the top of the Cauliflower, cover the pan closely, and steam slowly. If the Cauliflower weighed two pounds it will be done in one hour. Serve very hot on the lettuce leaves. Mrs. C. W. Earle’s Cauliflower. — Break the Cauliflower up in pieces large enough for one helping. Boil them very lightly, so that they should be quite firm and dry, almost crisp. It quite spoils them if they are soft and sodden. Serve, in a boat, some white creamy sauce into which you grate a little Parmesan cheese. CARROTS. It is best never to cut Carrots before they are cooked, or the flavour will be weakened and the colour dulled. If the skin is tough it must be scraped, but Carrots, like all vegetables but Flageolets and Haricots, are much better when eaten young. Gardeners should arrange for a succession of Carrots when they are wanted for the kitchen and not for the stable. There is no better vegetable than a young Carrot before the hard core has developed itself. The short variety of Carrot is better for cooking than the long sort. It is important not to boil Carrots too long, or they will lose their flavour, but they must be boiled till tender. Young Carrots ought to be boiled for half an hour, older ones will need an hour, and if really old Carrots have to be cooked, instead of furnishing a delicious bite to a horse, they may have to be boiled for two hours. When tender, take the Carrots out of the pan, carefully cut out any black spots, and divide each Carrot lengthwise into four parts. CARROTS Carrots make an excellent puree, and they are very good •as beignets. For this, boil the Carrots, cut them in rounds, have ready some paste made as for water biscuits (see Chapter XX), sprinkle each round of Carrot with sugar, put it between two pieces of paste, wetting the edges to make them stick together, dip each beignet in batter, and fry if possible in oil. Powder a little sugar over the beignets and serve very hot. Stewed Carrots.— Boil and slice the Carrots. Put them into a stewpan with a pint of good broth, a little salt and pepper, and let them stew gently for two hours, keeping the pan closely shut. Fifteen minutes before serving add two lumps of sugar crushed to powder, and a squeeze of lemon. Then shake the pan well, but do not use a spoon. Mrs. C. W. Earle’s Carrots. — Boil the Carrots till tender, and serve with a white sauce made of milk boiled till it thickens, into which has been stirred a little butter and cream. Add chopped parsley and a little sugar.