Good Things to Eat as Suggested by Rufus

MACARONI WITH APRICOTS— Stew twenty halves of fresh apricots in half a cup of sugar and enough water to make a nice sirup when they are done. Before removing from the fire add a heaping tablespoonful of brown flour and cook until the sirup is heavy and smooth. Parboil ten sticks of macaroni broken in two-inch pieces, drain, add to one pint of scalding hot milk two ounces of sugar. Throw in the parboiled macaroni and allow it to simmer until the milk is absorbed; stir it often. Pour all the juice or sauce from the apricots into the macaroni, cover the macaroni well, set on back of the stove for fifteen minutes, then take off and allow to cool. When cold form a pile of macaroni in the center of the dish and cover with apricots, placing them in circles around and over it. MACARONI AND CHEESE— Cook macaroni broken up into short length in boiling salted water. Boil uncovered for twenty or thirty minutes, then drain. Fill a buttered pudding dish with alternate layers of macaroni and grated cheese, sprinkling pepper, salt and melted butter over each layer. Have top layer of cheese, moisten with rich milk, bake in moderate oven until a rich brown. SCRAMBLED CAULIFLOWER— Trim off the coarse outer leaves of a cauliflower. After soaking and cooking, drain well and divide into branches. Sprinkle with nutmeg, salt and pepper and toss into a frying pan with hot butter or olive oil. MACARONI OR SPAGHETTI SERVED IN ITALIAN STYLE — Break a pound of macaroni or spaghetti into small pieces. Put into boiling salted water and boil about twenty minutes. Then drain and arrange on platter. Sprinkle on each layer grated cheese and mushroom sauce. Serve hot. MUSHROOM SAUCE, ITALIAN STYLE— (For macaroni, spaghetti, ravioli and rice.) — A small piece of butter about the size of an egg. One or two small onions, cut very small. About two pounds of beef. Let all brown. Prepare as you would a pot roast. Add Italian dried mushrooms, soaked over night in hot water, chopped in small pieces. Add about onehalf can of tomatoes. Let all cook well. Salt and pepper to taste. Add a little flour to thicken. MOLD SPINACH — Remove roots and decayed leaves, wash in several waters until no grit remains. Boil in water to nearly cover until tender, drain, rinse in cold water, drain again, chop very fine, reheat in butter, season with salt and pepper and pack in small cups. Turn out and garnish with sifted yolk of egg. NUT PARSNIP STEW— Wash, scrape and slice thin two good-sized parsnips. Cook until perfectly tender in two quarts of water. When nearly done add a teaspoon of salt and when thoroughly done a teaspoon of flour mixed with a little cold water, stir well and let boil until the flour is well cooked, then stir in one-half cup of walnut meal, let boil up once, and serve immediately. POTATOES A LA MAITRE D'HOTEL— Slice cold boiled potatoes thin. Melt a rounding tablespoonful of butter in a saucepan, add a heaping pint bowl of the potatoes, season with salt and pepper, and heat. Now add a teaspoon of lemon juice and the same of finely minced parsley, and serve at once.