Practical household cookery

Peel one pound of potatoes, cut these in half-inch slices and then in quarter-inch strips; dry them in a cloth and fry in boiling fat over a brisk fire for about twelve minutes, giving an occasional stir with the frying-basket to secure an even cooking and prevent them adhering to one another. When of a nice golden colour, drain them on a clean cloth by twisting and shaking them over; then sprinkle with salt, dish up, and serve. 723. CHIPPED POTATOES, FRIED. After having peeled one pound of potatoes, cut them in very thin slices, say the sixteenth of an inch, and dry in a cloth ; then fry them in hot fat over a brisk fire for about ten minutes, taking care to stir occasionally with the frying-basket, to secure an even colouring ; drain on a cloth, sprinkle with salt, and serve. 724. FRIED POTATOES, PAILLE. Peel and slice one pound of potatoes as above, then cut these in shreds the size of straws, dry, and fry in hot fat for about seven minutes. When of a nice golden colour, drain, sprinkle with salt, and serve. Note. — ^This style is generally served with roast game 725. FRIED POTATOES SOUFFL^ES. Peel one and a half pound of kidney potatoes to the shape of an egg, and slice them lengthwise to an eighth of an inch thick, taking care to have all of the same size; dry in the usual way and fry in hot fat for six minutes ; then gather them in the frying- basket, and drain and cool by the side of the stove ; keep the fat on the fire to increase the temperature by a few degrees, and when the potatoes are quite cold, throw them in the fat again for five minutes to complete the cooking, when the reaction of the heat will cause them to swell like eggs. This being attained, drain them quickly over a clean cloth, sprinkle with salt, and serve at once. 726. POTATO SOUFFLI Wash and bake in their skins a pound of potatoes : this will take about three-quarters of an hour if the oven is well heated. When soft, squeeze them over a wire sieve and rub through with a wooden spoon into a large basin. Put into a stewpan a gill of milk with an ounce of butter; bring this to boil, giving it an occasional stir; season slightly with salt, pepper, and a pinch of grated nutmeg; then draw the pan awny from the ^ve^ add to its contents gradually to the yolks of four eggs properly beaten, stirring the while. When the liaison is made, mix it well with the mashed potatoes; whisk the whites of the four eggs to a stiff froth, add it to the mashed potatoes, and stir it into the mixture. Pour the whole into a well buttered souffld or pie dish ; set it to bake in a well-heated oven for about twelve minutes, when it will have risen and become of a golden colour, then serve. 727. NEW POTATOES WITH BUTTER, Wash and scrape two pounds of small new potatoes (as much as possible of the same size). Put them in a stewpan with a teaspoonful of salt and enough cold water to cover them. Set them to boil two minutes only ; then drain off the water and dry them on a cloth. Melt three ounces of fresh butter in a saute- pan, add the potatoes, and simmer on a good fire for about twenty minutes, taking care to often toss them, in order to give them an even colour all round. W^hen properly done, sprinkle some salt and a teaspoonful of finely chopped parsley, dish up, and servo. 728. PLAIN BOILED CABBAGE. Trim off the outer leaves of a cabbage, divide it in four, soak these in cold water for an hour with a handful of salt ; when well washed, drain and squeeze the water out of them, cut off the stalks, and throw the cabbage into boiling water with a tablespoonful of salt. When properly cooked, pour them into a colander, drain the water out by pressing the cabbage with a small plate, and serve. 729. CABBAGE, COUNTRY STYLE.