Practical household cookery

Boil one pound of macaroni in the usual way for a quarter of an hour or so ; strain off the water ; return the macaroni into the saucepan with a pint of milk ; boil till the milk is absorbed, then add an ounce each of grated cheese and butter ; mix well with the macaroni by shaking the saucepan and tossing it up. When well mixed pour it into a gratin-dish with two ounces more of grated cheese sprinkled over it, as well as a little bread raspings, grated nutmeg, and an ounce of butter divided in five or six pieces. Put the gratin-dish in a well-heated oven till it has attained a nice golden colour and serve in the gratin-dish. If preferred, the completion of the cooking of macaroni can be made in broth instead of milk. 98. MACARONI (COUNTRY STYLE). Cut about two pounds of the round or shoulder of beef in three-inch dice ; shred an onion and fry it in a frying-pan with an ounce of butter ; when the onion is of a nice yellow colour, add the pieces of beef to it and brown them for five minutes; after which, draw the pan away from the fire. Take a good-sized pie- dish and half a pound of uncooked macaroni ; break this in short pieces and divide it in three parts ; lay one part at the bottom of the pie-dish, nicely buttered ; then put the half of the meat and onions on this layer, season well with salt and pepper; make another layer of macaroni, place the remainder of the meat and onions on it, season as before, and cover these with the third part of macaroni; moisten the lot with broth three-parts full, cover the pie-dish closely with a plain flour and water paste, or with another pie-dish turned over it, and put it in a well-heated oven for about an hour ; after which, remove the cover, sprinkle a little grated cheese over the top, and serve in the pie-dish. Note. — ^Tbe same thing can be done with mutton or veaL 94. MACARONI MILANAISE. Boil one pound of macaroni, strain, and cut it up in three-inch lengths, put it in a stewpan with three ounces of butter, four ounces of grated Gruyère cheese, a little grated nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste, and half a pint of good cream ; set the stewpan over a moderate fire, toss up the whole well together until quite hot, then shake it up for a few minutes to make the cheese spin, and serve. 95. TA6LIATELLI (HOUSEWIFE STTLE). Put one pound of sifted flour on the paste-board, make a well in the centre, break five eggs in it, add a teaspoonful of salt and about an ounce of butter, with enough lukewarm water to melt the salt, work these well together to a firm smooth paste, and finish it by pressing the paste from you with the palms of the hands. Then cut it into four pieces, and roll it with the rolling-pin to the thickness of about the sixteenth part of an inch, let it dry for a little while, then fold each piece in ribbons of about two inches wide, taking care to sprinkle a little flour between the folds ; cut these through crossways into shreds about the eighth of an inch, take them up gently with both hands, to loosen them and prevent their adhering to one another, spread them again on the paste-board, and when all the paste is shred in this way immerse them (a few at a time) in three quarts of boiling salt water; stir, while you drop them in to prevent their getting lumpy, and after five or six minutes of sharp ebullition drain them well on a sieve ; put them afterwards in a stewpan with half a pint of broth, two ounces of butter, salt and pepper to taste; let them simmer for a few minutes ; then add three ounces of grated cheese, two or three spoonfuls of good beef gravy, and toss the contents whilst over the fire, so as to mix well together, and serve.. 96. TAGLIATELLI A LA CHASSEUR.