Virginia Cookery-book

Boil the eggs hard, and then cut them in halves ; take out the yolks carefully, without breaking the whites ; put the yolks in a small bowl, with a little pepper, salt, mustard, and vinegar — a very little of the last; beat them to a smooth paste with creamed butter. The quantity of seasoning must be proportioned to the number of eggs prepared, as your judgment will dictate. If you have not allowed butter enough to make the eggs creamy, add just a little milk or cream. Now return the prepared yolks to the whites, put them into a baking - dish, and then into a hot oven to brown. Scrambled Eggs. One of the plainest ways of cooking eggs, but one of the best. Heat an iron skillet and grease it with a little melted butter ; having your eggs ready broken in a dish near the fire, pour them in, and stir them briskly for five or six minutes until they are prettily mixed and done to your taste. Just before you take them from the skillet add a seasoning of a table-spoonful of butter, a teaspoonf ul of salt, and a good sprinkling of black pepper to a dozen eggs. This will make a dish for about eight persons of moderate appetite. Eggs à la Crème. Boil twelve eggs just hard enough to cut up into slices; cover the bottom of a baking-dish with crumbs of grated bread ; upon these place a layer of eggs, strewing each such layer with bread - crumbs, pepper, and salt ; put a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, with a little flour well rubbed into it, in a saucepan, with a little chopped parsley (if liked and in season), salt, pepper, and half a pint of sweet cream; stir it over the fire until it begins to boil; then pour at once over the eggs ; set it in an oven, and, when nicely browned, send to table. Omelbt of Egos. Twelve eggs, twelve table-spoonfuls of fresh milk, one lump of butter the size of an egg, pepper and salt to the taste. A teaspoonful of salt and a quarter as much pepper would be safe measures to try. Beat up your eggs thoroughly, the yolks and whites separately; add the milk, pepper, and salt to the yolks, and beat in the whites after all are light; put the butter into the pan, and, when melted, pour in the eggs ; do not stir them, but let them brown. When the eggs are cooked fold over the omelet, and let its own heat cook the inside. Beef Omelet. One pound of fresh beef, three large crackers rolled fine, two eggs well beaten, one ounce of butter. Chop the meat up very fine ; mix it with the crackers and eggs, and season them with salt, pepper, and any herbs that you may like — half a teaspoonf ul of sage and summer savory each, for instance; then make up into an omelet-like loaf, and bake for a half an hour ; baste often with butter in the pan. Potato Omelet. To a teacupful of Irish potatoes, mashed smooth, with a small lump of butter and two table-spoonfuls of milk, add five eggs, the yolks and whites beaten separately as light as possible ; add a teaspoonf ul of salt, and grate in a little nutmeg, besides adding a sprinkling of black pepper; lastly, squeeze in a very little lemon- juice, and fry in a skillet, greased and heated before you pour in the omelet. They brown nicely, and should be served promptly. Ham Omelet. Take six ounces of cold boiled ham and mince very fine, adding a little pepper for seasoning ; beat six eggs light, yolks and whites separately; have ready some hot lard in a pan ; put the omelet in to fry, and when done serve on a heated dish, folded over like a half -moon ; set it inside your oven to brown on top. It should only require ten or fifteen minutes in the cooking. Stuffed Eggs.