Put the milk on the stove to heat in a good-sized pan. Beat the whites of the eggs very stiff, and as soon as the milk scalds,--that is, gets a little wrinkled on top,--drop spoonfuls of the egg on to it in little islands; let them stand there to cook just one minute, and then with the skimmer take them off and lay them on a plate. Put the milk where it will keep hot but not boil while you beat the yolks of the eggs stiff, mixing in the sugar and beating that, too. Pour the milk into the bowl of egg, a little at a time, beating all the while, and then put it in the double boiler and cook till it is as thick as cream. Take it off the fire, stir in a saltspoonful of salt and half a teaspoonful of vanilla, and set it away to cool. When it is dinner-time, strain the custard into a pretty dish and slip the whites off the top, one by one. If you like, you can dot them over with very tiny specks of red jelly.
2 cups of milk. 1 cup soft bread-crumbs. 1 tablespoonful of sugar. 2 egg yolks. 1 egg white. 1/2 teaspoonful vanilla. 1 saltspoonful of salt.
Crumb the bread evenly and soak in the milk till soft. Beat it till smooth, and put in the beaten yolks of the eggs, the sugar, vanilla, and salt, and last the beaten white of the egg. Put it in a buttered pudding-dish, and stand this in a pan of hot water in the oven for fifteen minutes. Take it out and spread its top with jam, and cover with the beaten white of the other egg, with one tablespoonful of granulated sugar put in it, and brown in the oven. You can eat this as it is, or with cream, and you may serve it either hot or cold.
Sometimes you can put a cup of washed raisins into the bread-crumbs and milk, and mix in the other things; sometimes you can put in a cup of chopped almonds, or a little preserved ginger. Orange marmalade is especially nice on bread pudding.
Turn the corn into the colander and pour water through it a moment. Heat a cup of milk with a tablespoonful of butter, a teaspoonful of salt, and three shakes of pepper, and mix with the corn and cook for two minutes. Or, put in a buttered baking-dish and brown in the oven. Many people never wash corn; it is better to do so.
Cut six hard-boiled eggs up into bits, mix with a cup of white sauce, and put in small baking-dishes which you have buttered. Cover over with fine, sifted bread-crumbs, and dot with bits of butter, about four to each dish, and brown in the oven. Stick a bit of parsley in the top of each, and put each dish on a plate, to serve.
1 cup of sugar. 4 eggs. 2 lemons. 1 pint of milk. 1 tablespoonful of sugar. 2 tablespoonfuls of corn-starch. 1 pinch of salt.
Wet the corn-starch with half a cup of the milk, and heat what is left. Stir up the corn-starch well, and when the milk is hot put it in and stir; then boil five minutes, stirring all the time. Melt the butter, and put that in with a pinch of salt, and cool it. Beat the yolks of the eggs, and add the sugar, the juice of both lemons, and the grated rind of one, pour into the milk, and stir well; put in a buttered baking-dish and bake till slightly brown. Take it out of the oven; beat the whites of two eggs with a tablespoonful of granulated sugar, and pile lightly on top, and put in the oven again till it is just brown. This is a very nice rule.
1/2 a small cabbage. 1 cup very stiff mayonnaise. 1 teaspoonful celery-seed.
Cut the cabbage in four pieces and cut out the hard core; slice the rest very fine on the cutter you use for Saratoga potatoes; mix with the mayonnaise and put in the salad-dish; sprinkle over with celery-seed, when you wish it to be very nice, but it will do without this last touch.
4 eggs. 2 tablespoonfuls of milk. 1/2 teaspoonful of salt.
Put the eggs in a bowl and stir till they are well mixed; add the milk and salt. Make the frying-pan very hot, and put a tablespoonful of butter in it; when it melts, shake it well from side to side, till all the bottom of the pan is covered. Put in the eggs and stir them, scraping them off the bottom of the pan until they begin to get a little firm; then draw the pan to the edge of the stove, and scrape up from the bottom all the time till the whole looks alike, creamy and firm, but not hard. Put them in a hot, covered dish.
2 cups of flour. 1 teaspoonful baking powder. 1 1/2 cups of milk. 1 tablespoonful butter. 1/2 teaspoonful of salt. 3 eggs, beaten separately.
Mix the flour, baking-powder, and salt; put the beaten egg yolks in the milk, and add the melted butter, the flour and last the beaten whites of the eggs. Make the waffle-iron very hot, and grease it very thoroughly on both sides by tying a little rag to a clean stick and dipping in melted butter. Put in some batter on one side, filling the iron about half-full, and close the iron, putting this side down over the fire; when it has cooked for about two minutes, turn the iron over without opening it, and cook the other side. When you think it is done, open it a little and look to see if it is brown; if not, keep it over the coals till it is. Take out the waffle, cut in four pieces, and pile on a plate in the oven, while you again grease the iron and cook another. Serve very hot and crisp, with maple syrup or powdered sugar and thick cream.
Some people like honey on their waffles. You might try all these things in turn.
Cook six eggs twenty minutes, and while they are on the fire make a cup of white sauce, as before: one tablespoonful of butter, melted, one of flour, one cup of hot milk, a little salt; cook till smooth. Peel the eggs and cut the whites into pieces as large as the tip of your finger, and put the yolks through the potato-ricer. Mix the eggs white with the sauce, and put in a hot dish, with the yellow yolks over the top. Or, put the whites on pieces of toast, which you have dipped in part of the white sauce, and put the yolks on top, and serve on a small platter.
Another nice way to cream eggs is this: Cook them till hard, and cut them all up into bits. Make the white sauce, and into it stir the beaten yolk of one egg, just after taking it from the fire. Mix the eggs with this, and put in a hot dish or on toast. You can sprinkle grated cheese over this sometimes, for a change.
Cut cold boiled potatoes into pieces as large as the end of your finger; put them into a pan on the back of the stove with enough milk to cover them, and let them stand till they have drunk up all the milk; perhaps they will slowly cook a little as they do this, but that will do no harm. In another saucepan or in the frying-pan put a tablespoonful of butter, and when it bubbles put in a tablespoonful of flour, and stir till they melt together; then put in two cups of hot milk, and stir till it is all smooth. Put in one teaspoonful of salt, and last the potatoes, but stir them only once while they cook, for fear of breaking them. Add one teaspoonful of chopped parsley, and put them in a hot covered dish. You can make another sort of potatoes when you have finished creaming them in this way, by putting a layer of them in a deep buttered baking-dish, with a layer of white sauce over the top, and break-crumbs and bits of butter for a crust. Brown well in a hot oven. When you do this, remember to make the sauce with three cups of milk and two tablespoonfuls of flour and two of butter, and then you will have enough for everything.
