211.--PEANUT STUFFING

1 cup dried bread crumbs 1/2 teaspoon salt 2/3 cup boiling water 1/4 teaspoon paprika 2 tablespoons bacon fat 1 teaspoon grated onion 3/4 cup sh.e.l.led peanuts

Mix bread crumbs with boiling water and bacon fat, add peanuts finely chopped, and seasonings.

CHAPTER XI

EGGS

212.--BOILED EGGS

For a soft-boiled egg, place egg in rapidly boiling water and boil from three to five minutes. For hard-boiled eggs, place in rapidly boiling water and boil twenty minutes, or cover with boiling water and cook in the double boiler one hour. For a soft-cooked egg, not boiled, place egg in a small saucepan of boiling water, cover, and let stand on back of range from six to eight minutes, when the alb.u.men should be evenly coagulated throughout. The time for cooking in this way will depend upon the number of eggs to be cooked, the size of the saucepan, and the amount of boiling water. For uniform results, use medium-sized eggs, cook in the same pan, and measure the quant.i.ty of water each time. Thus you can find the exact time required to cook the eggs as desired.

213.--CREAMY EGGS ON TOAST

4 eggs 2 cups hot milk 2/3 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon b.u.t.ter 1/8 teaspoon pepper 4 slices toast

Beat eggs slightly, add salt and pepper, and stir into the hot milk; cook over hot water, stirring constantly until mixture is thick and creamy. Add b.u.t.ter, and serve on toast.

214.--CREOLE EGGS

1 tablespoon b.u.t.ter 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon chopped onion 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1 tablespoon chopped green pepper 3 eggs 2 cups tomato 2 tablespoons cheese

Cook onion and pepper in b.u.t.ter for five minutes; add tomato and seasonings, and when thoroughly heated add the eggs unbeaten; pick up with a fork until eggs are nearly cooked; add cheese, and cook about one minute. Serve on toast, or with a border of boiled rice.

215.--EGGS WITH CHEESE AND SPAGHETTI

2-1/2 tablespoons b.u.t.ter 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 4 tablespoons flour 1/2 teaspoon onion juice 2 cups hot milk 1/2 cup cheese cut fine 1/4 teaspoon paprika 1 cup cooked spaghetti 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 hard-cooked eggs sliced

Melt b.u.t.ter, add flour; when well blended add milk gradually and stir until smooth; add seasonings and cheese, and stir until cheese melts; add spaghetti and eggs, cook two minutes, and serve on toast or crackers.

216.--EGGS WITH HAM AND TOMATO

1/2 can tomatoes 3 beaten eggs 1 slice onion 1/8 teaspoon pepper 4 cloves 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup chopped cooked ham

Cook tomatoes, onion, and cloves fifteen minutes, and rub through a sieve; add ham, eggs, and seasonings, and cook three or four minutes, stirring all the time. Serve on toast or crackers.

217.--BREAD OMELET

2 tablespoons bacon fat 1/2 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup soft stale bread crumbs 1/4 teaspoon paprika 3/4 cup hot milk 3 eggs

Melt fat in frying pan, add bread crumbs, and stir until crumbs begin to brown; add hot milk, and let stand five minutes; add salt and paprika, and the yolks beaten until thick and light; fold in the stiffly beaten whites, pour into a hot greased omelet pan, and cook the same as Light Omelet (see No. 222).

218.--CREAMY OMELET

3 eggs 1/3 teaspoon salt 1 cup White Sauce (see No. 207) 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Beat yolks until thick and light; add to sauce and mix well; add salt and pepper to whites of eggs, beat until stiff and dry, and fold into sauce; pour into a hot greased omelet pan, and cook slowly until well risen and firm; put on oven grate for a minute or two to dry the top; fold, and turn on a hot platter.

219.--FRENCH OMELET

1 tablespoon b.u.t.ter or bacon fat 1/8 teaspoon pepper 4 eggs 1/3 cup hot water 1/2 teaspoon salt

Heat fat in the omelet pan; beat the eggs until yolks and whites are well mixed, but not light; add seasonings and hot water, pour into hot pan and cook slowly; pick up with fork while cooking, letting the uncooked mixture run into the place of the cooked; when firm and lightly browned, fold double, and serve plain on a hot platter; or spread before folding with left-over bits of meat chopped, such as ham, bacon, or sausage, or with grated cheese or jelly.

220.--FRENCH CHEESE OMELET

4 eggs slightly beaten 1/2 cup hot water 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup grated cheese 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Mix in order given, pour into a hot greased omelet pan; as mixture thickens, pick up with a fork, letting the uncooked part take the place of the cooked; when firm, fold, and serve on a hot platter.

221.--HAM OMELET

1/2 cup stale bread crumbs 1/8 teaspoon pepper 1/2 cup hot milk 3 eggs 1 tablespoon b.u.t.ter 1/2 cup cooked ham finely chopped 1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix crumbs, milk, b.u.t.ter, and seasonings, and let stand five minutes; add egg yolks beaten until thick and light; add the meat, and fold in the whites of eggs beaten stiff; pour into a hot greased omelet pan and cook slowly until firm; fold, and serve at once. A white sauce or tomato sauce may be served around it. A few pieces of cooked bacon chopped fine may be used instead of ham.

222.--LIGHT OMELET

1 tablespoon bacon fat 1/8 teaspoon pepper Yolks of 4 eggs 1/3 cup hot water 1/2 teaspoon salt Whites of 4 eggs

Put fat in omelet pan; beat yolks until light and thick, add seasonings and hot water; fold in the stiffly beaten whites, and pour into the hot omelet pan; cook slowly until well risen and firm, or about twelve minutes, placing the pan on the upper grate in the oven for the last two minutes. When firm in the center, fold double, turn on a hot platter, and serve at once, either plain or with sauce. The omelet must be cooked slowly so that it will be firm throughout, and not fall.

White Sauce (see No. 207), either plain or with bits of cold meat, oysters, peas, or other left-over vegetables, or Brown Sauce (see No.

185) with a few mushrooms or chopped kidneys (see No. 164), or almost any savory sauce, improves an omelet, and also makes it go further.

223.--SALMON OMELET

1 tablespoon b.u.t.ter 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons flour 1/2 can salmon 1/2 cup milk 2 eggs

Melt b.u.t.ter, stir in flour, add milk, and stir until smooth; add salt; rinse salmon with hot water; flake, and add to sauce; beat yolks of eggs until light and thick, and add to sauce; fold in whites of eggs beaten very stiff. Pour into a hot greased omelet pan, and cook slowly until well risen and firm; finish cooking on top grate of oven for a minute or two; fold, and serve on a hot platter.