Put a slice of stale French bread, toasted or not, into a soup plate and cover it with 4 tablespoons of grated or shredded Swiss cheese. Place another slice of bread on top of this and pour over it some boiling milk. Cover the plate and let it stand for several minutes. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Serve topped with browned, hot b.u.t.ter. Use whole nutmeg and grate it freshly.

WITH A CHEESE SHAKER ON THE TABLE

Italians are so dependent on cheese to enrich all their dishes, from soups to spaghetti--and indeed any vegetable--that a shaker of grated Parmesan, Romano or reasonable subst.i.tute stands ready at every table, or is served freshly grated on a side dish. Thus any Italian soup might be called a cheese soup, but we know of only one, the great minestrone, in which cheese is listed as an indispensable ingredient along with the pasta, peas, onion, tomatoes, kidney beans, celery, olive oil, garlic, oregano, potatoes, carrots, and so forth.

Likewise, a chunk of melting or toasting cheese is essential in the Fritto Misto, the finest mixed grill we know, and it's served up as a separate tidbit with the meats.

Italians grate on more cheese for seasoning than any other people, as the French are wont to use more wine in cooking.

Pfeffernusse and Caraway

The gingery little "pepper nuts," _pfeffernusse_, imported from Germany in barrels at Christmastime, make one of the best accompaniments to almost any kind of cheese. For contrast try a dish of caraway.

Diablotins

Small rounds of b.u.t.tered bread or toast heaped with a mound of grated cheese and browned in the oven is a French contribution.

CHEESE OMELETS

Cheddar Omelet

Make a plain omelet your own way. When the mixture has just begun to cook, dust over it evenly 1/2 cup grated Cheddar.

(a) Use young Cheddar if you want a mild, bland omelet (b) Use sharp, aged Cheddar for a full-flavored one.

(c) Sprinkle (b) with Worcestershire sauce to make what might be called a Wild Omelet.

Cook as usual. Fold and serve.

Parmesan Omelet (mild)

Cook as above, but use 1/4 cup only of Parmesan, grated fine, in place of the 1/2 cup Cheddar.

Parmesan Omelet (full flavored)

As above, but use 1/2 cup Parmesan, finely grated, as follows: Sift 1/4 cup of the Parmesan into your egg mixture at the beginning and dust on the second 1/4 cup evenly, just as the omelet begins to set.

A Meal-in-One Omelet

Fry 1/2 dozen bacon slices crisp and keep hot while frying a cup of diced, boiled potatoes in the bacon fat, to equal crispness.

Meanwhile make your omelet mixture of 3 eggs, beaten, and 1-1/2 tablespoons of shredded Emmentaler (or domestic Swiss) with 1 tablespoon of chopped chives and salt and pepper to taste.

Tomato and

Make plain omelet, cover with thin rounds of fresh tomato and dust well with any grated cheese you like. Put under broiler until cheese melts to a golden brown.

Omelet with Cheese Sauce

Make a plain French, fluffy or puffy omelet and when finished, cover with a hot, seasoned, reinforced white sauce in which 1/4 pound of shredded cheese has been melted, and mixed well with 1/2 cup cooked, diced celery and 1 tablespoon of pimiento, minced.

The French use grated Gruyere for this with all sorts of sauces, such as the _Savoyar de Savoie_, with potatoes, chervil, tarragon and cream. A delicious appearance and added flavor can be had by browning with a salamander.

Spanish Flan--Quesillo

FOR THE CARAMEL: 1/2 cup sugar 4 tablespoons water

FOR THE FLAN: 4 eggs, beaten separately 2 cups hot milk 1/2 cup sugar Salt

Brown sugar and mix with water to make the caramel. Pour it into a baking mold.

Make Flan by mixing together all the ingredients. Add to carameled mold and bake in pan of water in moderate oven about 3/4 hour.

Italian Fritto Misto

The distinctive Italian Mixed Fry, Fritto Misto, is made with whatever fish, sweetbreads, brains, kidneys, or tidbits of meat are at hand, say a half dozen different cubes of meat and giblets, with as many hearts of artichokes, _finocchi_, tomato, and different vegetables as you can find, but always with a hunk of melting cheese, to fork out in golden threads with each mouthful of the mixture.

Polish Piroghs (a pocketful of cheese)

Make noodle dough with 2 eggs and 2 cups of flour, roll out very thin and cut in 2-inch squares.

Cream a cupful of cottage cheese with a tablespoon of melted b.u.t.ter, flavor with cinnamon and toss in a handful of seedless currents.

Fill pastry squares with this and pinch edges tight together to make little pockets.

Drop into a lot of fast-boiling water, lightly salted, and boil steadily 30 minutes, lowering the heat so the pockets won't burst open.

Drain and serve on a piping hot platter with melted b.u.t.ter and a sprinkling of bread crumbs.

This is a cross between ravioli and blintzes.

Cheesed Mashed Potatoes

Whip into a steaming hot dish of creamily mashed potatoes some old Cheddar with melted b.u.t.ter and a crumbling of crisp, cooked bacon.

If there's a chafing dish handy, a first-rate nightcap can be made via a