Beefsteak And Onions

For this dish the cut may be a porterhouse, a sirloin or the round ; when expense is to be considered, the last named cut will be found both economical and palatable. It should be pounded slightly to make it more tender. Heat a frying-pan until quite hot, and place the steak in it, adding no fat at all. Cook until the meat is either rare or well done, as may be preferred. If the finer cuts are used, care must be taken that the meat is not cooked too long, but the round will need to be fairly well cooked to make it juicy and tender. Remove the steak to the serving dish. Slice the onions thin, and turn them into the pan in which the steak was cooked. Cover the pan, and cook the onions slowly in the juices from the steak until they are tender; then lift them out and place them on top of the steak. Add a little water to the juices in the pan, and thicken the gravy with a little flour or corn-starch wet in a little water. Season with salt and pepper, and pour over the onions and steak. This gravy should be a fine brown. Onions cooked this way will not be as greasy as the dish that is often served under this name.

Hamburg Steak

Have the butcher chop very fine two pounds of the round of beef. Press it into a flat steak about three-quarters of an inch thick, sprinkle with salt, pepper and flour, lay it in a fine wire broiler, and broil the same as beefsteak. Spread with butter and serve on a hot dish. This steak is sometimes shaped into small, thin, flat cakes and fried in a frying-pan, a little pork, fat or butter being used to keep the meat from sticking to the pan.

A gravy is then made by thickening the juices in the pan, a little water being added before the thickening. The gravy should be poured over the meat.

Corned Beef

Put the beef into the pot with enough cold water to cover it, and when it boils set it back on the range to boil very moderately. Fast boiling of salted meats renders them very hard, yet the water must not cease bubbling. Skim often. In England carrots are boiled and served with this dish, and they much improve the flavor of the beef. They are not put in the pot until three-quarters of an hour before serving time, and they are arranged about the meat on the platter. In America cabbage is generally boiled with the beef. When this is used, one or two little red peppers, also boiled with the beef, improve the quality of the dish. When ready to serve, after taking out the meat, lift the cabbage from the saucepan, using a skimmer for the purpose. Drain the cabbage well in a colander, pressing out all the water. Serve it around the beef or in a separate dish, as may be liked.

Stewed Beef-Heart

The heart of the ox is very inexpensive, yet it makes a most delicious dish. Wash the heart well, remove the muscles from the inside, and take out every particle of blood. Make a stuffing of

One cupful of bread-crumbs.

One table-spoonful of chopped onion.

One table-spoonful of chopped celery.

One table-spoonful of butter.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Mix these ingredients well together, and stuff the cavity of the heart with them. Tie the heart about with twine, and wrap it in a cloth, sewing the ends together to keep the stuffing in. Place in a small stew-pan, with the point of the heart down, and nearly cover with water boiling hot. Place the lid on the pan, and simmer gently for three hours. When done, there should be about a pint of water in the pan. Remove the cloth and place the heart on a platter. Add a little water to the pan, thicken the juices with a small quantity of flour or corn-starch, wet in a little water, and season with salt and pepper. Pour the gravy over and around the heart.