This section is from the "A Bachelor's Cupboard" book, by John W. Luce.
The Omelette Espanol is built as follows: from a tablespoonful of butter and a tablespoonful or brown flour braided in a frying-pan or blazer, make a sauce by stirring in a cup of canned tomato, half a cup of thinly-sliced mushrooms, and half a cup of chopped ham. Season with red pepper, onion juice, and salt. After simmering about ten minutes, stir in four beaten eggs, stirring carefully as it thickens, and when the eggs are set, serve on buttered toast.
SHAVIAN RABBIT. Arnold Daly likes to experiment with the chafing-dish, but admits that he never dares to avail himself of poetic license, and always adheres strictly to the letter of the recipe, for he doesn't dare depend upon his own judgment. That he reserves for histrionic effects in " Candida," or " How He Lied to Her Husband." " My favorite recipe for a hot bite after the performance," he says, " is to mix three tablespoonfuls of grated cheese, one tablespoon-ful of butter, and some onion finely chopped and sifted on, a sprinkle of salt and paprika, and the whole popped into the chafing-dish and stirred until the cheese is melted. Then I pour in six eggs and stir until they are cooked, blending carefully with the other mixture. This, served on toast, makes an after-theater dish which has won me the envy of some of my fairest friends and a good many nuisances among the fellows, for somehow actors never seem to have enough of anything."
CRAB MEAT AND MUSHROOMS. Robert Edeson shines equally as a football artist and a concoctor of chafing-dish dainties, among which none perhaps is more acceptable than crab meat and mushrooms in the manner he prepares them. He says: "Take two cups of crab meat cut in dice and half a can of mushrooms, also cut up in the same size. Braid together a heaping tablespoonful of flour and two tablespoonfuls of butter stirred until smooth; then mix the crab meat and mushrooms together, season with paprika, salt, and a soupçons of onion juice. Turn into the hot sauce and cook three minutes-, then remove from the flame. Add quickly three tablespoonfuls of cream, heated with a pinch of soda, set over the flame a moment, add a glass of sherry, and serve hot. DAVID HARUM POT ROAST. Hungry men who want something more substantial, just wake up and take notice while William H. Crane tells how to do a David Harum Pot Roast: " Lay a round of beef in a deep pot. Add a cup of boiling water and two slices of onion, cover closely, and for every pound of meat cook ten minutes. Then transfer to a dripping-pan, rub with butter, dredge with flour, and brown in a hot oven. Strain and cool the gravy left in the pot, and, after removing the fat, put in a saucepan seasoned with salt, pepper, and a little kitchen bouquet. Thicken with a roux of browned flour and butter, boil up once, and serve poured around the meat. It's not a bad idea to put some potatoes that have been peeled all over around the meat and let them cook in the oven. A little good salad, plenty of fresh horseradish, and something cold to drink, make this an ideal feast for the jaded palate that turns at truffles and mocks at mushrooms."
 
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