Select a piece of beef from the under part of the round, or the vein, weighing about three pounds. Put it on in boiling water to nearly cover, skim as it boils, and let it cook slowly three or four hours or until tender. When nearly done, add salt and pepper to taste. Remove it from the water and set away to cool. In the water left in the kettle cook one dozen small onions. When nearly done, add the same amount of small potatoes pared into round shape, or cut with a large potato marble cutter. Remove these from the water when tender, and set away to cool.

Half an hour before serving time, cut the meat into quarter-inch slices and brown it quickly and delicately in hot butter. Use two spiders, so it may be done quickly. Put the onions and potatoes in the spider, adding more butter as needed, and let them color slightly. Then heat the water in which the meat was boiled, which should be about a pint, add one cup of cream, and thicken it slightly with flour wet in cold water. Add more seasoning, if needed, and one cup of canned mushrooms, and simmer until the mushrooms are hot. Arrange the potato balls around the meat, then a row of the onions around the potatoes, and dot here and there with the mushrooms. Pour the gravy over the meat, enough to cover and show under the vegetable garnish. Put a sprig of parsley at the corners.

This dish may seem to require considerable time in its preparation, but it is a very convenient dish for a six o'clock dinner, as the meat and vegetables may be boiled in the forenoon; then it takes but little time to reheat them at night. Do not think it can be served as soon as the meat and vegetables are cooked and be the same, for the flavor of the meat when cooled and then reheated is quite unlike that of the freshly boiled meat. And we all know how the potato changes in texture and flavor when warmed over, and while it may not be as wholesome for a delicate stomach, it would not harm others. It is an economical and appetizing dish.