Celery (celeri), is an exceedingly nice vegetable not only when sent round, raw, with cheese, but also when cooked in various ways as an entremets. In the latter case the heads should be very neatly trimmed and cut short, say five or six inches in length. They can then be split lengthwise in two or four pieces according to the thickness of the head. When prepared satisfactorily, the pieces should be plunged into fast boiling water, and as soon as tender, drained, turned out upon a hot silver dish, and served like asparagus with a pat of butter melting over them, a piping hot "Dutch sauce" being sent round in a boat.

Celery may be also stewed gently in weak stock, or blanc and then be presented a l' Espagnole (covered with a thick rich brown sauce), or au jus in clear gravy.

Blanc, which I have already mentioned with reference to vegetable cookery, is a kind of stock made as follows:- Cut up as small as possible a quarter of a pound of fat-bacon, and a quarter of pound of beef suet, and put the pieces with a bacon bone, or some broken-up chicken bones, into a stew-pan. Add a couple of carrots, and two large sweet onions cut up small, a bunch of curly parsley, a tea-spoonful of dried thyme or marjoram, a dozen pepper corns, a tea-spoonful of sugar and one of salt, and stir well over a brisk fire till the fat melts well, and the vegetables begin to fry in it. Do not let them brown, but pour in before that stage arrives enough warm water to cover the contents of the pan. Draw the pan to the edge of the fire. Cook the contents of it at first gently, gradually adding heat, and finally encouraging evaporation by actual boiling, and stirring the contents of your pan to prevent them catching. When the Liquor has diminished to about a quarter of its original quantity, strain it off into a bowl. When required, this vegetable essence should be carefully skimmed poured into a sauce-pan, and sufficient water should be added to cook the celery or other vegetable that may be put into it.

Celery stewed in blanc can be served advantageously a la moelle, i.e., with beef marrow. In this case you must pile the celery in the centre of the dish, thicken the blanc in which it was cooked, and pour it over the pile.

The marrow should be treated in this way :- Break the bone, take out the raw marrow, cut it into dice, blanch them for five minutes in scalding water, drain them, and heat them up gently in a little of the sauce en bain-marie. A dessert-spoonful each of this should be put into little croustades of fried bread, and served round the celery as a garnish. Cut your croustades square, out of stale bread, and hollow a little space in each to hold the marrow.