Nutmeg

Nutmegs are exceeding valuable for flavouring custards, cakes, puddings, etc., and many kinds of sauces, including butter sauce. As the flavour of nutmeg is very strong, care should be taken not to over-flavour delicate sauces - hence, directions will often be given as " flavour with a suspicion of nutmeg." This is best done by rubbing a nutmeg once or twice across a grater, letting fall what is scraped, then flipping the grater over the sauce. Sufficient will generally drop to make the " suspicion".

Olives

Olives are sold preserved in salt and water in bottles. They are a popular dish for dessert, being sent up as they are in a little of the liquor in a glass dish. When used for garnishing salads, salmis, etc., they should be stoned. For this purpose cut them longways, keeping the edge of the knife against the stone the whole time. When the stone comes out this strip will roll up, and look like a whole olive.

Orange Fritters

Divide the orange into sections, sometimes called pigs, remove all the white part, but do not break the skin, dip each piece into brandy, then into powdered sugar, and batter and fry. (See Fritters and Batter).

Oyster Soup

Open a dozen oysters, scald them in their own liquor and a little milk, strain them off directly, and put them by. Boil a quart of No. 3 Stock, that has had no extract of meat put to it, down to half a pint. Boil separately a pint and a half of milk, and add to it the reduced stock. (See No. 26.) Thicken with some white thickening (see No. 12) till the soup is as thick as cream. Add some pepper and a teaspoonful, or rather more, of anchovy sauce. Make the soup tureen hot with boiling water, empty it, put in the scalded oysters, now cold, and pour the boiling soup on to them in the tureen. It is an improvement to boil a bay-leaf in the soup. A " suspicion" of nutmeg may also be added.

A small tin of oysters, rubbed through a wire sieve with the liquor, makes this soup much better.

Parmesan Cheese

Parmesan cheese is the best cheese for adding to dishes known as "au gratin." It is now sold ready grated in bottles.

Parsley And Butter Sauce

Get some fresh parsley; wash it, and let it dry; chop it very fine. Add a tablespoonful of this chopped parsley to half a pint of butter sauce (see Butter Sauce) or white sauce (see White Sauce). Throw the parsley into the sauce when boiling. This preserves the green colour. Let it boil for five or ten minutes before serving.

Boiled Parsnips

Wash the parsnips, scrape them, cut them into quarters, and throw them into boiling water, salted. (See No. 9.) Send them to table as soon as they are done. Try them with a fork to see if they are done, and skim the water. Time varies with age.

Tinned Peaches

Tinned peaches can be treated in every respect as Apricots. (See Apricots).

Baked Pears

Place the pears whole in a buttered tin in the oven. Shake some powdered sugar over them when done. Baking or cooking pears require a very long time - some four or live hours to bake.

Stewed Pears

Peel some cooking pears; cut them into quarters, removing carefully all the core. Place them in a stewpan, with sufficient water to cover them. To every pound of cut-up fruit add a quarter of a pound of sugar, a small stick of cinnamon as big as the little finger, and a dozen cloves. Stew till perfectly tender, take out the pears, bring the syrup to a boil, strain it, make it a bright red with a little cochineal. When cold, take a tablespoonful of port wine, and add it to the syrup.