Artichokes A La Creme

Boil them in water; when they are done enough, drain them well. About half an hour is sufficient to cook them if they are young. Toss them in butter in a stew-pan, add to them some cream and a bunch of chives and parsley. Let them stew a little, thicken the sauce with the yolk of an egg; season with salt and a little cayenne.

Artichoke-Bottoms Au Blanc

Trim them neatly round, leave on the tender leaves at the heart; blanch them in salt and water. When they are so far done that you may remove the leaves and choke without breaking the bottoms, take them out and lay them in cold water. Then prepare the following "blanc," which is also good for all sorts of vegetables: - Cut about half a pound of bacon-fat into large dice, also a little beef-suet; add two ounces of butter, a little salt, and half a lemon cut in thin slices, and as much water as will cover the vegetables you wish to stew in it. Let it simmer half an hour, then put in the artichokes and stew them till they are quite tender, which will be in about half an hour. Take them out, drain them, and serve with a sauce espagnole. (See Sauces.)

Jerusalem Artichokes

Cut one or two onions into half rings, brown them lightly in oil; trim the artichokes, and put them into the pan with the onions a little minced, and scallions, salt, and pepper. Toss them two or three times; as soon as they are tender dish them. Put a spoonful of vinegar in the saucepan, boil it up, and pour it over them. Jerusalem artichokes are also good plain boiled, and served with a bechamel sauce or fried in butter, like salsifis (which see), or roasted, and served on a napkin.

Salsifis En Salade Or Aspic

Take enough salsifis to fill a mould the size of the dish you require; boil them in water enough for them to swim in, with a little salt, a bit of butter, and the juice of a lemon. Before boiling you must scrape off the outside skin, and throw each bit as you prepare it into vinegar and water, which prevents their turning black. They will take three-quarters of an hour to boil. Be sure that they are tender. Drain them and cut them in pieces to fit the mould; arrange them as for a chartreuse, dipping each piece into aspic to make it stick round the mould; fill the centre with a salad of small bits of salsifis cut of the same size; season with salt and pepper; add oil, vinegar, some aspic, and parsley chopped very fine; mix well together, fill up the mould with aspic, and set it on the ice. When you wish to serve, wrap a cloth dipped in hot water round the mould and turn it out on the dish.