To Boil

Wash half a pound of rice in water and drain it; put it in a saucepan with one quart of broth taken from the top of the broth-kettle, and before having skimmed off the fat; set on the fire, boil gently for about fifteen minutes, or till rather underdone, and put on a very slow fire to finish the cooking. Water and butter may be used instead of broth. If the broth is absorbed or boiled away before the rice is cooked, add a little more to keep it moist; add salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste, and it is ready for use.

Another Way

When boiled, place it in a slow oven to dry it, and then pour over it, little by little, stirring the while, four ounces of melted butter.

Another

Wash half a pound of rice in cold water and drain it. Put it in a saucepan with two quarts of cold water, salt, and the juice of two lemons; boil six minutes, and drain; put it in a saucepan then with about six ounces of melted butter; mix, cover the pan well, and put it in a slow oven for about half an hour; take off and use.

Rice may be boiled in several different ways, or rather with several ingredients. To the above ways, in India or other southern countries, they add, besides salt and nutmeg, a teaspoonful of curry-powder to a pound of rice. In Italy they add slices of ham, sausage, saffron, and even Parmesan cheese. When cooked, chopped truffles may be added at the same time with the butter. Oil is sometimes used instead of butter.

In Border

When thus prepared, take it with a spoon and place it all around the dish, leaving room in the middle to serve a bird, and then serve warm.

Another Way

When prepared as above, put the rice in a mould for border; the rice must be rather dry and the mould well buttered. Press on it so as to fill the mould well, then put it in an oven at about 350 deg. Fahr. for ten or twelve minutes. Take off, place a dish on the mould, turn it upside down, and remove the mould. The inside of a mould, for border, is plain, but the outside and bottom are scalloped; the bottom makes the top of the rice when served. There is an empty place in the centre to hold a bird.

Cake

Butter a mould well and then dust it with sugar. Prepare rice as directed for croquettes, and instead of spreading it on a dish to cool, fill the mould about two-thirds full with it, and bake in a warm but not quick oven for about half an hour. Serve on a dish. The mould may be prepared with sugar only in this way: put pulverized sugar into the mould, set it on a rather slow fire, and when turning rather brown turn the mould round and round, so as to have it lined all over with sugar; bake as above, turn over a dish, remove the mould, and serve hot or cold, with or without a sauce for puddings.

In Croquettes

Wash four ounces of rice in cold water and set it on the fire with a pint of milk and the rind of half a lemon; when done or nearly so, the milk may be boiled away or absorbed by the rice; add a little more to keep the rice nearly covered with it. When done, take off and mix with it two tablespoonfuls of sugar, two ounces of butter, two tablespoonfuls of milk, three yolks of eggs, a little pinch of salt, and the same of nutmeg - the latter, if liked. Put back on the fire for one minute, stirring the while. Spread the mixture on a dish and let cool. If the croquettes are for breakfast, the above may be done the evening previous. When cold, stir the mixture, so as to mix the upper part with the rest that is less dry. Put it in parts on the paste-board, about a tablespoonful for each part. Have bread-crumbs on it, roll each part of the shape you wish, either round, like a small sausage, or flat, or of a chop-shape. Then dip each croquette in beaten egg, roll in bread-crumbs again, and fry in hot fat. (See Frying.)

To shape them, roll each part round at first, and with a few bread-crumbs; then with a knife you smooth both ends, while you roll them round with the left hand; the two must be done at the same time. When fried and in the colander, dust with sugar, and serve as warm as possible. Croquettes are generally served in pyramid. A napkin may be spread on the platter, and the croquettes served on it.