1158. Cauliflowers, With White Sauce

Remove the green stalks, divide them, if large, into quarters, and with the point of a small knife pick out all the small leaves; wash the cauliflowers, and boil them in hot water, with a little mignionette-pepper, a pat of butter, and some salt: when done, drain them upon a sieve. Next, take a round-bottomed quart basin, and fill it with the cauliflowers, placing the flowerets next the sides, that the white only may show when dished up; previously to turning them out upon the dish, drain them again on a napkin, by turning the basin upside down upon it; after which, turn the cauliflowers out into their dish, pour some white sauce (No. 71) over them, garnish with fleurons, and serve. 24

1159. Cauliflowers, With Parmesan Cheese

Prepare and dish up the cauliflowers as directed above. Put a large ragout-spoonful of Bechamel or Veloute sauce, into a stewpan. with four ounces of grated Parmesan cheese, two ounces of fresh butter, the yolks of four eggs, a small piece of glaze, some lemon-juice, nutmeg, pepper and salt; stir this preparation over a stove-fire, until it be well mixed, without boiling ; then, pour it on to the cauliflowers, so as to mask them entirely with it. Smooth the dome over with the blade of a knife, and cover the top with a coating of grated Parmesan cheese; place them in the oven to gratinate for about a quarter of an hour; when they have acquired a bright-yellow color, put a border of croutons of fried bread round the base, and serve.

The croutons may be stuck round the bottom of the dish in the form of a coronet, previously to dishing up the cauliflowers, so as to prevent them from spreading.

1160. Tomatas, A La Provencals

Slice off that part of the tomata that adheres to the stalk, scoop out the seeds without breaking the sides of the fruit, and place this in circular order in a sautapan, containing about a gill of salad oil. Next, chop up half a pottle of mushrooms, a handful of parsley, and four shalots; put these into a stewpan with two ounces of scraped fat bacon, and an equal proportion of lean ham, either chopped or grated fine; season with pepper and salt, and a little chopped thyme. Fry these over the stove-fire for about five minutes; then, mix in the yolks of four eggs, fill the tomatas with this preparation, shake some light-colored raspings of bread over them, and place them over a brisk stove-fire, holding a red-hot salamander over them for about ten minutes, by which time they will be done; dish them up in the form of a dome, pour some brown Italian sauce (No. 12) round the base, and serve.

1161. Mushrooms, Au Grattn

Punnet, or large mushrooms, must be used for this purpose. Cut the stalks, trim the edges, and remove the skin, then fill each mushroom with a similar preparation to that directed to be used for tomatas a' la Provencale; shake some raspings of bread over them, place them in a sautapan, thickly spread with butter; put them in the oven for about a quarter of an hour to gratinate, and then dish them up in a pyramidal form; pour some brown Italian sauce round them, and serve.