Boiled Asparagus

Scrape the stalks and lay them in cold water for half an hour ; tie into a rather loose bundle with soft string, and cook in hot, salted water for half an hour.

It is no longer considered necessary to lay boiled asparagus upon toast, many good judges of cooking preferring to serve it without the sodden underpinning. If you are thus minded, undo the string and arrange the stalks upon a hot dish. Pour white or Hollandaise sauce over it, or pass this separately. Or you may serve melted butter with it.

Asparagus A La Vinaigrette

Boil as directed, and while the stalks are hot pour over them a dressing made of three tablespoonfuIs of salad oil to one of vinegar, a teaspoonful of French mustard, a little salt and cayenne, and a saltspoonful of sugar. Set away in a closely covered dish, and when cold put upon the ice for some hours before serving. It ranks among salads, but is a delicious accompaniment to cold lamb or chicken on a hot day.

Scalloped Asparagus

Wash the asparagus and cut off the hard, woody part of the stalks. Cut the tender part into inch lengths and parboil for ten minutes in hot, salted water. Drain and put a layer of them in a buttered bake-dish. Scatter over this minced, hard-boiled eggs, season with salt, pepper, and butter-bits, and go on thus until the ingredients are used up. You need about four eggs to a bunch of asparagus. Make a roux of a large tablespoonful of butter and one of flour, and thin with a cupful of hot milk. Cook for a minute, season with paprica, and pour over the asparagus, a layer of which should be uppermost in the scallop; sift fine crumbs over all with bits of butter stuck in it and grated 17 cheese upon this. Bake twenty minutes, covered, then brown slightly.

Asparagus Tips

Use for this dish only the delicate tips of asparagus, less than two inches long. Boil in hot, salted water until tender; drain, turn into a deep dish, pepper, salt, butter, and pour a good white sauce over them - half a cupful to one cupful of the tips.

Asparagus Pates

Cut rounds of stale bread an inch and a half thick. Press a small cutter an inch deep into each, and dig out the inside, leaving a round, saucer-like cavity. Butter these well and set upon the grating of a hot oven to crisp and to color lightly. Fill them with asparagus tips prepared as in the last recipe, and serve hot.

This is a nice luncheon entree.