Poached Eggs

Break the eggs, one at a time into a saucer. Place water in a saucepan, salt it well, and when it is simmering, drop each egg lightly in, cooking but one egg at a time if the saucepan is small. More may be cooked at once by using a large frying-pan. The water should not be allowed to boil while the eggs are cooking, but should be kept just at the boiling point. With a small spoon throw the water carefully on the top of the egg to whiten it. The beauty of a poached egg is for the yolk to be seen blushing through the white, which should be just sufficiently hardened to form a veil for the yolk. When cooked enough, take out the egg with a perforated ladle, trim off the ragged edges, and slip it on a small, thin piece of buttered toast. When all the eggs are cooked and placed on their separate pieces of toast, place on each a bit of butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Some cooks set muffin-rings in the water to give the eggs an even shape, poaching them, inside the rings. An egg-poacher is very convenient for this work. Poached eggs are often placed in beef soup, one egg being prepared for each person at table. They are also served on thin slices of boiled ham, and also in a Welsh rarebit. Delmonico, when serving poached eggs on toast, sprinkles sorrel over the top of the egg.

Scrambled Eggs

This dish is particularly nice for breakfast. For six persons, allow

Five eggs.

One table-spoonful of butter.

One-half cupful of milk.

One tea-spoonful of salt.

One-eighth tea-spoonful of pepper.

Beat the eggs well, and add to them the milk, salt and pepper. Put the butter in a frying-pan, and when hot, turn in the eggs, and stir continually until a thick, creamy mass is formed; this will not require more than a minute and a-half. Remove from the fire, and serve at once. A little chopped parsley is sometimes stirred into the eggs just before they are taken from the fire.

Spanish Eggs

These are prepared the same as directed in the preceding recipe, but before cooking the mixture add to the butter in the pan one large tomato, peeled and cut into bits. Cook the tomato in the butter until soft, about five minutes being necessary; then turn in the egg mixture, and finish as above.

Eggs In Tomato

Six eggs.

One pint of tomato.

One small onion.

One tea-spoonful of salt.

One-quarter tea-spoonful of pepper.

Cut the onion into small pieces, place these with the tomato in a frying-pan, stew very slowly for ten minutes, and add the salt and pepper. Set the pan back, break the eggs and slip them on top of the tomato, taking care not to break the yolks. Return the pan to the heat, and cook slowly until the whites of the eggs are thoroughly set; then prick the yolks and let them mingle with the tomato and whites. The mixture should be quite soft, but the red tomatoes and the white and yellow of the eggs should be quite distinct. Serve at once on buttered toast.