Boil in their skins about a dozen medium-sized potatoes, and when done, peel and pass them through a fine sieve. Put a lump of butter about the size of an egg in a saucepan, let it melt, and add a tablespoonful of arrowroot, and stir over the fire until well browned; then add the potatoes with as much well flavored stock as will be required for the soup; boil all together. When done, pour the soup into a soup tureen, and serve while hot with a plate of sippets of toast or croutons of fried bread.

Beef Pot-Au-Feu

About six pounds of any cut of beef will do for this; tie the meat up with a string, and put it, with the bone, in a very large saucepan filled with sufficient water to cover the meat, then place on fire and boil. As the scum rises skim off with a skimmer. Do not allow the water to quite boil; this may be regulated by adding a very small quantity of cold water from time to time, which prevents bubbling and allows the scum to rise, then salt to taste, adding a whole pepper, allspice and an onion stuck with cloves, another onion toasted almost black, a leek and three carrots of average size cut in lengths, two turnips cut in four, and a bunch of herbs, such as bay leaves, thyme and marjoram, a clove of garlic and a small handful of parsley, all tied together into a bundle. The vegetables should be added gradually so as not to check the gentle simmering, which it is needful to keep uninterrupted. Skim again, and leave on stove to simmer for four hours. Strain and skim before serving; add a little sugar, and more salt to taste, make very hot and pour into a soup-tureen over small slices of toasted bread without crusts. Vegetables may be added or not, according to taste.

French Pot-Au-Feu

Melt in a large saucepan a good-sized lump of butter, and place in some pieces of meat (almost any kind of trimmings from joints will do), which have been well washed or an old fowl or rabbit. Place the lid on the pan and shake the contents over a fire for a few minutes, then move it to one side and pour in some boiling water, judging the quantity by that of the meat, and simmer gently at the edge of the fire for three or four hours, when some vegetables may be added, such as carrots, turnip, leeks, onions, celery, etc., all nicely pared; season well, letting the whole stew until the vegetables have become quite tender, a bunch of sweet herbs tied in a bag should be added. When done, take out the vegetables and place them in a soup tureen, straining the liquor through a fine sieve over them, and serve with a plate of sippets of toast.