EGGS

212.—BOILED EGGS

For a soft-boiled egg, place egg in rapidly boiling water and boil from three to five minutes. For hard-boiled eggs, place in rapidly boiling water and boil twenty minutes, or cover with boiling water and cook in the double boiler one hour. For a soft-cooked egg, not boiled, place egg in a small saucepan of boiling water, cover, and let stand on back of range from six to eight minutes, when the albumen should be evenly coagulated throughout. The time for cooking in this way will depend upon the number of eggs to be cooked, the size of the saucepan, and the amount of boiling water. For uniform results, use medium-sized eggs, cook in the same pan, and measure the quantity of water each time. Thus you can find the exact time required to cook the eggs as desired.

213.—CREAMY EGGS ON TOAST

4 eggs2 cups hot milk
2/3 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon butter
1/8 teaspoon pepper4 slices toast

Beat eggs slightly, add salt and pepper, and stir into the hot milk; cook over hot water, stirring constantly until mixture is thick and creamy. Add butter, and serve on toast.

214.—CREOLE EGGS

1 tablespoon butter1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon chopped onion1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon chopped green pepper3 eggs
2 cups tomato2 tablespoons cheese

Cook onion and pepper in butter for five minutes; add tomato and seasonings, and when thoroughly heated add the eggs unbeaten; pick up with a fork until eggs are nearly cooked; add cheese, and cook about one minute. Serve on toast, or with a border of boiled rice.

215.—EGGS WITH CHEESE AND SPAGHETTI

2½ tablespoons butter1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
4 tablespoons flour½ teaspoon onion juice
2 cups hot milk½ cup cheese cut fine
¼ teaspoon paprika1 cup cooked spaghetti
½ teaspoon salt3 hard-cooked eggs sliced

Melt butter, add flour; when well blended add milk gradually and stir until smooth; add seasonings and cheese, and stir until cheese melts; add spaghetti and eggs, cook two minutes, and serve on toast or crackers.

216.—EGGS WITH HAM AND TOMATO

½ can tomatoes3 beaten eggs
1 slice onion1/8 teaspoon pepper
4 cloves½ teaspoon salt
½ cup chopped cooked ham

Cook tomatoes, onion, and cloves fifteen minutes, and rub through a sieve; add ham, eggs, and seasonings, and cook three or four minutes, stirring all the time. Serve on toast or crackers.

217.—BREAD OMELET

2 tablespoons bacon fat½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup soft stale bread crumbs¼ teaspoon paprika
¾ cup hot milk3 eggs

Melt fat in frying pan, add bread crumbs, and stir until crumbs begin to brown; add hot milk, and let stand five minutes; add salt and paprika, and the yolks beaten until thick and light; fold in the stiffly beaten whites, pour into a hot greased omelet pan, and cook the same as Light Omelet (see No. 222).

218.—CREAMY OMELET

3 eggs1/3 teaspoon salt
1 cup White Sauce (see No. 207)1/8 teaspoon pepper

Beat yolks until thick and light; add to sauce and mix well; add salt and pepper to whites of eggs, beat until stiff and dry, and fold into sauce; pour into a hot greased omelet pan, and cook slowly until well risen and firm; put on oven grate for a minute or two to dry the top; fold, and turn on a hot platter.

219.—FRENCH OMELET

1 tablespoon butter or bacon fat1/8 teaspoon pepper
4 eggs1/3 cup hot water
½ teaspoon salt

Heat fat in the omelet pan; beat the eggs until yolks and whites are well mixed, but not light; add seasonings and hot water, pour into hot pan and cook slowly; pick up with fork while cooking, letting the uncooked mixture run into the place of the cooked; when firm and lightly browned, fold double, and serve plain on a hot platter; or spread before folding with left-over bits of meat chopped, such as ham, bacon, or sausage, or with grated cheese or jelly.

220.—FRENCH CHEESE OMELET

4 eggs slightly beaten½ cup hot water
½ teaspoon salt½ cup grated cheese
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Mix in order given, pour into a hot greased omelet pan; as mixture thickens, pick up with a fork, letting the uncooked part take the place of the cooked; when firm, fold, and serve on a hot platter.

221.—HAM OMELET

½ cup stale bread crumbs1/8 teaspoon pepper
½ cup hot milk3 eggs
1 tablespoon butter½ cup cooked ham finely chopped
½ teaspoon salt

Mix crumbs, milk, butter, and seasonings, and let stand five minutes; add egg yolks beaten until thick and light; add the meat, and fold in the whites of eggs beaten stiff; pour into a hot greased omelet pan and cook slowly until firm; fold, and serve at once. A white sauce or tomato sauce may be served around it. A few pieces of cooked bacon chopped fine may be used instead of ham.

222.—LIGHT OMELET

1 tablespoon bacon fat1/8 teaspoon pepper
Yolks of 4 eggs1/3 cup hot water
½ teaspoon saltWhites of 4 eggs

Put fat in omelet pan; beat yolks until light and thick, add seasonings and hot water; fold in the stiffly beaten whites, and pour into the hot omelet pan; cook slowly until well risen and firm, or about twelve minutes, placing the pan on the upper grate in the oven for the last two minutes. When firm in the center, fold double, turn on a hot platter, and serve at once, either plain or with sauce. The omelet must be cooked slowly so that it will be firm throughout, and not fall.

White Sauce (see No. 207), either plain or with bits of cold meat, oysters, peas, or other left-over vegetables, or Brown Sauce (see No. 185) with a few mushrooms or chopped kidneys (see No. 164), or almost any savory sauce, improves an omelet, and also makes it go further.

223.—SALMON OMELET

1 tablespoon butter½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons flour½ can salmon
½ cup milk2 eggs

Melt butter, stir in flour, add milk, and stir until smooth; add salt; rinse salmon with hot water; flake, and add to sauce; beat yolks of eggs until light and thick, and add to sauce; fold in whites of eggs beaten very stiff. Pour into a hot greased omelet pan, and cook slowly until well risen and firm; finish cooking on top grate of oven for a minute or two; fold, and serve on a hot platter.

224.—SCALLOPED EGGS WITH CHEESE

4 hard-cooked eggs½ cup cheese cut fine
2 cups White Sauce (see No. 207)½ cup Buttered Crumbs (see No. 472)

Cut eggs in eighths lengthwise; put half of them into a greased baking dish, cover with half of sauce, and sprinkle with half of cheese; repeat; cover with crumbs, and bake about fifteen minutes, or until crumbs are brown. Bacon or sausage fat may be used in making the white sauce.

225.—SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH SAUSAGES

4 small sausages¼ teaspoon salt
3 eggs1/3 cup water

Cut sausages in half-inch bias pieces, and cook in a frying pan until brown; beat eggs until light, add salt and water, pour over sausages, and scramble until firm. Garnish with toast points and parsley.

226.—SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH TOMATO

½ can condensed tomato soup4 eggs slightly beaten
1/8 teaspoon soda6 slices buttered toast

Heat soup in an omelet pan; add soda, and stir while foaming; add eggs, scramble slowly with a fork until firm, and serve on toast. Garnish with toast points.

227.—SHIRRED EGGS

Grease individual egg shirrers or a platter which can be put in oven; cover bottom of dish with white sauce or left-over gravy, sprinkle with left-over vegetables or bits of meat chopped; carefully break an egg into dish for each person, dust with salt and pepper; sprinkle with buttered crumbs, and bake in a moderate oven until egg is set.

228.—SHIRRED EGGS WITH HAM

1 cup finely chopped cooked ham½ cup Buttered Crumbs (see No. 472)
1 cup soft bread crumbs4 eggs
½ cup milkSalt and pepper

Mix ham, soft crumbs, and milk, and spread in four buttered egg shirrers; make a hollow in the middle, break an egg into it, season lightly with salt and pepper, cover with buttered crumbs, and bake until egg is set.

229.—SOUFFLÉED EGG WITH HAM TOAST

For each person cut a round of bread three inches in diameter; spread with finely chopped ham moistened with milk, stock, or gravy; add a few grains of salt to the white of an egg, and beat very stiff; mound on ham, make a depression in the center, put in the yolk, dust lightly with salt and pepper, and bake in a moderate oven until egg is firm. When several pieces of toast are to be made, keep the yolks in separate dishes until needed, but beat the whites together.

230.—SHIRRED EGGS WITH POTATO AND HAM

See recipe for Baked Ham and Potato (No. 171).


CHAPTER XII