The potatos must be raw, large, unblemished, and of a good round shape. First take off a thin paring of the skin. Then, pare the whole potato round and round, (not too thin,) till you have gone through it all, and nothing is left unpared but a little lump in the centre. Then put these continuous rings of potato into a frying-pan, in which is boiling plenty of fresh butter, or butter and lard mixed. Fry them brown and tender, and arrange them handsomely in a dish for breakfast.
Another Way.—Slice thin a sufficiency of fine raw potatos, and lay them in a pan of cold water to soak for an hour or more. Then pour off that water entirely, and replace it with fresh. Let them remain in this for another hour, or till it is time to cook them. Put them into a frying-pan that has in it plenty of fresh butter or lard, enough, while frying, to keep the potatos near the surface. Fry them till perfectly well done and tender.
Attempting to re-cook cold potatos renders them more hard and tough.
When once cold, potatos always remain indigestible, cook them as you will.
STEWED POTATOS.—
Having pared some fine raw potatos, quarter them, and put them into a stew-pan with a little salt, pepper, and some green sweet marjoram stripped from the stalks, and scattered among the potatos. Put them into a stew-pan with milk enough to prevent their burning, and some fresh butter—no water. If you can get cream conveniently, add some to the milk. Cover the pan, and let the potatos stew, till, on trying them with a fork, you find them thoroughly cooked, and soft and tender all through. If not sufficiently done, they are hard, tough, leathery, and unfit to eat.
They are very good stewed entirely in the dripping of cold gravy of roast beef, veal, or pork—but not mutton, as that will give them the taste of tallow. This is a nice breakfast dish. Cold potatos re-cooked never again become good. After potatos once become cold, no cooking can restore them.