Parsnips.—Scrape and parboil some parsnips. Cut in two lengthwise. Season with pepper and salt, roll in melted butter, dripping or olive oil. Flour again and place in a well-greased paper bag. Seal up and bake in a hot oven on a wire rack for half an hour. They should be a golden brown.
Green Peas.—Shell the peas, put into a well-buttered bag with a little salt to season, a little sprig of green mint and a half cupful of water. Seal and cook twenty-five minutes. Slit open the bag, pour its contents into a hot dish, season well with butter and serve.
Stuffed Peppers.—In preparing peppers for stuffing, select those of uniform size, wash and plunge in boiling water for about ten minutes; then drop into cold water to keep them green; cut off the stem ends and scoop out the seeds and inside of the peppers; fill with any of the following stuffings or a combination of your own devising.
Stuffing No. 1. Wash half a cup of rice; cover with boiling water and cook rapidly for ten minutes; then turn into a sieve to drain. Peel three large tomatoes, removing the seeds and cutting the pulp in small pieces. When fresh tomatoes are out of season, their equivalent in canned may be used. Mix the rice and tomatoes together; add two tablespoonfuls of olive oil or melted butter and season with salt. Fill the drained peppers with the mixture, sprinkling a few buttered crumbs over the top and replace the covers. Oil the peppers on the outside, and set in a buttered bag. Turn enough stock into the bag to come half way up the sides of the peppers (if you have no stock use hot water in which a tablespoonful of kitchen bouquet has been dissolved and several slices of onion and carrot added), and bake in a moderate oven three-quarters of an hour. Rice that has been left over from dinner may be used, leaving the tomatoes out and seasoning with chopped celery, parsley, salt and pepper. When done, dish on a hot platter and pour a rich brown sauce over them, scattering a little minced parsley over the top. A wooden cookery dish is advised here.
Stuffing No. 2. For eight good sized peppers take a pint of chopped meat, veal or chicken, or veal mixed with sausage, a cupful of soft bread crumbs and a cup of stock, gravy or water in which a spoonful of beef extract has been dissolved. Season with an even teaspoonful each of salt and pepper and half teaspoonful each summer savory, thyme and sage. Mix well, fill the peppers, sprinkle fine buttered bread crumbs over them at the end where the stuffing is exposed, put in a buttered bag and bake until well browned. This will take about a quarter of an hour. Serve with chicken or roast beef, and with or without a sauce.
Peppers With Creamed Fish.—Parboil the peppers ten minutes, then fill with creamed fish of any kind, which may be seasoned with a tablespoonful of sherry. Then sprinkle with a layer of fine crumbs, dot with butter, bag, and brown lightly in a quick oven. Creamed carrots, cauliflower, sprouts, and many other vegetables may be baked in the pepper cups and served either as a vegetable or an entree. Filled with potatoes au gratin and browned they are a delicious accompaniment for chops and steaks.
Baked Irish Potatoes.—Scrub thoroughly and rinse as many good sized potatoes as will be required. Make a few slits in them but do not peel. Place in the paper bag with a tablespoonful of water, close tightly and cook from thirty-five to fifty minutes, according to size.
Baked Potatoes Without Their Coats or Jackets.—Select as many potatoes of the same size as desired. Peel and let them stand in salted, cold water for ten minutes. Then drain without drying and place in a greased bag,—bacon fat is good for these potatoes—and cook in a hot oven, without disturbing, for forty-five minutes if small, one hour, if large. They will have a crisp, brown coat, every part of which can be eaten.
Potatoes en Surprise.—Choose potatoes of smooth shape, not too large and of even size. Scrape out from the top of each a space large enough to hold the yolk of an egg. Salt and pepper the nest, drop in a tiny bit of butter, then the egg yolk, follow with a thin slice of bacon just large enough to cover the egg and set in greased paper bag. If necessary to keep them upright cut a thin slice from the bottom of each potato, add a spoonful of cold water, seal, set in a hot oven and cook for thirty minutes.
Potatoes Farci.—A new and very delicious way of serving stuffed potatoes is as follows: Wash large potatoes and bake in bag until nearly done; take from the oven and nearly cut off one end, leaving the skin for a hinge and a bit of potato for a lid. Pull out the undone heart with a fork and in its place lay shavings of smoked bacon, peppered and tightly rolled after having been laid for an instant on a hot frying pan; close the potato and set in the oven to finish cooking.