Ox-tail Soup.
1 ox-tail, 2 pounds lean beef, 4 carrots, 3 onions and thyme. Cut tail into pieces and fry brown in butter. Slice onions and 2 carrots, and when you remove the tail from the pan put these in and brown also; then tie them in a thin cloth with the thyme and put in the soup pot. Lay the tail in and then the meat cut into small pieces. Grate over them the remaining 2 carrots, and add 4 quarts of water, with salt and pepper. Boil four to six hours. Strain five minutes before serving and thicken with 2 tablespoonfuls of browned flour. Boil ten minutes longer.
Mushroom Soup.
1 pint of white stock, 2 tablespoonfuls butter, 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, and 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 tablespoonful corn starch, 1 pint of milk; heat milk. Mix butter and corn starch to cream, and add hot milk and then stock. Boil 1 pound of mushrooms until soft, and then strain. Have them ready and add to the soup, letting it stand to thicken. It is improved by a little whipped cream added before serving.
Soupe a l'Ognon.
Put into a saucepan butter size of a pigeon's egg; add 1 pint of soup stock. When very hot add 3 onions, sliced thin, then a full 1/2 teacup of flour, stirring constantly that it may not burn. Add 1 pint boiling water, pepper and salt, and let boil one minute, then placing on back of range till ready to serve, when add 1 quart of boiling milk and 3 mashed boiled potatoes. Gradually add to the potatoes a little of the soup till smooth and thin enough to put into the soup kettle. Stir all well, then strain. Put diamond-shaped pieces of toasted bread in bottom of tureen and pour soup over it.
Potato Soup.
Boil and mash fine 4 large mealy potatoes; add 1 egg, a piece of butter size of an egg, a teaspoonful of salt, 1 teaspoonful celery salt. Boil 1 pint of water and 1 pint of milk together and pour on potatoes boiling hot. Stir it well, strain and serve.