[CREAM OF CUCUMBERS.]
Peel and cut into slices four cucumbers and one small white onion, put in a saucepan with enough boiling water to cover them, cook until tender, press through a fine sieve and pour into a saucepan, stand where it will keep hot without cooking. Have a cream sauce ready, made by melting two heaping tablespoonfuls of butter in a saucepan with two tablespoonfuls of flour, let them cook together until the mixture no longer adheres to the pan, then add gradually a quart of milk, an even teaspoonful of white pepper, a heaping teaspoonful of salt, let it boil for a few minutes until thick and pour into the cucumber purée, add two tablespoonfuls of rich cream, let it come to the boiling point, and serve at once. This is a very delicate soup, and cooking or standing on the stove after it is done will spoil it. Groult's potato flour is nicer for thickening cream soups than the common flour, but, if used, only half the quantity called for in the recipes is needed.
[CREAM OF SUMMER SQUASH.]
Peel the squash, slice thin, put in a saucepan and add boiling water to come nearly to the top of the squash. When nearly tender add an onion, a bay leaf and several sprigs of parsley. When tender mash through a fine sieve, return to the fire, let it come to a boil, stir in a heaping tablespoonful of butter, a heaping teaspoonful of flour, season with salt and pepper and a tiny pinch of mace. Have almost as much boiling milk as purée, remove from the fire and stir together, add two tablespoonfuls of cream, and serve at once.
[CREAM OF LETTUCE.]
Take two heads of nice, fresh lettuce, wash and drain and chop fine with half a small white onion, put in a saucepan with two heaping tablespoonfuls of butter, cook for about ten minutes, stirring all the time, then add two heaping tablespoonfuls of rice and a quart of milk. Let it boil for twenty minutes until the rice is perfectly tender, remove from the fire and press through a purée sieve, using a small potato masher, then strain and press again through a fine hair sieve; this will make it smooth. Season with salt to taste and a dash of cayenne pepper, and a small half teaspoonful of sugar. Put in a fresh saucepan, rub together two heaping teaspoonfuls of butter and an even teaspoonful of cornstarch and stir into the soup. Let it come to the boiling point and remove from the fire, adding at the last moment a quarter of a cupful of whipped cream. Serve with or without fried croutons.
[CREAM OF MUSHROOMS.]
Wash one pound of mushrooms, skin and stem them. Put the skins and stems in a saucepan with a cup of boiling water and boil ten minutes, strain and add to this water the mushroom flaps chopped very fine, and cook until tender, then press through a fine sieve. Melt two large heaping tablespoonfuls of butter in a saucepan, and stir into it two heaping tablespoonfuls of flour, and when smooth add a quart of rich milk, a whole clove of garlic, salt and pepper to taste. When it boils and thickens add the mushroom stock, let it boil up once, remove the clove of garlic, turn the soup into the tureen and serve.
[CREAM OF GREEN PEAS.]
Put a quart of green peas into a saucepan with a slice of white onion, cover with boiling water and cook until tender. Remove from the fire and press through a purée sieve with the water in which they were boiled. Return to the saucepan, set it back on the stove, let it come to a boil, add a pint of rich milk, salt and white pepper to taste, a dash of cayenne, and a large, generous tablespoonful of butter rubbed into an even tablespoonful of flour, adding a little of the liquid before stirring into the soup. Let it come to a boil, and add two tablespoonfuls of whipped cream just as it is poured into the tureen.