Sauce.—Boil the skins and stems of the mushrooms in a cup of water; while they are cooking, brown together in a spider a slightly heaping tablespoonful of butter, a slightly heaping tablespoonful of flour, and a small slice of onion cut very fine. Strain the mushroom skins and stems and add the water they were cooked in to the browned butter and flour, and when the sauce is thick and smooth turn it into a saucepan and add to it a heaping tablespoonful of mushrooms, one small cucumber pickle and two large olives, all chopped very fine. Let all simmer together for a few minutes, season to taste with salt and pepper. If the sauce is too thick add a little water. It should be like thick cream.
[PATTIES OF PUFF PASTE.]
Roll out some puff paste an inch thick, cut with a patty-cutter as many rounds as are needed, then with a smaller cutter stamp each round about half an inch deep. Bake in a quick oven; when done lift the centers out carefully with a knife, remove a little of the inside. When wanted heat the patty shells and fill with spaghettina in tomato sauce, mushrooms or vegetables in a cream or savory sauce, or the filling as given for [spinach border mould]. A few truffles cut fine are a nice addition to tomato sauce. Lay the little tops on and serve.
[SAVORY RICE (a Mexican Dish).]
Wash half a cup of rice, drain from the water. Put a heaping tablespoonful of butter in a spider, when hot add a small leek or white onion and the rice, fry until the rice is a golden brown—do not let it get too dark. Have ready a vegetable stock, nearly fill the spider and cook twenty minutes until the rice is perfectly dry. Every grain should stand alone. Turn out on a platter and serve with tomato sauce.
[RAGOUT OF ASPARAGUS WITH MOCK MEAT BALLS.]
Scrape and wash a bunch of asparagus, cut in pieces about an inch long as far as the stalks are very tender, put the remainder of the stalks with an onion into a saucepan, cover with boiling water and let it cook until tender—about half an hour. Then mash them in the water in which they were boiled through a colander. Put over the fire again, and when it comes to a boil throw in the points and cook until tender. While that is cooking make some [mock meat], as given in a previous recipe, form into balls as large as a walnut. Cook them in salted boiling water for five minutes, drain them from the water, also the asparagus points from the stock, put them together in a saucepan to keep hot while making a gravy. Melt a generous heaping tablespoonful of butter in a spider, add to it when it bubbles a large heaping tablespoonful of flour, stir well until it becomes a dark, rich brown, taking care that it does not burn, add the asparagus stock, season with salt and pepper—this gravy should be like thick cream—turn it over the asparagus and meat balls, stir in a good half tablespoonful of butter, let it come to a boil and serve on a platter. Garnish with parsley.
[CURRIED RICE CROQUETTES.]
Put three-quarters of a cup of milk in a saucepan with butter the size of an egg, let it come to a boil, and stir into it one large cup and a half of rice that has been boiled in salted water twenty minutes. Add a slightly heaping teaspoonful of curry powder, a few drops of onion juice and salt to taste. When it comes to a boil add a beaten egg to it, stir a minute and remove from the fire. Turn it out, let it cool, and then form into cylinders and fry as usual.