CHAPTER XVIII.
RECIPES FOR COOKING MUSHROOMS.
Stewed Mushrooms. No. 1.
Choose them as nearly as possible of uniform size and free from insects. Drop them in salt water for five minutes to free them from any insects that may be hidden in the gills; drain them and wipe dry and clean with a rather rough cloth; cut off the stems close to the cap. Put them into a granite or porcelain saucepan, cover closely and stew gently fifteen minutes. Salt to taste. Rub a tablespoonful of butter into about a tablespoonful of flour, and stir this into the mushrooms, letting boil three or four minutes; stir in three tablespoonfuls of cream, mixed with a well-beaten egg, and stir the whole for two minutes without letting it boil, and serve either on toast or as a vegetable.
Stewed Mushrooms. No. 2.
Clean mushrooms as directed above and stew in water ten minutes; then drain off part of the water and put in as much warm milk as you have poured off water; let this stew for five to ten minutes; then add some drawn butter, or veal or chicken gravy, and salt and pepper to taste. Thicken with a little corn starch wet in cold milk. Serve hot.
In cooking mushrooms they should always be kept as closely covered as possible in order the better to retain the flavor, and they should never be subjected to too great heat.
Baked Mushrooms.
Be sure your mushrooms are fresh and free from insects; cut off the stems close to the caps and wipe the tops with a wet cloth. Arrange them in a pie dish with the gills uppermost, laying a little bit of butter on each; sprinkle pepper, salt, and a very little mace upon them. Put them into a hot oven and bake from fifteen minutes to half an hour, according to the tenderness of the mushrooms; if they are in danger of getting too dry baste them occasionally with butter and water. Pour over them some maitre d'hotel sauce and send to the table in the dish in which they were baked.
Broiled Mushrooms.
Select the finest and freshest you can get and prepare as for baking; put into a deep dish and pour over them some melted butter, turning them over and over in it. Salt and pepper and let them lie for an hour and a half in the butter. Put them, gills uppermost, on an oyster gridiron over a clear hot fire, turning them over as one side browns. Put them on a hot dish, having them well seasoned with butter, pepper, and salt and with a few drops of lemon juice squeezed upon each, if liked.