Clean and trim three heads of celery and cut into four-inch lengths. Cover with boiling water, let stand for ten minutes, drain, and rinse in cold water. Tie in bundles and put into a saucepan with three cupfuls of hot stock. Add one-fourth cupful of butter or drippings, half a carrot, half an onion, a teaspoonful of salt, and a little cayenne pepper. Cover and simmer until tender. Drain the celery, strain the liquid, skim off the fat, and thicken a cupful or more of the cooking liquid with flour browned in butter. Arrange the celery on toast, pour the sauce over, and serve.
CREAMED CELERY
Clean, trim, and cut the celery into short pieces. Boil until tender in salted water, drain, and reheat in a [Cream Sauce]. Diced cooked carrots may be added to Creamed Celery.
FRICASSEE OF CELERY
Clean and cut the celery into inch-lengths. Cover with cold water and soak for an hour. Drain, and cook until tender in stock to cover, with salt and paprika to season and a teaspoonful of grated onion. When tender, thicken the cooking liquid with flour browned in butter, and serve.
CELERY AU GRATIN
Cut two bunches of celery into inch-lengths and cook until tender in boiling salted water. Drain, mix with [Cream Sauce], cool, and add two well-beaten eggs. Pour into a buttered baking-dish, cover with crumbs, dot with butter, and bake for half an hour.
CELERY À L’ITALIENNE
Trim off the tops and roots from four heads of celery. Cut the stalks into short lengths, parboil, and drain. Reheat with a cupful of white stock, a tablespoonful each of butter and chopped ham, and salt and pepper to season. When tender, strain the sauce and arrange the celery on pieces of toast. Add to the sauce a tablespoonful of grated cheese and the beaten yolk of an egg. Pour the sauce over the celery and bake until brown.