Chiccory.—Chiccory, or succory, or endive, is generally prepared as a salad, if it be that with the broad leaves, or the curled endive.
Stewed.—Clean, wash, and drain it. Blanch it for about one minute, and drain again. Then put it in a stewpan with a little broth, and simmer till cooked; then add a little gravy, salt and pepper to taste, and serve. It makes a good entremet. The wild chiccory is prepared in the same way.
With Milk.—Remove the outer leaves and see that it is perfectly clean, cut in two or four, wash well in several waters, and throw into boiling water with a little salt; boil half an hour, take it out, throw into cold water, leave two minutes, and drain; press on it the drainer so as to extract all the water from it, after which chop it fine. Put about two ounces of butter in a stewpan; when melted, sprinkle in it a teaspoonful of flour, also salt and pepper; then put the endive in, say three or four heads, stir with a wooden spoon for ten minutes, after which time you beat two eggs with milk, and put them in the stewpan; keep stirring fifteen minutes longer, and serve.
Corn—sweet.—The simplest and best way is to boil it, and then eat it with butter, salt, and pepper. When boiled with any meat-soup, or with pot-au-feu, it is delicious to eat, and gives a good taste to the broth; it is also eaten with butter, salt, and pepper, as above.
Stewed.—Shell it and then drop it in boiling water and a little salt, boil till nearly done; then drain and put it back on the fire with a little broth; boil gently for about ten minutes, add a little gravy, salt and pepper to taste, and serve warm.
In Succotash.—This popular Indian dish, is very simply made by boiling corn and green Lima beans together, with salt and pepper. The two can be prepared together as stewed corn, but it makes a very inferior dish.
Cucumbers.—Peel them, split them in four, take the seeds out, cut in pieces about one inch long, throw them into boiling water, with a little salt; boil till cooked, drain, and put them on a towel so as to dry them well; then put butter in a frying-pan, and set it on a good fire; when hot, put in it some chopped parsley, salt, and pepper, two minutes after put the cucumbers in it, fry a few minutes, tossing them now and then, and serve.
The same, stewed.—Cook in boiling water, and dry them as above; then put them in a stewpan with a little butter kneaded with flour, add salt, pepper, and a pinch of grated nutmeg; moisten with broth, simmer to reduce the sauce; take from the fire, mix the yolks of two eggs in the sauce; add to it a few drops of vinegar, and serve them.
Stuffed.—Soak a piece of bread in cold water and then squeeze the water out of it, the size to be according to how many cucumbers are to be stuffed, or how large they are. Split large cucumbers in two, lengthwise, remove the seeds and some of the fleshy parts inside, by means of a small iron spoon. Put a little butter in a saucepan on the fire, and when melted fry in it a piece of chopped onion. When the onion is fried, put in the pan what you have removed from the inside of the cucumbers, and which you have chopped a little, stir for about five minutes, and then add the soaked bread, stir and mix well with the rest; add also salt, pepper, a little grated nutmeg and a little gravy; stir again for about one minute, take from the fire; fill the cucumbers, that is, each half with the mixture; place them in a pan, the mixture upward; dust with bread-crumbs, put a little butter on the top of each, and bake. Before serving, a little gravy may be sprinkled all over; serve warm.
In hors-d'oeuvre.—Peel the cucumbers, cut them in slices slantwise, and salt them for two or three hours. Drain them, and then season with oil, vinegar, pepper, and parsley chopped fine.