Broccoli and Cauliflower.—Au Gratin.—Boil a cauliflower, previously well washed and trimmed, in plenty of water, with a due quantity of salt; be careful not to overboil it; about 10 minutes will do it. Try the stem with a thin iron skewer, and the moment it, is soft remove the saucepan from the fire, and put the cauliflower to drain on a hair sieve. When it is quite cold, cut it up neatly and carefully, place the roughest pieces flat on a well-buttered dish, so as to form a sort of foundation; sprinkle this with pepper and salt, a little nutmeg, and cover it well with grated Parmesan cheese, dispose the remaining and best pieces on the top, add more pepper, salt, and nutmeg, cover with grated Parmesan, add a few baked breadcrumbs, and pour over all a little liquefied butter; bake in a quick oven 15-20 minutes, and serve. Rubbing the dish with garlic is an improvement.
Dressed.—Trim and boil a nice firm cauliflower; it should not be over large, and should be boiled with care, that it may be tender without being broken. To secure this it should not boil too quickly, and there should be put into the water used either a little common or a little soda carbonate and 1 tablespoonful salt. When done, take up carefully on a sieve to drain, and keep warm while you make the following sauce: Put into a clean stewpan 3 oz. fresh butter; let it dissolve on the stove, but do not let it get so hot that it will oil. Now mix with it 1 dessertspoonful cornflour, and pour on it ¼ pint boiling water and a little cream and let it boil up. Now put into it 1 teaspoonful chopped parsley and ¼ teaspoonful chopped onion. Let these boil 1 minute; take from the fire and stir into the sauce the beaten yolks of 2 or 3 fresh eggs, 1 tablespoonful chili vinegar, and a little salt. Divide the cauliflower into tufts, and arrange neatly on a dish. Pour the sauce over, put some sippets of toast round, and serve.
With White Sauce.—Pick out all the green leaves from a couple of broccoli, and cut off the stalks close. Put them head downwards into a saucepan full of boiling salted water. When done pick them out into sprigs and arrange them head downwards in a pudding basin, which must have been made quite hot. Press them in gently, then turn them out dexterously on a dish, and pour over them the following sauce, boiling hot: Melt 1½ oz. butter in a saucepan, mix with it 1 tablespoonful flour, and then add ½ pint boiling water; stir till it thickens; add salt and white pepper to taste; then take the saucepan off the fire and stir in the yolks of 2 eggs beaten up with the juice of a lemon and strained.
Brussels Sprouts.—Boiled.—(a) Take about 1 qt. sprouts all of a size, not larger than walnuts, throw them into salt and water for 10 minutes, then put them in fast-boiling water, in which you have put a small piece of soda to preserve the green colour. When nearly done pour off the water, and put in as much fresh butter as you can lift on a teaspoon; toss the pan gently, but do not stir and keep the lid on by the side of the fire until you have prepared the sauce, which must be made of good stock, with some of the red gravy from roast beef added; take a breakfastcupful, and bring it to a boil, then mix a teaspoonful of cornflour in cold water; add a little browning and some Harvey’s sauce, or any other brown sauce, then pour the boiling stock on; give one boil up, and strain the sauce into the pan with the Brussels sprouts. Let them remain closely covered, and, when dishing up, squeeze a little lemon juice into the sauce.
(b) Trim each sprout neatly, and wash them in several waters. Put them to boil in plenty of boiling salted water, and, when almost done, strain them and dry them in a cloth. Put them in a saucepan with a large piece of butter, pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg to taste. Toss them gently on the fire until they are quite cooked.
Cabbage.—Boiled.—(a) Take 2 summer cabbages, trim off all the outer leaves, cut the cabbages in half lengthwise, and steep them in salted water for an hour, then throw them into fast-boiling water, and when they have boiled 20 minutes change the water for fresh boiling water, salted to taste. Let them boil till quite done. Put them on a sieve in the screen to drain all the water from them, and serve.
(b) First boil it very well, then chop it up with a little butter, add a small quantity of vinegar and pepper, and then fry it for 2 minutes; grate a little Parmesan cheese, and when ready to serve pour some melted butter over the cabbage and sprinkle the grated cheese over it.
Cold Slaugh.—Cut a head of hard white cabbage into very fine shavings; it is seldom shaved fine enough. For 1 qt. cabbage take the yolks of 3 eggs, beat them well; stir into 1½ tumbler vinegar 2 spoonfuls loaf sugar, 1 tablespoonful olive oil, 1 of thick sweet cream, or a piece of butter as large as a walnut, 1 heaped teaspoonful mustard, salt and pepper to taste; mix with the egg, and put this sauce into a stewpan; when hot add the cabbage, stew until thoroughly hot, which will only require 4-5 minutes. Toss it up from the bottom with a silver or wooden fork; take it up and set where it will become perfectly cold—on ice is best. The quantity of vinegar would depend upon its strength.
Hot Slaugh.—Take a fine hard head of white or red cabbage, shred it very finely, and put it into a stewpan with a piece of butter the size of an egg, salt, pepper, 1 tablespoonful chili and 1 of tarragon vinegar. Cover the stewpan and toss gently for about 5 minutes, when the cabbage should be thoroughly hot through. Care must be taken not to overcook hot slaugh, as it should be borne in mind that this very agreeable dish is a hot salad, and not stewed cabbage, and should therefore retain its crispness.