Potatoes.—(a) With Cream.—Put into a stewpan a piece of butter rolled in flour, 1 gill cream, pepper, salt, and a very little nutmeg, also the juice of half a lemon; stir these over the fire till boiling. Then add slices of freshly boiled new potatoes, and after warming them up in the above sauce, serve very hot.
(b) A la Russe.—Cut some raw potatoes into dice, after washing and peeling, and fry them in olive oil, with half the quantity of mushrooms finely minced.
(c) Au Gratin.—Put a few spoonfuls of good white sauce into a stewpan with a ¼ lb. grated Parmesan cheese, and half that quantity of butter, also the yolks of 4 eggs, a small piece of glaze, lemon juice, pepper and salt, and nutmeg; stir all this over the fire until well mixed, but it must not boil. Cut some potatoes into slices, stick some well-pointed three-cornered croutons of fried bread round the edge of the dish, standing up to form a border, and place a close row of slices of potato within it, and a layer over the centre of the dish: spread a layer of the cheese preparation over them, then repeat the potatoes and mixture till the dish is complete, and smooth some of the sauce over the top. Shake breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan over the surface, so as to quite cover it, and put the whole into the oven for about ¼ hour, or until warmed through, and a nice colour.
(d) Balls.—Take ½ doz. potatoes, boil them, pass them through a sieve, and work into them, in a bowl, 1 gill of cream and the yolks of 3 eggs; add pepper, salt, and nutmeg to taste, and some parsley finely chopped. When they are well mixed and smooth, take them up by tablespoonfuls, roll each in a ball, flatten it, and flour it slightly. Lay them all in a sautépan with plenty of butter melted, and cook them slowly. Turn them over when one side is done, and serve hot as soon as both sides are coloured.
(e) Cut very thin slices right across the largest potatoes; lay the slices in flat layers on a small plate that will bear the heat of the oven. Spread fresh butter freely over the potatoes; then add another layer, and so on until the potatoes are about 4 in. high. Give ½ lb. fresh butter to 2 large potatoes. Bake until the potatoes are tender, about ½ hour, in a quick oven.
(f) Fried.—Pare some potatoes so as to give each the form of a cylinder, then cut each cylinder in slices ⅛ in. thick. By this means all the pieces of potato will be the same size. Dry them thoroughly in a napkin; put them in the frying basket, and fry them a light colour in plenty of lard; drain, sprinkle freely with salt, and serve.
(g) Rissoles.—Take cold meat, veal or ham, cut it small and season with pepper, salt, cut pickles, and a little parsley; moisten with a little stock. Mash some potatoes and make them into a paste with the yolks of 1 or 2 eggs. Put some of the seasoned meat on one half, and fold over like a puff. Fry a light brown.
(h) Stewed.—Rub a saucepan with a clove of garlic, put 2 oz. butter into it, and when it is melted add 6 potatoes, peeled, and cut in quarters. Put in a little hot water, pepper and salt to taste, a small quantity of grated nutmeg, some minced parsley, and the juice of ½ lemon. Let the whole stew slowly till the potatoes are quite done.
(i) Cakes.—The following is an old country recipe for potato cakes: 1 lb. mashed potatoes, 2 oz. butter, 1 lb. flour, ½ teacupful cream, a pinch of salt, and 1 egg; roll out the cakes thin, and bake in a quick oven.
(j) Mashed.—Boil some potatoes, and pass them through a coarse hair sieve. Put them into a saucepan with a good lump of butter, and salt to taste; add a little milk, and work them well with a spoon on a slow fire for some minutes, adding small quantities of milk as they get dry.