[Kitchen Witch]

FEBRUARY

1.?Oriental Canapes.

Take some lobster or crab-meat and pound in a mortar. Mix with 1 tablespoonful of butter; season with salt and pepper, a pinch each of mustard, cayenne, nutmeg and curry-powder and moisten with lemon-juice. Cut small rounds of toasted bread; scoop out some of the centre; fill with the mixture and cover with a curry sauce. Sprinkle with fine bread-crumbs and let bake in the oven a few minutes. Serve hot.

2.?Haggis (SCOTCH).

Chop a sheep's tongue, liver and heart and 1 pound of bacon. Add 2 large chopped onions; season with 1/4 teaspoonful of red pepper and 1 teaspoonful of mixed herbs and salt to taste. Mix with 1 pint of toasted oatmeal, 2 beaten eggs and the grated rind and juice of a lemon. Then clean the pouch of the sheep and fill with the mixture. Lay in boiling water and let boil three hours. Serve with apple-sauce.

3.?Austrian Braised Tongue.

Boil a large fresh beef tongue in salted water until tender. Remove the tongue and lard it with thin strips of bacon; sprinkle with paprica; lay in a baking-pan; add 1 onion sliced thin and 1 cup of the water in which the tongue was cooked and pour over 1 pint of cream. Let bake in a moderate oven. Baste often with the sauce. Serve hot, and pour over the sauce; garnish with parsley.

4.?Russian Omelet.

Chop 2 shallots with a little parsley and cook in hot water. Add 2 tablespoonfuls of caviare and a teaspoonful of lemon-juice; season to taste. Beat 4 eggs with 1 tablespoonful of cream, salt and pepper, and fry in an omelet-pan with hot butter until done. Put the mixture in the centre; turn in the ends and serve at once.

5.?Madras Potato Curry.

Cut boiled potatoes into thin slices; then fry 1 chopped onion in 2 tablespoonfuls of butter. Add 3 ounces of grated cocoanut, 1 teaspoonful of curry-powder and 1 cup of milk, salt and cayenne pepper to taste. Let boil up. Add the sliced potatoes and a sprig of parsley chopped. Let simmer a few minutes and serve hot.

6.?Swiss Baked Eggs.

Melt 1 ounce of butter in a baking-pan; then cover the bottom of the pan with thin slices of Swiss cheese. Break in 6 eggs; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour over 4 tablespoonfuls of cream; sprinkle with grated Swiss cheese, and let bake in the oven to a delicate brown. Serve hot.

7.?Jewish Stewed Shad.

Clean and cut a shad into large slices; sprinkle with salt, pepper and ginger. Put on to boil with 1 sliced onion, 1 bay-leaf, a few cloves, 2 sprigs of parsley and 1/2 cup of vinegar. When done, remove the fish to a platter; add 1/2 cup of raisins, 1 tablespoonful of butter, 1/2 cup of pounded almonds, 1 glass of wine, 1 tablespoonful of brown sugar and a pinch of cinnamon. Let boil until done and pour over the fish. Garnish with sliced lemon and sprigs of parsley and serve cold.

8.?Bombay Spinach.

Boil the spinach in salted water until tender; drain and chop fine. Fry 1 chopped onion in 2 tablespoonfuls of butter; add the chopped spinach, a pinch of pepper and curry-powder. Cover and let simmer five minutes. Serve on a platter with stewed prawns and garnish with croutons.

9.?Spanish Fricasseed Shrimps.

Heat 2 tablespoonfuls of butter; add 1 onion chopped and 2 cups of tomatoes. Let fry; then stir in 1 tablespoonful of flour; add 1/2 cup of water; let boil; add 1 quart of shrimps, salt, pepper and parsley. Let all cook twenty minutes. Stir in the yolk of an egg. Remove from the fire. Put some boiled rice on a platter; add the shrimps and pour over the sauce. Serve very hot.

10.?Irish Baked Potatoes.

Peel and boil potatoes in salted water until tender; drain and mash with a lump of butter. Put in a well-buttered baking-dish a layer of the potatoes and a layer of fried bread-crumbs until dish is full. Moisten with beaten eggs, well seasoned with salt and pepper, and 3 tablespoonfuls of milk. Put in the oven to brown. Serve with boiled fish.

11.?Russian Stewed Chicken.

Cut a fat chicken into pieces at the joints and let stew, well seasoned with salt and pepper. Then add some small whole onions, some cauliflower, mushrooms and 1 cup of French peas. Let all cook until tender; then serve hot on a large platter.

12.?Dutch Baked Mackerel.

Place the mackerel in a baking-dish; sprinkle with pepper and chopped parsley. Cover with fried bread-crumbs and bits of butter, and moisten with cream. Then bake until brown on top and serve hot with stewed potatoes.

13.?Polish Roast Mutton.

Season a leg of mutton with salt, pepper and a pinch of cloves. Lay in a baking-pan with 1 sliced onion, 2 celery roots, 3 cloves of garlic and 2 carrots cut fine, 1 bay-leaf, a sprig of thyme and a few peppercorns. Pour over 1 cup of vinegar and 1 cup of hot water. Dredge with flour and let bake in a hot oven. Baste often with the sauce in the pan until nearly done; then add 1 pint of sour cream and let bake until done. Thicken with flour; boil up and pour over the roast.

14.?Italian Sugar Cakes.

Beat 1-1/2 pounds of sugar and 1/2 pound of butter to a cream; add 4 yolks of eggs, a pinch of salt and nutmeg. Stir in 1/2 pound of flour, 4 ounces of currants, 2 ounces of chopped almonds, 1 tablespoonful of citron and candied orange peel chopped fine. Add the whites beaten stiff and bake in small well-buttered cake-tins until done; then cover with a thin icing.