Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-02-21

| Octave Thanet Describes Some Masks To-
Prosaic Potatoes, Squashes, TurnIps, Etc
Recipes That Appear Fussv but Aren'
Tragedies of the Kitchen.
| WRITTEN FOR THE DIsrArcH.I
I can remember time when elegance IL
forms of serving vegetables took the one in
variable form of the mashed At dinners Of
state in modest households, dinners on high
| holidays, and at daily dinners in houses OF
gentility, the turnip came on to the board
smoothly rounded to peak in the center OF
the dish and sprinkled at the apex with
black pepper. The squash appeared in a
twin dish, and, last of all came the mashed
potato.
Those vegetables to which nature had de-
MED the capacity to mash, were always
stewed. Such are corn, beans, beets and
peas. Elegance was lenttto them by the
round of black pepper in the middle of the
| surface. Only one vegetable asserted its
right to more garbs than one-that was the
sturdy onion. 1t was fried as well as boiled.
But if it appeared on days of pomp, it must
be boiled.
And even to this day, in families of other
wise educated people, there is a clinging to
few forms of cooking vegetables. The
turnip and the squash particularly remain
mashed! And only mashed Turnips, not
withstanding, are very good in two other
ways-as croquettes and with cream sauce.
Here are the recipes:
Turnips a la Creme.
Make pint of white sauce out Of any kind
of stock or ont OF PLAIN milk, Flavor with
Worcestershire sauce. Boil four turnips
and cut them In dice, Pour the sauce over
them. Serve.
Turnip Croquettes.
Take pint of mashed turnips, as drv as
possible. Add one egg, white and yolk
beaten together. Salt and pepper. Shape
and roll in egg and crumbs, and fry like all
croQuettes.
A simple variation of the mashed turnips
is to scatter fine bread crumbs over the ton
and dot these with butter. 1t is very little
to do, but it makes difference of its own
in both the appearance and taste of the
dish.
Points on the Squash.
Squash croquettes are exceptionally good.
Take for these one pint OF mashed and
smooth squash, the Hubbard is the best
squash; one tablespoonful of rich cream;
salt and red pepper to taste: one egg we'll
beaten, white and yolk together. Roll and
fry as usual.
In New Orleans, I once knew a shrewd
housekeeper of French descent. who kent a
fashionable boarding-house. That woman
did more with vegetables than 1 have ever
seen done before or since. Wewere continu-
ally praising course, that when we came
to think OF 1t, was purely vegetable, and
cheaply vegetable at that. In her home I
first met baked squash. Nothing can be
simpler than baked squash; but it is pleas
ant dish all the same
Baked Squash.
,-,11 n -.
and cut it into thin slices. Lay these slices
into pan with little butter on them. and
bake them until they are tendep You see il
is a far easier matter than to boil SO uash or
to steam it. If you like, you can get glaze
by sprinkling sugar over the pieces. They
must not bake too quickly.
Squash Souff1s
Try squash souffie some time; it is not
difficult, and it is delicate feasting," To a
pint OF mashed squash take a tablespoonful
of melted butter and enough cream or milk
to soften the squash; half-cupfuI will DO
usually. Salt, pepper, and add the whites of
two eggs which have been beaten very stiff
Bake in quick oven, in buttered baking
dish. Hall an hour should be long enough
for the baking.
Point. on the Parsnip.
A parsnip souffie is nice, made almost ex-
actly like squash souffie, except that the
yelks and whites of the eggs are beaten
separately and the whites added last of all.
Fried parsnips are familiar, but parsnips
fried in batter are less familiar than the
ordinary form. An old negro cook showed
them to me-
Parsnips q Ia Aunt Cindy.
Make any good fritter batter; slice steamed
or boiled pars nips, in squares or short tri-
angles, about a half inch thick. Dip them
in the batter and fry in deep lard; drain and
serve.
Pofnts nm the Onion.
Baked onions are less common than the
other primitive forms and they are very
palatable. 1t is convenient to parboil them
first and then bake three-quarters of an
hour in a good oven. Serve with salted and
cream poured over them if you
would know their best condition. knew .
cook, good one, too, who threw certain