The Golden Age Cook Book. Dwight Henrietta Latham

OF LIMA BEANS

      Put over the fire a quart of lima beans in boiling water to cover them; when nearly tender add a bay leaf, half a white onion, and salt and white pepper to taste. Let them cook until very tender, remove from the fire, and mash through a colander with the water in which they were boiled. Put back in the saucepan on the range, let it come to a boil, then add a heaping tablespoonful of butter and a pint of boiling milk, stir well, remove and press through a purée sieve that it may be smooth. Beat four tablespoonfuls of cream, add when the soup is in the tureen and serve immediately. This soup is very nice when made from the best canned lima beans, using two cans and following the recipe as above.

      CREAM OF CAULIFLOWER

      Cut one small cauliflower into flowerettes, reserve a tablespoonful, put the rest into a saucepan with three cups of boiling water, one small white onion, half a small celeriac cut in slices, and a bay leaf. Cook together ten minutes, drain and put the vegetables into a double boiler with two heaping tablespoonfuls of butter, a heaping tablespoonful of flour, salt and pepper to taste; steam for ten minutes. Put the flowerettes into the water the vegetables were boiled in and cook until tender, remove and put aside to keep warm, measure the water and add sufficient from the kettle to make two cupfuls, pour this over the vegetables, cook until tender and press through a fine sieve. Bring two cups of milk to the boiling point, turn the purée into this, let it boil up once, remove from the fire. Beat two egg yolks and four tablespoonfuls of rich cream together, add some of the soup to this, then mix all together, turn into the tureen, add the flowerettes and serve at once.

      CREAM OF CELERY

      Take of the coarser parts of celery as much as will make two heads, wash and cut in pieces, put in a saucepan with half an onion cut in slices and cover with boiling water. Cook until tender and press through a sieve with the water in which it was boiled. Make a roux of butter and flour as in other cream soups, add the purée to it and as much boiling milk as will make it the proper consistency. Season with salt and pepper, and finish with a beaten egg yolk and two tablespoonfuls of cream, adding this after the soup has been removed from the fire.

      CREAM OF CHESTNUTS

      Shell and blanch a pint of large French chestnuts. Put them in a saucepan and almost cover them with boiling water, cook until tender. Before they are quite done add a little salt. When done remove from the fire, rub through a purée sieve with the water they were boiled in. Melt a generous heaping tablespoonful of butter with an even tablespoonful of flour and add to it by degrees a pint of boiling milk, let it cook until thick, then stir in the chestnut purée and salt and pepper to taste. Let it come to a boil and serve.

      CREAM OF CUCUMBERS

      Peel and cut into slices four cucumbers and one small white onion, put in a saucepan with enough boiling water to cover them, cook until tender, press through a fine sieve and pour into a saucepan, stand where it will keep hot without cooking. Have a cream sauce ready, made by melting two heaping tablespoonfuls of butter in a saucepan with two tablespoonfuls of flour, let them cook together until the mixture no longer adheres to the pan, then add gradually a quart of milk, an even teaspoonful of white pepper, a heaping teaspoonful of salt, let it boil for a few minutes until thick and pour into the cucumber purée, add two tablespoonfuls of rich cream, let it come to the boiling point, and serve at once. This is a very delicate soup, and cooking or standing on the stove after it is done will spoil it. Groult's potato flour is nicer for thickening cream soups than the common flour, but, if used, only half the quantity called for in the recipes is needed.

      CREAM OF SUMMER SQUASH

      Peel the squash, slice thin, put in a saucepan and add boiling water to come nearly to the top of the squash. When nearly tender add an onion, a bay leaf and several sprigs of parsley. When tender mash through a fine sieve, return to the fire, let it come to a boil, stir in a heaping tablespoonful of butter, a heaping teaspoonful of flour, season with salt and pepper and a tiny pinch of mace. Have almost as much boiling milk as purée, remove from the fire and stir together, add two tablespoonfuls of cream, and serve at once.

      CREAM OF LETTUCE

      Take two heads of nice, fresh lettuce, wash and drain and chop fine with half a small white onion, put in a saucepan with two heaping tablespoonfuls of butter, cook for about ten minutes, stirring all the time, then add two heaping tablespoonfuls of rice and a quart of milk. Let it boil for twenty minutes until the rice is perfectly tender, remove from the fire and press through a purée sieve, using a small potato masher, then strain and press again through a fine hair sieve; this will make it smooth. Season with salt to taste and a dash of cayenne pepper, and a small half teaspoonful of sugar. Put in a fresh saucepan, rub together two heaping teaspoonfuls of butter and an even teaspoonful of cornstarch and stir into the soup. Let it come to the boiling point and remove from the fire, adding at the last moment a quarter of a cupful of whipped cream. Serve with or without fried croutons.

      CREAM OF MUSHROOMS

      Wash one pound of mushrooms, skin and stem them. Put the skins and stems in a saucepan with a cup of boiling water and boil ten minutes, strain and add to this water the mushroom flaps chopped very fine, and cook until tender, then press through a fine sieve. Melt two large heaping tablespoonfuls of butter in a saucepan, and stir into it two heaping tablespoonfuls of flour, and when smooth add a quart of rich milk, a whole clove of garlic, salt and pepper to taste. When it boils and thickens add the mushroom stock, let it boil up once, remove the clove of garlic, turn the soup into the tureen and serve.

      CREAM OF GREEN PEAS

      Put a quart of green peas into a saucepan with a slice of white onion, cover with boiling water and cook until tender. Remove from the fire and press through a purée sieve with the water in which they were boiled. Return to the saucepan, set it back on the stove, let it come to a boil, add a pint of rich milk, salt and white pepper to taste, a dash of cayenne, and a large, generous tablespoonful of butter rubbed into an even tablespoonful of flour, adding a little of the liquid before stirring into the soup. Let it come to a boil, and add two tablespoonfuls of whipped cream just as it is poured into the tureen.

      CREAM OF RICE

      Wash carefully a third of a cup of rice and put it on the fire in a pint of boiling water with a white onion and a stick of celery, let it cook slowly for an hour, then stir in a quart of milk and let it come to a boil, add a heaping tablespoonful of butter, and press through a purée sieve. Put the soup back on the fire while beating an egg yolk with two tablespoonfuls of cream and a teaspoonful of parsley minced very fine. Remove the soup from the fire, stir in the egg and cream, pour into the tureen and serve.

      CREAM OF SPINACH

      Take two large handfuls of spinach, after it is washed and picked over, a small head of lettuce, a few sprigs of parsley, and a small white onion peeled and sliced. Put in a saucepan over the fire with a tablespoonful of butter, a dozen peppercorns and two cloves, and a very little boiling water, cover and stand it where the vegetables will only simmer. When they are tender rub together a generous heaping tablespoonful of butter and a heaping tablespoonful of flour, and stir it into the vegetables. Add a little boiling water, mash the vegetables smooth and press them through a fine sieve. Have the purée as thick as possible, return to the saucepan. Have ready a pint of boiling milk, beat two egg yolks with four tablespoonfuls of cream, pour a little of the boiling milk into them, and the rest into the purée, remove from the fire at once, then add the eggs and cream, pour into the tureen and serve immediately.

      CARROT SOUP

      Take half a dozen small French carrots, wash and scrape them, put in a saucepan with boiling water and cook until tender, remove from the fire, mix with milk and press through a sieve. Melt two ounces of butter in a saucepan and rub into it a slightly heaping tablespoonful of flour, add a few grains of cayenne pepper, and stir in a little at a time the carrot purée until smooth like cream, add a few slices of cooked celery root (celeriac), and salt to taste, and pour into the purée. A tablespoonful of sherry, if liked, may be added. Serve with fried croutons.

      CELERIAC SOUP

      Wash,