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PRACTICAL ITALIAN RECIPES FOR AMERICAN KITCHENS


SOLD TO AID THE FAMILIES OF ITALIAN SOLDIERS


COPYRIGHTED, 1917




Contents


Soups

    BROWN STOCK
      _Sugo di Carne_

    VEGETABLE CHOWDER
      _Minestrone alla Milanese_

    FRENCH ONION SOUP
      _Minestra di Cipolla alla Francese_

    PARADISE SOUP
      _Minestra del Paradiso_

    PEA SOUP
      _Zuppa di Piselli_

    BEAN SOUP
      _Zuppa di Fagiuoli_

    QUEEN'S SOUP
      _Zuppa Regina_

     VEGETABLE SOUP
      _Zuppa Sauté_

    SOUP WITH LITTLE HATS
      _Cappelletti all' uso di Romagna_


Vegetables

    MILANESE RICE
      _Risotto alla Milanese I_

    RICE WITH CHICKEN GIBLETS
      _Risotto alla Milanese II_

    RICE AND PEAS
      _Risotto coi Piselli_

    STRING BEANS WITH EGG SAUCE
      _Fagiuolini in Salsa d'Uovo_

    FRIED CELERY
      _Sedano Fritto_

    BOILED CELERY
      _Sedano per Contorno_

    BOILED CAULIFLOWER
      _Cavolfiore in Umido_

    VEGETABLES ALLA NAPOLITANA
      _Giambotto alla Napolitana_

    EGGPLANT WITH TOMATO SAUCE
      _Melanzana in Umido_

    BAKED EGGPLANT WITH CHEESE
      _Tortino di Melanzana alla Parmigiana_

    POTATOES "STUFATO"
      _Stufato di Patate_

    MOULD OF PEAS OR BEANS
      _Sformato di Fagiuolini o Piselli_

    MOULD OF SPINACH
      _Stampa di Spinaci_


Eggs

    EGGS ALL' AURORA

    TOMATOES WITH EGGS


Corn Meal Dishes

    CORN MEAL LOAF
      _Pasticcio di Polenta_

    POLENTA PIE
      _Polenta Pasticciata_


Spaghetti and Other Pastas

    GNOCCHI OF FARINA OR CORNMEAL
      _Gnocchi alla Romana_

    SPAGHETTI WITH ANCHOVIES

    SPAGHETTI ALLA NAPOLITANA

    NOODLES OR HOME MADE PASTE
      _Tagliatelli o Pasta Fatta in Casa_

    RAVIOLI

    RAVIOLI WITH MEAT
      _Ravioli alla Genovese_

    NOODLES WITH HAM
      _Tagliatelle col Presciutto_


Sauces

    BOLOGNESE SAUCE FOR MACARONI
      _Maccheroni alla Bolognese_

    TOMATO SAUCE
      _Salsa di Pomidoro_

    WHITE SAUCE FOR BOILED ASPARAGUS OR CAULIFLOWER
      _Salsa Bianca_

    PIQUANT SAUCE
      _Salsa Piccante_


Fish

    SALMON ALLA FIORENTINA

    CODFISH "STUFATO"
      _Stufato di Baccala_

    CODFISH CROQUETTES
      _Cotolette di Baccala_


Meats

    FRIED CHIPPED VEAL
      _Frittura Piccata_

    SCALLOPED MEAT
      _Piatto di Carne Avanzata_

    MEAT SOUFFLÉ
      _Flam di Carne Avanzata_

    MEAT OMELETTE
      _Polpettone_

    STEW OF BEEF OR VEAL WITH MACARONI
      _Stufato di Vitello con Maccheroni_

    PIGEONS IN CORNMEAL
      _Piccioni con Polenta_

    SMOTHERED CHICKEN
      _Stufato di Pollo_

    CHICKEN ALLA CACCIATORA
      _Pollo alla Cacciatora_

    BOILED FOWL WITH RICE
      _Lesso di Pollo col Riso_

    STUFFING FOR ROAST CHICKEN OR TURKEY
      _Ripieno_


Sweets

    CHOCOLATE PUDDING
      _Budino di Cioccolata_

    ZABAIONE

    MONT BLANC
      _Monte Bianco, Dolce di Castagne_

    NUT CAKE

    PASTA MARGUERITA

    BIGNÉ




_FOREWORD_


In this world war we are learning many lessons from our Allies beside
those of the battle field. The housewives of the old world have much
to teach us in thrift, especially in the kitchen. Italian cooking--not
that of the large hotel or restaurant, but the _cucina casalinga_ of
the little roadside hostelry and of the home where the mother, or some
deft handmaid trained in the art from infancy, is priestess at the
tiny charcoal stove--is at once so frugal and so delicious that we do
well to study it with close attention.

If you have ever sat at a snowy table in the garden of some wayside
inn in the Appennines, a savory dish of _risotto_ before you and the
music of the mountain torrent far below in your ears; or sipped a
_zabaione_ in the portico of a cafe on the sun-baked piazza of some
brown old town clinging to a hillside of Umbria; or eaten _fritto
misto_ on a _pensione_ terrace overhanging the sapphire Gulf of
Naples, one of those inimitable haunts of comfort kept by a handsome
Italian dame who served her apprenticeship in Anglo-Saxon ways as an
English lady's maid; if any of these experiences have been yours you
do not need to be convinced of the inimitable charms of the Italian
cuisine.

The Italian housewife uses quantities of vegetables, many soups and
made dishes containing only a small proportion of meat and that the
inexpensive cuts. Vegetable salads are a staple, while fresh or dried
fruits, coffee, cheese and nuts are the regular dessert. The elaborate
creations for which the Italian confectioner is justly famous are
reserved for festal occasions.

At first reading many of the recipes may sound elaborate, but in using
them it is well to bear in mind the general plan of the Italian menu.
Each dish is usually served as a course in itself. A good soup, a
savory dish of spaghetti, rice or vegetables combined with meat, a
crisp salad dressed with oil and vinegar, followed by a piece of
fruit, a bit of cheese and black coffee make a characteristic Italian
meal and one with which an epicure could find no fault. It is a meal,
moreover, in keeping with the suggestions of our Food Administrator
that we use a minimum of meats and sweets and a maximum of soups,
fruits, vegetables, made dishes and cheese.

This little venture is launched in the hope that the booklet may pay
its way in new suggestions to American homemakers while it is earning
money to prevent Italian homes from being destroyed. The expenses
incident to publication have been contributed, so that every penny
from the sale of every copy is forwarded direct to responsible people
in Italy who will use it for food and clothing for the families of
Italian soldiers.

Additional copies may be had at fifty cents apiece, from Julia Lovejoy
Cuniberti, 14 West Milwaukee street, Janesville, Wisconsin.




_SUGGESTIONS_


TOMATO PASTE. This is a concentrated paste made from tomatoes and
spices to be had of importers or grocers in Italian neighborhoods.
Thinned with water, it is a much used ingredient in Italian recipes.
Catsup and concentrated tomato soup do not make satisfactory
substitutes as they are too sweet in flavor, but canned tomatoes
seasoned with salt and a bit of bay leaf, cooked down to a thick cream
and rubbed through a sieve, serve very well in lieu of tomato paste.

PARMESAN CHEESE. When an Italian recipe calls for grated cheese it
usually means Parmesan. This is practically unobtainable now, except
the grated, bottled cheese, which is inferior in flavor. Gruyère, our
own brick cheese, or any skim milk cheese dried and grated fresh as
needed makes a good substitute.

DRIED MUSHROOMS. These may be had of importers or small groceries in
foreign neighborhoods. They sound expensive until one realizes that a
very few ounces go a long way. They make a pleasing variety added to
soups or sauces, and are much cheaper and more highly flavored than
the canned mushrooms. They should be thoroughly washed and softened in
warm water before using.

ANCHOVIES. These recipes do not call for the filets of anchovy prepared
for _hors-d'oeuvres_, but the less expensive and larger whole anchovies
in salt to be had in bulk or cans at large dealers. To clean them
plunge in boiling water. This loosens the skin and removes superfluous
salt. Remove head, tail, backbone and skin and they are ready for use.

GARLIC. Garlic is an inoffensive and wholesome ingredient if properly
handled. Used in small quantities and thoroughly cooked it gives an
indescribable flavor that is never disagreeable. By "a clove of
garlic" is meant one of the tiny sections of a whole garlic peeled
down to its white, fleshy core.

SUBSTITUTION OF OTHER INGREDIENTS. Many of the recipes which have been
written down just as they were given can be made more economical and
no less delicious by the substitution of clarified drippings,
vegetable shortenings and corn or nut oils for salt pork, butter or
bacon. Corn-starch is recommended for thickening instead of flour.
Anyone who does not care for as much cheese or tomato as the Italian
likes, may omit them entirely or greatly reduce the quantity in most
of the recipes and still have an excellent dish.


[Sidenote: _Soups_]


BROWN STOCK

_Sugo di Carne_

    1 lb. beef from some tough but juicy cut
    A small piece of salt pork
    A large onion
    A stalk of celery
    2 tablespoons butter
    A carrot
    2 cloves
    Salt, pepper

Chop the pork and put it in the bottom of a saucepan. Next add the
onion, celery and carrot chopped. Dot with butter and over this place
the meat cut into small pieces. Add any trimmings from steaks, roasts
or chops that may be on hand and any bits of left over cooked meat.
Season with salt and the cloves. Put over the fire without stirring.
When you smell the onions getting very brown turn the meat and when
everything is extremely brown add a cup of water and let it cook
almost dry. Repeat this operation of adding the water three times.
Finally add three pints of boiling water and let it boil gently five
or six hours, when the stock will be reduced to a few cupfuls. Strain,
cool and skim off the fat which will form a cake on top of the liquid.

The meat may afterwards be used for a _Flam_, for _Polpettone_ or
croquettes. The stock may be kept for some days and forms the basis
for many dishes. In soups it is far superior to beef extract or
bouillon cubes which may be substituted for it.


VEGETABLE CHOWDER

_Minestrone alla Milanese_

    1/2 lb. salt pork
    2 or 3 sprigs parsley
    1 kernel garlic
    2 carrots
    1/4 medium sized cabbage
    1 scant cup dried beans, Lima or kidney, soaked over night
    2 quarts cold water
    A little celery
    Any left over peas
    1 tablespoon butter
    Rice, salt and pepper

Cut off the rind of the pork and put it into 2 quarts of water to
boil. Cut off a small slice of the pork and beat it to a paste with
the parsley and garlic. Add this paste to the pork and water. Slice
the carrots, cut the rib out of the cabbage leaves. Add the carrots,
cabbage leaves, other vegetables, seasoning and butter to the soup,
and let it boil slowly for 2-1/2 hours. The last 1/2 hour add 1 small
handful of rice for each person.

When the pork is very soft, remove and slice in little ribbons and put
it back.

This is equally good eaten cold. Three bouillon cubes may be used
instead of pork, or may be added if a richer soup is desired.

    _Mme. Varesi._


FRENCH ONION SOUP

_Minestra di Cipolla alla Francese_

    4 large onions
    4 tablespoons of vegetable oil or meat drippings
    1/4 lb. Swiss or American brick cheese, grated
    1 quart to 3 pints soup stock or boiling water
    4 slices of stale bread toasted, salt, pepper

Peel the onions and slice them very thin. Fry them slowly in the fat
until they are a uniform golden brown, using a kettle deep enough to
hold the water afterwards. When the onions are thoroughly fried add
the hot water, cover and let simmer at least three-quarters of an
hour, seasoning to taste. The onions will make a clean brown liquor
without the use of any meat but soup stock may be used instead of
water, or beef extract or bouillon cubes may be added to the water if
a meat soup is preferred.

Put the soup in a hot tureen, add the toast cut into triangles and
sprinkle it over with the grated cheese. Serve as soon as the toast
and cheese have been added.


PARADISE SOUP

_Minestra del Paradiso_

    4 tablespoons sifted bread crumbs
    4 tablespoons grated cheese
    1 quart white soup stock or clear broth
    3 eggs
    Nutmeg
    Salt, pepper

Beat the whites of the eggs, then beat in the yolks. Add the
breadcrumbs gradually, then the grated cheese, a pinch of salt and a
grating of nutmeg. These ingredients should form a thin batter.

Have the broth boiling and drop the batter into it by spoonfuls. Let
it boil three or four minutes and serve immediately. The batter will
poach in soft, curdled lumps in the clear soup.

This soup is much used as a delicacy for invalids. In this case the
cheese may be scanted or omitted entirely. By way of variety a
tablespoonful of finely chopped parsley may be added to the batter, or
a half a cup of spinach drained and rubbed through a sieve may be
substituted for half of the breadcrumbs.

When stock or broth is not available, it may be made from bouillon
cubes and a lump of butter dissolved in boiling water and seasoned
with celery salt, onion salt and pepper.

    _Signora Maria Ronchi-Cuniberti._


PEA SOUP

_Zuppa di Piselli_

    1 pint peas; fresh peas, canned peas or dried peas soaked over night
    2 tablespoons oil or butter substitute
    1 small onion
    1 small carrot
    A sprig of parsley
    2 oz. ham, fat and lean
    A piece of celery
    A bay leaf
    Salt, pepper

Chop fine or put through a meat grinder the ham, onion, carrot and
celery, add the parsley chopped or clipped fine with scissors, and the
bay leaf. Fry all this in the oil until it is golden brown, but not at
all scorched. Add one pint of boiling water and the peas. If this
cooks away add more water as needed until the peas are tender. Rub the
soup through a sieve. Serve this soup garnished with croutons or toast
triangles, and send a dish of grated cheese to the table with it to be
added according to individual taste.


BEAN SOUP

_Zuppa di Fagiuoli_

    1 cup dried beans, Kidney, Navy or Lima
    1/4 cup oil
    1/4 onion
    1 clove of garlic
    1 sprig of parsley
    1 piece of celery
    1 cup canned tomatoes

Soak the beans over night. Boil until tender. Many cooks put the beans
to cook in cold water with a pinch of soda. When they come to a boil,
pour off this water and add fresh.

Chop fine the onion, garlic, parsley and celery and put them to fry in
the oil with salt and a generous amount of pepper. When the vegetables
are a delicate brown add to them two cups of the broth from the beans,
and the tomatoes. Let all come to a boil and pour the mixture into the
kettle of beans from which some of the water has been drained, if they
are very liquid. This soup may be served as it is or rubbed through a
sieve before serving. Croutons or triangles of dry toast make an
excellent addition.


QUEEN'S SOUP

_Zuppa Regina_

    1 cup cooked chicken
    1/4 cup bread crumbs
    1/4 cup milk
    Yolk of 1 egg, if desired
    5 or 6 blanched almonds
    1 quart chicken stock
    1 slice stale bread
    Fat for deep frying

Grind the meat and almonds in a meat grinder, or chop very fine. Soak
the bread crumbs in the milk, and rub all these ingredients to a very
smooth paste. Add the hot broth. If you wish the soup to be richer and
have a more milky consistency use the yolk of an egg, which should be
beaten and have a few tablespoons of the hot broth stirred into it
before adding to the soup. Do not let the soup boil after the egg is
added or it will curdle.

Cut the stale bread into cubes and fry in deep fat. Put these croutons
in the soup, and send it to the table with a dish of grated cheese.


VEGETABLE SOUP

_Zuppa Sauté_

Many kinds of vegetables may be used for this soup, carrots, celery,
cabbage, turnips, onions, potatoes, spinach, the outside leaves of
lettuce or greens of any variety.

Select three or four kinds of vegetables. Shred or chop coarsely
cabbage or greens, and slice or cut in cubes the root vegetables. Put
them over the fire with a small quantity of cooking oil or butter
substitute, and let them fry until they have absorbed the fat. Then
add broth and cook until the vegetables are very tender. Fry croutons
of stale bread in oil and serve them in the soup.

In this, as in other recipes, water may be used instead of broth if
the latter is not available, and bouillon cubes or beef extract added
just as the hot soup is removed from the fire.


SOUP WITH LITTLE HATS

_Cappelletti all' uso di Romagna_

    Equal parts curds or cottage cheese and cooked meat (chicken, pork
      or veal)
    Grated cheese
    1 egg
    Grated lemon peel
    Nutmeg, allspice, salt

Grind the meat very fine and make a highly seasoned mixture of it and
all the other ingredients. The ground meat may be sautéed in a little
butter or drippings before it is mixed with the other ingredients to
improve the flavor. Cut rounds measuring about three inches in diameter
from a thin sheet of paste made according to the recipe on page 20.
Place a spoonful of the filling in the middle of each circle of paste.
Fold over and moisten the edge of the paste with the finger dipped in
water to make it stay securely closed. These _cappelletti_ should be
cooked in chicken or turkey broth until the paste is tender, and served
with this broth as a soup.

This is a time-honored Christmas dainty in Italy.


[Sidenote: _Vegetables_]


MILANESE RICE

_Risotto alla Milanese I_

    1 lb. rice
    A medium sized onion
    4 tablespoons butter, or oil
    Salt
    Curry powder, 1/2 teaspoon
    Grated cheese

Chop the onion very fine, or put it through a meat grinder. Put it to
cook in the butter, until it is soft and yellow. Wash the rice and add
it to the onion and butter, stirring constantly so that it will not
stick. Salt it and add boiling water, a little at a time, until the
rice is cooked tender, yet not too soft, with each grain distinct.
Dissolve the curry powder in a tablespoon of cold water and add to the
rice. Take from the fire and serve very hot after mixing into it a
handful of grated cheese. The delicacy of this dish is lost if it is
overcooked or allowed to cool.

    _Signorina Irene Merlani._


RICE WITH CHICKEN GIBLETS

_Risotto alla Milanese II_

    1 lb. rice
    The giblets of a chicken
    Cooking oil or chicken fat
    1 egg
    Chicken broth
    Onion
    Grated cheese
    Salt and pepper

The broth for this _Risotto_ may be made by cooking together the
giblets, neck and tips of wings of a chicken which is to be roasted,
or it may be made from the remnants of roast fowl.

Boil the rice until it is about half done in salted water. Then let
the water cook away and begin adding the broth, in such quantity that
the rice will be nearly dry when it is tender. Fry the chopped onion
in the oil or fat. Some mushrooms cut up small are a very good
addition to this "soffritto." Mince the chicken giblets and add to the
onion. Stir this mixture into the rice. Add grated cheese and a beaten
egg just as the rice is taken from the fire.


RICE AND PEAS

_Risotto coi Piselli_

    1 cup rice
    1 tablespoon oil
    1 tablespoon butter
    1/2 onion
    Grated cheese
    A small can of peas

Clean the rice. Chop the onion fine and fry it a golden color in the
oil. Put in the rice and stir it until it has absorbed all the oil.
Salt and add boiling water. Boil until the rice is tender, taking care
to keep plenty of water on it until the very end when it should cook
almost dry. Drain the peas and add them toward the end of the cooking.
Grated cheese is a good addition to this dish.


STRING BEANS WITH EGG SAUCE

_Fagiuolini in Salsa d'Uovo_

    1 lb. green or wax beans
    Butter, salt and pepper
    Yolk of 1 egg
    1 teaspoon cornstarch or flour
    Juice of 1/4 lemon
    3/4 cup soup stock

String the beans and parboil them in salted, boiling water. Drain, cut
up into inch pieces and season with butter, salt and pepper. Beat the
egg yolk in a sauce pan. Beat in the flour and lemon juice, add the
stock (cold water will do) and cook the mixture over a moderate fire
until it thickens. Pour over the hot beans and let remain over the
fire a moment so that they will absorb the flavor of the sauce but not
long enough to curdle the egg.


FRIED CELERY

_Sedano Fritto_

Cut the outside stalks of celery into pieces 3 to 4 inches long, and
strip off the coarsest fibres. Cook in water until soft and
transparent. Drain in colander. When it is as dry as possible roll
each piece separately in flour, and sauté separately, not in a mass,
in butter, vegetable oil or drippings, with salt and pepper. Each
piece must be turned to cook on both sides.

Swiss chard may be cooked in the same way.

    _Mme. Varesi._


BOILED CELERY

_Sedano per Contorno_

Cook the outside stalks of celery, cut into small pieces, in boiling
salted water for 5 minutes. Drain and sauté in a very little butter.
Add a few tablespoons of brown stock and simmer until tender. Sprinkle
with grated cheese if desired, before serving.


BOILED CAULIFLOWER

_Cavolfiore in Umido_

    A small strip of salt pork
    1/4 onion
    1 tablespoon butter or oil
    A large cauliflower
    Tomato paste[1]
    Salt, pepper, allspice
    A little sausage meat
    Grated cheese

Chop fine the onion and salt pork, and brown together, adding the
butter and spices. Add enough tomato paste and boiling water to
moisten the mixture thoroughly, and let it boil a few minutes. Then
add the finely chopped sausage and more water as necessary to keep it
boiling.

Wash and quarter the cauliflower and cook it for ten minutes in
boiling, slightly salted water. Drain it and add it to the sauce, and
simmer slowly until tender. Be careful not to cook it so long that it
gets mushy. Grated cheese may be sprinkled over it before serving.

Cabbage may be cooked in the same way.

    _Signorina Irene Merlani._

          [1] See Suggestions, page 5.


VEGETABLES ALLA NAPOLITANA

_Giambotto alla Napolitana_

    1/4 onion
    An eggplant
    A few tablespoons oil
    Fresh or canned tomatoes
    Two or three green peppers
    One or two potatoes
    Salt, pepper
    Zucchini

Zucchini are a kind of small squash for sale in groceries and markets
of the Italian neighborhoods of our large cities. Summer or winter
squash, ripe cucumber or even pumpkin make good substitutes.

Chop the onion and fry in oil. The other vegetables should be in
proportion to each other. For example, if there is a cupful of each of
the other vegetables when they are cut up, use a cupful of tomatoes
unless you wish the tomato flavor to be very pronounced. Peel and cube
the potatoes, eggplant and squash. Remove the seeds and stems from the
peppers and slice or shred them coarsely. Add the tomatoes to the
onion and oil. After that has cooked a few minutes add the potatoes.
When they are half done, put in the peppers, lastly the eggplant,
squash, and salt and pepper. Continue cooking until the vegetables are
tender but still whole and firm.

    _Roma Pavilion Restaurant, Chicago._


EGGPLANT WITH TOMATO SAUCE

_Melanzana in Umido_

Peel and cut up the eggplant. Salt it and let it stand for an hour or
so to draw out the bitter juices. Drain and sauté in a little oil or
drippings. Add tomato sauce[2] and simmer a few moments until tender.

          [2] See page 23.


BAKED EGGPLANT WITH CHEESE

_Tortino di Melanzana alla Parmigiana_

The eggplant should be prepared as for ordinary frying, that is, it
should be peeled, sliced and the slices sprinkled with salt and left
under a weighted plate for some time to extract the bitter juices.
Sauté the slices in oil or lard. Line a baking dish with them. Fill
the center of the dish with hard boiled eggs and cheese cut into
little pieces. Add to this filling enough grated cheese and tomato
sauce to flavor it to taste. Cover the top with another layer of the
fried eggplant and a little more tomato sauce. Bake in the oven for 10
minutes.

    _Roma Pavilion Restaurant, Chicago._


POTATOES "STUFATO"

_Stufato di Patate_

    2 lbs. potatoes
    1 tablespoon flour
    4 tablespoons butter
    1 pint milk
    Grated cheese
    Salt, pepper

Peel the potatoes and cut them into little pieces. Cook in boiling
water for ten minutes. Take them out, drain thoroughly, and put in a
saucepan, sprinkling them with flour, then adding the butter and milk.
Cover the pan and let the potatoes cook slowly for a quarter of an
hour or until thoroughly done. Season well with salt and pepper and a
generous amount of grated cheese before serving.

    _Signorina Irene Merlani._


MOULD OF PEAS OR BEANS

_Sformato di Fagiuolini o Piselli_

    1 lb. green or wax beans
    1/4 onion
    A sprig of parsley
    A piece of celery
    2 tablespoons oil or butter substitute
    1 tablespoon flour
    1 cup milk
    3 eggs
    Grated cheese

String the beans. Blanch them by throwing them into boiling water. As
soon as the water has boiled again drain the beans and plunge them
into cold water. Fry the finely chopped onion, parsley and celery in a
tablespoon of oil. When the onion is a golden color add the beans and
let them absorb the oil. Add just enough water to keep them from
burning until the beans have simmered tender.

Make a white sauce of the milk, flour and one tablespoon of oil. Beat
the eggs. Let the beans and sauce cool a little. Then add the eggs,
beans and a few tablespoons of grated cheese to the white sauce. Pour
into a buttered mould. Bake or steam as a custard until firm, and
serve hot.

Peas are good cooked in the same way. Canned peas and beans may be
used. This makes a very satisfactory luncheon dish.


MOULD OF SPINACH

_Stampa di Spinaci_

    1 cup milk
    1 tablespoon butter
    1 tablespoon flour
    Grated cheese
    2 cups boiled spinach
    3 eggs
    Brown stock
    Salt, pepper

Make a smooth white sauce of the milk, butter and flour. Let it cook
until it is thick and the flour is thoroughly cooked. Add to the sauce
the spinach (drained, rinsed and chopped very fine) a few tablespoons
of grated cheese, two eggs beaten, a few tablespoons of brown stock
(or a bouillon cube dissolved in a little hot water) and salt. Mix
thoroughly and pour into a buttered mould. Steam as a custard until it
is firm. Brown stock or tomato sauce may be poured over this, but it
is excellent served hot just as it is. For the recipes for _Brown
Stock_ and _Tomato Sauce_ see pages 7 and 23.

    _Pensione Santa Caterina, Siena._


[Sidenote: _Eggs_]


EGGS ALL' AURORA

    1 tablespoon butter or vegetable oil
    1 cup milk
    1 tablespoon flour
    3 eggs
    Salt and pepper

Hard boil the eggs. Make a white sauce of the flour, milk and butter.
Be sure to cook it thoroughly. Add the whites of the eggs diced very
fine. Pour this out on a platter and cover with the yolks forced
through a sieve or potato ricer.

    _Pensione Santa Caterina, Siena._


TOMATOES WITH EGGS

    5 or 6 ripe tomatoes of equal size
    5 or 6 eggs
    White sauce or brown gravy

Peel the tomatoes. Cut a slice from the top of each, and scoop out the
core. Break a raw egg into each and replace the top. Put in a baking
dish and bake until the eggs are set. Serve with a cream sauce or
brown gravy.


[Sidenote: _Corn Meal Dishes_]


CORN MEAL LOAF

_Pasticcio di Polenta_

    Yellow cornmeal
    Dried mushrooms[3]
    Parmesan cheese[3]
    Butter
    Cream
    Salt

The day before this dish is to be served, cook cornmeal very
thoroughly with only enough water to make it very stiff. Turn out to
cool in just the shape of the dish in which it has cooked.

Next day take this same dish, butter it and sprinkle with bread
crumbs. Cut the mould of cornmeal in horizontal slices about 1/4 inch
thick. Lay the top slice in the bottom of the dish where it fits. Dot
with two or three small pieces of butter and three or four dried
mushrooms which have had boiling water poured over them and soaked
some time. Moisten with cream and sprinkle with grated Parmesan
cheese. Repeat slice by slice until the shape is complete. On the last
slice put only two dots of butter.

Put in a moderate oven and bake three hours. If at the end of this
time there should be too much liquid on top pour this off to use for
the seasoning of some other dish, such as spaghetti, rice or noodles,
and continue cooking until the liquid ceases to ooze.

          [3] See Suggestions, page 5.


POLENTA PIE

_Polenta Pasticciata_

    1 cup yellow corn meal
    1 cup milk
    1 tablespoon cornstarch
    Grated cheese
    Bolognese Sauce[4]
    Salt
    1 tablespoon cooking oil or butter

Make a very stiff mush of the cornmeal. Salt it well and when it is
cooked spread it out to cool on a bread board in a sheet about an inch
thick. Make a smooth white sauce of the milk, cornstarch and butter.
Prepare the _Bolognese Sauce_ according to its recipe. When the
cornmeal is cold slice it down in half inch slices and cut into
diamonds or squares. Butter a baking dish. Put in a layer of the
cornmeal, sprinkle it with cheese and a few tablespoons each of the
white sauce and the meat sauce. Repeat until the dish is full. Bake
until the top is nicely browned. This seems like an elaborate dish, but
it is very delicious and a meal in itself.

          [4] See page 23.


[Sidenote: _Spaghetti and Other Pastas_]


GNOCCHI OF FARINA OR CORNMEAL

_Gnocchi alla Romana_

    1 pint of milk, or half milk and half water
    1/2 cup farina or cornmeal
    Butter and grated cheese
    1 egg
    Salt

Let the milk come to a boil, salt it and add the farina gradually,
stirring constantly so it will not become lumpy. Take from the fire
and add a tablespoon of butter and several tablespoons of grated
cheese, also the egg slightly beaten. Mix well and spread out on a
moulding board in a sheet about 3/4 inch thick. When it is cold cut it
in squares or diamonds. Put a layer of these on a shallow baking dish
or platter that has been buttered. Sprinkle with cheese and dot with
butter. Make another layer and so on until the dish is filled. Bake in
the oven until the crust is well browned.


SPAGHETTI WITH ANCHOVIES

    3/4 lb. spaghetti
    5 medium sized anchovies[5]
    Olive oil
    Canned tomatoes

Put the anchovies into a colander and dip quickly into boiling water
to loosen the skins, and remove the salt. Skin and bone them. Chop
them and put over the fire in a sauce-pan with a generous quantity of
oil and some pepper. Do not let them boil, but when they are hot add
two tablespoons of butter and three or four tablespoons of
concentrated tomato juice made by cooking down canned tomatoes and
rubbing through a sieve. Boil the spaghetti in water that is only
slightly salted and take care not to let it become too soft. Drain
thoroughly and put it into the hot dish in which it is to be served.
Pour the sauce over the spaghetti, and if you have left the latter
unbroken in the Italian style mix by lifting the spaghetti with two
silver forks until sauce has gone all through it. Serve with grated
cheese.

          [5] See Suggestions, page 5.


SPAGHETTI ALLA NAPOLITANA

    1/2 lb. round steak
    1/4 lb. salt pork or bacon
    1 small onion
    A clove of garlic
    1 tablespoon butter or substitute
    A few dried mushrooms, if desired
    Several sprigs parsley
    Fresh or canned tomatoes

Grind the salt pork and try it out in a saucepan. While it is frying
put the onion through the grinder. As soon as the pork begins to brown
add the onion, the parsley chopped, the garlic shredded fine, and the
mushrooms which have been softened by soaking in warm water. When the
vegetables are very brown (great care must be taken not to burn the
onion, which scorches very easily) add the meat ground coarsely or cut
up in little cubes. When the meat is a good brown color, add about one
pint of tomatoes and simmer slowly until all has cooked down to a
thick creamy sauce. It will probably take 3/4 hour. The sauce may be
bound together with a little flour if it shows a tendency to separate.

This sauce is used to dress all kinds of macaroni and spaghetti, also
for boiled rice. Spaghetti should be left unbroken when it is cooked.
If it is too long to fit in the kettle immerse one end in the boiling
salted water and in a very few minutes the ends of the spaghetti under
the water will become softened so that the rest can be pushed down
into the kettle. Be careful not to overcook it and it will not be
pasty, but firm and tender. Drain it carefully and put in a hot soup
tureen. Sprinkle a handful of grated cheese over it and pour on the
sauce. Lift with two forks until thoroughly mixed.


NOODLES OR HOME MADE PASTE

_Tagliatelli o Pasta Fatta in Casa_

The best and most tender paste is made simply of eggs and flour and
salt. Water may be substituted for part of the eggs, for economy, or
when a less rich paste is needed. Allow about a cup of flour to an
egg. Put the flour on a bread board, make a hole in the middle and
break in the egg. Use any extra whites that are on hand. Work it with
a fork until it is firm enough to work with the hands. Knead it
thoroughly, adding more flour if necessary, until you have a paste you
can roll out. Roll it as thin as a ten cent piece. If the sheet of
paste is too large to handle with an ordinary rolling pin, a broom
handle which has been sawed off, scrubbed and sandpapered, will serve
in lieu of the long Italian rolling pin.

This paste may be cut in ribbons to be cooked in soup as _Tagliatelli_,
or cut in squares or circles and filled with various mixtures to make
_Cappelletti_, _Ravioli_, etc.

Any bits that are left or become too dry to work may be made into a
ball and kept for some time to be grated into soup, in which it makes
an excellent thickening.


RAVIOLI

    1/4 lb. curds or soft cottage cheese
    1/2 cup cooked spinach or beet greens
    1 egg
    Nutmeg
    Salt
    Grated cheese

Drain and chop the greens. Mix well with the curds, egg, a little
grated cheese, salt and nutmeg. Make a paste such as that described in
the recipe for _Pasta fatta in Casa_, page 20. Roll out this paste very
thin and mark it off in two or three inch squares. Place a spoonful of
the mixture on each square. Fold together diagonally. Moisten the edges
with the finger dipped in cold water, to make them stick together, and
press them down with the fingers or the tines of a fork. Another method
is to put the spoonfuls of the mixture in a row two inches from the
edge of the paste and two inches apart. Fold over the edge of the
paste. Cut off the whole strip thus formed, and cut into squares with
the mixture in the middle of each square.

Boil these _ravioli_ in salted water, being careful not to break them
open. Drain and serve with a tomato sauce containing mushrooms[6],
either fresh ones, or the dried mushrooms soaked and simmered until
tender. Arrange the _ravioli_ on a platter, pour the hot sauce over
them and finish with a sprinkling of grated cheese.

          [6] See page 23.


RAVIOLI WITH MEAT

_Ravioli alla Genovese_

    1 cup cooked meat, veal, chicken, turkey or giblets
    1 small slice cooked ham
    1/2 cup spinach
    1 egg
    Grated cheese, nutmeg, salt

Chop the meat and spinach fine and work to a stiff mixture with the
egg. Season with cheese, nutmeg and salt to taste. Enclose in little
squares of the home made paste described above, and cook and serve as
in the preceding recipe for _Ravioli_.


NOODLES WITH HAM

_Tagliatelle col Presciutto_

    Noodles
    A slice of ham, fat & lean
    Oil or butter
    Carrot
    Celery
    Tomato paste[7]

Cut the ham into little pieces. Chop carrot and celery to equal the
ham in quantity. Put them all on the fire with some butter. When the
mixture is brown add a few tablespoons of tomato paste dissolved in a
cup of hot water.

Cook the noodles in water that is only slightly salted. Drain and
dress with the sauce and grated cheese. The quantities to use in the
sauce must be determined by the amount of noodles to be cooked.

          [7] See Suggestions, page 5.


[Sidenote: _Sauces_]


BOLOGNESE SAUCE FOR MACARONI

_Maccheroni alla Bolognese_

    1/4 lb. raw round steak
    A slice of salt pork or bacon (2 oz.)
    1 tablespoon butter or substitute
    1 pint hot water or broth
    1 small carrot
    1/4 onion
    1 large piece celery
    1/2 tablespoon flour
    Pepper, nutmeg if desired

Chop the meat and vegetables fine and put them over the fire with the
butter. When the meat has browned add the flour and wet the mixture
with hot water or broth, allowing it to simmer from half an hour to an
hour. It is done when it is the consistency of a thick gravy.

This is enough sauce for 1 lb. of macaroni or spaghetti. Dried
mushrooms are a good addition to this sauce. They may be soaked,
drained and chopped with other vegetables. This sauce forms the basis
for the dish of scalloped cornmeal called _Polenta Pasticciata_.


TOMATO SAUCE

_Salsa di Pomidoro_

Pellegrino Artusi, the inimitable author of that droll yet practical
manual of cooking SCIENCE IN THE KITCHEN AND THE ART OF EATING WELL
(La Scienza in Cucina e l'Arte di mangiar bene) has the following to
say about tomato sauce.

    "There was once a good old priest in a village of the Romagna who
    stuck his nose into everything; in every family circle and in every
    domestic affair he wanted to have his finger in the pie. Aside from
    this he was a kindly old party and as his zeal was the source of
    more good than bad people let him go his way; but the wiseacres
    dubbed him Don Pomidoro (Sir Tomato) to indicate that tomatoes
    enter into everything; therefore a good tomato sauce is an
    invaluable aid in cooking."

Chop fine together a quarter of an onion, a clove of garlic, a piece
of celery as long as your finger, a few bay leaves and just parsley
enough. Season with a little oil, salt and pepper, cut up seven or
eight tomatoes and put everything over the fire together. Stir it from
time to time and when you see the juice condensing into a thin custard
strain it through a sieve, and it is ready for use."

This sauce serves many purposes. It is good on boiled meat; excellent
to dress macaroni, spaghetti or other pastes which have been seasoned
with butter and cheese, or on boiled rice seasoned in the same way.
Mushrooms are a great addition to it.


WHITE SAUCE FOR BOILED ASPARAGUS OR CAULIFLOWER

_Salsa Bianca_

    1 tablespoon flour or cornstarch
    1/4 cup butter
    1 tablespoon vinegar
    Salt and pepper
    1/2 cup water or soup stock
    Yolk of 1 egg

Melt half the butter, add the flour and cook until it begins to brown.
Add the water slowly, stirring meanwhile, the vinegar and the rest of
the butter. Take from the fire and add the beaten egg yolk. This sauce
should be smooth like a thin custard.


PIQUANT SAUCE

_Salsa Piccante_

    2 sardines or anchovies
    A bunch of parsley
    1/4 of a small onion
    Garlic
    Lemon juice
    Vinegar
    Olive oil
    Salt, pepper

Wash, skin and bone the anchovies. Chop the parsley very fine with the
onion. Rub a bowl with the cut side of a clove of garlic. Put in the
anchovies and rub to a paste. Add the parsley and onion, a tablespoon
each of lemon juice and vinegar, 1/4 cup olive oil and salt and pepper
to taste. Stir the mixture until it is smooth and thick. Capers may be
added by way of variety. This is delicious as a sauce for plain boiled
meat or fish.

    _Signorina Cornelia Cuniberti._


[Sidenote: _Fish_]


SALMON ALLA FIORENTINA

    2 lbs. fresh salmon
    A sprig of parsley
    2 cloves garlic
    A bit of sage
    A bay leaf
    1 egg
    Flour
    Salt, pepper
    Mayonnaise
    Oil for frying

Boil the piece of salmon for half an hour with the parsley, garlic,
sage and bay leaf. Bone and roll into fillets 3/4 inch thick. If the
fish has boiled very tender it may be necessary to tie the fillets in
shape with string or strips of cheese cloth. Dip in beaten egg, then
in flour, salt and pepper. Sauté a delicate brown. Serve with oil
mayonnaise. The white from the egg used in the mayonnaise may serve
for dipping the fillets if only a small piece of salmon is cooked.


CODFISH "STUFATO"

_Stufato di Baccala_

    1 cup codfish, flaked or picked to pieces with a fork
    4 tablespoons cooking oil
    Several sprigs parsley
    Tomato paste[8]
    Pepper, hot water

Freshen and soak the codfish in cold water, changing the water two or
three times. Heat the oil, with the parsley finely chopped. Add the
tomato paste, pepper and enough water to make sufficient liquid to
cover the fish. Add the fish and let it simmer over a slow fire until
it is done.

    _Signorina Irene Merlani._

          [8] See Suggestions, page 5.


CODFISH CROQUETTES

_Cotolette di Baccala_

    1 lb. salt codfish
    2 anchovies[9]
    A sprig of parsley
    Grated cheese
    2 eggs
    1/2 cup breadcrumbs
    1 tablespoon butter
    Pepper

Flake the codfish and put it on the fire in cold water. When it has
come to a boil remove from fire and drain. Clean the anchovies and
chop them together with the codfish and parsley. Add enough hot water
to the bread crumbs and butter to moisten thoroughly. Mix with the
other ingredients Form into croquettes and dip into egg and crumbs and
fry in deep fat.

Serve with tomato sauce or simply garnish with lemon.

          [9] See Suggestions, page 5.


[Sidenote: _Meats_]


FRIED CHIPPED VEAL

_Frittura Piccata_

    Veal
    Flour
    Butter
    1 tablespoon vinegar
    Chopped parsley
    Salt and pepper

Take any piece of veal and slice it as thin as possible in small
irregular slices like chipped beef. Roll in flour, put butter in
frying pan; when hot add the vinegar and stir hard. Lay in the slices
of veal and sprinkle salt, pepper and chopped parsley over it. sauté
first on one side, then on the other, turning each piece separately.
Serve hot with its own butter and vinegar sauce poured over it.

    _Mme. Varesi._


SCALLOPED MEAT

_Piatto di Carne Avanzata_

    Any left over meat
    Onions
    Tomatoes, fresh or canned
    Flour
    Butter or butter substitute
    Sifted bread crumbs
    Salt
    Pepper

Into the bottom of a baking dish put a layer of thinly sliced onion,
salt, pepper, a sprinkling of flour and a few dots of butter, then a
layer of the cooked meat sliced very thin, another layer of onion and
seasoning, and then one of meat, moistening it occasionally with a
tablespoon of soup stock or hot water in which a bouillon cube has
been dissolved. Repeat this until the dish is nearly full. Last put in
a layer of raw tomatoes (canned tomatoes may be made to serve the
purpose) and cover the top with bread crumbs, salt, pepper and bits of
butter. Bake in the oven for one-half hour.

    _Signorina Irene Merlani._


MEAT SOUFFLÉ

_Flam di Carne Avanzata_

    1 cup cold boiled or roast meat chopped fine
    1 oz. butter
    1 tablespoon flour
    Grated cheese, to taste
    1 pint of milk
    2 eggs
    Salt, pepper

Make the butter, flour and milk into a white sauce by melting the
butter, cooking the flour in it until the mixture bubbles and begins
to brown, then adding the milk and cooking until it is smooth. Let
this cool. Brown the meat in a saucepan with a little fat or
drippings, salt and pepper. Take it from the fire and add the white
sauce and the eggs well beaten. Season with grated cheese, salt and
pepper. Butter a mould and sprinkle it with bread crumbs, fill with
the mixture and steam or bake as a custard for an hour. Serve with any
good meat or tomato sauce.

    _Signorina Irene Merlani._


MEAT OMELETTE

_Polpettone_

    Cold boiled meat
    An egg
    Bread crumbs
    Butter, hot water

Chop or grind cold boiled meat and form into an oval cake after mixing
it with enough slightly beaten egg and bread crumbs (soaked in hot
water and seasoned with butter) to make it hold its shape. Sauté on
one side in a frying pan. To turn it use a plate or cover so as not to
break it. Sauté on the other side. Lift it from the pan and with the
fat remaining in the pan make a gravy to pour over it, which may be
enriched by the addition of a beaten egg and a dash of lemon juice
just as it is taken from the fire.

A _Polpettone_ from left over soup meat often forms the second course
to a meal, the first course of which has been the soup made from this
meat with vegetables or macaroni cooked in it.


STEW OF BEEF OR VEAL WITH MACARONI

_Stufato di Vitello con Maccheroni_

    1-1/2 lbs. beef or veal suitable for stewing
    1/4 cup vegetable oil or shortening
    1 cup broth or sour milk
    2 large onions
    Salt
    Pepper

Cut the meat into little pieces and season each piece with salt and
pepper. Chop the onions very fine or put them through the meat
grinder, and fry them brown in the fat. Put in the meat and let it
cook until it has absorbed all the fat and is slightly browned. Add
the broth or milk and let it cook over a moderate fire.

As a vegetable with this stew serve macaroni boiled, drained and
seasoned with tomato sauce[10] and butter.

    _Signorina Irene Merlani._

          [10] See page 5.


PIGEONS IN CORNMEAL

_Piccioni con Polenta_

    Pigeons
    Butter
    Chopped onion
    Stock, or boiling water and bouillon cubes
    Sage
    Yellow cornmeal
    Salt, pepper

Make a stiff cornmeal mush, thoroughly cooked. Cut the pigeons in
quarters or even smaller pieces. Brown them in butter with salt,
pepper and a little chopped onion. Cover with stock, add a bit of sage
and stew slowly for an hour and a half. If the birds are young less
time will do.

Line a round dish with the mush, hollowed out. Lay the pigeons with
their sauce inside of this and serve hot.


SMOTHERED CHICKEN

_Stufato di Pollo_

    A chicken (this is an excellent way to cook a tough fowl)
    4 oz. fat, half butter and half lard, or any substitute
    1 cup tomatoes stewed down and put through a sieve
    1 carrot
    1 onion
    Boiling water
    1 stalk celery

Cut up the chicken, rub it with the lard and brown it in the other
half of the fat. Add the strained tomato, then the finely chopped
onion, finally the carrot and celery cut into small pieces, and season
with salt and pepper. Let it simmer slowly until perfectly tender,
adding hot water enough to keep it moist, from time to time, as the
strained tomato cooks away.

    _Signorina Irene Merlani._


CHICKEN ALLA CACCIATORA

_Pollo alla Cacciatora_

    A chicken
    1 pint fresh or canned tomatoes
    1/4 lb. fat salt pork or bacon
    Flour
    6 sweet green peppers
    2 or 3 medium sized onions

Grind or chop the salt pork and put in a large frying pan with the
onions sliced thin. Fry the onions slowly and carefully until they are
golden brown. Skim them out. Cut up the chicken, sprinkle the pieces
with flour, salt and pepper, and sauté in the fat which remains in the
frying pan. When the chicken is brown add the tomatoes and green
peppers and put back the onions. When the vegetables have cooked down
to a thick gravy keep adding enough hot water to prevent their
burning. Cover the pan tightly and simmer until the chicken is very
tender. This an excellent way to cook tough chickens. Fowls which have
been boiled may be cooked in this way, but of course young and tender
chickens will have the finer flavor.


BOILED FOWL WITH RICE

_Lesso di Pollo col Riso_

    1/2 lb. rice
    A fowl suitable for boiling
    Salt and pepper
    1 egg
    Butter
    Grated cheese

Cut up the fowl and boil until it is tender. Wash the rice and blanch
it by letting it come to a boil and cook a few minutes in salted
water. Finish cooking it in the broth from the boiled fowl. Do not
cook it too long or it will be mushy. Add the broth a little at a time
to be sure the rice is not too wet when it is done. Season with cheese
and butter and add the egg yolk to bind it just as it is taken from
the fire. Serve as a border around the fowl.


STUFFING FOR ROAST CHICKEN OR TURKEY

_Ripieno_

    2 small link sausages
    Giblets of the fowl
    1 cup dry breadcrumbs
    1 tablespoon drippings
    1 egg
    A few dried mushrooms[11]
    Nutmeg
    Very little salt and pepper
    8 or 10 large roasted chestnuts

Brown the sausages and giblets in drippings. Add a cup of boiling
water and simmer until cooked. Skim them from their broth and put the
bread crumbs to soak in it. Skin the sausages and chop or grind them
together with the giblets, chestnuts and the mushrooms which have been
washed and soaked in warm water. Mix thoroughly with the bread crumbs.
Add more bread crumbs or hot water if it is not the right consistency.
Double the quantity for a turkey. This dressing is very nice sliced
cold.

          [11] See Suggestions, page 5.


[Sidenote: _Sweets_]


CHOCOLATE PUDDING

_Budino di Cioccolata_

    2 cups milk
    3 eggs
    1-1/2 squares unsweetened chocolate
    1/4 cup sugar
    3 oz. ground macaroons

Make a custard of the eggs, milk, sugar and chocolate. Cook it in a
double boiler until it thickens. Take from the fire and add the finely
ground macaroons, stirring and beating the mixture until it is smooth.
Pour into a buttered mould and chill thoroughly on the ice.

    _Signorina Irene Merlani._


ZABAIONE

    1 wineglass Marsala or Madeira wine (1/4 cup)
    1 tablespoon sugar
    2 eggs

Beat the eggs, beat in the sugar, add the wine. Cook over a slow fire,
beating constantly until the mixture begins to thicken. Take from the
fire and continue to beat a moment so the mixture will not cook to the
side of the hot vessel. It should be a smooth, frothy cream. It is
eaten hot, poured over sponge cake or served in tall glasses. A scant
teaspoon of cinnamon may be added by way of variety.

It is best to cook Zabaione in a double boiler or in a dish set into a
larger one of boiling water, to prevent its curdling.

Orange or other fruit juice may be substituted for the wine, but
Marsala is the original and authentic ingredient. Made with fruit
juice it becomes an acceptable pudding sauce.

    _Pensione Santa Caterina, Siena._


MONT BLANC

_Monte Bianco, Dolce di Castagne_

    1 lb French or Italian chestnuts
    Milk, sugar, whipped cream, cinnamon

Boil the chestnuts for two hours and then peel off the shells and
inner skins. Put them over the fire with a little milk, and mash them
to a paste, adding more milk if necessary, to make them of about the
consistency of mashed potatoes. Flavor with sugar and cinnamon. Pass
them through a sieve or potato ricer to form a mound on the plate on
which the Mont Blanc is to be served. Decorate with a generous
quantity of whipped cream just before serving. Vanilla or a little
wine may be used for flavoring instead of cinnamon.

    _Marietta Ieri_


NUT CAKE

    1/4 lb. rice flour
    6 oz. sugar
    4 oz. butter
    4 eggs
    Vanilla
    4 oz. almonds and filberts

Blanch the almonds and filberts and dry them thoroughly. Grind them
very fine and mix with the rice flour and two tablespoons of the
sugar. Beat the eggs light and beat in the rest of the sugar. Pour the
eggs into the other mixture and beat all very light. Add the melted
butter and continue to beat. Pour into a buttered loaf-cake tin and
bake in a moderate oven.


PASTA MARGUERITA

    1/4 lb. potato flour
    1/4 lb. powdered sugar
    4 eggs
    Lemon juice

Beat the egg yolks thoroughly and beat in the sugar. Then add the
flour and lemon juice and beat in all 1/2 hour. Beat the whites of the
eggs dry and fold them into the rest. Butter a mould and sprinkle with
powdered sugar. Pour into the mould and bake. When it is cool turn out
of the mould and sprinkle with powdered sugar.


BIGNÉ

    1 cup flour
    1 cup water
    1/2 cup butter
    3 eggs
    A little salt

Boil the water and melt the butter in it. Salt it, add the flour and
let it cook a little while. Cool and add the beaten eggs. Form this
into 12 _Bigné_, (little cakes or cookies) and bake them in the oven.
When they are baked split them open and fill with a custard flavored
with vanilla and sprinkle them with powdered sugar.

    _Signorina Irene Merlani._