—— dressed.—Cabbage may be served in a
variety of ways, besides plainly boiled, with very
little trouble. For instance, à la maître d'hotel:
Boil the cabbage whole as above, then when cooked
press it lightly but firmly to extract all the water,
halve it lengthways, arrange it neatly on a hot dish,
season with white pepper, a little salt, and a grate
of nutmeg, sprinkle with a little dissolved butter,
and a squeeze of lemon juice, and serve very hot.
(Savoys are especially good cooked thus.) Or prepare
the cabbage as above, turn it out in a neat pile, and
cut it sharply into squares, finishing as in the previous
recipe. Or, à la crème: When cooked turn the cabbage
out on a board, shred it finely, and toss it in a pan
with ¼ to 1 oz. of butter, pepper, salt, nutmeg, and
(if liked) powdered mixed spice, moistening it gradu-
ally with cream, allowing it all to simmer very gently
till the cream is absorbed, and serve hot. (The
cabbage must be rather underboiled at first for this
dish). Or, au lard: Boil and shred the cabbage
as before; have ready equal quantities of ham or
bacon (fat and lean), and onions, cut into dice, and
fry these together till the onion is just coloured,
and the bacon nearly done, then stir in the shred
cabbage, seasoning it with a little pepper, and stir
it altogether over the fire till the bacon is quite cooked
and the cabbage perfectly hot. Cold cooked cabbage
is excellent rechauffé thus.