CAULIFLOWERS WITH PARMESAN CHEESE.
(Entremets, or Side-dish, to be served with the Second Course.)
1106. INGREDIENTS.—2 or 3 cauliflowers, rather more than 1/2 pint of white sauce No. 378, 2 tablespoonfuls of grated Parmesan cheese, 2 oz. of fresh butter, 3 tablespoonfuls of bread crumbs.
Mode.—Cleanse and boil the cauliflowers by recipe No. 1104, and drain them and dish them with the flowers standing upright. Have ready the above proportion of white sauce; pour sufficient of it over the cauliflowers just to cover the top; sprinkle over this some rasped Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs, and drop on these the butter, which should be melted, but not oiled. Brown with a salamander, or before the fire, and pour round, but not over, the flowers the remainder of the sauce, with which should be mixed a small quantity of grated Parmesan cheese.
Time.—Altogether, 1/2 hour. Average cost, for large cauliflowers, 6d. each.
Sufficient,—3 small cauliflowers for 1 dish.
Seasonable from the beginning of June to the end of September.
CELERY.
[Illustration: CELERY IN GLASS.]
1107. With a good heart, and nicely blanched, this vegetable is generally eaten raw, and is usually served with the cheese. Let the roots be washed free from dirt, all the decayed and outside leaves being cut off, preserving as much of the stalk as possible, and all specks or blemishes being carefully removed. Should the celery be large, divide it lengthwise into quarters, and place it, root downwards, in a celery-glass, which should be rather more than half filled with water. The top leaves may be curled, by shredding them in narrow strips with the point of a clean skewer, at a distance of about 4 inches from the top.
Average cost, 2d. per head.
Sufficient.—Allow 2 heads for 4 or 5 persons.
Seasonable from October to April.
Note.—This vegetable is exceedingly useful for flavouring soups, sauces, &c., and makes a very nice addition to winter salad.