Salads, Sandwiches and Chafing-Dish Dainties Part 17

=Cheese Ramequins.=

Put four tablespoonfuls of b.u.t.ter and half a cup of water into a saucepan. When these boil, add half a cup of flour and a few grains, each, of salt and paprica; cook and stir until the mixture cleaves from the pan. Turn into a mixing-bowl and beat in two ounces of grated Parmesan cheese; then beat in, one at a time, two eggs. On a well-b.u.t.tered baking-sheet shape the paste into flat circular pieces about an inch in diameter. Brush over the tops with beaten egg, diluted with one or two tablespoonfuls of milk or water, and put three or four dice of cheese on each. Bake about fifteen minutes. Serve very hot.

=Cheese Straws.=

Roll plain or puff paste into a rectangular sheet one-fourth an inch thick. Sprinkle one-half with grated cheese (any kind of cheese will do, but Parmesan is preferred); also add a few grains of cayenne and salt.

Fold the other half over this and press the edges together closely.

Fold again to make three layers, turn half-way round, pat and roll out to the thickness of one-fourth an inch. Sprinkle one half with cheese and proceed as before. Continue rolling and adding the cheese, until, to one cup and a half of flour, from half to a whole cup of cheese has been used. After the last rolling, cut into bands half an inch wide, or into rings and straws one-fourth an inch wide. The straws and bands should be four or five inches in length, and the rings large enough to hold three or four straws. Serve the bands piled in log-cabin style on a doylie-covered plate. If the paste be made expressly for the straws, the cheese and cayenne may be mixed into the flour with the b.u.t.ter, thus diminishing time in making. Bake in a moderate oven until delicately browned.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Cheese Ramequins.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Individual Souffle of Cheese.

(See page 108)]

=Gnochi a la Romaine.=

Melt four tablespoonfuls of b.u.t.ter; cook in it four tablespoonfuls, each, of cornstarch and flour and half a teaspoonful of salt, then add gradually one pint of milk. When thick and smooth stir in the beaten yolks of two eggs, add four tablespoonfuls of grated Parmesan cheese, and spread on a b.u.t.tered pan to cool. Just before serving, cut the paste in shapes, lay on a baking-sheet, and brown delicately in the oven.

=Cheese b.a.l.l.s.=

Mix together thoroughly one cup and a half of grated cheese, one tablespoonful of flour, one-fourth, a teaspoonful of salt and a few grains of cayenne; then add the whites of three eggs, beaten stiff.

Shape in small b.a.l.l.s and roll in cracker crumbs, sifted or crushed to a fine meal; fry in deep fat and drain on soft paper.

=Individual Souffles of Cheese, Iced.=

(See cut facing page 106.)

Mix half a cup of grated Parmesan and one-fourth a cup of grated Gruyere cheese and one-fourth a teaspoonful of paprica with two-thirds a cup of chicken aspic, cold, but not set. Stir over ice water until just beginning to form, then fold into it one cup of whipped cream. Fasten strips of white paper around paper souffle cases, letting the strips rise an inch and a half above the cases, fixing in place with sealing-wax, mucilage, or a st.i.tch. Fill the cases and the papers surrounding them with the cheese mixture, and set them in a pail or mould that is thoroughly chilled. Press the cover down over a paper, and pack in equal parts of ice and salt. Let stand an hour. Before serving, remove the paper, sprinkle the tops with b.u.t.tered crumbs, browned, and serve at once.

=Cheese Croquettes.=

(TOURAINE.)

INGREDIENTS.

3 tablespoonfuls of b.u.t.ter.

1/4 a cup of flour.

2/3 a cup of milk.

Yolks of 2 eggs.

1 cup of mild cheese, cut in small cubes.

1/2 a cup of grated Gruyere cheese.

Salt and cayenne to taste.

_Method._--Make a sauce of the b.u.t.ter, flour and milk; add the yolks, slightly beaten, and beat thoroughly; add the grated cheese, and, when melted, remove from the fire; add the seasonings and cubes of cheese.

Spread in a shallow pan to cool. Cut in any shape desired, dip in crumbs, then in egg, and again in crumbs; fry in deep fat and drain on brown paper.

=Cheese Aigrettes.=

INGREDIENTS.

1/2 a cup of water.

1/4 a cup of b.u.t.ter.

1/2 a cup of flour.

2 eggs, with yolk of a third.

A few grains of cayenne and salt.

2 ounces (1/4 a cup) of grated Parmesan cheese.

Hot fat.

_Method._--Boil the water and b.u.t.ter, sift in the flour with the salt and cayenne; stir and cook until the mixture cleaves from the side of the pan. When the mixture has slightly cooled, add the eggs, one at a time, beating in each egg thoroughly before another is added. Lastly, add the cheese. Drop, by teaspoonfuls, into hot fat and fry a golden brown. Drain on soft paper and serve piled on a folded napkin.

=Cheese d'Artois.=

INGREDIENTS.

2 tablespoonfuls of b.u.t.ter.

White of 1 egg.

Yolks of 2 eggs.

Salt and paprica.

2 ounces of grated Parmesan cheese.

1/4 a pound of plain or puff paste.

_Method._--Cream the b.u.t.ter, beat in the eggs, and add the cheese with a few grains, each, of salt and paprica. Roll the pastry very thin and cut it into two rectangular pieces; lay one of these on a baking-sheet and spread with the cheese mixture; cover this with the second piece of pastry. Score with a knife in strips one inch wide and about three inches long, brush over with beaten egg, and bake about fifteen minutes.

Cut out the strips while hot. Serve at once, or reheat before serving.

=Cheese Fritters.=

Slice thin half a dozen large tart apples (select apples that cook quickly), and prepare half as many thin slices of cheese. Beat up one or two eggs, and season with salt, mustard and pepper. Soak the cheese in the egg mixture, then put each slice between two slices of apple, sandwich style; dip in the beaten egg, saute in hot b.u.t.ter, and serve hot.

=Salad of Lettuce with Cheese and Vegetable Macedoine.=

Mix together a ten-cent cream cheese, a canned pimento (red) cut in tiny cubes, one-fourth a cup of small green string beans, cut in cubes, five olives, chopped fine, and enough cream to hold the mixture together.

When thoroughly mixed, use a piece of paraffine or confectioner's paper to handle and give the mixture the original shape. Let stand in a cold place, wrapped in the paper, until ready to serve, then dispose in the centre of a salad dish, lined with lettuce leaves, dressed with French dressing. Slice the cheese with a silver knife before sending to table.

At luncheon, mayonnaise may be served in a dish apart.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Pineapple Cheese and Crackers.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Salad of Lettuce with Cheese and Vegetable Macedoine.]