The Complete Book of Cheese Part 10

Grilled Tomato Rabbit

Slice big, red, juicy tomatoes 1/2-inch thick, season with salt, pepper and plenty of brown sugar. Dot both sides with all the b.u.t.ter that won't slip off.

Heat in moderate oven, and when almost cooked, remove and broil on both sides. Put on hot plates in place of the usual toast and pour the Rabbit over them. (The Rabbit is made according to either Basic Recipe No. 1 or No. 2.)

Slices of crisp bacon on top of the tomato slices and a touch of horseradish help.

Grilled Tomato and Onion Rabbit

Slice 1/4-inch thick an equal number of tomato and onion rings.

Season with salt, pepper, brown sugar and dots of b.u.t.ter. Heat in moderate oven, and when almost cooked remove and broil lightly.

On hot plates lay first the onion rings, top with the tomato ones and pour the Rabbit over, as in the plain Grilled Tomato recipe above.

For another onion-flavored Rabbit see Celery and Onion Rabbit.

The Devil's Own (_a fresh tomato variant_)

2 tablespoons b.u.t.ter 1 large peeled tomato in 4 thick slices 2-1/2 cups grated cheese 1/4 teaspoon English mustard A pinch of cayenne A dash of tabasco sauce 2 tablespoons chili sauce 1/2 cup ale or beer 1 egg, lightly beaten

Saute tomato slices lightly on both sides in 1 tablespoon b.u.t.ter.

Keep warm on hot platter while you make the toast and a Basic Rabbit, pepped up by the extra-hot seasonings listed above. Put hot tomato slices on hot toast on hot plates; pour the hot mixture over.

Dried Beef or Chipped Beef Rabbit

1 tablespoon b.u.t.ter 1 cup canned tomato, drained, chopped and de-seeded 1/4 pound dried beef, shredded 2 eggs, lightly beaten 1/4 teaspoon pepper 2 cups grated cheese

Heat tomato in b.u.t.ter, add beef and eggs, stir until mixed well, then sprinkle with pepper, stir in the grated cheese until smooth and creamy. Serve on toast.

No salt is needed on this jerked steer meat that is called both dried beef and chipped beef on this side of the border, _tasajo_ on the other side, and _xarque_ when you get all the way down to Brazil.

Kansas Jack Rabbit

1 cup milk 3 tablespoons b.u.t.ter 3 tablespoons flour 2 cups grated cheese 1 cup cream-style corn Salt and pepper

Make a white sauce of milk, b.u.t.ter and flour and stir in cheese steadily and gradually until melted. Add corn and season to taste. Serve on hot b.u.t.tered toast.

Kansas has plenty of the makings for this, yet the dish must have been easier to make on Baron Munchhausen's "Island of Cheese," where the cornstalks produced loaves of bread, ready-made, instead of ears, and were no doubt crossed with long-eared jacks to produce Corn Rabbits quite as miraculous.

After tomatoes, in popularity, come onions and then green peppers or canned pimientos as vegetable ingredients in modern, Americanized Rabbits. And after that, corn, as in the following recipe which appeals to all Latin-Americans from Mexico to Chile because it has everything.

Latin-American Corn Rabbit

2 tablespoons b.u.t.ter 1 green pepper, chopped 1 large onion, chopped 1/2 cup condensed tomato soup 3 cups grated cheese 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1 cup canned corn 1 egg, lightly beaten

Fry pepper and onion 5 minutes in b.u.t.ter; add soup, cover and cook 5 minutes more. Put over boiling water; add cheese with seasonings and stir steadily, slowly adding the corn, and when thoroughly blended and creamy, moisten the egg with a little of the liquid, stir in until thickened and then pour over hot toast or crackers.

Mushroom-Tomato Rabbit

In one pan commence frying in b.u.t.ter 1 cup of sliced fresh mushrooms, and in another make a Rabbit by melting over boiling water 2 cups of grated cheese with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Stir steadily and, when partially melted, stir in a can of condensed tomato soup, previously heated. Then add the fried mushrooms slowly, stir until creamy and pour over hot toast or crackers.

Celery and Onion Rabbit

1/2 cup chopped hearts of celery 1 small onion, chopped 1 tablespoon b.u.t.ter 1-1/2 cups grated sharp cheese Salt and pepper

In a separate pan boil celery and onion until tender. Meanwhile, melt cheese with b.u.t.ter and seasonings and stir steadily. When nearly done stir the celery and onion in gradually, until smooth and creamy.

Pour over b.u.t.tered toast and brown with a salamander or under the grill.

Asparagus Rabbit

Make as above, subst.i.tuting a cupful of tender sliced asparagus tops for the celery and onion.

Oyster Rabbit

2 dozen oysters and their liquor 1 teaspoon b.u.t.ter 2 eggs, lightly beaten 1 large pinch of salt 1 small pinch of cayenne 3 cups grated cheese

Heat oysters until edges curl and put aside to keep warm while you proceed to stir up a Rabbit. When cheese is melted add the eggs with some of the oyster liquor and keep stirring. When the Rabbit has thickened to a smooth cream, drop in the warm oysters to heat a little more, and serve on hot b.u.t.tered toast.

Sea-food Rabbits

_(crab, lobster, shrimp, scallops, clams, mussels, abalone, squid, octopi; anything that swims in the sea or crawls on the bottom of the ocean)_

Shred, flake or mince a cupful of any freshly cooked or canned sea food and save some of the liquor, if any. Make according to Oyster Rabbit recipe above.

Instead of using only one kind of sea food, try several, mixed according to taste. Spike this succulent Sea Rabbit with horseradish or a dollop of sherry, for a change.

"Bouquet of the Sea" Rabbit

The seafaring Portuguese set the style for this lush bouquet of as many different kinds of cooked fish (tuna, cod, salmon, etc.) as can be sardined together in the whirlpool of melted cheese in the chafing dish. They also accent it with tidbits of sea food as above.

Other Fish Rabbit, Fresh or Dried

Any cooked fresh fish, flaked or shredded, from the alewife to the whale, or cooked dried herring, finnan haddie, mackerel, cod, and so on, can be stirred in to make a basic Rabbit more tasty.

Happy combinations are hit upon in mixing leftovers of several kinds by the cupful. So the odd old cookbook direction, "Add a cup of fish," takes on new meaning.