Hand-Book of Practical Cookery, for Ladies and Professional Cooks: Containing the Whole Science and Art of Preparing Human Food

in preference to any other. _To blanch._--Put about three pints of cold water and a little salt on the fire, and at the first boiling drop half a pound of macaroni into it; boil gently till tender but not soft. It takes about twenty minutes to boil it, according to quality. A little butter, about two ounces, may be added in boiling. As soon as tender, turn it into a colander, and it is ready for use. _Au Gratin._--Blanch the macaroni, and when drained put it on a tin or silver dish, and mix with it a _Béchamel_ sauce; add salt, pepper, two or three ounces of butter, a little nutmeg grated, about four ounces of grated cheese, either pine-apple, _Gruyère_, or Parmesan; dust with bread-crumbs, put about eight pieces of butter the size of a hazel-nut here and there on the top, set in a warm but not quick oven till the top turns rather brown, and serve warm as it is, that is, in the dish in which it is. If in a tin dish, put it inside of another dish, and serve. _A l'Italienne._--Blanch half a pound of macaroni and drain it. Put it in a saucepan with four ounces of butter, and mix well by stirring the butter in the warm macaroni. Then add also three or four tablespoonfuls of gravy; mix again half a pint of tomato-sauce and grated cheese, as for _au gratin_; set on the fire, stir, add salt to taste; keep on the fire for about ten minutes, stirring now and then, and serve warm. _Napolitaine._--This is the most expensive way of preparing macaroni. Wealthy Italians have it prepared with beef à la mode gravy only, or gravy made especially for it, with good lean beef cut in dice, and using as many as twelve pounds of meat to make gravy for one pound of macaroni, the meat being prepared as boiled beef afterward, but it can be prepared with ordinary gravy. Blanch four ounces of macaroni and drain as directed, then put it in a saucepan with two ounces of butter,