The Cooking Manual of Practical Directions for Economical Every-Day Cookery

comes to market in the form of small coils or hanks of fine yellowish threads; and _Italian paste_ appears in small letters, and various fanciful shapes. Macaroni is generally known as a rather luxurious dish among the wealthy; but it should become one of the chief foods of the people, for it contains more gluten, or the nutritious portion of wheat, than bread. 83. =Macaroni with Bechamel Sauce.=--Heat three quarts of water, containing three tablespoonfuls of salt, to the boiling point; boil half a pound of _macaroni_ in it until it is tender enough to pierce easily with the finger nail; then drain it in a colander, and wash it well in cold water; while it is boiling make a _Bechamel_, or white sauce, as in receipt No. 84: put just enough of it with the _macaroni_ to moisten it, heat it thoroughly; shake it up well with two forks to make the cheese fibrous, put it on a hot dish, sprinkle with half an ounce of grated Parmesan cheese, and serve it hot. 84. =Bechamel Sauce, with Parmesan Cheese.=--Stir together over the fire two ounces of butter, and two ounces of flour, until they are perfectly blended, boiling one pint of milk meantime; when the butter and flour are smooth, pour the boiling milk into them, stir in two ounces of grated Parmesan gradually and melt it thoroughly, stirring constantly until the sauce is smooth; if cream is used instead of milk, and the Parmesan cheese omitted, the same is called _Cream Bechamel_. 85. =Macaroni Milanaise style.=--Have ready some tomato sauce, made according to receipt No. 52, or use some fresh tomatoes passed through a sieve with a wooden spoon, and highly seasoned; and two ounces of grated Parmesan cheese; put half a pound of imported Italian _macaroni_ in three quarts of boiling water, with two tablespoonfuls of salt, one saltspoonful of pepper in coarse pieces, called _mignonette_ pepper, and a teaspoonful of butter; boil rapidly for about twenty minutes, or until you can easily pierce it with the finger nail, then drain it in a colander, run plenty