27.—­Milanese Vegetable Soup.

Cut bacon and ham into small pieces; put in a saucepan with 1 tablespoonful of hot butter.  Add all kinds of vegetables, cut into very small pieces and let fry a few minutes.  Then fill the pan with 1 quart of beef stock; let all cook slowly for half an hour; add some boiled rice and 1 cup of tomato-sauce and cook until done.  Serve hot.

28.—­Swedish Salad.

Cut cold cooked fish into small pieces and mix with chopped hard-boiled eggs, a few sliced olives, capers and gherkins.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Line the salad bowl with crisp lettuce leaves; add the salad and cover with a mayonnaise dressing.  Garnish with aspic, cut into dice pieces and serve cold.

29.—­Oriental Rabbit Pie.

Clean and cut a rabbit into small pieces and let stew, well seasoned with salt and pepper and cayenne.  Add 2 chopped cloves of garlic, 1 chopped green pepper, 1 Spanish onion sliced thin and 2 sliced tomatoes, a pinch of cloves and allspice.  Then line a pie-dish with a puff paste; let bake and fill with the rabbit; add 2 chopped hard-boiled eggs and sprinkle with curry-powder.  Cover with the paste; brush the top with a beaten egg and let bake until brown.  Serve hot.

30.—­Spanish Baked Fish.

Season a pike; put in a baking-pan.  Pour over two ounces of melted butter and 1 pint of sour cream; then let bake in a hot oven for twenty minutes.  Sprinkle with bread-crumbs and grated cheese and let brown on top.  Serve hot.  Garnish with parsley.

DECEMBER.

1.—­English Plum Pudding.

Soak 1 pound of stale bread in hot milk; then add 1/2 pound of sugar, 1 pound of seeded raisins, and 1 pound of currants all dredged with flour, 1/4 pound of chopped citron, 1 pound of finely chopped beef suet, 1 nutmeg grated, 1 tablespoonful of cinnamon, cloves and mace mixed together, a pinch of salt, 1 glass of wine and 1 glass of fine brandy.  Mix with the yolks of 8 eggs and the whites beaten to a stiff froth.  Pour the mixture into a wet cloth dredged with flour; tie well and let boil five hours.  Serve with wine sauce.

2.—­Swedish Rice Pudding.

Mix 3/4 cup of rice in 1 quart of milk; add 1 cup of sugar, a pinch of salt and 1 teaspoonful of vanilla.  Pour into a pudding-dish.  Put bits of butter over the top and let bake in a moderate oven until done.  Serve cold.

3.—­Portugal Soup.

Boil 2 pounds of beef and 2 pig’s feet in 4 quarts of water; season with salt and pepper.  Let boil well.  Add 1 head of lettuce, 1/2 head of cabbage, a few thin slices of pumpkin, 2 carrots and 1 clove of garlic, all cut fine, and 1 herb bouquet.  Let all cook until tender; then add 1/2 can of peas.  Remove the meat; cut into thin slices; season, and serve with the soup.

4.—­Chinese Salad.

Mix 2 dozen cooked oysters with 3 truffles, and 2 cooked potatoes cut into shreds; season with salt and pepper.  Add all kinds of chopped herbs, and moisten with white wine.  Line the salad bowl with crisp lettuce leaves; fill with the mixture; sprinkle with finely chopped parsley.  Pour over a mayonnaise dressing and garnish with anchovy fillets.