MEALS FOR TWO

Wairarapa Times-Age, 15 July 1940, Page 8

MEALS FOR TWO

NEW- DISHES TO TEMPT APPETITE. Meals for two are frequently a problem, especially if you want to entertain with dishes a little different. These menus suggest ways of tempting the palates of guests —and husbands. Tournedos Beef. Trim 3 slices fillet into neat round shapes. Wrap a slice bacon round prepared beef, making it secure with toothpick. Melt a little butter in pan and fry meat on one side only. Take up and allow to cool. Chop 2 spring onions or a little grated onion and fry in the butter in which the fillets were cooked, add 1 tablespoon chopped ham and 2 chopped mushrooms, 1 hardboiled egg (chopped), and 1 pork sausage taken from the skin. Mix all well together with a little mushroom ketchup or brown sauce. Add pepper and salt to taste, and if liked a little chopped parsley. Pile on top of uncooked side of prepared fillets dome shape, and place on a well-greased baking tin, cover with buttered paper, and cook for 10 minutes, keeping them on the under-done side. Serve with small new potatoes and peas. The fillets may be fried quickly in a little butter, dished on rounds of buttered toast, and served plain. Pineapple Omelette. Cut 2 slices fresh pineapple intc blocks and fry in a little butter, sprinkle with brown sugar, and cook a little longer. Beat 3 eggs a little, add 1 teaspoon sugar and 2 tablespoons milk. Melt a little butter in an omelette pan, and when smoking hot, pour in eggs and stir in the centre. When beginning to set, push mixture to one side, or it may be placed under griller and allow to brown. Place prepared pineapple on a hot dish and turn omelette on to it. Sprinkle with icing sugar, and serve at once. Stuffed Egg Plant. Cut an egg plant in two lengthwise and boil in plenty of salted water until almost cooked. Remove carefully and scoop out some of the centre. Melt 1 tablespoon butter, or fry 1 tablespoon chopped bacon in saucepan, and when crisp remove and leave fat in pan, add 1 chopped onion, cook until nicely browned, then add 1 green pepper cut in to dice. Add 4oz fish cut into small pieces and the centre of the egg plant. Cook for about 10 minutes, then add salt and pepper, 1 cup fine white breadcrumbs soaked in a little milk, then squeezed dry, stir over a low gas until well mixed, and thoroughly heated through, then pile in prepared cases. Sprinkle with a few buttered crumbs and finish baking in hot oven for 20 minutes. Castle Puddings. Have the weight of 1 egg in butter, castor sugar, and flour, and ?,-teaspoon baking powder and a pinch salt, lemon essence. Cream butter and sugar well, add the unbeaten egg, beat well and add flour. Place in well greased and floured small round noulds about three parts full, bake in a moderate oven for about 20 minutes. Turn out and serve with jam sauce. Sweetbread Tartlets. Cook a pair of lambs sweetbreads in salted water until tender; drain well, remove skin and cut into dice. Melt 1 dessertspoon butter in a saucepan, add 1 dessertspoon flour, pepper, salt, and a little nutmeg or ground mace. Add 4 -pint milk and stir until sauce is quite smooth. Add sweetbreads. 1 tablespoon chopped ham, 1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley. Have ready 4 tartlet cases. Fill with prepared mixture. Have ready some very smooth mashed potato, to which the yolk of an egg is added. Place this in a greaseproof paper bag made into a cone shape, pipe a border round the edve of pastry, place in oven to get thoroughly hot. When ready to serve fill centre with green peas.

Apricot Fritters. Drain 1 small tin apricots well. Beat 1 egg well, add j-pint milk pinch salt, 1 heaped tablespoon self-raising flour. Beat until smooth, then dip apricots and fry in boiling lard or oil until a golden brown. Drain well and serve with the following sauce. Bring syrup from the apricots to boiling point, add 1 small dessertspoon arrowroot, diluted with a little cold syrup. Boil until clear, and serve.

Quenelles of Veal. Put Mb lean veal through a fine mincer about three times. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a saucepan, add loz plain flour and cook a little; add J-gill milk and stir over gas until mixture leaves the pan clean. Add vea f 1 whole egg. salt, pepper and 1 spoon whipped cream. The. grated rind of 1-lemon may be added if liked. Butter a frying pan, and place the queuelies in. made thus: Dip a tablespoon in hot water, fill with mixtuiv, making it dome shape by spreading with a knife, now remove with another spoon, also dipped in boiling water. Pour boiling water round them, cover with greased paper, then a close f'/ffpS lid Peach them for 10 minutes. Take up'carefully and place them on a clean dry cloth to dry a little. Place them on' a hoi dish, pour over a well-flav-oured white sauce, and sprinkle with fried chopped bacon or shredded ham. Pipe a border of well-mashed potato round base of dish. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.

Steamed Meringue Pudding. Place 1 cup stale cake or white breadcrumbs in a basin, add J-pint milk, the grated rind of J-lemon, 2 egg yolks, and sugar to taste. Mix all well together, and place in a buttered pudding" basin. Steam gently for 45 minutes. Turn out and spread with jam. Beat the whites of eggs with 2 tablespoons sugar, add 1 teaspoon lemon juice and when quite ptiff. spread over prepared pudding. Place in oven to set meringue.