Page:Meat for Thrifty Meals.djvu/45

 the sweetbreads with salt and serve on a hot platter with a border of green peas, if desired.

Fried.–Either keep the cooked lobes whole or divide them into a few pieces. Dip the pieces into a beaten egg diluted with 1 tablespoon of flour, sprinkle with salt and flour, and fry slowly in a generous quantity of fat.

Creamed.–Cut the cooked lobes of the sweetbreads into small pieces. Sprinkle with salt and flour, brown lightly in fat, and remove the browned pieces from the pan. To make sauce, blend 2 to 3 tablespoons of flour with the drippings in the pan, stir in 1 to 2 cups of liquid–the liquor in which the sweetbreads were cooked and milk or cream or both–and cook until smooth. Serve the sauce over the sweetbreads, on toast or in patty shells.

In salad.–Cut cooked sweetbreads into small pieces, and mix with chopped celery and salad dressing. Serve on crisp lettuce.

Wash brains, soak in cold water (with or without salt) for half an hour, then remove blood vessels and membrane. Whatever way brains are to be served they are easier to handle if precooked. To do this cover the brains with slightly salted cold water and simmer for about 15 minutes. Cool in the broth.

Breaded.–Drain the cooked and cooled brains and separate into fairly large pieces. Dip them into a beaten egg, diluted with 1 tablespoon of flour, sprinkle with salt and pepper, then roll in finely sifted bread crumbs, and fry slowly in fat. Serve hot. Tomato sauce (p. 27) is good with breaded brains.

Creamed.–Drain the cooked and cooled brains. Cut into fairly small pieces, sprinkle lightly with salt and flour, brown delicately in fat, then remove the browned pieces from the pan. To make sauce blend 2 to 3 tablespoons of flour with the drippings in the pan, stir in 1 to 2 cups of liquid–the liquor in which the brains were precooked and milk or cream or broth–and cook until smooth. Serve the brains and sauce on toast or in patty shells or with waffles. If desired, add chopped parsley or paprika.

In croquettes.–Cook 1½ pounds of brains as described and cool them in the broth. Drain the brains and cut into small pieces; sprinkle with salt, pepper, and flour; brown lightly in fat and remove from the frying pan. To get all the good flavor rinse the pan with ½ cup of the broth in which the brains were cooked. Make a very thick sauce with 3 tablespoons of fat, 5 tablespoons of flour, 1 cup of milk, and the broth used to rinse the frying pan. Let the sauce stand until cold, then add the brains, and ¾ cup sifted dry bread crumbs. Season the mixture to taste with salt and pepper and, if desired add chopped parsley, and paprika. Mold the