Page:The White House Cook Book.djvu/403

 CUSTARDS, CREAMS AND DESSERTS. 367

ROAST CHESTNUTS.

PEEL the raw chestnuts and scald them to remove the inner skin ; put them in a frying pan with a little butter and toss them about a few moments; add a sprinkle of salt and a suspicion of cayenne. Serve them after the cheese.

Peanuts may be blanched and roasted the same. '

AFTER-DINNER CROUTONS.

THESE crispy croutons answer as a substitute for hard-water crack- ers and are also relished by most people.

Cut sandwich bread into slices one-quarter of an inch thick; cut each slice into four small triangles ; dry them in the oven slowly until they assume a delicate brownish tint, then serve either hot or cold. A nice way to serve them is to spread a paste of part butter and part rich creamy cheese, to which may be added a very little minced parsley.

ORANGE FLOAT.

To MAKE orange float, take one quart of water, the juice and pulp of two lemons, one coffeecupful of sugar. When boiling hot, add four tablespoonfuls of cornstarch. Let it boil fifteen minutes, stirring all the time. When cold, pour it over four or five oranges that have been sliced into a glass dish and over the top spread the beaten whites of three eggs, sweetened and flavored with vanilla. A nice dessert.

LEMON TOAST.

THIS dessert can be made very conveniently without much prep- aration.

Take the yolks of six eggs, beat them well and add three cupfuls of sweet milk ; take baker's bread, not too stale, and cut into slices ; dip them into the milk and eggs and lay the slices into a spider, with suf- ficient melted butter, hot, to fry a delicate brown. Take the whites of the six eggs and beat them to a froth, adding a large cupful of white sugar; add the juice of two lemons, heating well and adding two cup- fuls of boiling water. Serve over the toast as a sauce and you will find

it a very delicious dish. J *

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