Page:The dainty sweet book, from the International cooking library (1903).djvu/56

 COMPOTE OF PEACHES A LA VAN DYKE

Boil two quarts of milk. Wash two cups of the best rice, and add to the milk. Add one cup of sugar, and the skin of one orange, cover and cook slowly for thirty minutes. When rice is cooked remove the orange skin, and add one teaspoonful of vanilla flavoring.

Take one can of the best California peaches, and drain part of the syrup into a small saucepan. Put the peaches aside and keep hot. Add to the syrup one small glass of sherry and two tablespoonfuls of sugar. Thicken with peach marmalade or a little cornstarch diluted with sherry. Reduce this syrup until it is very thick. Then add two tablespoonfuls of green chartreuse. Keep warm.

Chop quite fine, a very small quantity of candied fruit, viz., angelica, citron, cherry, almond, etc. While chopping add a little granulated sugar to keep fruit from sticking together. Keep in a saucer ready to use. Prepare a thick cream for decoration. Put the following ingredients in a small saucepan.

Two cups of milk, one dessertspoonful of cornstarch, one dessert-spoonful of flour, one teaspoonful of butter, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, one egg yolk, one teaspoonful of vanilla, one drop of green coloring (color should be light green).

Beat this mixture with a small egg whip. Then place on a slow fire, and beat constantly until it comes to a boi. Keep warm until ready to use. Put the rice in a hot round or oval dish. Place the halves of the peaches on the rice. In the center of each half peach put a little currant jelly, and place a blanched almond on the jelly to imitate the pit. Press the cream through a pastry bag with a star-shaped douille, and decorate the rice according to taste. Scatter the candied fruit over the rice and the cream decoration. Pour a little sauce around dish and serve the rest separately. Serve hot.

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