LII Bob Makes Peanut Fudge

¼ t-salt 1½ C-water 1 t-butter

Mix the sugar, flour and salt thoroughly. Add the water slowly. Boil two minutes. Add the vanilla, lemon extract, and butter. Beat one minute and serve. If too thick, more water may be added.

CHAPTER LXXIII

ALICE TELLS HER TROUBLES

"A ND the minute I caught a glimpse of you, Bettina, at the tea this afternoon, I thought, 'Oh, if Betty would only ask me to go home with her to a sensible homelike dinner, with no one there but herself and Bob——'" "Not even Harry, Alice?" "No, not even Harry! I'm so sick and tired of teas and dressmakers and wedding gowns and bridesmaids that I'm tired even of Harry, too! Almost." "But, Alice, then why do it all? Why have all this fuss and feathers?" And Bettina's knife, with which she was cutting bread, came down with a click of vehemence. "It has always seemed silly to me—all the worry and bother——" "But what can I do now, Bettina? I've started, and I'll have to go through with it! Why, even now, I ought to be home for dinner—mother has several guests—but I phoned her that I had a headache and was coming here, where I could be quiet. And I do have a headache—and no appetite, and——" "Just wait till you taste this nice brown meat that I have in the oven, Alice! The trouble with you is that you've been eating silly party food for such a long time. And tonight you are to have a sensible dinner with plain people." "Plain people? Who calls me plain?" interrupted Bob, coming in like a tornado. "Hello, Alice! How can you spare any time from all these festivities I hear about?"

For dinner that night they had: Rolled Flank of Beef with Bread Dressing Browned Potatoes Hot Slaw Prune Pudding Cream Coffee

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level)

[240]

[241]

Rolled Flank of Beef (Four portions) 1 lb. round steak one inch thick 2 T-flour 1 t-salt 2 one-inch cubes of suet

Wipe the meat, trim the edges, pound on both sides with the edge of a plate to break the tendon. Place the dressing (given below) on the steak, roll, and tie with a cord. Roll in the flour and salt. Place in a small dripping pan, put the suet on the top of the meat, add enough water to cover the bottom of the pan, and bake in a moderate oven for fifty minutes. Baste frequently.

Bread Dressing

1 C-soft bread crumbs 1 T-melted butter 1 t-chopped parsley ½ t-chopped onion 1/8 t-celery salt ½ t-salt 1/8 t-pepper 2 T-water

Mix all the ingredients in the order named, stirring lightly with a fork. Place in shape on the meat. Care should be taken not to have the dressing soggy or heavy. Prune Pudding (Four portions) 1 C-cooked, seeded and chopped prunes ¾ C-sugar ¼ C-nut meats, cut fine ½ C-milk 1 t-vanilla ½ t-lemon extract ½ C-cracker crumbs 1 t-baking powder 1/8 t-salt

Mix all the ingredients in the order named. Pour into a well-buttered shallow earthenware dish. Place the dish in a pan of hot water and bake twenty-five minutes in a moderate oven, or until the mixture is firm. Serve warm. Individual amounts may be made in moulds.

CHAPTER LXXIV

THE DIXONS COME TO DINNER

"C

HARLOTTE, you must have Bettina tell you how to cook fish this way," said Frank.

[242]

"It's the Bechamel sauce on it that you like, I suspect," said Bettina. "And it isn't at all hard to make. I serve it with so many things. We like it with carrots——" "Oh, is it the very same sauce that you serve with carrots?" said Charlotte. "I can make it, Frank. I'll have it for dinner one of these days, with halibut, just as Bettina has served it tonight." "There is only one thing to think about especially in making it," said Bettina. "After you have beaten the egg slightly, add a very little of the hot liquid to it, and then pour the mixture into the rest. Then cook it a short time, not long, as a sauce made with egg sometimes separates." "I'll remember," said Charlotte. "You do have such good meals, Bettina. How do you manage it? Sometimes I can think of the best things to cook, and other days I don't seem to have a bit of imagination!" "I plan my menu all out a week, and sometimes two weeks, ahead," said Bettina. "It is really quite a complicated process, as I want to have a variety, as well as inexpensive things that are on the market. Of course, I may change my plans in many details, but I keep to the general outline. Planning the meals seems simple, but it really requires a lot of thinking sometimes. Excuse me while I bring in the dessert. Bob, will you please help me take the plates?"

The menu that night consisted of: Sautéd Halibut Steak Bechamel Sauce Potato Cubes Butter Sauce Sliced Cucumbers and Onions with Vinegar Rolls Butter Prune Whip Whipped Cream Coffee

BETTINA'S RECIPES

(All measurements are level) Bechamel Sauce (Four portions) 2 T-butter 2 T-flour 1½ C-milk 1/3 t-salt 1/8 t-paprika 1 egg-yolk

Melt the butter, add the flour, salt and pepper, mix well, and gradually add the milk. Cook until it thickens. (Not as thick as white sauce for vegetables.) Add the egg yolk. Serve immediately.

To add egg yolk to the hot liquid, beat the egg slightly, add a small portion of the hot liquid slowly and pour it all into the remainder of the hot liquid. Cook only a short time, as the mixture may separate if cooked longer.

[243]