MUSHROOMS AND OTHER COMMON FUNGI. 59 



by the writers or selected from the printed directions of capable 

 authorities. 



The general statement can be made that mushrooms may be pre- 

 pared for the table in any way which would be suitable for oysters. 



The caps should be carefully washed, gill side down; peeling may 

 be required to remove adherent foreign matter, but otherwise it is 

 unnecessary and involves a considerable waste of time and loss of 

 flavor. Unless they are extremely tough, the stems should not be 

 discarded, but cut into small bits and stewed, or, after long boiling, 

 even if tough, run through a sieve and made into a soup or sauce. 



Wild mushrooms should be cooked soon after collection, as they 

 are in that way much better preserved than if kept uncooked, even 

 in a refrigerator. 



Some thin, juicy, wild varieties, as species of Coprinus, may 

 require cooking but 5 to 10 minutes, while thicker, tough plants may 

 require 30 to 40 minutes, and some mushrooms which never become 

 tender by stewing may be excellent if fried. Judgment, a most 

 essential qualification for a good cook, will usually assist in the 

 selection of a method suited to the species in hand and in deciding 

 the length of time necessary for its cooking. 



Deviled Mushrooms. 



Chop or break into small pieces 1 quart of mushrooms seasoned with pepper and 

 salt; prepare 1 pint of bread crumbs; mix the mashed yolks of 2 hard-boiled eggs 

 with 2 raw ones and stir into 1 cup of milk or cream. Put a layer of crumbs in the 

 bottom of a baking pan or dish, then a layer of mushrooms, scatter over bits of butter, 



Eour on a part of the cream and egg mixture, and continue until the dish is full, 

 aving bread crumbs with butter for the top layer. Closely covered, bake 20 

 minutes in a hot oven; then uncover for about 5 minutes, or sufficiently long for the 

 top to be well browned. If preferred, water and lemon juice may be substituted for 

 milk or cream. 



Fried Mushrooms. 



Beat the yolk of an egg with a tablespoonful of water, and season with pepper and 

 salt. In this, dip each cap and then dip into fine cracker crumbs or corn meal. 

 Have butter or cooking oil very hot in a frying pan. Fry slowly on each side 

 5 minutes. A sauce can be made by thickening the butter or oil with flour and add- 

 ing milk or cream. If desired, serve on toast. A smooth, thin tomato sauce is also 

 excellent. 



Fricasseed Mushrooms. 



Peel and remove the stems from large mushrooms. Make a forcemeat by chopping 

 the white meat of a cold roast chicken fine with a few small mushrooms and moisten- 

 ing it with chicken stock. Grease a pudding dish and lay the large mushrooms, tops 

 down, in this. Fill the mushrooms and the space between them with the forcemeat. 

 Sprinkle bits of butter over all. Pour in enough of the chicken stock to make the 

 contents of the dish very moist, lay a few waferlike slices of bacon on top of the 

 scallop, and bake, covered, in a hot oven for 15 minutes; uncover, and cook for 5 

 minutes longer. Serve in the dish in which they were cooked. (Marion Harland's 

 Cookbook, p. 460.) 



Baked Mushrooms. 



Peel and stem large mushrooms. Line a deep baking dish with thin slices of toast, 

 each of which has been dipped for an instant in seasoned beef stock. Fill the dish 

 with layers of mushrooms, sprinkling each layer with salt, paprika, and bits of butter. 

 "When the dish is full, pour over all a gill of stock, and bake, covered, for 20 minutes; 

 uncover, and cook for 5 minutes before sending to the table. (Marion Harland's 

 Cookbook, p. 213.) 



