=FRIED FROGS" LEGS=

Dip the skinned frogs" legs in milk; sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roll them in flour. Immerse in smoking hot fat until cooked to a delicate color. Serve on a napkin.

=FROGS" LEGS a LA POULETTE=

Saute the skinned frogs" legs in b.u.t.ter; cook some fresh mushrooms in the pan at the same time if convenient. Place on a hot dish with the mushrooms, and pour over them a Poulette sauce (see page 280).

MUSHROOMS

(SEE ALSO PAGE 45)

When one has learned to distinguish a few varieties of the edible fungi, a delicious acquisition to the menu will be enjoyed.

The author will not a.s.sume the responsibility of instructing how to distinguish the esculent mushrooms. There are books and colored charts which give explicit and reliable descriptions, and with these one can easily learn to know a few of them.

Accidents are usually the result of carelessness or recklessness, many of the poisonous mushrooms being so attractive in appearance as to invite favor.

Mushroom hunting is akin in pleasure to botanizing, geologizing, or the gathering of any natural history specimens. It is not always easy to reject the many unfamiliar kinds.

[Sidenote: How to gather.]

In gathering mushrooms they should be cut, not pulled, and laid in the basket with the gills up, so the spores will not be lost. If the stem is perforated with fine holes it means that worms have bored it, and it should be rejected.

[Sidenote: The three most common varieties.]

The most common varieties are the Agaracini--those having gills; the Boleti--those having pores; and puff-b.a.l.l.s (Lycoperdaceae).

All the puff-b.a.l.l.s are edible, and those of the Boleti which have no tinge of red on the pore surface; but especial care must be used with the Agaracini, for it is said that all deaths from mushroom-poisoning have come from the Amanita, which is a genus of the gilled species, and is very common and abundant.

[Sidenote: The Amanita.]

[Sidenote: Antidote to poison.]

The safeguard to other species of poison varieties is their bitter and acrid taste. This warning the poisonous Agaric does not give, but it has the distinguishing feature of a cup or volva at the base of the stern. This cup is some times below the ground, and should be carefully sought; and where any doubt is felt, the specimen should be rejected.

The antidote to this poison, as given by Mr. Gibson, is one sixtieth grain doses of atropine in hypodermic injections.

Authorities on mushrooms advise the amateur to first acquaint himself with the Amanita family.

"Dr. W. A. Curtis found in North Carolina thirty-eight edible species of Agaricus, eleven of Boletus, nine of Polyporus, seven of Hydnum, and thirteen of Clavaria."

The popular tests of the cap peeling, or the mushroom blackening a silver spoon when cooking, are worthless.

[Sidenote: Freshness.]

[Sidenote: Nourishment in.]

Mushrooms are very short-lived, and are quickly attacked by insects and worms, and so rendered unfit for use. They also decay quickly, and should be rejected if not entirely sound.

Many cases of illness are the result of this unfit condition.

The same would be the case if unwholesome meat were eaten, but good meat is not condemned on that account. Mushrooms contain the same nutritive value as meat, and rank second to it in nitrogenous elements. They vary in flavor and in delicacy as much as vegetables.

=COOKING MUSHROOMS=

The simplest way of cooking mushrooms is usually the best, and this may be broiling, sauteing in b.u.t.ter, or stewing in a little cream sauce.

These simple ways may be varied by seasoning with sherry, Madeira, or lemon-juice. Any meat stock may be used to stew them in, but many of the mushrooms are very juicy, and their flavor must not be lost by diluting them with too much liquor. They may be cut in pieces when used for sauces. When dried and powdered they make an excellent seasoning for sauces. Dried cepes may be bought at grocers", and are very useful to stew in sauces.

It is better to cook mushrooms as soon as they are peeled, and to rinse them only as much as is necessary, as they lose some flavor by soaking.

When they are to be used for garnishing, they are thrown into water with lemon-juice, one tablespoonful of juice to a quart of water, and are afterward boiled in the same water; this keeps them white. The water they are boiled in should be saved to use in sauces. Again, they may be put into a saucepan with b.u.t.ter and lemon-juice, and cooked (stirring frequently) for about five minutes. They are then covered to keep them moist and white until ready for use. Lemon-juice keeps them white, but the flavor of the mushroom is somewhat destroyed by it, and so it is not recommended for general practice. The French peel the caps with a fluted knife to make them more ornamental, but it is a difficult operation, and does not repay the trouble.

"Mr. George Augustus Sala, in a discourse on "Dinners Departed," refers to the famous a la mode beef, served in the days of old at the "Thirteen Cantons," in Blackmore Street, Drury Lane, and of which Soyer was very fond. The dish was remarkable for its rich sauce, the concoction of which was a close secret. However, the former proprietor of the old eating-house confided the receipt to Mr. Sala. Thus: "It was simply made from a particular mushroom, which he called "morella," and which I infer was the Morch.e.l.la esculenta, described in botanical works. These mushrooms were gathered in the fields round about the metropolis, dried, reduced to powder, and then used to thicken the sauce and enhance the flavor of a la mode beef.""

=THE FAIRY RING CHAMPIGNON=

(MARASMIUS OREADES)

This is one of the most common and easily recognized mushrooms, and in their season enough for a sauce may be gathered in almost any dooryard.

The difference between the real and the false fairy is easily distinguished, the former having the gills wide apart, and a little mound rising in the center of the cap, while the "false" have the gills close together and usually a depression in the center of the cap.

If the "fairies" are dry when gathered soak them in water for a little while, and then saute or stew them. Put a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter in a saucepan; when it bubbles add a teaspoonful of flour, and cook the flour a few minutes, but not brown it; then add a half cupful of water or of milk, stir until smooth, and add a pint of the "fairies." Simmer for fifteen minutes, season with salt and pepper. Pour this over softened b.u.t.tered toast or over meat; use water to make the sauce if they are used with meat, and milk if served on toast; or cook them by sauteing them in a little b.u.t.ter, and serve them on softened toast.

=THE AGARICUS CAMPESTRIS=

This mushroom is one and two third inches in diameter; has a white or cream colored cap and purplish pink gills, the gills becoming brown at a later stage. When once learned they are unmistakable. It is a highly esteemed variety, and grows abundantly in meadows and pastures, but never in the forest. It is the mushroom generally found for sale in the markets.

Cut off the stem near the cup, peel them, and lay them with the gills up on a dish and sprinkle them with salt. After a little time they will be quite moist; then stew them in a sauce, the same as given above for the "fairies." They may also be sauted in b.u.t.ter, or be broiled. To broil, lay them on a fine wire broiler; turn the gills first to the coals for a few minutes; then turn the other side, and place a piece of b.u.t.ter on each one. Serve on toast. The fire for broiling mushrooms should not be very hot or bright.

=AGARICUS PROCERUS=

Remove the scurf spots, and broil the same as given above. Use plenty of b.u.t.ter. Serve on a dish with meat or on toast, as preferred.

=AGARICUS RUSSULA=

This mushroom is of various colors. It is found in woody paths and clearings. It is particularly subject to the attack of worms, and must be carefully scrutinized. The noxious Russulas have a bitter taste, and in appearance resemble closely the esculent ones, so care is required to discriminate them. Wash them well, peel, and broil as directed for the Campestris. Lay them under a broiled steak, so they will absorb the juices of the meat.

=COPRINUS COMATUS AND COPRINUS ATRAMENTARIUS=

These grow in ma.s.ses in barnyards, gardens or any rich earth, and in decomposition become a soft black paste. They should be gathered at the white or pink stage. Fry them in b.u.t.ter or stew them with b.u.t.ter and a little milk or cream. They are very juicy, and do not need much liquor added to stew them.

=THE BOLETI=