Author of "Fifty Soups," "Fifty Salads," "Valuable Cooking Recipes," etc. Formerly Professional Caterer of the Astor House, New York, etc. "Now good digestion wait on appetite And health on both."— Shakespeare...

" Dinner may be pleasant , So may social tea ; But yet methinks the breakfast Is best of all the three. " The importance of preparing a variety of dainty dishes for the breakfast table is but lightly considered by many who can afford luxuries, quite as much as by those who little dream of the delightful, palate-pleasing compounds made from "unconsidered trifles." The desire of the average man is to remain in bed until the very last moment. A hurried breakfast of food long cooked awaits the late

Apples, Baked. —Peel and core six large sour apples; mix together a cup of sugar, half a teaspoonful of mixed ground spice, a saltspoonful of salt, two tablespoonfuls of grated cracker crumbs, and two tablespoonfuls of milk or water. Fill the core with the mixture; put the apples in a pan, and bake; serve them hot or cold with sweetened cream. A border of whipped cream around the apples may be substituted for the plain cream. Apples may be served sliced, covered with sugar and a mild liquor pour

Coffee. —The coffee-tree is a much-branched tree of the cinchona family, not exceeding twenty feet in height, and much resembling a cherry-tree. Its pale green leaves are about six inches in length. The flowers are in clusters in the axils of the leaves, are white in color, resembling orange-tree flowers, and perfume the air. The fruit on ripening turns from green to red, and is about the size of a cherry or cranberry, each containing two seeds closely united by their flat sides. These being rem

Bread. —The word is derived from the Anglo-Saxon bracan , to bruise, to pound, which is expressive of the ancient mode of preparing the grain. Bread was not introduced into Rome until five hundred and fifty years after its foundation. Pliny informs us that the Romans learned this, with many other improvements, during the war with Perseus, King of Macedon. The armies, on their return, brought Grecian bakers with them into Italy, who were called pistores , from their ancient practice of bruising t

Toast is very palatable and digestible when properly prepared. Many seem to think that they have made toast when they brown the outside of a slice of bread. Have they? The object in making toast is to evaporate all moisture from the bread, and holding a slice over the fire to singe does not accomplish this; it only warms the moisture, making the inside of the bread doughy and decidedly indigestible. The true way of preparing it is to cut the bread into slices a quarter of an inch thick, trim off

To Test Eggs. —Dissolve an ounce of salt in ten ounces of water; add the eggs. Good ones will sink, indifferent eggs will swim, and bad eggs will float, even in pure water. Fresh eggs are more transparent in the centre. Old eggs are transparent at the top. Eggs may be kept a long time by covering them with beeswax dissolved in warm olive or cotton-seed oil. Use one third wax to two thirds oil. Baked Eggs. —Mince half a pound of lean boiled ham, add an equal quantity of cracker crumbs. Moisten an

Potatoes. —Take a sound-looking potato of any variety; pay but little attention to its outward appearance; cut or break it in two, crosswise, and examine the cut surface. If it appears watery to such a degree that a slight pressure would cause water to fall off in drops, reject it, as it would be of little use for the table. A good potato should be of a light cream-color, and when rubbed together a white froth should appear round the edges and surface of the cut, which indicates the presence of

Artichokes (French). —Trim the ends; remove the choke, and quarter each artichoke; pour boiling water over them, and drain. Put them in a stewpan, and to each artichoke add a gill of white wine and one of clear soup; season with salt, pepper, and a little lemon-peel; when done, remove the artichoke, and boil the sauce down. Cream an ounce of butter; add half a teaspoonful of flour, and by degrees add the sauce; simmer until thick, and send to table with the artichokes. Artichokes (French), Fried