Potatoe balls are mashed potatoes formed into balls glazed with the yolk of egg, and browned with a salamander.
Raise a wall of finely-mashed potatoes, of two or three inches high, round the dish; form it with a spoon to the shape required, brush it over with egg, and put it in the oven to become hot and brown; if it does not brown nicely, use the salamander. Rice is arranged the same way to edge curries or fricassees; it must be first boiled till tender.
Take four fine large potatoes, and having peeled them, continue to cut them up as if peeling them in ribbons of equal width; then throw the shavings into a frying-pan, and fry of a fine brown; they must be constantly moved with a silver fork to keep the pieces separate. They should be laid on a cloth to drain, and placed in the dish lightly.
Wash and boil till tender, then squeeze and strain it; press it in a towel till almost dry; put it on a board, and chop it as finely as possible; then return it to the saucepan, with butter, pepper, and salt; stir it all the time, and let it boil fast.
Scald and chop some spinach small; cut up an onion; add pepper and salt and brown sugar, with a little vinegar, stew all together gently; serve with poached eggs or small forcemeat fritters. This forms a pretty side-dish, and is also a nice way of dressing spinach to serve in the same dish with cutlets.
Soak the beans over night in cold water; they must be stewed in only sufficient water to cover them, with two table spoonsful of oil, a little pepper and salt, and white sugar. When done they should be perfectly soft and tender.
Put half a peck of peas into a stew-pan, half a lettuce chopped small, a little mint, a small onion cut up, two table-spoonsful of oil, and a dessert-spoonful of powdered sugar, with water sufficient to cover the peas, watching, from time to time, that they do not become too dry; let them stew gently, taking care that they do not burn, till perfectly soft. When done they should look of a yellowish brown.
French beans, brocoli, and greens, stewed in the above manner will be found excellent.
Cut a large cucumber in half, length ways, scoop out the seedy part, and lay it in vinegar that has been boiled with mustard-seed, a little garlic, and spices, for twenty-four hours, then fill the cucumber with highly-seasoned forcemeat, and stew it in a rich gravy, the cucumber must be tied to keep it together.