ROUND THE TABLE

Eggs neatly fried as above, and daintily placed on a slice of well-broiled bam or bacon are perhaps an im- provement on the poached eggs usually served in this way, and afe certainly preferable to eggs which have been fried with the bacon.

Fried eggs laid on a slice of buttered toast, covered with a little anchovy paste, are an appetizing dish.

When more than two eggs are to be served at one time, and especially if they are to be served over a 'puree or sauce, it is best to fry them one by one, and to trim the white round each egg : this adds to the appearance of the dish. All the above can be cooked just as well in a metal dish on the hot plate, and served on it, or they may be cooked in the oven.

When you have got your cook to dress and send up fried eggs decently, then you may advance her to the next stage, which is scrambled eggs (CEurs Beouilles).

The proceeding is this : Having melted a piece of butter in a saute-pan, or in an omelet-pan, break into it the eggs, and stir them up with a spoon on one side of it until nearly set, then turn them out neatly into a dish and serve. A small quantity of tomato sauce may be scrambled in the pan with them, or some finely minced shallots, ham, sausage (Bologna), remains of fish (Such as salmon), or sardines, anchovies, preserved tunny, mushrooms, truffles, &c., always finely minced ; also asparagus points, young peas, &c. One thing to be remembered is not to put in too much of these things, and to put them in at the same time as the eggs, so that they may be set in with them.

But the great point to be observed is not to overcook scrambled eggs in any form, and to this end it must be borne in mind that eggs do not cease cooking, and consequently hardening, for some minutes after they have

been put into the clisli in which they are to be served, and that therefore allowance must be made for this in judging the time that they are to remain in the omelet or saute- pan. This is a point of the greatest importance, particularly in cooking omelets ; and cooking scrambled eggs — which are in truth but an omelet with no outside or shape — is very good practice for learning to judge time in the more difficult process of producing an omelet which, while retaining the soft nature of scrambled eggs inside, must have both shape and colour.

The production of an omelet may be divided into two operations — the mixing and the cooking. The first can easily be described in words, and is capable of numerous variations. The second is the most difficult to describe and to carry out — although simple enough when once you know it. I must again repeat that the omelet-pan should be perfectly clean ; this is indispensable. The fire should be bright. These conditions being fulfilled, put a piece of butter the size of an egg into the pan, let it melt with- out browning, and as soon as it is melted and hot pour in your omelet mixture, and, holding the handle of the pan with one hand, stir the omelet with the other by means of a flat spoon. The moment it begins to set cease stirring, but keep shaking the pan for a minute or so ; then with the ladle or spoon double up your omelet, and keep on shaking the pan until one side of the omelet has become a golden colour, when you dexterously turn it out on a hot dish, the coloured side uppermost. After the omelet is doubled up, the insertion of a little piece of butter under it facilitates operations. Two points to be observed are, that the coloured side of the omelet should be like gold, and that this result should be attained with- out the inside becoming too firmly set.

The mode of cooking omelets varies according to their