Cream Of Rice

Wash and parboil one-half pound of rice. Add a tablespoon of butter. Drain, and cook in one quart of white stock until soft. Rub through a sieve, add one pint of cream, heat, season, one teaspoon of salt, one saltspoon of pepper, add one cup of cooked asparagus tops. If too thick, thin with more stock.

Velvet Soup

One large chicken, or two pounds of veal, one-half pint of blanched almonds, one pint of cream, one pint of stale bread crumbs, two tablespoons of butter, two tablespoons of flour, three stalks of celery, an onion, slice of carrot, two bay leaves, two sprigs of parsley, two cloves, small piece of cinnamon, bit of mace, one-half tablespoon of salt, one-half teaspoon of white pepper. Clean the fowl, cover with water, simmer till tender. Take out the fowl, skim off the fat, and strain through a wet napkin into a stew-pan; add bread, vegetables and spices, simmer one hour. Blanch almonds pounded to powder in a mortar, chop fine the white meat, then pound to a paste, adding a little of the cream to moisten. Rub stock, bread, almonds and fowl through a French sieve. Now add cream, bring to boiling point in double boiler. Put the butter in a hot saucepan, be careful not to brown, add the flour, and enough of the soup to make it flow; add to the soup mixture, and heat, but not boil. If not perfectly smooth strain again.

Black Bean Soup

One pint of beans, soaked over night in two quarts of water. Pour off the water in the morning. Add two quarts more, then put on to cook. Slice one onion, fry in one tablespoon of butter, add to the beans, also a little celery. Simmer until the beans are tender; if the water evaporates add more, so as to have the same amount when cooked. Rub through a strainer, return to the stove, add saltspoon of mustard, tablespoon of butter mixed with one of flour; (this prevents the beans from settling.) Season to taste. Have two hard-boiled eggs cut in slices, also lemon sliced thin, and one-half cup of wine in a hot tureen. Pour in the soup. Stock may be used instead of water, and is better, also a few tablespoons of tomato catsup. Serve with fried croutons. All bean soups may be made in this way.

Potage A La Reine

Remove the fat from one quart of water in which a chicken has been boiled. Season highly with salt, pepper, celery, salt, and a little onion if desired, and put on to boil. Mash the yolk of three hard-boiled eggs fine, and mix them with one-half cup of bread crumbs soaked until soft in a little milk. Chop the white meat of the chicken until fine like meal, and stir it into the egg and bread paste. Add one pint of hot cream slowly, and then rub all into the hot chicken liquor. Simmer five minutes; add more salt, if needed, and if too thick add more cream, or if not thick enough more crumbs. It should he like a puree. Use the dark meat for croquettes.

Claret Soup

Boil the claret with six whole cloves, a stick of cinnamon a few minutes, add a teaspoon of sugar. Have one quart of stock boiled with one half cup of pearled tapioca. Strain claret into the stock. Season and serve.