because the cook persists
in shredding them into minute bits, and I maintain that they ought to
be cooked whole--certainly when they are young--and sautez, a perfectly
plain and easy process, which is hard to beat. Plain boiled cauliflower
is doubtless good, but cooked alla crema it is far better; indeed, it
is one of the best vegetable dishes I know. But perhaps the greatest
discovery in cookery we Italians ever made was the combination of
vegetables and cheese. There are a dozen excellent methods of cooking
cauliflower with cheese, and one of these has come to you through
France, choux-fleurs au gratin, and has become popular. Jerusalem
artichokes treated in the same fashion are excellent; and the cucumber,
nearly always eaten raw in England, holds a first place as a vegetable
for cooking. I seem to remember that every one was loud in its praises
when we tasted it as an adjunct to Manzo alla Certosina. Why is it
that celery is for the most part only eaten raw with cheese? We have
numberless methods of cooking it in Italy, and beetroot and lettuce as
well. There is no spinach so good as English, and nowhere is it so badly
cooked; it is always coarse and gritty because so little trouble is
taken with it, and I can assure you that the smooth, delicate dish which
we call Flano di spinacci is not produced merely by boiling and chopping
it, and turning it out into a dish."

Menu--Lunch

Minestrone alla Milanese. Vegetable broth.
Coniglio alla Provenzale. Rabbit alla Provenzale.
Insalata di pomidoro. Tomato salad.

Menu--Dinner.

Zuppa alla Maria Pia. Soup alla Maria Pia.
Anguilla con ortaggi alla Milanese. Eels with vegetables.
Manzo con sugo di barbabietoli. Fillet of beef with beetroot sauce.
Animelle alla parmegiana. Sweetbread with parmesan.
Perniciotti alla Gastalda. Partridges alla Gastalda.
Uova ripiani. Stuffed eggs.

The Tenth Day

The sun rose on the tenth and last day at the "Laurestinas" as he
was wont to rise on less eventful mornings. At breakfast the Marchesa
proposed that the lunch that day should be a little more ornate than
usual, and the dinner somewhat simpler. She requisitioned the services
of six of the company to prepare the lunch, and at the same time
announced that they would all have a holiday in the afternoon except
Mrs. Sinclair, whom she warned to be ready