SCRAMBLED EGGS.—­Beat four eggs lightly, add a little salt if desired, and half a cup of milk or cream.  Have ready a hot, oiled saucepan; turn the eggs in and cook quickly, stirring constantly until firm, but soft.

STEAMED EGGS.—­Break eggs into egg or vegetable dishes or patty-pans, salt very lightly, and set in a steamer over a kettle of boiling water until the whites are set and a film has formed over the yolk.  Serve the same as poached eggs, with or without toast.

WHIRLED EGGS.—­Have a small kettle of water heated almost to boiling, and with a wooden spoon, stir it rapidly round and round in the same direction until a miniature whirlpool is produced.  Have ready some eggs broken in separate cups, and drop them carefully one at a time into the whirling water, the stirring of which must be kept up until the egg is a soft round ball.  Remove with a skimmer, and serve on cream toast.

OMELETS.

RECIPES.

PLAIN OMELET.—­Beat the yolks of three eggs to a cream and beat the whites to a stiff froth.  Add to the yolks three tablespoonfuls of milk or cream, one tablespoonful of finely grated bread crumbs, and season lightly with salt; lastly, fold, not stir, the whites lightly in.  An omelet pan is the best utensil for cooking, but if that is not to be had, an earthen-ware pudding dish which will stand the heat is good; an iron spider will do, but a larger omelet would need to be prepared.  A tin saucepan is apt to cook the omelet so rapidly as to burn it in spots.  Whatever the utensil used, it should be hot, the fire clear and steady, and all in readiness by the time the eggs are beaten.

Oil the dish well and gently pour in the omelet mixture; cover, and place the pan on the range where the heat will be continuous.  Do not stir, but carefully, as the egg sets, lift the omelet occasionally by slipping a broad-bladed knife under it, or with a fork by dipping in here and there.  It should cook quickly, but not so quickly as to burn.  From three to five minutes will generally be ample time.  When the middle of the omelet is set, it may be put into a hot oven to dry the top.  As soon as the center is dry, it should be removed immediately, as it will be hard and indigestible if overdone.  To dish, loosen from the pan by running a knife under it, lay a hot platter, bottom upward, over the pan, and invert the latter so as to shake out the omelet gently, browned side uppermost; or if preferred, double one part over the other before dishing.  Serve at once, or it will fall.

An omelet of three eggs is sufficient for two or three persons; if more is desired, a second omelet of three eggs may be made.  Larger ones are not so light nor so easily prepared.  The dish used should be reserved for that purpose alone, and should be kept as smooth and dry as possible.  It is better to keep it clean by wiping with a coarse towel than by washing; if the omelet comes from the pan perfectly whole and leaving no fragments behind.