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Bechamel, or French White Sauce

Cut an onion and a carrot into large dice, with a little celery, a few whole peppers, and some scraps of ham (not smoked), fowl, or white-fleshed game; fry lightly in four ounces of butter or good dripping. Add four ounces of dry flour, mix well together, and fry to a golden brown. Draw the saucepan from the fire and moisten with one pint of milk and one pint of good white stock, a little at a time, mixing well with a whisk. Season with pepper and salt. It should be sufficiently thick to cling to the spoon. Pass it through muslin into a basin for future use. Probable cost, 1s.

NOTE.--Bechamel is considered the foundation of most sauces used in cooking, and, being prepared in advance, it can be made with any scraps of fowl, white-fleshed game, or fish.