There is practically nothing to be added to the bewilder­ing and delicious varieties of breads, rolls, and crackers avail­able in any corner grocery. Despite the national preoccupa­tion with our waistlines, we are certainly the most versatile country with starches!

What's needed for a gourmet chef today is simply a spirit of adventure, and some concept of what goes best with what. . . .

Crusty French and Italian bread goes with French, Italian and Spanish dishes—and is also best with any kind of salad.

Pumpernickel and thin-sliced rye is better with Scandi­navian, German and Russian foods.

The farther East one goes, the less the bread—as such. Matzos and thin wheat crackers can approximate the un­leavened breads of the Near East and the chupatties of India —but in the true Oriental menu, rice replaces bread.

Aside from "brown and serve" packages, almost all home­made breads take more than 30 minutes to prepare—but in case you have a few extra minutes, some do-it-yourself recipes are included here. It would be a pity to miss such distinc­tively American items as HUSH PUPPIES and SPOON BREAD . . .

HUSH PUPPIES

These are supposedly an invention of the camp cooks dur­ing the Western expansion of pioneer days, when leftover cornmeal dough was fried and thrown to the camp dogs. Who knows if this is true—but if so, one can only envy those dogs!

2 cups yellow corn meal

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 large onion, finely chopped

¾ cup milk

1 egg

Hot bacon fat, for frying

Mix corn meal, baking powder, salt and onion; add milk and egg to form a stiff mixture.

Heat a shallow frying pan of bacon fat—and if you can combine hush puppies with a meal in which you've fried fresh-caught trout in that bacon fat, you are a real gourmet cook!

Mold the hush puppies into rolls about half the size of a cigar—and fry until well-browned on all sides. Serve hot— with crisp-fried fish.

SPOON BREAD A Southern States dish

It is served on the dinner plate, replacing potatoes, and is eaten with a fork (and plenty of extra butter on top).

3 generous cups of milk

1½ cups white corn meal

3 well beaten eggs

1 tsp salt

2 T melted butter

1¾ tsp baking powder

Combine milk and corn meal, bring to a boil, making a mush, and remove from the fire.

Add eggs, salt, melted butter and baking powder and mix well. Place in a greased casserole in a medium oven for 35-45 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the middle of the dish comes out dean.

Much of what is sold as French or Italian bread is regret­tably less than gourmet-standards. Encased in germ-proof wrappings, it is sometimes more limp, than "crusty," and will require 5 minutes in a warm oven before worthy of appear­ance at table.

Dispirited French and Italian bread can be revived as "herbed bread," also. Spread leftover slices with any of the herb butters listed below, place on a shallow baking pan and brown—either in the oven or beneath the broiler. Limp or hardened loaves can also be cut diagonally nearly to the bottom, spread with herb butters and rejuvenated in the hot oven . . . but know your own stove, for the bread may crisp to burning point more rapidly than you expect.

HERB BUTTERS

Cream a quarter pound of butter with any of the following:

1. 2 cloves of garlic, pressed
   
   
2. 4 T each fresh parsley and chives, minced
   
   
3. 4 T fresh minced parsley and 1 T crumbled thyme
   
   
4. 2 T crumbled tarragon with 4 T fresh chopped chives
   
   
5. 1 T powdered marjoram, and 2 T fresh minced parsley
   
   
6. 1 T each of powdered sage and summer savory, with 3 T minced fresh parsley

Leftover bread slices spread with any of the herb butters can also be enhanced by a sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese.

The great basic French and Italian bread accompaniments are Parmesan and Garlic bread—and these add the extra gourmet touch to a Sunday night supper of Chef's Salad or omelette, as well as being indispensable for all winter-night soups.

Both are a simple matter of spreading leftover sliced French or Italian bread with butter and browning briefly be­neath "the broiler—but there are differences:

PARMESAN TOAST: spread bread slices with soft butter and sprinkle thickly with grated Parmesan cheese. Brown lightly.

GARLIC BREAD: cream butter with 1 (or 2, depending ^on the amount you are making) pressed cloves of garlic. Spread on bread and brown lightly.

BASIC MUFFINS

These are simple enough to make for a Sunday night sup­per or special brunch . . . and are capable of infinite varia­tions!

1 cup flour

¼ tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1 egg

¼ cup milk

1 T melted butter

2 T sugar

Heat the oven to 425.

Melt the butter.

Beat the egg, add salt, sugar, butter, part of the flour and the baking powder, mixing lightly and quickly. Add remain­ing flour and the milk, and stir until smooth. Fill greased muffin pan about half-full, and bake for 20 minutes in the oven.

Variations:

½ cup corn meal and ½ cup white flour

½ cup graham flour and ½ cup white flour

Additions:

¼ cup blueberries, fresh

½ cup finely chopped walnuts

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