Take one package of vermicelli or spaghetti, and put it into a
saucepan, crushing it in the hand, then put in hot water, and salt a
little more than will suit the taste, and boil for an hour.
While the vermicelli or spaghetti is cooking, take a quart of milk
and heat three-quarters—or 24 ounces—of it until it boils. Then
stir into the eight ounces of cold milk a level cupful of flour, or
two tablespoonfuls of flour, pretty well heaped, and then stir the
thickened milk into the boiling milk and cook slowly for ten minutes.
Then add three-quarters of a pound of good, ripe, old American
cheese, and about half a pound of butter. Then drain the water off
the vermicelli or spaghetti and put in from one and one half pints
to a quart of canned tomatoes. Heat the vermicelli or spaghetti to
the boiling point; and while the mixture of cheese, butter, milk and
flour is still hot, stir the two together, then keep hot and serve
hot. Do not boil any more, because further boiling would tend to cause
the tomatoes to coagulate the milk in the mixture. I prefer to use a
mixture of spaghetti and vermicelli instead of all spaghetti or all
vermicelli.