PRiCE
THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
LOS ANGELES
THE BRIDE'S COOK BOOK
We may live without poetry, music and art;
We may live without conscience, and live without heart;
We may live without friends; we may live without books;
But civilized man cannot live without cooks.
* "Ludle"
PRICE $1.00
THE DOUGLASS PUBLISHING CO.
MONTGOMERY BLOCK
SAN- FRANCISCO, CAL,
Copyright, 1909,
By
JOHN DOUGLASS LOUDERBACK,
San Francisco, Cal.
A FEW HINTS ON HOW TO START A DAY.
A lady's taste and nicety are very perceptible at the break-
fast table. She should never allow a soiled tablecloth to appear
on it. The linen should be fresh and snowy white, the tea,
coffee, or cocoa, nicely made, and, if possible, fresh flowers and
fruit should adorn the table. A nicely laid, pretty, appetizing
breakfast is a great promoter of good temper and harmony
through the ensuing day. A soiled tablecloth, tough, cold toast,
weak tea, bitter coffee, etc., are enough to derange both the
temper and digestion of those who have to submit to such
domestic inflictions. Let our homes be bright, sunny, and
charming; and that such may be the case, open the day with
a cheery and well arranged breakfast table.
Jt40P ^\8s
The Bride's Menu.
Blue Points.
Queen Olives.
Canape of Anchovies.
Consomme.
Baked Halibut.
Potatoes Hollandaise. Cucumber Salad.
Sweetbread Pates.
Fried Spring Chicken.
French Peas. Lettuce. Asparagus.
Pudding Diplomatique, Sauce Duchesse.
Tutti Frutti Ice Cream.
Black Coffee. Cheese.
Nuts.
Assorted Fruit.
Canape of Anchovies Cut toast in triangles, chop anchovies
fine, spread on toast and sprinkle with chopped hard boiled eggs.
Potatoes Hollandaise Boil plain kidney potatoes; dress
with the following sauce: Three yolks of eggs, half a cup
vinegar and water, beat up in a double boiler until it thickens,
add a tablespoon of melted butter and season to taste with a
little lemon juice, pepper and salt.
Cucumber Salad
Sweetbread Pate
Pudding Diplomatique Take a pudding mold greased well
with butter. Take a layer of sponge cake, then a layer of
chopped pineapple, add another layer of cake then a layer of
quartered Maraschino cherries, and so on until the mold is
filled, then make custard as follows and pour over the cake:
To four ounces of sugar mixed with six eggs, add one quart
milk, a pinch of salt and lemon flavor. Bake in a medium oven.
Sauce Duchesse Take apricot marmalade thinned with
Kirschwasser and white wine, serve hot with pudding.
Tutti Frutti Ice Cream Chopped glace fruit, figs and nuts
thoroughly mixed with vanilla ice cream.
Here Are Medicinal Foods.
Watercress is an excellent blood purifier.
Lettuce has a soothing effect on the nerves and is excellent
for sufferers from insomnia.
Tomatoes are good for a torpid liver, but should be avoided
by gouty people.
Celery is a nerve tonic; onions also are a tonic for the
nerves.
Spinach has great aperient qualities and is far better than
medicine for sufferers from constipation.
Beetroot is fattening and good for people who want to put
on flesh.
Parsnips possess the same virtues as sarsaparilla.
Cranberries correct the liver.
Asparagus stimulates the kidneys.
Bananas are beneficial to sufferers from chest complaints.
Celery contains sulphur and helps to ward off rheumatism.
Honey is a good substitute for cod-liver oil.
The juice of a lemon is excellent for sore throat, but should
not be swallowed, but used as a gargle.
Carrots are excellent for gout.
BREAKFAST DISHES.
Coffee.
For three cups, take three tablespoonsful of the finest mixed
Mocha and Java, mix the coffee with one egg in a dish; when
thoroughly mixed, pour into the coffee pot containing cold water
and bring to a boil. THEN YOU HAVE COFFEE.
Chocolate.
Time, ten to twelve minutes. Scrape up about a quarter of
a pound of a chocolate cake into saucepan with two gills of
water; set it on the fire; stir it constantly with a wooden spoon
until it is rather thick, then work it very quickly with the
spoon. Stir in a pint of boiling milk by degrees and serve it.
Cocoa.
Time, five hours. A quarter of a pound of cocoa nibs to
three quarts of water, to be boiled down to two quarts and a
half. The nibs to be strained after five hours' boiling. If they
are allowed to remain in the cocoa, it becomes bitter and un-
palatable.
Oatmeal Porridge.
Time, half an hour. Put a pint of warm water into a stew-
pan over the fire, and as it boils dredge in two ounces of oat-
meal with your left hand, and stir with the right. When it is
made, turn it into a soup-plate, adding a little salt or a little
sugar, according to taste. Send it to table with a jug of hot
milk, which should be added to it by degrees for eating.
Breakfast Mush.
To make a breakfast for four persons, take about one pint
of creamery mush and stir boiling water into it to the con-
sistency desired (salted to suit the taste), cook about five
minutes, serve with cream and sugar. Fresh or stewed fruit
added will make a delightful breakfast.
If any mush is left over from breakfast, after it becomes
cold cut in slices and fry for another meal.
Omelette.
Take four eggs and beat as light as possible. For every
egg add a tablespoonful of milk. Put a piece of butter in the
omelette pan, and when hot pour in the mixture. With a fork
scrape the egg very lightly toward the center of the pan as it
cooks, and when done fold it together with a pancake turner.
How to Boil Eggs.
Put the eggs into cold water, place on the range and as soon
as the water comes to a boil they are thoroughly cooked, not
from the outside in, but from the inside out, a few moments
now will boil them suitable for salad dressing or sandwiches.
Poached Eggs.
Have boiling water in a shallow pan, break the eggs sepa-
rately in a saucer, and slip gently into the boiling water; when
all are in the water, place the pan over the fire until the white
of each is perfectly set; remove with a slicer and lay on but-
tered toast or broiled ham.
Baked Eggs.
Time, eight minutes. Have a little beef fat in the tin, let
it be hot, then break in the eggs as for frying; salt them and
set in hot oven for a few minutes and they are done. Eat with
buttered toast.
Egg and Oyster Omelette.
Time, twelve minutes. Beat up four eggs, and season to
suit; chop up six large oysters, make a batter of a half cup of
flour and a half pint of milL; mix the whole together, stir well,
and fry slowly, adding by the teaspoonful.
Scrambled Eggs.
Beat up four eggs, with salt and pepper to taste. Put an
ounce of butter into a saucepan; directly it is melted put in the
eggs, and keep constantly stirring with a spoon until they are
nearly set, adding at the last a little finely-minced parsley.
Breakfast Baked Omelette.
Time, fifteen minutes. One heaping teaspoonful of corn-
starch, one-fourth cup of milk, a lump of butter, a small onion
chopped fine; boil all together until the corn-starch gets thick
not lumpy take seven eggs, beat the yolks and whites sepa-
ratelythe whites to a stiff froth; put the corn-starch in a
dish with the yolks and half cup of milk, add a little salt and
pepper, some chopped parsley, lastly the whites of the eggs.
Bake fifteen or twenty minutes in a hot oven.
Milk Bread.
Time, one hour. One pint of boiling water, one pint of new
milk, one teaspoonful soda, the same of salt, flour enough to
9
form a batter; let it rise, add sufficient flour to form a dough,
and bake immediately.
Fried Bread.
Time, ten minutes. Beat four eggs very light, add three
tablespoonfuls of brown sugar, a little grated nutmeg, a table-
spoonful of orange or rose water, and a quart of milk. Cut into
slices, an inch thick, a stale loaf of bread; remove the crust
from the sides, and cut each slice into halves. Butter your
frying-pan, and when hot lay in your bread (dipped in the cus-
tard) and brown on both sides. Lay them on a hot dish, and
sprinkle over them a little sugar.
Graham Bread.
Take two cups buttermilk or sour milk, one-half cup of best
sugar-house syrup, one teaspoonful of soda, half teaspoonful of
salt. Stir with a spoon to a stiff mass (not too stiff, or the bread
will be too hard) ; put it into a three-pint or a two-quart basin,
well buttered; put into a steamer over cold water, which gives
the loaf more time for rising. Steam about an hour; then
place it in the oven just long enough to give it a good rich
brown color. Most excellent gems are made with sour milk
and soda, with shortening and a little salt, stirred to a soft
batter with Graham flour, and baked in a quick oven in gem
irons or patty pans.
Frizzled Dried Beef.
Time, fifteen minutes; six persons. Half-pound chipped
beef, two tablespoonfuls of butter, half-pint of milk, two table-
spoonfuls of flour, and dash of pepper. Chipped beef is perhaps
one dish that is at least commonly prepared well. If the meat
is very salt, scald it once or twice and then press it perfectly
dry. Put the butter in a saute or frying-pan; stir or toss the
beef in the butter until thoroughly hot; then sprinkle over the
flour, mix carefully and add hastily the milk; bring to boiling
point and stand over hot water.
Kidney Stew.
Time, thirty minutes; six persons. Six veal kidneys, two
tablespoonfuls of flour, half-pint of boiling water, one teaspoon-
ful of Worcestershire sauce, one teaspoonful of tomato catsup,
one teaspoonful of salt, two tablespoonfuls of butter. Wash and
split the kidneys in halves. Remove the white tubes. Wash the
kidneys, cover them with cold water, bring to boiling point,
drain; cover with fresh boiling water, drain again. Be careful
10
that each time they are just brought to the boiling point, do
not actually boil. Rub the butter and flour together; add it to
the butter and flour; stir until boiling; add the Worcestershire
sauce, tomato catsup and salt; bring again to a boil; add the
kidneys; cover and stand over hot water for fifteen minutes.
Calf's liver may be prepared in precisely the same way.
Kidneys Cooked in Their Fat.
Take three fresh sheep's kidneys, without removing their
fat, cut into rounds about half an inch in thickness. Dip
them in cream and season, then dip them into flour, and fry in
bacon fat a golden brown on each side. Serve very hot on
rounds of toast or fried bread.
Milk Toast.
One quart milk; when it comes to a boil thicken with one
teaspoonful corn-starch; add salt. Toast the bread a light
brown; butter each slice, put layers of toast in a covered dish
and pour on the thickened milk, then more toast and milk, and
so on till the dish is full; cover, let stand five minutes, and
serve.
German Toast.
Prepare the tomatoes as for sauce, and while they are
cooking toast some slices of bread very brown, but not burned;
butter them both sides and pour the tomato sauce over them.
Corn Bread.
Time, one hour and a half. Take one quart of sweet milk,
corn meal enough to thicken, three eggs, half a cup of butter,
two tablespoonfuls of brown sugar, one teaspoonful of soda, and
two of cream of tartar; bake in a moderate oven.
Brown Bread.
Time, four to five hours. One quart of Indian meal and
one quart of rye, mixed well together; half a cup of molasses,
one tablespoonful of salt, tablespoonful of cream of tartar, two-
thirds of a tablespoonful of soda, dissolved in a pint of cold
water. When dissolved wet the mixture with it, and if it does
not thoroughly wet in add a little more. It should be nearly
as stiff as bread.
How to Make Bread.
Bread making is an accomplishment of which every woman
should be proud. It need never be a hard task, unless the
woman makes hard work of it. Especially where the gas range
11
is used, in which the heat is under absolute control, the very
best and most satisfactory results can be attained. If the
housekeeped has been in the habit of setting a sponge at night
and insists upon that procedure, owing to a longer period of
fermentation, a less quantity of yeast should be used than if
set in the morning. Dry or compressed yeast may be used, but
the compressed is preferable to dry when making bread during
the day, as fermentation proceeds more rapidly. Certain pro-
portions and conditions are necessary to obtain successful
results. The better plan is to measure liquids as to the base of
proportions, as flours vary in quality: One pint milk, one pint
boiling water, two teaspoonfuls salt, one tablespoonful sugar,
one tablespoonful butter, one yeast cake in one-quarter cup
water. Put salt, sugar and shortening in mixing bowl, add
milk and pour into it the boiling water. Dissolve yeast in one-
quarter cup cold water. When liquid in bowl is lukewarm, add
the dissolved yeast and flour enough to make a batter; beat
well until full of bubbles, cover closely and keep warm for one
hour, then add flour and knead into a smooth, velvety dough that
will not stick to the hands. Place in warm place, allow to
stand until it doubles in bulk and knead down, mold and put
into pans. Allow to double in bulk again and bake in hot oven.
Turn on both burners to heat the oven; let burn full on about
eight to ten minutes. Turn off back burner and put in bread.
The smaller loaves baked in the brick shaped pans can be
baked in numbers to fill the oven to fullest capacity, changing
from one side to the other, if necessary to insure even browning.
According to thickness of loaves, thirty to sixty minutes should
be allowed. Rolls may be lighter than bread and baked in
hotter ovens.
Eggs a-la-Mode.
Remove the skin from a dozen tomatoes, medium size, cut
them up in a saucepan, add a little butter, pepper and salt;
when sufficiently boiled, beat up five or six eggs, and just before
you serve turn them into the saucepan with the tomato, and
stir them one way for two minutes, allowing them time to be
well done.
Buckwheat Cakes.
Let the buckwheat be of the hulled sort, and fresh. Put
into a two-quart pitcher one and one-half pints of tepid water;
add four tablespoonfuls of bakers' or as much "compressed"
yeast as will make one loaf of bread other kinds in propor-
tionwith a little salt. Then stir in buckwheat enough to
12
make a thick batter; cover the pitcher and set away to rise
over night, after beating thoroughly. In the morning add three
tablespoonfuls of molasses and a quarter of a teaspoonful of
soda, dissolved in about three tablespoonfuls of milk. Beat all
well together, and pour the cakes from the pitcher upon a well-
heated griddle.
Hominy Muffins.
Time, fifteen minutes. Take two cups of fine hominy, boiled
and cold; beat it smooth; stir in three cups of sour milk, half a
cup of melted butter, two teaspoonfuls of salt, and two table-
spoonfuls of white sugar; then add three eggs well beaten, one
tablespoonful of soda dissolved in hot water, and one large cup
of flour; bake quickly.
Flour Muffins.
Time, fifteen minutes. One-half cup of butter, one-half cup
of sugar, two cups of milk, three teaspoonfuls of yeast powder
rubbed thoroughly into a scant quart of flour, and a little salt;
bake in muffin rings.
Brown Flour Muffins.
Time, half an hour. One quart tepid water, half cup yeast,
one tablespoonful of Indian meal, two of molasses, two pints
graham flour, one pint wheat, one teaspoonful of soda about
half an hour before baking as thick as soft gingerbread; bake
half an hour or in greased rings on a griddle.
Rice Muffins.
Time, fifteen minutes. Take one cup of cold boiled rice,
one pint of flour, two eggs, one quart of milk, one tablespoonful
of butter, and one teaspoonful of salt; beat very hard and bake
quickly.
Corn Muffins.
Time, fifteen minutes. Two cups yellow Indian meal, one
cup flour, three eggs, four tablespoonfuls of sugar, and a little
salt, a piece of lard or butter the size of an egg, one teaspoonful
saleratus and two of cream tartar (the cream tartar must be
put in dry with the flour, and the saleratus mixed with a little
warm water and put in last of all) ; mix all together with milk
as thick as pound cake batter. Pour in corn-muffin-pans and
bake in a hot oven.
13
Rusk.
One teacupful of butter, one cup of sugar, one egg, one bowl
of milk or water, one-third cup of yeast. Mix stiff with a
sponge over night, make out on pans in the morning; raise the
second time.
Bread Crackers.
Take one pound of bread dough after it has risen; add two
ounces of butter or lard; work well in dough; let rise again;
roll out very thin; cut in cakes and bake till dry.
Breakfast Rolls.
Mix half an ounce of sifted white sugar in two pounds of the
finest flour; make a hole in the center, and put in about two
tablespoonfuls of fresh yeast, mixed with a little water; let it
stand all night; in the morning add the yolks of two eggs, a
piece of butter the size of a walnut, and sufficient warm milk
to make it of a right consistency; divide into rolls (about twelve
or fourteen) ; bake half an hour in a brisk oven.
French Rolls.
One pint of milk, one small cup of home-made yeast (you
can try the baker's), flour enough to make a stiff batter; raise
over night. In the morning add one egg, one tablespoonful of
butter, and flour enough to make it fine and white), roll out,
cut with a round tin and fold over; put them in a pan and cover
very close. Set them in a warm place until they are very light;
bake quickly.
Pan Doodles.
Make a sponge just as you do for bread over night. In the
morning take from the bread-dough small pieces about the size
of a walnut, shape them rather long than round; fry in boiling
hot lard a light brown; serve hot in a covered dish; pull them
open and butter them. You will find them both simple and
delicious for breakfast.
Oatmeal Cakes.
Take two cups of cold boiled oatmeal; mix one egg through
it; one tablespoonful of sugar, and prepared flour enough to
make into cakes; dip each side into rolled cracker and fry brown.
Breakfast Pie.
Time, two hours. A delicious pie. Make a standing crust;
then a mixture of six eggs, a quart of milk, some finely powdered
14
sweet herbs, a teaspoonful of white pepper; then line a pie dish
with the crust; slice some ham very fine. Put a layer of ham,
then part of your custard, and so on till the dish is full. Bake
about two hours. When cold lift it out of the pie dish.
Batter Bread.
Take half a cup of bread crumbs soaked in a pint of milk
and two eggs; beat this to a smooth batter; add two cups of
Indian meal, one teaspoonful of salt, and one tablespoonful of
butter; stir all together very hard, and bake in shallow tins
very quickly.
Rice Cakes.
Take one cup of cold boiled rice, one pint of flour, one tea-
spoonful of salt, two eggs beaten lightly and milk enough to
make this a thick batter; beat all together well and bake on a
griddle.
Tea Biscuit.
One quart of sifted flour, a little salt, three teaspoonfuls of
baking powder, a small handful of sugar; mix lightly through
the flour; rub a large teaspoonful of lard through the dry mix-
ture; mix with sweet milk or water, the colder the better; roll
out soft to thickness of about one-third of an inch; cut with a
large-sized cutter and bake in a really hot oven.
Dainty Muffins.
One-quarter cup butter, one-quarter cup sugar, one egg,
about half a cup of milk, one and one-half cups pastry flour,
three scant teaspoonfuls baking powder. Cream butter in cup,
add sugar and cream together. Put in bowl, and add well beaten
egg; sift baking powder with flour, and add, alternating with
milk. Bake in hot buttered gem pans in moderately hot oven
for twenty-five minutes.
Waffles.
Two cups flour, two level teaspoonfuls baking powder, one
and one-third cups milk, one scant teaspoonful sugar, three eggs,
two tablespoonfuls melted butter, one-half teaspoonful salt. Mix
flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Mix yolks, beaten well
with milk; add to the flour gradually, beating in smoothly. Lastly
fold in beaten whites. Have iron very clean, hot and well
greased. Put enough batter in each side to fill not quite two-
thirds full. Cover, cook waffles a minute longer on other side.
Serve hot on hot plates.
15
Fritter Batter.
This is batter for the Swedish timbale cases made with
timbale irons. Sift together one cup of pastry flour and one-half
teaspoon of salt. Beat the yolks of four eggs light and add half
a cup of milk or water. Then stir the liquid into the flour gradu-
ally, making a smooth batter, and add one tablespoon of olive oil
or melted butter. Use the dover beater to whip the whites of
eggs to a stiff froth and then add to the mixture and set away
in a cool place for two hours or more. Have ready a kettle of
hot fat, put iron into fat to heat. When hot, dip carefully into
batter to cover about three-fourths of the mold, raise and im-
merse in fat. When lightly browned, take from fat, drain, tap
handle quickly so as to detach the cooked case. Examine the
first case. If thin or too thick, add flour or water to make
of right consistency. Cases may be used at once, or set aside,
rewarmed and filled at last moment before serving. Any creamed
mixture of chicken, fish or vegetables may be used for filling.
1G
The one who plays one of the most important parts in your
little world is the COOK.
A world without cooks! just imagine.
How fortunate to have a little cook of your own who can
supply wonderful dishes "Like Mother used to Make" she is a
wonder.
As an illustration, take a celebrated chef, the majority of
them are married, and while they prepare the most elaborate
dishes for others, they prefer home cooking, prepared by the
little wife. Though he would gladly give lessons to the new
wife, he'd rather have a piece of bread and butter from her
hands than the finest meal he could prepare.
Would the idea of your husband knowing more about cook-
ing than you did please you?
What a nice compliment to hear the remark: "My wife is
a mighty fine cook, I can tell you; she beats her teacher." It
makes a woman happy, for where is the woman who doesn't love
being appreciated.
17
FISH.
Let great care be taken to well clean the fish before it is
dressed. Fresh-water fish have often a muddy taste and smell,
which may be got rid of by soaking them in strong salt and water
before they are cooked.
Salt fish should be soaked in water before boiling, accord-
ing to the time it has been in salt. When it is hard and dry, it
will require thirty-six hours' soaking before it is dressed, and
the water must be changed three or four times. When fish is not
very salt, twenty-four hours, or even one night, will suffice.
To Fry Fish.
Cleanse them thoroughly, dry them on a folded cloth, dredge
flour lightly over them, brush them with a well-beaten egg, then
dip them in fine breadcrumbs.
Have ready enough fine oil, or melted lard or beef dripping
(clarified), to entirely cover the fish. Place the frping-pan over
a clear fire. Let the lard reach the boiling point, and then im-
merse the fish in it. You may try whether the fat is hot enough
by letting a drop of cold water fall into it from the end of your
spoon. If the hot fat spits, it is ready for use. Then fry, turning
the fish when one side is browned to the other. When it is done,
serve it extremely dry on a white cloth or embossed fish paper.
To Broil Fish.
A clear fire is required. Rub the bars of your gridiron with
dripping or a piece of beef suet, to prevent the fish from sticking
to it. Put a good piece of butter into a dish, work into it enough
salt and pepper to season the fish. Lay the fish on it when it
is broiled, and with a knife blade put the butter over every part.
Serve very hot.
To Boil Fish.
Put the fish in the saucepan, and a little more than half
cover it with boiling water. Cover the lid closely and boil
gently until done. To determine when a fish is sufficiently
boiled, draw it up upon the fish plate, and if the thickest part
of the fish can be easily divided from the bone with a knife, it
should be at once taken from the water. A little saltpetre or a
few spoonfuls of vinegar may be added to the water to render
the boiled fish firm. Some cooks prefer to steep the fish in
salt and water from five to ten minutes before putting it in the
kettle to cook, instead of putting salt in the water in which it is
to boil. By this this means less scum rises.
18
Codfish Balls.
Have the ingredients cooked on the day you wish them to
be eaten. Put your codfish to soak a day and a half, and then
boil until tender. Have your potatoes boiling, too. When the
fish is done, pull every lump, no matter how small, apart, until
it is light and feathery. Mash the potatoes until they are per-
fectly smooth; add a little cream or milk, and a little butter, but
not enough to color them; mix all thoroughly; roll into fat,
smooth balls, about one-half inch thick. Be careful to make them
a good shape. A little raw onion, chopped fine, is delicious mixed
through them, just sufficient to flavor. Fry a good brown, in
plenty of hot lard. Cooked oysters, laid on before eating, make
them still better.
Baked Fish.
Select fresh, firm-fleshed fish for baking, clean thoroughly,
cut off fins, leaving head and tail, wipe dry and pin oiled paper
on the tail. Dust the inside with salt. Have needle with thread
ready for sewing up fish as it is stuffed. Cut strips of fat bacon
or salt pork to lay in gashes or over top of fish, to baste in bak-
ing. Fill with
Stuffing for Baked Fish.
Put in a bowl one cup of bread crumbs from loaf two or
three days old; add one-quarter teaspoonful salt, one-eighth
teaspoon pepper, one teaspoon onion juice, one teaspoon minced
parsley, two level teaspoons finely chopped sweet midget cucum-
ber pickles (one teaspoon of capers if you have them and are
liked), one-quarter cup melted butter. If crumbs are not too
dry, no moisture need be added. The stuffing if slightly
"crumbly" is more delicate. Put in lightly, sew up fish and
form a horseshoe or letter S shape. On each side cut gashes to
make body of fish turn in shape, and fill them with the pork
strips. Skewer and tie in shape; put strips of pork in bottom
of pan, rest fish on these and add one cup hot water to pan.
Baste with hot water, to which a little salt has been added. Have
the oven hot, for fish must begin baking at once. Within five
minutes or less, a hissing sound should be heard. Upon this
first heat of the oven will depend the success of the baking. The
fish will be delicious, juicy and tender if baked just right, and
those who have not liked fish at all will relish a fish baked in
this manner. Allow twenty-five to thirty minutes for baking a
fish of three or four pounds. When done, place on platter, re-
19
move paper, skewers, threads, pork strips, and garnish with
Saratoga potatoes, lemon points and parsley or water cress. Serve
with Hollandaise sauce.
Baked Slice of Halibut.
Time, thirty minutes; six persons. One thick slice of hali-
but, one level teaspoonful of salt, parsley, one small onion, one
salt spoonful of pepper, one tablespoonful of butter, one-half cup
of water, one lemon; melt the butter; chop the onion, put in
the bottom of the baking pan, put on top of the halibut steak,
dust with salt and pepper, and then the melted butter. Bake in
a quick oven, or, if you have a gas stove, in the broiling cham-
ber, for thirty minutes, basting once or twice. The steak must
be nicely browned. Dish, strain over any sauce that may be
left over in the pan, garnish with parsley and lemon, and send
at once to the table.
Lobster a-la-Bordelaise.
Time, forty-five minutes; six persons. One good sized lob-
ster, two ounces of butter, one bay leaf, one salt spoonful of
pepper, one-half pound of fresh mushrooms or one can of mush-
rooms, one pint of boiling water, one small onion, one salt
spoonful of celery seed, one level teaspoonful of salt. Put the
butter and onion, chopped, into a saucepan, cook until the onion
is slightly browned, then add the flour, when boiling add all the
seasonings. Simmer gently for ten minutes, strain, add the
mushrooms; simmer ten minutes longer and stand the sauce
over hot water while you cut the lobster into good sized pieces,
put the lobster into the sauce, cover the pan closely and stand
it over hot water for ten minutes and it is ready to serve. This
may be served on toast in pate shells, or in a vol-au-vent.
Fish Cakes.
One pint bowl salt codfish, picked very fine, two pint bowls
of whole, raw, peeled potatoes; put together in cold water and
boil until the potatoes are thoroughly cooked; remove from
fire and drain off all the water; mash with potato-masher; add
piece of butter the size of an egg, two well-beaten eggs, and a
little pepper; mix well with a wooden spoon; have a frying-pan
with boiling lard or drippings, into which drop a spoonful of
mixture and fry brown; do not freshen the fish before boiling
with potatoes, and do not mold cakes, but drop from spoon.
20
Trout a I'Espagnol.
Scale the trout and clean it by the gills; put inside it butter
mixed with parsley, chopped onions, pepper, and salt; then
dress the fish with oil, parsley, onions, thyme, laurel, salt, and
pepper, and place it on a griddle, wrapped in oil-paper, dressing
and all. When cooked, take the paper and herbs off, and cover
with anchovy sauce.
Fish Fritters.
Take salt codfish and soak it over night. In the morning
throw the water off the fish, put on fresh, and set it on the
range until it comes to a boil. Do not let it boil, as that will
harden it. Then pick it up very fine, season with pepper, mace,
and perhaps a little salt. Make a batter of a pint of milk and
three eggs, stir in the fish, and fry in small cakes. Any kind
of codfish makes nice fritters.
Turbot a-la-Creme.
Time, one hour. Take five pounds of halibut or cod; boil
thoroughly in salt and water; when done, drain it, and when
cool flake it, taking out all the bones. One quart of cream set
in a saucepan of hot water, half of an onion, some sprigs of
parsley, two tablespoonfuls of corn-starch; cook it until it is
flavored, then strain out the parsley and half a pound of butter
to the cream; take the dish you serve it in and put first a layer
of fish, then a layer of cream, a sprinkle of cayenne pepper,
then a layer of cracker crumbs, and so on until the dish is full;
put the last layer of cracker crumbs; bake it an hour at least;
garnish with parsley.
Fresh Halibut Fish-balls.
To two pounds of boiled halibut add double the quantity of
hot mashed potatoes; the fish must be picked in small pieces;
add butter the size of an egg, a teaspoonful of powdered sugar,
salt, and two eggs; mix them well, make them into round, flat
balls, and when the weather is cold they can stand over night,
but in summer they must be made in the morning. Have a
kettle of boiling hot lard, put in only a few at a time, and boil
them until they are a nice light brown. If the lard is not quite
boiling they will soak the fat, and if too hot they will come out
black instead of brown. If the fish, potatoes, etc.. seem too dry
when you mix it, add a very little milk.
21
Salmagundi.
Take the bones out of one dozen salt herring or shad and cut
the flesh fine; wash two or three times in cold water; squeeze
the water well out; slice eight onions thin; put fish and onions
together and put on cold vinegar and pepper.
Halibut Steaks.
Wash and wipe the steaks dry; beat up two or three eggs
and roll out some hard crackers very fine; salt each steak
and then dip into the beaten eggs, and after into the cracker
crumbs, and fry in hot fat.
To Cook Shad-roes.
First partially boil them in a small covered pan and then
fry in hot lard, after covering or sprinkling with flour. The
slices may also be simply dried in a cloth, floured and broiled
over a clear fire; but they require the greatest care then to pre-
vent them from burning. The gridiron is always rubbed with
suet first.
Boiled Salmon.
Salmon is put into warm water instead of cold, in order to
preserve its color and set the curd. It should be thoroughly well
dressed to be wholesome. Scale it, empty and wash it with the
greatest care. Do not leave any blood in the inside that you
can remove. Boil the salt rapidly in the fish-kettle for a minute
or two, taking off the scum as it rises; put in the salmon, first
trussing it in the shape of the letter S, and let it boil gently
until it is thoroughly done. Take it from the water on the fish-
plate, let it drain, put it on a hot folded fish napkin, and garnish
with slices of lemon. Sauce: Shrimp or lobster. Send up dressed
cucumber with salmon.
Broiled Salmon.
Time, ten to fifteen minutes. Cut slices of an inch or an
inch and a half thick from the middle of a large salmon; dust
a little cayenne pepper over them; wrap them in oiled or but-
tered paper, and broil them over a clear fire, first rubbing the
bars of the gridiron with suet.
Cod's Head and Shoulder.
Time, half an hour or more. Cod's head and shoulders;
four ounces of salt to each gallon of water; a little horseradish.
Rub a little salt down the bone and the thick part of the fish,
and tie a fold or two of wide tape round it to prevent its break-
22
ing. Lay it in a fish-kettle with sufficient cold water to cover
it, with salt in the above proportion; add three spoonfuls of
vinegar and a little horseradish. Let the water be brought just
to the verge of boiling; then draw the fish-kettle to the side of
the fire, to simmer gently till the fish is done, which can be
ascertained by trying it with a fish slice to see if the meat can
be separated easily from the bone; skim it well and carefully.
When done, drain it and slip it off the fish strainer on a napkin
neatly folded in a dish. Garnish with double parsley, lemon and
the roe and liver of the cod. If the cod be crimped, it will re-
puire a shorter time to dress it.
Picked Cod.
Time, fifteen minutes. About one pound and a half of
dressed cod; a little oyster and egg sauce; two hard-boiled eggs,
and four parsnips, or some mashed potatoes. Pick about a pound
and a half of dressed codfish into flakes, and put it in layers, with
a little oyster and egg sauce alternately, in a stewpan. Make
it thoroughly hot. When it is done, pile it in the center of the
dish, and serve with mashed potatoes in a wall round it, browned
with a salamander, or garnish it with slices of hard-boiled eggs
and parsnips cut into shapes.
Salt Cod.
Time, one hour. Put the cod in water the night before it is
wanted, and let it soak all night; boil it; lay it in a dish, and
send it up hot, with egg sauce. If it be preferred, instead of the
egg sauce, boil parsnips quite tender, mash them with butter,
cream or milk, and spread them round the salt fish.
Baked Eels.
Time, three-quarters of an hour. Skin, empty, and thorough-
ly wash four large eels, cut off the heads, and divide them into
rather short pieces, wipe them very dry, dip each piece into a
seasoning of cayenne, salt, minced parsley, and a little powdered
savory herbs, put them into a deep dish, cover them with veal
stock, put a thick paper or cover over the dish, and set it in
the oven until the eels are tender. Skim off the fat, take the
pieces of fish carefully out on a hot dish to keep warm, and
stir into the gravy the wine, strained lemon juice and sauce;
make it just boil up, and pour it over the fish. Garnish with
sliced lemon.
23
Fried Eels.
Time, eighteen or twenty minutes. Prepare and wash the
eels, wipe them thoroughly dry, and dredge over them a very
little flour; if large, cut them into pieces of about four inches
long, brush them over with egg, dip them in bread crumbs, and
fry them in hot fat. If small they should be curled round and
fried, first dipped into egg and bread crumbs. Serve them up
garnished with fried parsley.
Yacht Oyster Stew.
Time, half an hour. Strain, cook and skim the juice of
twenty-four oysters; boil celery and a quarter of a small onion in
a little water for half an hour or until the celery is well cooked;
then add a pint of milk or cream, a tablespoonful of butter, a
tablespoonful of pounded crackers, a teaspoonful of Worcester-
shire sauce, salt, pepper, the oysters, and cooked juice, and boil
all three minutes, or until the edges of the oysters shrivel.
To Stew Oysters.
Time, ten minutes. After pouring off the juice, put the
oysters in some salt water and pass each one between the thumb
and finger to get rid of the slime. Then to 100 oysters add half
a pound of butter rubbed up with a teaspoonful of flour; stir for
ten minltes or till done, then add a half pint of cream, but do
not permit it to boil, otherwise the cream will curdle; add salt
and cayenne to the taste.
Scalloped Oysters.
Time, a quarter of an hour. Butter some tin scallop shells,
or if you have not any, a small tart dish. Strew in a layer of
grated bread, then put some thin slices of butter, then oysters
enough to fill your shells or dish. Cover them thickly with
bread crumbs, again add slices of butter. Pepper the whole well,
add a little of the liquor kept from the oysters. Put butter over
the whole surface, and bake in a quick oven. Serve them in
their shells or in the dish. Brown them with a salamander. If
you have not one, make the kitchen shovel redhot and hold it
over closely enough to brown your scallops.
Oyster Patties.
Cover some small tins, called patty-pans, with puff paste;
cut it round, and put in the center a small piece of bread (to
prevent the top and bottom from collapsing) ; cover it with
paste, slightly pinch the edges together, and bake in a brisk
24
oven a quarter of an hour. Then, having bearded and parboiled
a dozen large oysters, cut them in quarters, and put them in a
stewpan with an ounce of butter, a teaspoonful of flour, mixed
with their liquor, and the broth from the beards ( which you must
stey in a small saucepan, with a little stock gravy and two or
three shreds of lemon). Season with a very little salt, a quar-
ter of a teaspoonful of powdered mace, and the same quantity
of cayenne; then gradually add three tablespoonfuls of cream.
Mix well; then with a thin knife open the patties, take out the
bread, put in a spoonful of the oysters and cream gravy; put the
covers on again and serve hot.
Pickled Oysters.
Scald, beard, and wash large, fat oysters in their own liquor;
strain it, and to every pint put a glass of white wine, mace,
nutmeg, a good many white peppercorns, and a little salt, if
necessary; simmer the oysters for four or five minutes; put
vinegar, in the proportion of a glass to the pint, to the liquor,
and boil it up; skim this pickle and pour it over the oysters,
and when cold cork and close them up tight.
Soft-Shell Crabs.
Soft-shell crabs must be dipped in beaten egg, and then in
grated bread or cracker crumbs, and thrown into a hot frying-
pan, in which salt pork has been friend out for the purpose; it
gives them a much better flavor than butter or lard.
Oyster Fritters.
Time, five or six minutes. Beard some good-sized oysters,
make a thick omelet batter with four eggs and a tablespoonful
of milk, dip each oyster into the batter, and then into grated
bread, fry them a nice color, and use them to garnish fried fish.
Scallops.
Time, half an hour. Cover the scallops with beaten egg
and bread-crumbs, well seasoned with pepper, salt and minced
parsley, and fry them nicely. Put them to keep hot, dredge
flour into the frying-pan to take up the grease, mix in water
enough for gravy, season with pepper and salt, thicken it if
required, make the scallops hot in it, and serve them with the
gravy together. Lemon pickle may be added.
They may also be floured and fried, and then stewed.
25
To Stew Mussels.
Time, ten minutes. Clean the shells thoroughly with re-
peated washings, and cook them until they open, as mentioned
above. Pick them out of the shells, and as you do so save the
liquor that runs from them, and pick out from each one the
little hairy appendage to be found at the root of the little mem-
ber shaped like a tongue. To the mussels, thus prepared, put
half a pint of the liquor saved, and if there is not enough of it
eke out the quantity with a little of the liquor in which they
were boiled, poured off clear. Put in a blade of mace, thicken
it with a piece of butter rolled in flour, let them stew gently
for a few minutes, and serve them on toast.
To Boil Herrings.
Time, twenty minutes. Clean and wash the fish; dry them
in a cloth, and rub over them a little vinegar and salt. Skewer
them with their tails in their mouths, lay them on a strainer
in a stewpan, and when the water boils put them in, and let
them continue simmering slowly for about twenty minutes. When
they are done, drain and place them in the dish with the heads
turned in to the center; garnish with scraped horseradish, and
serve with parsley and butter sauce.
To Bake Herrings.
Time, one hour. Clean and wash two herrings, lay them on
a dish or board, and rub well over and into them a spoonful of
pepper, one of salt, and twelve cloves pounded. Lay them in
an earthen pan, cover them with vinegar, add two or three bay
leaves, and tie them over with a thick paper. Put them into a
moderate oven, and bake them for an hour. To be eaten cold.
Fried Herrings.
Time, six or eight minutes. Clean and scale the fish, and
dry them thoroughly in a cloth. When they are quite dry, fry
them to a bright color. The herring, being so rich a fish, should
be fried with less butter than fish of most kinds, and well
drained, and dried afterwards. A nice sauce to eat with her-
rings is sugar, mustard, and a little salt and vinegar. Some
serve melted butter, but herrings, are too rich to eat with a rich
sauce. Crisp parsley may be used as a garnish.
To Dress Lobsters.
When sent to table, separate the body from the tail, remove
the large claws, and crack them at each joint carefully, and
split the tail down the middle with a sharp knife; place the
26
body upright in the center of a dish on a napkin, and arrange
the tail and claws on each side. Garnish it with double parsley.
To Dress Boiled Crabs.
Empty the large shell; mix the flesh with a very little oil,
vinegar, salt, white pepper, and cayenne to your taste, replace
the meat in the large shell, and place it in the dish with the
claws.
To Pickle Fish.
Take any freshly caught fish, clean and scale them, wash and
wipe them dry. Cut them into slices a few inches thick, put
them in a jar with some salt, some allspice, and a little horse-
radish. When filled, cover them with good strong vinegar. Cover
it well with a good cover. Let it stand in your oven a few hours.
Don't let the oven be too hot. This will keep six months. Put
it immediately in the cellar, and in a few days they will be fit
for use.
Clam Chowder.
Twenty-five clams, chopped fine; six potatoes, chopped fine;
two onions, chopped fine; a piece of salt pork, also chopped, and
butter about the size of an egg; salt and pepper to taste the
clam juice and one pint of milk and the same of water; six
crackers rolled, one nutmeg, teaspoonful celery seed. Boil these
slowly for at least four hours, adding water if it becomes too
thick; half an hour before serving add coffee cupful of tomato
catsup and two tablespoonfuls of Worcestershire sauce. When
ready for table add tumbler of sherry; cut a lemon in slices
and serve with it.
Fried Oysters.
Select fine, large oysters, dry them out of their own liquor.
Have ready a plate of eggs and a plate of bred crumbs. Let
them lay in the egg a few minutes, and then roll them in the
bread crumbs, allowing them to remain in these also for a minute
or two; this will make them adhere, and not come off as a skin
when in the pan. Fry in half butter and half lard, in order to
give them a rich brown. Make it very hot before putting the
oysters in.
Clam Fritters.
Take twelve large or twenty-five small claims from their
shells; if the clams are large, divide them. Mix two gills of
wheat flour with one gill of milk, half as much of the clam liquor,
and one egg well beaten. Make the batter smooth, and then
stir in the clams. Drop the batter by tablespoonfuls in boiling
lard; let them fry gently, turning them when done on one side.
27
SOUPS.
It is of great importance that every one, and most especially
those who labor hard, should take a little light soup at the be-
ginning of a dinner, it warms and stimulates the stomach and
prepares it for the digestion of the heavier foods to follow.
Soup Garnishings.
Under this heading we place croutons of various sizes and
shapes, which are perhaps the most active of soup garnishings;
cooked vegetables cut into fancy shapes, tiny egg balls, force
meat balls, marrow or suet balls, are also sightly and palatable.
Stock.
All meat soups have "stock" for their basis. Beef and veal
make the best stock, but mutton, if previously broiled or roasted,
is very good. The Digester or Stock-pot should be made the
receptacle of all sorts of meat bones, either broken or crushed,
as the large proportion of gelatinous matter they contain is the
basis or jelly of the stock, to which it can be added at pleasure.
Winter (Split) Pea Soup.
Time, three hours. Soak a quart of split peas in soft water
for twelve or fourteen hours, and remove those which float
on the top. Then simmer in two quarts of water until tender;
put them in your stewpan; add two quarts of beef stock, about
a couple of pounds of shin of beef, any odd meat bones, chopped
up, and a slice of ham; a head of celery, six onions, three each
of carrots and turnips all peeled and sliced and seasoning to
taste . Simmer the whole for two or three hours, stirring
and skimming from time to time; pass all through a fine hair
sieve, give it one boil, and serve with toasted bread.
Pot-Au-Feu.
Time, three hours. Take shin of beef or cold beefsteak or
roast, or anything of that kind; put in grated carrot (because
that gives a flavor and a nice color), turnips, potatoes, a little
browned flour, and plenty of salt and pepper; add a little garlic,
half an onion, and some parsley. Boil two or three hours; strain
after all is cooked.
Soup Julienne.
Time, forty-five minutes; six persons. One small turnip,
half-cup of fresh green peas, one head of lettuce, one teaspoonful
of salt, one and one-half quarts of boiling water, half cup of
tender young beans, one potato, one salt spoonful of pepper.
28
Cut the carrot, turnip and potato in small strips; shell the peas
and beans. Put the carrot and turnip in unsalted water and
cook until tender, about thirty minutes. Put the beans in salted
water, cook twenty minutes; add the peas, cook ten minutes and
drain. Throw the potato in unsalted water and cook five min-
utes. Drain all the vegetables, mix and add four nice lettuce
leaves cut into shreds; add the vegetables and seasons, bring
to a boil and serve.
Potato Soup.
Time, two hours. Eight potatoes, two turnips, four large
onions, boiled together (in beef, mutton or poultry water) to a
jam; then strained through a colander; then add butter rubbed
in flour (a little), with cream or sweet milk, pepper and salt;
chopped parsley in the bottom of the tureen; let soup boil well,
then pour over the parsley.
Mock Bisque Soup.
Stew a can of tomatoes, and strain. Add a pinch of baking
soda, to remove the acidity. In another saucepan boil three
pints of milk; thicken with a tablespoonful of corn-starch pre-
viously mixed with a little cold milk; add lump of butter size of
an egg; salt and pepper to taste; mix with tomatoes; let all
come once to the boil and serve.
Clam Soup.
Time, one hour. Twenty-five clams, opened, raw and
chopped fine; add three quarts of water; boil them one-half hour,
then add a pint of milk, one onion chopped fine, thicken with
butter and flour; beat three eggs in the tureen and pour your
broth over them boiling hot.
Black Bean Soup.
Time, five hours. Take a large knuckle of veal, add to it
four quarts of water and one quart of black beans that have been
soaked in water over night, and let them boil with the veal four
or five hours; also, a small bit of onion and a dozen whole
cloves, some salt and pepper; cut three hard-boiled eggs and
two lemons into slices and put into the bottom of your tureen,
and strain the soup, boiling hot, upon them. If the water boils
away, you must keep adding to it, as this recipe ought to make
a gallon of soup. It should be of the consistency of pea soup.
If you have no veal, the bones of salt pork make a good substi-
tute, but not equal to the knuckle.
29
Mock Turtle Soup.
Time, twelve hours. Take about ten pounds of shin beef,
cut it into small pieces, and fry the lean parts a light brown;
put the rest of the beef (i. e., the fat part) into a stewpan with
boiling water, and stew it for eight hours, with a bunch of sweet
herbs and two onions; when cold take off the fat. Then get half
a calf's head with the skin on, half boil it, and cut it into small
square pieces and put them with the lean beef and the soup
into the same pot, and let them stew altogether until quite
tender. Thicken it with a very little flour; add a little pounded
mace and cloves, and a grate of nutmeg, two spoonfuls of mush-
room catsup, and pepper and salt to taste. A wine glass of
sherry or white wine improves it. It should be served with egg
balls and lemon.
Tomato Soup.
Time, one hour and a quarter. Take twelve large tomatoes,
peel and chop them; boil ripe ones an hour, then stir in a half a
teaspoonful of soda; when the foaming ceases add two soft
crackers rolled very fine; add a quart of milk, one tablespoonful
of butter and boil fifteen minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. If
too thick, add a little boiling water or milk.
Oyster Soup.
Time, half an hour. To one hundred oysters take one quart
of milk, half a pint of water, four spoonfuls of flour, half a cup
of butter, and one teaspoonful of salt, with a very little cayenne
pepper. Boil and skim the liquor off the oysters. Steam the
flour and butter over the tea-kettle until soft enough to beat to
a froth; then stir it in the liquor while boiling; after which add
the other ingredients, and throw in the oysters, allowing them
merely to scald.
Green Pea Soup.
Time, two hours. Take two quarts of green peas, one small
onion and a sprig of parsley cut fine; add two quarts of hot
water and boil slowly for half an hour, then add a pint of small
new potatoes which have been peeled and laid in cold water
an hour; put in a teaspoonful of sugar and a little salt; boil
till the potatoes are done; now add a teacupful of cream or a
pint of milk, boil a minute or two, and serve with small slices
of toasted bread or gems cut in halves.
30
Chicken Soup.
Time.four hours. Boil a pair of chickens with great care,
skimming constantly, and keeping them covered with water.
When tender, take out the chicken and remove every bone
from the meat; put a large lump of butter into a frying-pan and
dredge the chicken meat well with flour, lay in the hot pan;
fry a nice brown and keep it hot and dry. Take a pint of the
chicken water and stir in two large spoonfuls of curry powder,
two of butter and one of flour, one teaspoonful of salt and a
little cayenne; stir until smooth, then mix it with the broth in
the pot; when well mixed, simmer five minutes, then add the
browned chicken. Serve with rice.
Macaroni Soup.
Time, three-quarters of an hour. The macaroni must be
boiled in water for ten minutes, strained and put into boiling
stock, in the proportion of half a pound to the gallon; simmer
slowly for half an hour, and serve very hot, with grated cheese
on a separate dish.
Kidney Soup.
Time, six hours. Add to the liquor from a boiled leg of
mutton a bullock's kidney, put it over the fire and when half done
take out the kidney and cut it into pieces the size of dice. Add
three sticks of celery, three or four turnips, and the same of
carrots, all cut small, and a bunch of sweet herbs, tied together.
Season to your taste with pepper and salt. Let it boil slowly
for five or six hours, adding the catsup. When done take out
the herbs, and serve the vegetables in the soup. It is always
better (as all soups are) made the day before it is wanted.
Scotch Barley Broth.
Time, two hours. Take six pounds of the thick flank of
beef, and cover it with six quarts of water, and a quarter of a
pound of barley; boil it gently for an hour, skimming it fre-
quently. Then add three heads of celery, two carrots, two
turnips cut into pieces, one onion, a bunch of sweet herbs, and
a little parsley; boil all together till you find the broth very
good. Season it with salt. Then take out the beef, the onion,
and sweet herbs; pour the broth into the tureen and put the
beef in a dish garnished with carrots and turnips.
31
Ox-Tail Soup.
Time, four hours and a half. Cut up two ox-tails, separat-
ing them at the joints; put them into a stewpan with about an
ounce and a half of butter, a head of celery, two onions, two tur-
nips, and two carrots cut into slices, and a quarter of a pound
of lean ham cut very thin; the pepper corns and savory herbs,
and about a half pint of cold water. Stir it over a quick fire
for a short time to extract the flavor of the herbs, or until the
pan is covered with a glaze. Then pour in three quarts of
water, skim it well, and simmer slowly for four hours, or until
the tails are tender. Take them out, strain the soup, stir in
a little flour to thicken it, add a glass of port wine, the catsup,
and half a head of celery (previously boiled and cut into small
pieces). Put the pieces of tail into the stewpan with the
strained soup. Boil it up for a few minutes, and serve. This
soup can be served clear, by omitting the flour and adding to it
carrots and turnips cut into fancy shapes, with a head of
celery in slices. These may be boiled in a little of the soup,
and put into the tureen before sending it to table.
32
SAUCES.
An appetizing sauce covers "A Multitude of Sins." It is
easily made even with little material and at short notice. A
rounding teaspoonful of butter rubbed with a rounding table-
spoonful of flour is sufficient thickening to each half pint of
liquid.
For drawn butter plain water is used instead of milk, so by
changing the seasonings and liquids a great variety of sauces
are easily made. An ordinary stew, with a carefully made sauce,
makes an attractive dish, left over vegetables, meats, etc., can
be used to advantage for a beautiful sauce.
33
SAUCES AND GRAVIES.
The thickest saucepans should be used for this operation,
and only wooden spoons should be used for stirring. Remem-
ber, also, that your saucepan must be exquisitely clean and
fresh if you would have your cause a success, especially when
it is melted butter. Let your fire be clear and not too fierce.
Receipt for Melting Butter.
Time, two or three minutes. Put about two ounces or two
ounces and a half of butter into a very clean saucepan, with
two tablespoonfuls of water, dredge in a little flour, and shake
it over a clear fire, one way, until it boils. Then pour it into
your tureen and serve as directed.
Common Egg Sauce.
Time, twenty minutes. Boil two eggs for twenty minutes,
then take them out of the egg saucepan and put them in cold
water to get cool, shell them and cut them into very small dice,
put the minced eggs into a very hot sauce tureen, and pour
over them a quarter of a pint of boiling melted butter. Stir
the sauce round to mix the eggs with it.
Parsley Sauce.
Time, six or seven minutes. Wash the parsley thoroughly,
boil it for six or seven minutes till tender, then press the water
well out of it; chop it very fine; make half or a quarter of a
pint of melted butter as required (the less butter the less pars-
ley, of course), mix it gradually with the hot melted butter.
Oyster Sauce.
Time, five minutes. Stew the beards of one dozen oysters in
their own juice with half a teacupful of good clear gravy; strain
it off, add it to the melted butter which should be ready put
in the oysters, and let them simmer gently for three minutes.
Anchovy Sauce (for Fish).
Time, four minutes. Stir three dessert spoonfuls of anchovy
essence into half a pint of good melted butter, add a seasoning
to your taste, and boil it up for a minute or two. Use plenty
of cayenne and a little mace in this sauce.
34
Glaze.
Boil some very strong clear gravy or jelly over a quick
fire to the thickness of cream, stirring it constantly until it
will adhere like jelly to the spoon. It must then be imme-
diately poured out of the stewpan; the greatest care is required
during the time of thickening to prevent it from burning When
required for use, dissolve it by placing the jar (or whatever it
may be kept in) in boiling water, and brushing it over the meat
two or three times, when it will form a clear varnish Any
kind of very rich stock can be boiled down to a glaze To be
used for hams, tongues, etc.
To Brown Flour.
Time, five minutes. Put some flour in a pan or dish, and set
; in the oven or over the fire. Stir it about that it may not
burn; but let it brown well. Keep it in a dredging box for
browning ordinary gravies.
A Cheap Brown Gravy.
Time, two hours. Take a pound of gravy beef and a sheep's
melt, cut it into slices, dredge them with flour, and fry them
lightly in butter; then pour in hot quite a pint of water Add
a seasoning of pepper and salt, a small onion, and a piece of
celery cut into slices. Set the stewpan over the fire and let
it stew slowly for two hours. Skim it well; strain It; add a
spoonful of catsup, and set it by for use.
Gravy for Hashes, Etc.
Time, two hours and a quarter. Break some bones, and put
them into a stewpan, with any spare cuttings of meat you may
have; add a little pepper, salt and twelve allspice, half a head
of celery, and a bunch of sweet herbs, and simmer it for about
two hours, with sufficient water to cover it. Cut a small onion
into slices, fry it in a piece of butter, and boil it up with the
gravy for fifteen or twenty minutes. Strain it into another
stewpan, with two tablespoonfuls of walnut catsup and a piece
of butter rolled in flour, boil it up and it will be ready for vour
meat.
White Gravy.
Time, four hours. This gravy is the stock of several white
sauces, and is made thus: Put into a quart stewpan three pounds
of lean veal, cut into dice, and half a pound of lean ham, cut
smaller; add a glass of cold water, and put over the fire until
the "white glaze," or jelly, forms on the bottom of the pan:
35
then add three pints of cold water, a bunch of savory herbs, a
sliced onion and a blade of mace. Let it slowly come to a boil,
then add a little salt, skim carefully, and simmer slowly for
about three hours; strain, and when quite cold, remove all the
fat.
Gravy for a Goose or Ducks.
Time, three hours. Put one set of giblets and half a pound
of lean beef into a stewpan, with three sage leaves, one onion,
some whole pepper, salt, and three pints of water, and boil it
for three hours; then add a glass of port wine, with a spoonful
of flour mixed smooth to thicken it, and boil it again for two or
three minutes.
Bread Sauce for Roast Turkey or Game.
Time, one hour and a half. Peel and slice an onion and
simmer it in a pint of new milk until tender, break the bread
into pieces and put it into a small stewpan. Strain the hot milk
over it, cover it close, and let it soak for an hour. Then beat it
up smooth with a fork, add the pounded mace, cayenne, salt,
and an ounce of butter; boil it up, and serve it in a tureen. The
onion must be taken out before the milk is poured over the
bread.
Apple Sauce.
Time, twenty minutes. Pare, core and cut into slices eight
good boiling apples; put them into a saucepan with sufficient
water to moisten and prevent them from burning, boil them
until sufficiently tender to pulp. Then beat them up smoothly
with a piece of butter, and put sugar to your taste.
Horseradish Sauce, for Boiled Mutton or Roast Beef.
Time, two or three minutes. Mix a stick of grated horse-
radish with a wine glass of cream, a teaspoonful of mustard,
and a pinch of salt, then stir in half a tumbler of the best vine-
gar, and a pinch of salt. Bruise them with a spoon, and when
thoroughly mixed together, serve in a tureen.
Mint Sauce for Roast Lamb.
Two tablespoonfuls of chopped green mint; one tablespoon-
ful of pounded sugar; and a quarter of a pint of vinegar. Pick
and wash the green mint very clean, chop it fine, mix the sugar
and vinegar in a sauce tureen, put in the mint, and let it stand.
36
Common Onion Sauce.
Time, nearly half an hour. Peel four or six white onions
and boil them till they are tender, press the water from them
and chop them very fine. Make half a pint of milk hot, pulp the
onions into it, add a little piece of butter, a salt spoonful of salt,
and pepper to your taste.
Arrowroot Sauce for Plum Pudding.
Time, fifteen minutes. Rub very smoothly a dessert spoon-
ful of arrowroot in a little water, or in a glass of white wine,
squeeze in the juice of half a lemon add the pounded sugar, and
pour gradually in half a pint of water. Stir it very quickly over
a clear fire until it boils. Serve it with plum pudding. This
sauce may be flavored with anything you prefer.
White Wine Sauce.
Time, five minutes. Add to half a pint of good melted
butter, four spoonfuls of white wine, the grated rind of half a
lemon, and the sugar pounded and sifted. Let it boil, and serve
with plum, bread, or boiled batter pudding, etc.
Cranberry Sauce.
Time, twenty minutes. Take a quart of cranberries, a pint
of sugar and a pint of water. Boil slowly, and when the berries
are soft, beat well and strain through a colander.
White Sauce.
In three tablespoonfuls of nice, melted butter mix thor-
oughly one table-spoonful of sifted flour, add three-fourths of a
pint of milk, boil once, and then stir quickly. For color, add a
little yolk of egg, and for flavor, lemon juice.
Tomato Sauce.
Time, one hour. Remove the skin and seeds from about
a dozen tomatoes, slice them and put them in a stewpan, with
pepper and salt to taste, and three pounded crackers. Stew
slowly one hour.
Horseradish.
Wash the horseradish very clean, and lay it in cold water
for nearly an hour; then scrape it into very fine shreds with
a sharp knife. Place some of it in a glass dish, and arrange
the remainder as a garnish for roast beef, or many kinds of
boiled fish.
37
FORCEMEATS OR STUFFING.
Sage and Onion Stuffing, for Geese, Ducks or Pork.
Wash, peel and boil three onions in two waters to extract
the strong flavor, and scald eight sage leaves for a few minutes.
Chop the onions and leaves very fine, mix them with five ounces
of bread-crumbs, seasoned with pepper and salt, a piece of butter
broken into pieces, and the yolk of one egg.
Oyster Forcemeat.
Take off the beards from a half pint of oysters, wash them
well in their own liquor, and mince them very fine; mix with
them the peel of half a lemon chopped small, a sprig of parsley,
a seasoning of salt, nutmeg, and a very little cayenne, and
about an ounce of butter in small pieces. Stir into these in-
gredients five ounces of bread-crumbs, and when thoroughly
mixed together, bind it with the yolk of an egg and part of the
oyster liquor.
Egg Balls, for Made Dishes or Soup.
Time, twenty minutes to boil the eggs. Poudn the hard-
boiled yolks of eight eggs in a mortar until very smooth; then
mix with them the yolks of four raw eggs, a little salt, and a
dust or so of flour to make them bind. Roll them into small
balls, boil them in water and then add them to any made dishes
or soups for which they may be required.
Fried Parsley.
Time, two minutes. Fried parsley is the cheapest and
commonest of garnishings, but it requires to be very nicely
done. Wash and pick the parsley, and dry it thoroughly in a
cloth. Then put it in a wire basket, and hold it in boiling
dripping for two minutes. Take it out of the basket and dry
it well before the fire that it may become very crisp. The drip-
ping in which it is fried should be quite boiling. If you have
no wire basket, fry the parsley as quickly as possible and dry
it before the fire when it is done.
Stuffing for Turkey.
Mix thoroughly a quart of stale bread, very finely grated;
the grated rind of a lemon; quarter of an ounce of minced
parsley and thyme, one part thyme, two parts parsley; and
pepper and salt to season. Add to these one unbeaten egg and
half a cup of butter; mix all well together and moisten with hot
38
water or milk. Other herbs than parsley or thyme may be
used if preferred, and a little onion finely minced, added if
desired.
Dumplings.
Put a pint of flour in a bowl; add a half teaspoonful of salt,
and a rounding teaspoonful of baking powder; sift once or
twice, add a little over a half cup of milk, the dough must be
moist but not wet; drop this by spoonfuls over the top of the
ragout, cover the saucepan and cook continuously for ten min-
utes without lifting the lid. Dish the dumplings around the
edge of the platter and put the meat in the center.
39
New England Dinner.
Whenever your meet a native, or his descendant, of good
old New England, you will find a being capable of appreciating
a boiled dinner. Whether you select a small sugar-cured ham
really a shoulder, of course weighing three or four pounds,
or corned beef, or salt pork, there are important points to be
observed in cooking meats and vegetables.
The "dinner" need not include the entire array of vegetables.
For our purpose we will use potatoes, turnips, carrots and cab-
bage. It is a good plan to cook the meat early enough to admit
of liquor cooling and removal of excess of fat before cooking the
vegetables. Using corned beef, select a choice cut of three or
four pounds, wash and soak in cold water and put on to cook
in fresh, cold water. Skim, and simmer, until tender. Let it
cool in liquor, remove the fat, reheat and use part of liquor in
which to cook the turnips, carrots and potatoes in a separate
kettle. Cut these vegetables in attractive pieces and arrange
for cooking so that all will be done, and not overdone, at the
same time. Cook the cabbage alone. Cut the head into eighths
or sixteenths, according to size, or shred coarsely, have crisp by
soaking in cold water, and cook in rapidly, salted water, un-
covered, for twenty-five to thirty minutes, until tender. In serv-
ing, place meat in center of the platter, surrounded with cab-
bage as a bed for other vegetables, and arranged with some
thought of attractiveness. Dust lightly with paprika, to aid
digestion, and, if possible, introduce some bits of parsley as a
garnish, of which it would be wise to partake. The meat and
vegetables thus cooked with reference to digestibility, afford
a boiled dinner that need not be paid for twice.
40
BEEF.
To Make Tough Meat Tender.
Soak it in vinegar and water; if a very large piece, for about
twelve hours. For ten pounds of beef use three quarts of water
to three-quarters of a pint of vinegar, and soak it for six or
seven hours.
To Boil Beef.
Reckon the time from the water coming to a boil. Keep the
pot boiling, but let it boil very slowly. If you let the pot cease
boiling, you will be deceived in your time; therefore, watch that
it does not stop, and keep up a good fire. Just before the pot
boils the scum rises. Be sure to skim it off carefully, or it will
fall back and adhere to the meat and disfigure it sadly. When
you have well skimmed the pot, put in a little cold water, which
will cause the scum to rise again. The more carefully you
skim the cleaner and nicer the meat boiled will look.
Put your meat into cold water; a quart of cold water to
every pound of meat. Allow twenty minutes to the pound from
the time the pot boils and the scum rises. . It is more profitable
to boil than to roast meat.
Kidney Stew.
Time, two hours and a quarter. Take a large beef kidney,
cut all the fat out, cut it up in slices; then let it lay in cold
water, with a teaspoonful of salt added, fifteen minutes; wipe
dry, then put it in the pot with three half pints of cold water;
let it boil two hours; half an hour before it is done add one large
onion, sliced; one teaspoonful of powdered sage, and pepper and
salt to season well; serve hot with mashed potatoes.
Stuffed Corned Beef.
Time, three hours. Take a piece of well-corned rump or
round, nine or ten pounds; make several deep cuts in it; fill
with a stuffing of a handful of soaked bread, squeezed dry, a
little fat or butter, a good pinch of cloves, allspice, pepper, a
little finely chopped onion, and a little marjoram or thyme; then
tie it up tightly in a cloth and saturate it with vinegar; boil
about three hours.
Beef a-la-Mode.
Time, three and a half hours. Take a piece of meat, cross-
rib is best, put a slice of bacon or some lard in the bottom of
the pot, then the meat, and fill up with water till the meat is
41
covered; then take two onions, some pepper-corns, cloves, bay
leaves, one carrot, and a crust of brown bread, salt and some
vinegar; throw all this in over the beef, keep the pot well
covered; fill up with more hot water if it boils down, and let
it boil three hours; then burn a tablespoonful of flour, with
some butter, a nice brown, thin with the gravy, and let it boil
up once more with the meat; then put the beef in a deep dish
and strain the gravy over it; add more vinegar to taste, serve
with fried potatoes and red cabbage.
An English Stew of Cold Roast Beef.
Time, fifteen mines. Cut the meat in small and rather
thin slices, season them highly with salt and pepper, and dip
each lightly in bread crumbs moistened in gravy or melted
butter. Dress them neatly on a dish, and lay over them a thin
layer of cut pickles, and moisten the whole with a glassful of
pickled vinegar and the preserved gravy of the roast beef; heat
in a Dutch oven and garnish with fried sippets or potato balls.
Boiled Bullock's Head.
Time to boil, five hours. This is a good dish for a large
family. Place the head in salt water for six hours, to cleanse
it; then wash and remove the palates, and place them again
in salt and water; put the head in a saucepan, with sufficient
water to cover, boil for five hours, adding two carrots, two tur-
nips, and two onions, cut small; when done, remove the head
from the soup, and remove the bone from the meat; serve soup
and meat in tureen; the palates, when white, boiled until tender,
then pressed until cold, make a delicious relish for lunch or
supper.
Broiled Steak.
For broiling, select only the choicest cuts from one inch
to one and a half inches thick, remove bone and surplus fat,
trim edges and skewer into shape. Have broiler very hot,
grease with bit of suet and place steak close to flame to sear
the surface. Turn, sear other side quickly and reduce flame
or lower broiler and cook more slowly. Allow eight to ten
minutes for steak one inch thick. Serve on hot platter, pour
over part of fat, season and garnish. If a sauce should be
desired use mushroom or maitre d'hotel or a "Clubhouse" sea-
soning. Never pierce meat with fork while cooking.
42
A Rolled, Stuffed Steak.
An inexpensive roast is from a large steak cut from best of
round, about one and a half inches thick, scored, brushed with
oil and vinegar, covered with a well seasoned stuffing of bread
crumbs and rolled into a duck-shaped loaf. Dust with salt,
pepper and flour, lay thin slices of suet and strips of fat, salt
pork over the top, put in covered baking pan, add one cup of hot
water and cook in moderately slow oven until tender. Nice
hot or cold. Brown, mushroom, horseradish or flemish sauce
may be served with it.
To Accompany Roast Beef.
A "tasty" adjunct to roasts with good brown sauce is
mashed potato pie. Butter a shallow baking dish from which
the pie may be served at the table, coat lightly with fine bread
crumbs, fill with well mashed and seasoned potatoes, whipped
until light, put on a pastry crust and bake as a pie. Serve
with the roast, cutting in pie-shaped pieces and adding a spoon-
ful or two of brown sauce.
Braised Beef.
Time, two hours; twelve persons. Four pounds of beef,
one carrot, one turnip, two tablespoonfuls of butter, one round-
ing teaspoonful of salt, one root of celery, two tablespoonfuls
of flour, one salt spoonful of pepper. Purchase a piece of beef
either from the round or from the shoulder cut the carrot and
turnip into slices and then into blocks or dice. Cut the celery
into small pieces; put the beef in a baking pan, put around
the vegetables, add the pepper, pour this over the meat, cover
the pan and cook in a slow oven one and a half to two hours,
add the salt when the meat is half done. When the meat is
done, lift it to the center of a large platter. Rub the butter and
flour together, add it to the liquor in the pan which should now
measure a pint; stir until boiling. Lift the vegetables carefully,
arrange them neatly at the ends of the platter, strain over the
sauce and send* at once to the table. Serve with this either
baked sweet or white potatoes.
Fricassee of Cold Beef.
Time, ten minutes. Cut away all skin, gristle and fat; cut
the meat in thin small slices; have ready a sauce made of
stock thickened with butter rolled in flour, seasoned with shred
parsley and young onions, pepper and salt. Strain the sauce
when it is well flavored, and just heat the meat in it, soaking
43
by the side of the fire; add a glass of red wine, the yolk of an
egg well beaten and the juice of a lemon, stir for a few minutes,
but do not let it boil or, like all rewarmed things, it will harden.
Beef Tongue (Corned or Smoked).
Soak the tongue twenty-four hours before boiling. It will
require from three to four hours, according to size. The skin
should always be removed as soon as it is taken from the pot.
An economical method is to lay the tongue, as soon as the
skin is removed, in a jar, coiled up with the tip outside the
root, and a weight upon it. When it is cold, loosen the sides
with a knife, and turn it out.
Beef Stewed with Onions.
Time, two hours and twenty minutes. Cut two pounds of
tender beef into small pieces, season with pepper and salt;
slice one or two onions and add to it, with water enough to make
a gravy. Let it stew slowly till the beef is thoroughly cooked,
then add some pieces of butter rolled in flour, enough to make
a rich gravy. Cold beef may be cooked in the same way, but
the onions must then be cooked before adding them to the meat.
Add more boiling water if it dries too fast.
Boiled Corned Beef.
Wash it well, put it in a pot and if very salt cover well
with cold water; if only slightly corned, use boiling water;
skim often while boiling, and allow at least half an hour for
every pound of meat. If it is to be eaten cold, do not remove
as soon as done, but allow it to remain in the liquor until nearly
cold; then lay it in an earthen dish with a piece of board upon
it and press with a stone or a couple of flat irons.
Savory Beef.
Take a shin of beef from the hind quarter, saw it into
four pieces, put it in a pot and boil it until the meat and gristle
drop from the bones; chop the meat very fine,, put it in a dish
and season it with a little salt, pepper, clove and sage, to your
taste; pour in the liquor in which the meat was boiled and
place it away to harden; cut in slices and serve cold.
Hash Balls of Corned Beef.
Prepare the hash by mincing with potatoes; make it into
flat cakes; heat the griddle, and grease it with plenty of sweet
butter; brown the balls first on one side and then on the other,
and serve hot.
44
Tripe.
Must be washed in warm water and cut into squares of three
inches; take one egg, three tablespoonfuls of flour, a little salt
and make a thick batter by adding milk; fry out some slices of
pork, dip the tripe into the batter and fry a light brown.
Beef Balls.
Take a piece of beef boiled tender, chop it very finely with
an onion, season with salt and pepper, add parsley, bread crumbs,
lemon peel and grated nutmeg; moisten it with an egg, mix
well together, and roll it into balls. Then dip them in flour
and fry them in boiling lard or fresh dripping. Serve them
with thickened brown gravy, or fried bread crumbs.
Beef Liver.
Slice the liver and pour boiling water over it; wipe dry and
cut it into very small pieces. Fry slices of fat, salt pork until
brown; take out the pork and fry the liver in the fat; cook
thoroughly. When done pour a little water over the liver and
thicken with a little flour and water, mixed smooth. Salt to
taste.
Stewed Shin of Beef.
Time, four hours and a quarter. Saw the bone into three or
four pieces, put them into a stewpan, and just cover them with
cold water. When the pot simmers, skim it clean; and then
add the sweet herbs, one large onion, celery, twelve black
pepper-corns and twelve allspice. Stew it very gently over a
slow fire till the meat is tender. Then peel the carrots and
turnips and cut them into shapes; boil them with twelve small
button onions till tender. The turnips and onions will take a
quarter of an hour to boil, the carrots half an hour. Drain
them carefully. Put the meat, when done, on a dish and keep
it warm while you prepare some gravy, thus: Take a teacupful
of the liquor in which the meat has been stewed and mix with
it three tablespoonfuls of flour; add more liquor till you have a
pint and a half of gravy. Season with pepper, salt and a wine
glass of mushroom catsup. Boil it up, skim off the fat and strain
it through a sieve. Pour it over the meat and lay the vegetables
round it.
Spiced Beef.
Time, according to weight. Take the thin part of a piece of
beef after the rib piece (called the flap) has been cut off, if
any of the ends of the bones are left take them out. Rub it well
45
with salt and let it lay in pickle two days; then take half an
ounce each of mace, cloves, black pepper and Jamaica pepper
and a little chopped parsley and spread the whole equally over
the beef; roll it up neatly and tie it very tight. Set it in a
stewpan over a moderate fire, and let it stew slowly till quite
tender. Then press it well, and when cold it will be fit to
serve. The spices are to be laid on whole.
Bubble and Squeak.
Time, twenty minutes. Chop up and fry about one pound
each of previously boiled cold potatoes and cabbage, with a
little pepper, salt and a good large piece of butter. Set it
aside to keep hot. Lightly fry some slices of cold boiled beef;
put them in a hot dish, with alternate layers of vegetable,
piling it higher in the middle.
Minced Beef.
Time, twenty minutes. Mince about a pound and a half of
beef with six ounces of bacon and two onions, seasoning it
highly with pepper and nutmeg. Take a sufficient quantity of
stock made from bones, and any trimmings, a piece of butter
rolled in flour, and a little browning; make it hot and strain
it over the mince; put the whole into a stewpan, let it simmer
for a few minutes, and serve it on a hot dish with sippets of
toasted bread and a poached or hard-boiled egg divided and
placed on each sippet arranged round the edge of dish. It is
also served surrounded by a wall of mashed potatoes, with two
poached eggs lying on the top of it.
Beef Stew.
Take three pounds of beef navel piece is the best cut in
inch square pieces; peel and slice four or five onions; put a
layer of meat in the bottom of the pot, then a layer of onions,
and so on until used up; season each layer with pepper and
salt; cover with boiling water; boil slowly and keep the pot
covered. Peel a quart of potatoes, cut into small pieces; add
the potatoes about half an hour before serving.
Hash.
Take cold pieces of beef that have been left over and chop
them fine; then add cold boiled potatoes chopped fine; add pep-
per and salt and a little warm water; put all in a frying-pan and
cook slowly for twenty minutes.
46
Baked Calves' Hearts.
Time, two hours; six persons. Two calves' hearts, one
cupful of bread crumbs, one tablespoonful of melted butter, one
teaspoonful of salt, one quart of boiling water, one salt spoonful
of pepper. Wash the hearts in cold water; make a stuffing
from the bread crumbs, melted butter, salt and pepper. Cut
the tubes from the upper part of the hearts and put in the
stuffing; sew the tops, and stand them in a stewing pan tips
down; cover the pan, and stew slowly one hour. Then put them
in a baking pan, baste with melted butter, and bake one hour.
Dish the hearts, the points toward the center of the dish; remove
the strings, and fill the bottom of the dish with nicely seasoned
peas. Pass with them a brown sauce made from the water
in which the hearts were stewed.
MUTTON.
Stuffed Leg of Mutton.
Boil two large white onions until tender, then chop fine;
add bread crumbs and sage to taste, a little salt and pepper;
then slit the sinewy part of the leg and insert the stuffing and
roast.
Mutton Cutlets.
Take a piece of the best end of a neck of mutton, saw off
the bones short, remove the gristle and fat, cut the cutlets about
one-third of an inch in thickness, shape and trim them neatly;
beat them with a cutlet bat dipped in water; pepper, salt and
broil them over a brisk fire.
Irish Stew.
Time, two hours and a half. Put two pounds of mutton cut-
lets or chops and four pounds good potatoes, peeled and sliced,
in alternate layers in a large saucepan or stewpan, season to
taste with pepper and salt, and a finely shred onion; add a
pint of cold water, and simmer gently for two hours. Serve
very hot.
Mutton Sausage.
Take a cold roast mutton, cut it in as large slices as possible;
then take bread crumbs, sweet herbs, salt and pepper, wet them
with an egg and put a small quantity into the center of each
slice; roll each slice by itself, and tie it up as tightly as possible;
cook them in hot melted butter or beef drippings until brown
and crisp.
47
Roast Shoulder of Mutton.
Time, a quarter of an hour to each pound. Take out the
bone and fill the space with a stuffing made of bread crumbs,
salt pork chopped fine, pepper, salt and sage, or sweet marjoram.
Stewed Leg of Mutton.
Time, two hours. Make a stuffing of finely chopped beef
suet, bread crumbs, an onion chopped finely, pepper, salt and
a little ground clove. Make incisions in the leg and stuff it
well; tie a little bundle of basil and parsley together; lay in
the bottom of the pot and on it place the mutton; just cover
with water and stew slowly for two hours; when tender, take
out the mutton and add to the liquor a large spoonful of flour,
made smooth with a little water, stir it well, and in five minutes
take it off and strain it; pour it back into the pot and add a
wine glassful of catsup and lay the mutton in till it is served.
Boiled Leg of Lamb.
Time, about one hour and a quarter. Boil it in water to
2over it; when half done add two cups of milk to the water,
with a large spoonful of salt. It should be served with spinach
ind caper sauce.
To Fry Lamb Steaks.
Dip each piece into well-beaten egg, cover with bread
crumbs or corn meal and fry in butter or new lard. Serve
svith mashed potatoes and boiled rice. Thicken the gravy with
flour and butter, adding a little lemon juice, and pour it hot
jpon the steaks, and place the rice in spoonfuls around the
lish to garnish it.
Cold Mutton Broiled.
Time, five minutes. Cut in thick slices cold boiled leg of
mutton; it should not be cooked too much or it will fall into
pieces; salt and pepper it and then broil. Serve very hot, and
add a thick sauce flavored with fresh tomatoes or tomato sauce.
Lamb or Mutton Stew.
Time, two hours and a quarter. Part of a breast of mutton
or lamb, cut in bits as many potatoes, pepper and salt to taste,
two onions, a bunch of parsley, a bunch of sweet herbs. Stew
all together in sufficient water to cover them for two hours
gently. Then put in a teacupful of tomato catsup and boil up
again. Serve hot.
48
VEAL.
Prepared Veal.
Mince three pounds, raw (best parts), of a leg of veal, fa
and lean, take six butter-crackers, pounded fine, two eggs, bul
ter size of an egg, teaspoonful pepper and one of ground cloves
tablespoonful salt, a little parsley, one slice salt pork, choppei
fine. Work well together, make into the form of a loaf, pu
bits of butter on top, put in dripping pan with water in it an<
bake two hours in oven, basting often with the water; try i
with fork to see if done. This is eaten cold and is a capita
dish for lunch, etc., to be cut in slices when helped. It is calle<
prepared veal. Chicken may be used, or any meat, but vea
is best.
Eggs and Minced Veal.
Take some remnants of roast veal, trim off all the browne<
parts and mince it very finely; fry a shallot, chopped small, ii
plenty of butter; when it is a light straw color add a larg<
pinch of flour and a little stock; then the minced meat witl
chopped parsley, pepper, salt and nutmeg to taste; mix well
add more stock if necessary, and let the mince gradually ge
hot by the side of the fire; lastly add a few drops of lemor
juice. Serve with sippets of bread, fried in butter round, anc
poached eggs on top.
Veal Loaf.
Time pounds of uncooked veal, quarter of a pound of pork;
chop these fine; add two eggs, one cupful pounded crackers
one teaspoonful of salt, two of pepper; sage and summer savor j
to suit the taste; press hard in a pudding-dish and bake one
and a half hours; cut in thin slices when cold.
Calf's Head, Boiled.
Time to soak, two hours; to simmer, two hours. Let the
butcher split the head in halves. Take out the eyes and the
snout bone; then lay it in cold water to soak two hours before
boiling; take out the brains and wash them well in several
waters, then lay them in cold water. Put the heads togethei
and lay it in a good sized pot; cover it with cold water and
throw in a tablespoonful of salt; let it boil slowly for two 01
three hours. When it has boiled a little more than an hour, take
about a quart of the liquor and put into a stewpan for the
gravy; add to it some salt, pepper, a little parsley chopped
fine, a tablespoonful of lemon pickle, and then boil. Beat up an
egg lightly, with two tablespoonfuls of flour, then remove care-
49
fully the skin from the brains and beat them up with the egg
and flour. When well beaten thicken the gravy with it and
stew about ten minutes.
Roast Veal.
Time, three hours. Make a dressing of bread crumbs,
chopped thyme and parsley; a little pepper and salt, one egg
and a little butter. If too dry moisten with a little hot water.
Take a loin of veal, make an incision in the flap and fill it with
the stuffing; secure it with small skewers and dredge the veal
with a little flour, slightly salted. Bake in a moderate oven
and baste often; at first with a little salt and water, and after-
ward with the drippings in the pan. When done, skim the gravy
and thicken with a little brown flour. The breast and shoulder
are nice cooked in the same manner; ask your butcher to make
incisions for the stuffing. Serve with tomato sauce.
Veal Minced.
Time, one hour and a quarter altogether. Mince the veal
as finely as possible, separating the skin, gristle and bones, with
which a gravy should be made. Put a small quantity of the
gravy into a stewpan, with a little lemon peel grated, and a
spoonful of milk or cream. Thicken it with a little butter and
flour, mix gradually with the gravy; season it with salt and
a little lemon juice and cayenne pepper. Put in the minced
veal and let it simmer a few minutes. Serve it upon sippets
of toasted bread.
Knuckle of Veal
Time, two hours and three-quarters. Cut in small thick
slices, season with a little salt and pepper, flour lightly and
fry it to a pale brown, then lay it in a saucepan and cover with
water. Skim well and season with thyme and parsley and a
little mace. Simmer gently for two hours and a half, then
thicken the gravy with a little flour and add a piece of butter
and salt to taste. Add a little catsup if desired.
Spiced Veal.
Time, one hour. One pound of veal, chopped very fine;
season with two well-beaten eggs, a tablespoonful of butter, tea-
spoonful of salt and sage each. Put it into a cake-pan, and bake
about an hour. Slice when cold.
Fried Sweet Breads.
For every mode of dressing they should be prepared by
half boiling, and then putting them in cold water; this makes
50
them whiter and firmer. Dip them in beaten eggs and then
into bread crumbs; pepper and salt and fry in lard. Serve with
peas or tomatoes.
Stewed Sweet Breads.
Time, thirty-five minutes. After they are parboiled and cold,
lard them with fat pork; put them in a stewpan, with some good
veal gravy and juice of a small lemon; stew them till very ten-
der, and just before serving thicken with flour and butter;
serve them with the gravy.
Calf's Brains and Tongue.
Time, to boil ten or fifteen minutes. Separate the two lobes
of the brain with a knife, soak them in cold water with a little
salt in it for an hour; then pour away the cold water and cover
them with hot water; clean and skin them. Boil them then
very gently in half a pint of water, take off the scum carefully
as it rises. Take them up, drain and chop them and put them
to warm in a stewpan with the herbs chopped, the melted butter
or cream, and the seasoning. Squeeze a little lemon juice over
them; stir them well together. Boil the tongue; skin it; take
off the roots; lay it in the middle of the dish and serve the
brains around it.
Veal Cutlets.
Time, twelve to fifteen minutes. Let the cutlet be about
half an inch thick, and cut it into pieces the size and shape of a
crown piece. Chop some sweet herbs very fine; mix them well
with the bread crumbs. Brush the cutlets over with the yolk of
an egg, then cover them with the bread crumbs and chopped
herbs; fry them lightly in butter, turning them when required.
Take them out when done. Mix an ounce of fresh butter with
the grated peel of half a lemon, a little nutmeg and flour; pour
a little water into the frying-pan and stir the butter, flour and
grated lemon peel into it; then put the cutlets ino this gravy
to heat. Serve them piled in the center of the dish with thin
rolls of bacon as a garnish.
Calf's Liver and Bacon.
Time, quarer of an hour. Soak two or three livers in cold
water for half an hour, then dry it in a cloth, and cut it into
thin, narrow slices; take about a pound of bacon, or as much
as you may require, and cut an equal number of thin slices
as you have of liver; fry the bacon lightly, take it out and keep
it hot; then fry the liver in the same pan, seasoning it with
51
pepper and salt, and dredge over it a little flour. When it is a
nice brown, arrange it round the dish with a roll of bacon be-
tween each slice. Pour off the fat from the pan, put in about
two ounces of butter well rubbed in flour to thicken the gravy;
squeeze in the juice of a lemon and add a cupful of hot water;
boil it, and pour it into the center of the dish. Serve it gar-
nished with forcemeat balls or slices of lemon.
PORK.
To Roast a Leg of Pork.
Time, twenty minutes to one pound. The leg to be roasted
should not weigh more than six or seven pounds. Score the
rind or skin with a sharp knife all round the joint. Baste it
well. It will yield sufficient dripping to baste itself without
butter. If the crackling and fat are not kept on, the joint will
not require so long a time to roast it. Sauce: Brown gravy
or tomato.
To Steam a Ham.
Time, twenty minutes to each pound. If the ham has been
hung for some time, put it into cold water, and let it soak all
night, or let it lie on a damp stone sprinkled with water for two
days to mellow. Wash it well, put it into a steamer there are
proper ones made for the purpose over a pot of boiling water.
Steam it for as long a time as the weight requires, the pro-
portion of time given above.
This is by far the best way of cooking a ham. It prevents
waste and retains the flavor. When it is done, skin it and strew
bread-raspings over it as usual. If you preserve the skin as
whole as possible and cover the ham when cold with it, it will
prevent its becoming dry.
To Boil a Ham.
Time, four or five hours. Well soak the ham in a large
quantity of water for twenty-four hours, then trim and scrape
it very clean, put it into a large stewpan with more than suffi-
cient water to cover it; put in a blade of mace; a few cloves,
a sprig of thyme and two bay leaves. Boil it four or five hours,
according to its weight; and when done, let it become cold in
the liquor in which it wf s boiled. Then remove the rind care-
fully without injuring the fat, press a cloth over it to absorb
as much of the grease as possible, and shake some bread-rasp-
ings over the fat, or brush it thickly over with glaze. Serve
52
it cold, garnished with parsley, or aspic jelly in the dish. Orna-
ment the knuckle with a paper frill and vegetable flowers.
To Bake a Ham.
Time, four hours. Take a medium sized ham and place it
to soak for ten or twelve hours. Then cut away the msty part
from underneath, wipe it dry, and cover it rather thickly over
with a paste :of flour and water. Put it into an earthen dish,
and set it in a moderately heated oven for four hours. When
done, take off the crust carefully and peel off the skin, put a
frill of cut paper round the knuckle, and raspings of bread over
the fat of the ham, or serve it glazed, and garnished with cut
vegetables.
To Boil a Leg of Pork.
Time, a quarter of an hour for each pound, and half an
hour over. Procure a nice small compact leg of pork, rub it
well with salt, and let it remain for a week in pickle, turning
and rubbing the pickle into it once a day. Let it lie for half
an hour in cold water before it is dressed to improve the color;
then put it into a large pot or stewpan and well cover it with
water. Let it boil gradually, and skim frequently as the scum
rises. On no account let it boil fast, or the meat will be hard-
ened, and the knuckle end will be done before the thick part.
When done, serve it on a hot dish with a garnish of turnips
or parsnips.
To Boil Bacon.
Time, one hour and a half for two or three pounds. If very
salt, soak it in soft water two hours before cooking. Put it into
a saucepan with plenty of water and let it boil gently. If a
fine piece of the gammon of bacon, it may, when done, have
the skin, as in hams, stripped off, and have finely powdered
bread-raspings strewed over it.
Ham.
Boil the ham till well cooked. Take it out of the water and
drain till cold. When cold remove the outside skin and make
slight incisions in the fat on the top of ham with a knife.
Sprinkle three or four tablespoonfuls of powdered moist sugar
over the top of the ham. Roast in oven for twenty minutes,
basting about every five minutes with a pint of cooking sherry.
Remove from the oven while doing so, using the sherry enough
at a time to baste thoroughly with it.
53
Pig's Tongues.
Partially boil the tongue in order to remove the skin. Pickle
them as you would pickle a ham; lay them one on the top of
each other under a heavy weight. Cover the pan in which you
place them, and let them remain for a week, then dry them, and
put them into sausage skins. Fasten them up at the ends and
smoke them.
To Roast a Pig's Head.
Time to roast, half an hour. Boil it tender enough to take
the bones out. Then chop some sage fine, mix it with the
pepper and salt, and rub it over the head. Hang it on the split,
and roast it at a good fire. Baste it well. Make a good gravy
and pour over it. Apple sauce is eaten with it.
Pig's Head Boiled.
Time, one hour and a half.- This is the more, profitable dish,
though not so pleasant to the palate; it should first be salted,
which is usually done by the pork butcher; it should be boiled
gently. Serve with vegetables.
Pig's Cheek.
Time, three-quarters of an hour. Boil and trim in the
shape of ham, and if very fat carve it as a cockle-shell; glaze
it well, or put over it bread crumbs and brown them.
To Fricassee Pork.
Cut a small sparerib or chine of pork into pieces, cover
with water and stew until tender; remove the meat and flavor
the gravy with salt, pepper, and thicken with a little flour.
Serve in a deep dish, in the gravy, and garnish the dish with
rice.
Ham and Eggs.
Chop finely some cold boiled ham, fat and lean together,
say a pound to four eggs; put a piece of butter in the pan, then
the ham; let it get well warmed through, then beat the eggs
light; stir them in briskly.
Corned Pork.
Time, four hours. It should be soaked a few hours before
boiling, then washed and scraped, and put into fresh water.
It must not be boiled fast, but put into cold water and grad-
ually warmed through; skim frequently while boiling.
A leg or shoulder weighing seven or eight pounds should
54
boil slowly for four hours. When taken up it must be skinned
carefully, though some prefer the skin remaining on, as it loses
much of the juice by skinning. It is very nice cold.
Pork Chops.
Time, fifteen minutes. Cut the chops about half an inch
thick, and trim them neatly; put a frying-pan on the fire, with
a bit of butter; as soon as it is hot, put in your chops, turning
them often till brown all over; a few minutes before they are
done, season with powdered sage, pepper and salt.
Ham Toast.
Mix with one tablespoonful of finely chopped or grated ham,
the beaten-up yolk of an egg, and a little cream and pepper;
heat over the fire, and then spread the mixture either on hot
buttered toast, or on slices of bread fried quite crisp in butter;
serve very hot.
Saveloys.
Time, half an hour to bake. Remove the skin and bone
from six pounds of young pork, and salt it with one ounce of
saltpetre and one pound of common salt; let it stand in the
pickle for three days and then mince it up very fine, and season
it with three teaspoonfuls of pepper and twelve sage leaves
chopped as small as possible; add to it one pound of grated
bread, and mix it all well together; fill the skins and bake
them in a slow oven for half an hour. They may be eaten hot
or cold.
MEAT PIES AND PUDDINGS.
We give general directions on this most important art.
First, the cook should have smooth cold hands very clean
for making paste or crust. She should wash them well and
plunge them in cold water for a minute or two in hot weather,
drying them well afterwards before beginning her paste.
Be very careful about the proper heat of the oven for baking
pies, as if it be too cold the paste will be heavy and have a
dull look; if too hot, the crust will burn before the pie is
done.
Try if the oven is hot enough by holding your hand inside
it for a few seconds; if you can do so without snatching it out
again quickly, it is too cold; it is best, however, to try it by
baking a little piece of the crust in it first.
Always make a small hole with the knife at the top of the
55
pie to allow the gases generated in it by the cooking to escape.
This aperture is also useful for pouring gravy into the pie when
it is done, if more is required.
To Clarify Beef Dripping.
Put the dripping into a basin, pour over it some boiling
water, and stir it round with a silver spoon; set it to cool, and
then remove the dripping from the sediment, and put it into
basins or jars for use in a cool place. Clarified dripping may
be used for frying and basting everything excepting game or
poultry, as well as for pies, etc.
To Make a Short Crust With Dripping.
One pound of flour, three-quarters of a pound of clarified
beef dripping, one wineglassful of very cold water, a pinch of
salt.
Take care that the water you use is cold, especially in sum-
mer. Put the flour, well dried, into a large basin (which should
be kept for the purpose) with a pinch of salt; break up the
clarified beef dripping into pieces and mix them well with the
flour, rubbing both together until you have a fine powder. Then
make a hole in the middle of the flour and pour in water
enough to make a smooth and flexible paste. Sprinkle the
pasteboard with flour, and your hands also, take out the lump
of paste, roll it out, fold it together again and roll it out
i. e., roll it three times, the last time it should be of the thick-
ness required for your crust, that is, about a quarter of an inch,
or even thinner. It is then ready for use.
Common Puff Paste.
Put one pound of sifted flour on the slab, or in an earthen
basin; make a hollow in the center, work into it a quarter of
a pound of lard and half a teaspoonful of salt. When it is
mixed through the flour, add as much cold water as will bind
it together, then a little flour over the pasteboard or table;
flour the rolling-pin, and roll out the paste to half an inch in
thickness; divide half a pound of butter in three parts, spread
one evenly over the paste, fold it up, dredge a little flour over
it and the paste-slab or table, roll it out again, spread another
portion of the butter over, and fold and roll again, so continue
until all the butter is used; roll it out to a quarter of an inch
in thickness for use.
56
Suet Crust for Puddings.
One pound of flour, six ounces of beef suet, a cupful of cold
water. Strip the skin from the suet, chop it as fine as possible,
rub it well into the flour, mix it with a knife, work it to a very
smooth paste with a cupful of water and roll it out for use.
Game Pie.
Time to bake, about two hours. "Raise" a crust to a size
corresponding with the quantity of your game. Cut with a
sharp knife the flesh from the best parts; keep each kind
separate, and set them aside for a moment. Then split the
heads, break the bones, and put them with the inferior parts
into a stewpan, with a roasted onion, a carrot, a teaspoonful of
salt, twenty black peppercorns, sprigs of winter savory, mar-
joram, lemon and common thyme, two bay leaves, half a clove
of garlic and half a pound of gravy beef. Stew in a very little
water (according to the quantity of the meat) five hours. When
done, skim and strain, and set it aside to cool. Line the whole
of your raised crust with a thin layer of short paste, then a
layer of fat bacon or ham cut in thin slices. Now put in your
different kinds of game in layers, not round, but from the
bottom, filling up the corners and crevices with forcemeat
stuffing. Having mixed together two teaspoonfuls of salt, have
a teaspoonful of cayenne, and half a grated nutmeg; sprinkle
a little of them over each layer. Finish the filling with a layer
of ham or bacon; put over it a layer of the short paste; then
cover with the raised crust. Pinch round the sides, ornament
by crimping leaves set according to fancy, and bake in a mod-
erate oven an hour, an hour and a half or two hours, according
to size. When both pie and gravy are nearly cold put the
point of a funnel into the small hole (which, by the way, you
must make in the top of the pie before you bake it), and gently
pour through it the gravy you have prepared.
Potato Patsy.
Time, nearly two hours. Cut about a pound and a half
of beefsteak into thin slices, season it with pepper and salt to
taste, lay it at the bottom of a Pedro-pan, and put small pieces
of butter on the top, pour in a large cupful of stock or gravy
and put in the perforated plate. Mash some fine mealy potatoes
with a few spoonfuls of milk, and fill up the whole space to
the top of the tube of the pan, press the potato down, and
mark it with a knife in any form you please. Bake it in a
57
moderate oven a delicate color. Send it to the table with a
folded napkin round it and when served lift up the plate off
potatoes.
Plain Beefsteak Pie.
Time, one hour and a half. Cut two and a half pounds of
steak into small pieces with a very little fat, dip each piece into
flour, place them in a pie-dish, seasoning each layer with pepper,
salt and a very little cayenne pepper, fill the dish sufficiently
with slices of steak to raise the crust in the middle, half fill
the dish with water or any gravy left from roast beef, and a
spoonful of Worcestershire sauce; put a border of paste round
the wet edge of the pie dish; moisten it and lay the crust over
it. Cut the paste even with the edge of the pie dish all round,
ornament it with leaves of paste, and brush it over with the
beaten yolk of an egg. Make a hole with a knife in the top, and
bake it in a hot oven.
Mutton Pie.
Time to bake, one hour and a half or two hours. Strip the
meat from the bones of a loin of mutton without dividing it,
and cut it into nice thin slices, and season them with pepper and
salt; put a pie crust round the edge of a pie-dish, place in it
a layer of mutton, then one of forcemeat, and again the slices
of mutton with three or four halves of kidneys at equal dis-
tances; then pour in a gravy made from the bones seasoned
and well cleared from fat. Moisten the edge with water. Cover
with a paste half an inch thick; press it round with your thumbs,
make a hole in the center, and cut the edges close to the dish,
ornament the top and border according to your taste, and
bake it.
Veal and Oyster Pie.
Time to bake, one hour and a half. Cut a pound and a
half of veal into small neat cutlets, and spread over each a
thin layer of minced or pounded ham, season them with pepper,
salt, and grated lemon peel, and roll each cutlet round. Line
the edge of a pie-dish with a good paste, put a layer of rolled
veal at the bottom, over the veal a layer of oysters, then of veal,
and the oysters on the top; make a gravy with a cupful of weak
gravy or broth, the peel of half a lemon, the oyster liquor
strained, and a seasoning of peper and salt; cover a crust over
the top; ornament it in any way approved, egg it over, and
bake it in a moderate oven. When done, more gravy may be
58
added by pouring it through the hole on the top through a
funnel, and replacing an ornament on it after the gravy is
added.
Cheshire Pork Pie.
Time, one hour and a half. Take the skin and fat from a
loin of pork, and cut it into thin steaks; season them with
pepper, salt and nutmeg; line a pie-dish with paste, put in a
layer of pork, then of pippins pared and cored, and about two
ounces of sugar; then place in another layer of pork, and half
a pint of white wine, and lay some butter on the top; cover
it over with puff paste, pass a knife through the top to leave
an opening, cut the paste even with the dish, egg it once
and bake it.
A Plain Rabbit Pie.
Time to bake, one hour and a quarter. Skin and wash
a fine large rabbit; cut it into joints and divide the head. Then
place it in warm water to soak until thoroughly clean; drain
it on a sieve, or wipe it with a clean cloth. Season it with
pepper and salt, a sprig of parsley chopped fine, and one shallot
if the flavor is liked (but it is equally good without it). Cut
the bacon into small pieces, dredge the rabbit with flour, and
place it with the bacon in a pie-dish, commencing with the in-
ferior parts of the rabbit. Pour in a small cupful of water, or
stock if you have it; put a paste border round the edges of
the dish, and cover it with a puff paste about half an inch
thick. Ornament and glaze the top, make a hole in the center
and bake it.
A Plain Pigeon Pie.
Time to bake, one hour and a quarter. Lay a rim of paste
round the sides and edge of a pie-dish, sprinkle a little pepper
and salt over the bottom and put in a thin beefsteak; pick and
draw the pigeons, wash them clean, cut off the feet, and press
the legs into the sides; put a bit of butter and a seasoning of
pepper and salt in the inside of each, and lay them in the dish
with their breasts upwards, and the necks and gizzrads between
them; sprinkle some pepper and salt over them and put in a
wine glass of water; lay a thin sheet of paste over the top, and
with a brush wet it all over; then put a puff paste half an inch
thick over that, cut it close to the dish, brush it over with
egg, ornament the top, and stick four of the feet out of it and
bake it. When done, pour in a little good gravy. You may
put in the yolks of six hard-boiled eggs, or leave out the beef-
steak, if you think proper.
59
Veal and Ham Patties.
Time, a quarter of an hour. Chop about six ounces of
ready dressed lean veal, and three ounces of ham, very small,
put it into a stewpan with an ounce of butter rolled in flour,
a tablespoonful of cream, the same of veal stock, a little grated
nutmeg and lemon peel, some cayenne pepper and salt, a spoon-
ful of essence of ham and lemon juice. Mix all well together
and stir it over the fire until quite hot, taking care it does not
burn. Bake them in a hot oven for a quarter of an hour; fill
with the mixture and serve.
Moulded Veal, or Veal Cakes.
Time, half an hour to bake. Slices of cold roast veal;
slices of ham; three eggs; some gravy; two sprigs of parsley;
pepper and salt. Cut a few slices of ham and veal very thin,
taking off the skin from the veal, chop two sprigs of parsley fine,
and cut the eggs hard-boiled into slices. Take any nice shaped
mould, butter it, and put the veal, ham, eggs and parsley in
layers until the mould is full, seasoning each layer with a little
pepper and salt, placing a few slices of egg at the bottom of
the mould at equal distances, fill up with good stock and bake
it. When cold turn it out, and serve on a folded napkin, gar-
nished with flowers cut out of carrots, turnips, and a little
parsley.
Beefsteak Pudding.
Time to boil, about two hours. Put a pound, or a little
more, of flour in a basin, and mix it thoroughly with some very
finely chopped suet; put in a good heaped salt spoonful of salt.
Mix it to a paste with water; flour the pasteboard, the roller
and your hands. Take out the lump of paste and roll it out
about half an inch thick. Butter a round-bottomed pudding-
basin, line it with paste, turning a little over the edge. Cut
up the steak into small pieces, with a little fat, flour them
slightly, season them highly with peper and salt, then lay them
in the basin, pour over them a gill of water. Roll out the rest
of the paste, cover it over the top of the basin, pressing it
down with the thumb. Tie the basin in a floured pudding-cloth,
and put it in a saucepan in a gallon of boiliug water, keep it
continually boiling for nearly two hours, occasionally adding a
little more water. Take it up, untie the cloth, turn the pudding
over on the dish, and take the basin carefully from it. Serve.
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Beefsteak and Kidney Pudding.
Time, to boil two hours. Take a pound of nice tender beef
and beef kidney, cut them into pieces about a quarter of an inch
thick, season them with pepper and salt, and dredge a little
flour over them. Lightly butter a round-bottomed pudding
basin, roll out the paste to about half an inch in thickness and
line the basin, then put in the beef and kidney, pour in three
or four tablespoonfhls of water, cover a piece of paste over
the top, press it firmly together with your thumb, then tie the
pudding basin in a floured cloth, and put it into a saucepan
with four quarts of water; keep it constantly boiling, adding
more boiling water if required.
Mutton Pudding.
Time to boil, rather more than two hours. Make a paste
as for beefsteak pudding. Cut the meat in slices, season it with
the herbs, pepper, and salt. Put a layer of meat in the basin,
then one of slices of raw potatoes, till the basin is full. Cover
it with the crust, tie it in a floured cloth and boil it in sufficient
water.
Veal Pudding.
Time, one hour to boil. Cut about two pounds of lean veal
into small collops a quarter of an inch in thickness, put a
piece of butter the size of an egg into a very clean frying-pan
to melt, then lay in the veal and a few slices if bacon, a small
sprig of thyme, and a seasoning of pepper and salt, place the
pan over a slow fire for about ten minutes, then add two or three
spoonfuls of warm water. Just boil it up, and then let it stand
to cool. Line a pudding basin with a good suet crust, lay in the
veal and bacon, pour the gravy over it, roll out a piece of paste
to form a lid, place it over, press it close with the thumb, tie
the basin in a pudding cloth, and put it into a saucepan of boiling
water, keeping it continually boiling until done.
Rabbit Pudding.
Time, two hours to boil. Cut a small rabbit into small
neat pieces, and have ready a few slices of bacon or ham. Line
a basin with a good suet crust. Lay in the pieces of rabbit
with the bacon or ham intermixed, season to your taste with
pepper and salt, and pour in a cupful of water. Cover the crust
over the top, press it securely with the thumb and finger, and
boil it.
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Suet Pudding.
Time, to boil one hour and a quarter. Mix one pound of
flour very dry with half a pound of finely chopped suet, add
eggs and a pinch of salt; make it into a paste with the water,
beating it all rapidly together with a wooden spoon. Flour a
pudding cloth, put the paste into it, tie the cloth tightly, and
plunge it into the boiling water. The shape may be either a
roll or a round ball. When it is done, untie the cloth, turn the
pudding out, and serve very hot.
POULTRY.
To Roast Wild Fowl.
The flavor is best preserved without stuffing. Put pepper,
salt and a piece of butter into each. Wild fowl require much
less dressing than tame. A rich brown gravy should be sent
in the dish; and when the breast is cut into slices, before
taking off the bone, a squeeze of lemon, with pepper and salt,
is a great improvement to the flavor. To take off the fishy
taste which wild fowl sometimes have, put an onion, salt, and
hot water into the dripping pan and baste them for the first
ten minutes with this; then take away the pan and baste con-
stantly with butter.
To Roast a Turkey.
Pluck the bird carefully and singe off the down with lighted
paper, break the leg bone close to the foot and hang up the
bird and draw out the strings from the thigh. Never cut the
breast; make a slit down the back of the neck and take out the
crop that way, then cut the neck bone close, and after the
bird is stuffed the skin can be turned over the back and the
crop will look full and round. Cut around the vent, making
the opening as small as possible, and draw carefully, taking
care that the gall bag and the gut joining the gizzard are not
broken. Open ttie gizzard and remove the contents and detach
the liver from the gall bladder. The liver, gizzard and heart,
if used in the gravy, will need to be boiled an hour and a half
and chopped as fine as possible. Wash the turkey and wipe
thoroughly dry, inside and out; then fill the inside with stuff-
ing and either sew the skin of the neck over the back or
fasten it with a small skewer. Sew up the opening at the vent;
then run a long skewer into the pinion and thigh through the
body, passing it through the opposite pinion and thigh. Put
62
a skewer in the small part of the leg, close on the outside of
the sidesman, and push it through. Pass a string over the
points of the skewers and tie it securely at the back.
Dredge well with flour, and cover the breast with nicely
buttered white paper, place on a grating in the dripping pan
and put in the oven to roast. Baste every fifteen minutes a
few times with butter and water, and afterward with gravy in
the dripping pan. Do not have too hot an oven. A turkey
weighing ten pounds will require nearly three hours to bake.
Stew the giblets in just water enough to cover them, and when
the turkey is lifted from the pan, add these (chopped very fine)
with the water in which they were boiled, to the drippings;
thicken with browned flour, boil up once and pour into the
gravy boat. If the dripipngs are too fat, skim well before
putting in the giblets. Serve with cranberry sauce, currant or
apple jelly.
Roast Goose.
Geese and ducks, if old, are better parboiled before they
are roasted. Put them on in sufficient water to cover them, and
simmer about two hours. Make a stuffing with four onions, one
ounce of green sage, chopped fine, a large cupful of stale bread-
crumbs and the same of mashed potatoes, one teaspoonful of
butter, a little pepper and salt, and one unbeaten egg; mix
them well together and stuff the body of the goose; then place
in the oven and bake about an hour and a half. Serve with
apple sauce.
Roast Pigeons.
When cleaned and ready for roasting, fill the bird with a
stuffing of bread-crumbs, a spoonful of butter, a little salt and
nutmeg, and three oysters to each bird (some prefer chopped
apple). They must be well basted with melted butter, and
require thirty minutes' careful cooking. In the autumn they
are best, and should be full grown.
Roast Duck.
Prepare your duck for roasting and use the following stuff-
ing: Chop fine and throw into cold water three good-sized
onions, one large spoonful of sage, two of bread-crumbs, a piece
of butter the size of a walnut, a little salt and pepper, and the
onions drained. Mix well together, and stuff the duck.
An hour is enough for an ordinary sized duck. The gravy
is made by straining the dripping; skim off the fat, then stir in
a large spoonful of browned flour, a teaspoonful of mixed mus-
tard, a wineglassful of claret. Simmer for ten minutes.
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Boiled Turkey.
Prepare your turkey as for roasting; put it in a cloth and
boil it slowly, if from eight to nine pounds, an hour and a half.
Throw into the water a few cloves, a little black pepper, sweet
marjoram and salt. It is to be served with oysters. Skim the
turkey well while boiling or it will not be white.
Chicken Fricassee.
Time, three hours and a quarter. Prepare a couple of nice
chickens; joint them, dividing the wings, side, breast and back-
bone, and let them lie in salt and water half an hour, remove
them then to a stewpan, with half a pound of good, sweet salt
pork, cut up in pieces; barely cover with water, and simmer on
top of the stove or range for three hours; when sufficiently
tender, take out the chicken, mix a tablespoonful of flour
smoothly* with cold milk, and add a little fine dried or chopped
parsley, sage and thyme or summer savory, and stir gradually
into the liquor; keep stirring till it boils; season with pepper
and salt to taste; and then put back the chicken and let it boil
up for a few moments in the gravy; garnish with the green
tops of celery.
Chicken Pot Pie.
Time, one hour. Divide the chicken into pieces at the
joints; boil until part done, or about twenty minutes, then take
it out. Fry two or three slices of fat salt pork, and put in the
bottom, then place the chicken on it with three pints of water,
two ounces of butter, a teaspoonful of pepper, and cover over
the top with a light crust, made the same as for biscuit.
Ragout of Ducks.
Put. the gizzards, livers, necks, etc., into a pint of good
strong beef broth, or other well seasoned stock. Season the
ducks inside with salt and mixed spices. Brown them on all
sides in a frying pan, and then stew them till tender in a
strained stock. When nearly ready thicken the sauce with
browned flour and butter.
Chicken Jelly.
Boil a pair of chickens until you can pull the meat from the
bones; remove all the meat and allow the bones to boil half an
hour longer; stand this in a cool place and it will become
jellied; the next day cut the meat into small pieces, melt the
jelly and throw it in; then add two tablespoonfuls of Worces-
tershire sauce, two of walnut sauce, one tablespoonful of salt,
64
a pinch of powdered mace, cloves, and allspice; slice ten hard-
boiled eggs and two lemons; line a large bowl or form with
these slices, then pour in the mixture and let it stand in a cool
place, but not to freeze. The water should just cover the
chickens when put to boil. This is a very ornamental dish and
keeps for a long time.
To Hash Ducks.
Nothing tastes better than a fat roast duck. Cat it into
pieces as in carving at table, skin and soak these by the side
of the fire in a little boiling gravy till thoroughly hot. Add a
small glass of wine and a sufficient quantity of mixed spices
to give the sauce a high relish.
Chicken Salad.
Boil a chicken; do not chop very fine; cut up one bunch of
celery, the size of a cent; to make the dressing, wash smooth
the yolk of a hard-boiled egg, one teaspoonful of salt, one or
two tablespoonfuls of made mustard; stir in slowly four table-
spoonfuls of sweet oil, then two tablespoonfuls of vinegar; pour
over the chicken and celery.
Chicken Croquettes.
One large chicken, two sweet-breads, wine glass of cream,
one loaf baker's stale bread. Cook chicken and sweet-bread
separately, saving the chicken broth. Chop chicken, meat and
sweet-bread finely together, season with pepper, salt, parsley,
and half a teaspoonful grated onion. Rub the bread into crumbs
until you have equal quantities of crumbs and meat. Place over
the fire as much of the chicken broth as will moisten well the
crumbs, into which stir the cream, and butter size of an egg.
When it boils, stir in crumbs until they adhere to the spoon.
Add meat, and, when cold, two well-beaten eggs. Mold into
rolls, with your hands, roll them in crumbs and fry in hot lard,
like doughnuts.
Chicken Pie.
Cut the chicken in pieces and parboil for three-quarters of
an hour. Remove the chicken and add to the water in which it
is boiled a little salt, pepper and a teacupful of milk thickened
with a tablespoonful of flour. Line a deep dish with nice paste,
put in the chicken and turn over it the gravy which you have
prepared. Cover it with paste immediately; make a small hole
in the center; ornament with strips of paste, and bake for forty-
five minutes.
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Boiled Fowl or Chicken.
They should be cleaned and stuffed as for roasting. A young
fowl requires an hour; if tough and old, three hours. A chicken
will boil in three-quarters of an hour. They may be served with
oyster, caper or egg sauce.
Stewed Chicken.
Divide a chicken into pieces by the joints, and put into a
stewpan, with salt, pepper, some parsley and thyme; pour in a
quart of water, with a piece of butter; and when it has stewed
an hour and a half, take the chickens out of the pan. If there
is no gravy, put in another piece of butter, add some water and
flour, and let it boil a few minutes. When done, it should not
be quite as thick as drawn butter. For the dumplings: Take
one quart of sifted flour, one teaspoonful of salt, two of cream
of tartar and one of soda; mix with milk and form into biscuit;
place them upon a tin in a steamer over the kettle where the
chicken is boiling. They will steam in twenty minutes. You
can rub a little butter in the flour, if you wish them very nice.
To Cook Poultry.
All kinds of poultry and meat can be cooked quicker by
adding to the water in which they are boiled a little vinegar or
a piece of lemon. By the use of a little acid there will be a
considerable saving of fuel, as well as shortening of time. Its
action is beneficial on old tough meats, rendering them quite
tender and easy of digestion. Tainted meats and fowls will
lose their bad taste and odor if cooked in this way, and if not
used too freely no taste of it will be acquired.
Roast Rabbit.
Time, three-quarters of an hour. Procure a fine large rab-
bit, and truss it in the same manner as a hare; fill the paunch
with veal stuffing, and roast it before a bright clear fire for
three-quarters of an hour, if a large one basting it well with
butter. Before serving mix a spoonful of flour with four of
milk, stir into it the yolks of two well-beaten eggs, and season
with a little grated nutmeg, pepper and salt; baste the rabbit
thickly with this, to form a light coating over it. When dry,
baste it with butter to froth it up, and when done place it care-
fully in a dish, and pour round it some brown gravy boiled up
with the liver minced, and a little grated nutmeg. Serve with
gravy in a tureen, and red jelly.
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To Blanch Rabbits, Fowls, etc.
To blanch or whiten a rabbit or fowl it must be placed on
the fire in a small quantity of water, and let boil. As soon as
it boils it must be taken out and plunged into cold water for a
few minutes.
Boiled Rabbit.
Time (medium size), three-quarters of an hour. When the
rabbit is trussed for boiling, put it into a stewpan and cover
it with hot water, and let it boil very gently until tender. When
done place it on a dish, and smother it with onions, or with
parsley and butter, or liver sauce, should the flavor of onion not
be liked. If liver sauce is to be served, the liver must be
boiled for ten minutes, minced very fine and added to the butter
sauce. An old rabbit will require quite an hour to boil it thor-
oughly.
To Fricasee Rabbits Brown.
Time, three-quarters of an hour. Take two young rabbits,
cut them in small pieces, slit the head in two, season them with
pepper and salt, dredge them with flour, and fry them a nice
brown in fresh butter. Pour out the fat from the stewpan,
and put in a pint of gravy, a bunch of sweet herbs, half a pint
of fresh mushrooms, if you have them, and three shallots chop-
ped fine; season with pepper and salt, cover them close, and
let them stew for half an hour. Then skim the gravy clean,
add a spoonful of catsup and the juice of half a lemon. Take
out the herbs, and stir in a piece of butter rolled in flour, boil
it up till thick and smooth, skim off the fat, and serve the rab-
bits garnished with lemon.
To Truss Woodcocks, Snipes, etc.
Pluck and wipe them very clean outside; truss them with
the legs very close to the body, and the feet pressing upon
thighs; skin the head and neck, and bring the beak under the
wink.
CURING BACON, HAMS, ETC. POTTING, ETC.
Great care must be taken in preparing the meat for salting.
It must be carefully examined to see that it is fresh and good,
then wiped, sprinkled with salt, and afterwards left to drain a
few hours before it is rubbed with the salt. The meat will thus
be thoroughly cleansed from the blood, which will prevent it
from turning and tasting strong. It should then be placed in
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the pickling pan and turned every morning, also it should be
rubbed with the pickle. The cover of the pickling pan should
fit very close and have a weight on it to keep it down. If a
large quantity of salt meat is frequently required, the pickle
may be boiled up, skimmed well, and when cold poured over
any meat that has been sprinkled and well drained, as above
directed.
To Cure Bacon.
Time, three weeks. Take one pound of saltpetre, one pound
of bay salt, one gallon of coarse salt, one pound of salprunella,
one pound of moist sugar.
Pound the salprunella and bay salt very fine, mix the coarse
salt and the sugar well together, and rub it into your bacon,
hams, and cheeks, putting all in the same brine. Turn and rub
the bacon every day for a week; afterward, every other day.
Let it remain in the brine three weeks, and then send it to be
smoked or dried. Large sides of bacon take a month to dry,
small ones three weeks.
To Cure Hams.
For two large hams, one pound of common salt, three ounces
of bay salt, two ounces of saltpetre, one pound of coarse brown
sugar, one quart of stale strong beer or ale.
Boil all the above ingredients in the quart of beer or ale, and
when cold pour it on the hams and turn them every day for a
fortnight, then smoke them well.
To Pot Beef.
Time, three hours and a half. Take a piece of lean beef
and free it from the skin and gristle, put it into a covered jar
with three dessertspoonfuls of hot water and stand it in a deep
stewpan of boiling water to boil slowly for nearly four hours,
taking care that the water does not reach to the top of the jar.
When done, take it out, mince it fine and pound it in a mortar
with a seasoning of pepper, salt and pounded mace. When
smooth and like a thick paste, mix in some clarified butter, and
very little of the gravy from the jar, press it into pots, pour
butter over the tops, and tie down for use.
To Pickle Pork.
Take one-third of saltpetre, two-thirds of white salt. Some
people prefer pork pickled with salt alone (legs especially),
others in the following manner: Put a layer of salt at the bot-
tom of a tub; then mix the salt and saltpetre beaten; cut the
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pork in pieces, rub it well with the salt and lay it close in the
tub, with a layer of salt between every layer of pork till the tub
is full. Have a cover just large enough to fit the inside of the
tub, put it on, and lay a great weight at the top and as the salt
melts it will keep it close. When you want to use it, take a
piece out, cover the tub over again, and it will keep good a
long time.
Potted Ox-Tongue.
Cut about a pound and a half from an unsmoked boiled
tongue, remove the rind. Pound it in a mortar as fine as pos-
sible with six ounces of butter and a small spoonful each of
mace, nutmeg, and cloves beaten fine. When perfectly pounded
and the spice well blended with the meat, press it into small
potting-pans and pour clarified butter over the top. A little
roast veal added to the potted tongue is an improvement.
Hams, Tongues, and Beef, Yorkshire Fashion.
Take one pound and a half of ham sugar, two ounces of salt-
petre, one pound of common salt, half a pound of bay salt, two
ounces of pepper.
The meat should be well rubbed over night with common salt
and well rubbed in the morning with the above ingredients. If
hams, they should be rubbed before the fire every day and
turned.
Potted Fowl and Ham.
Cut all the meat from a cold fowl and remove the bones,
skin, etc., then cut it into shreds, with a quarter of a pound of
lean ham and six ounces of butter, the pepper, salt, nutmeg and
cayenne, and pound it all in a mortar until reduced to a smooth
paste. Then mix it thoroughly together, fill the potting-pots,
pour over them a thick layer of clarified butter, and tie them
down with a bladder. Set them in a dry place and it will keep
good for some time. A little grated lemon peel is an improve-
ment to the fowl.
Potted Head.
Time, five or six hours. Take half an ox-head, and soak it
in salt and water. When well cleansed from the blood, put it
with two cow-heels into a large stewpan and cover them with
cold water. Set over the fire and let it boil till tender. Strain
the meat from the liquor, and when cold, cut the meat and
gristle into very small pieces. Take all the fat from the cold
liquor in which the meat, etc., was first boiled, put the mince
with it, and boil the whole slowly till perfectly tender and thick
69
enough to jelly; give it a quick boil, and put it in shapes. Be-
fore boiling the second time, add pepper and salt to your taste.
and a little pounded mace if approved.
Potted Herrings.
Time, two hours. Cut off the heads and tails of the fish,
clean, wash and dry them well, sprinkle them with pepper and
salt within and without, lay them in an earthen pan, and cover
them with white vinegar. Set them in an oven not too hot
(the roes at the top, but they are not to be eaten), till the
bones are quite soft, which will be in about two hours. Some
cut the fish down by the bone, so as to open them, and then roll
them up from the tail to the head. The bay leaves are an im-
provement, and a little water may be added to the vinegar if
preferred. Cover them with paper.
To Pot Lobsters.
Time, three-quarters of an hour to one hour to boil the lob-
ster. Take from a hen lobster the spawn, coral, flesh and pick-
ings of the head and claws, pound well and season with cayenne,
white pepper and mace, according to taste. Mix it to a firm
paste with good melted butter. Pound and season the flesh
from the tail and put it into a pot, and then fill with the other
paste. Cover the top of each put with clarified butter and keep
it in a cool place.
VEGETABLES, VEGETABLE PUREES, SALADS AND SALAD
MIXTURE.
Potato Croquettes.
Season cold mashed potatoes with pepper, salt and nutmeg.
Beat to a cream, with a tablespoonful of melted butter to every
cupful of potato. Add two or three beaten eggs and some
minced parsley. Roll into small balls; dip in beaten egg, then
in bread crumbs, and fry in hot lard.
Saratoga Fried Potatoes.
Peel good sized potatoes and slice them as evenly as pos-
sible. Drop them into ice water, have a kettle of very hot lard,
as for cakes, put a few at a time into a towel and shake, to dry
the moisture out of them and then drop them into the boiling
lard. Stir them occasionally and when of a light brown take
them out with a skimmer, and they will be crisp and not greasy.
Sprinkle salt over them while hot.
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Stewed Potatoes.
Boil the potatoes till tender; cut them in thick slices; take
a half a teaspoonful of flour, a little salt and butter and chopped
parsley, and a teacupful of milk; put them all together in a
saucepan and let them stew about twenty minutes.
Potato Cakes.
Roast some potatoes in the oven; when done skin and
pound in a mortar with a small piece of butter warmed in a
little milk; chop a shallot and a little parsley very finely, mix
well with the potatoes, add pepper and salt, shape into cakes,
egg and bread crumb them, and fry a light brown.
To Cook Salsify.
Scrape the root and put into cold water immediately; cut
into thin slices; boil tender, make a nice white sauce or drawn
butter and pour over, or boil to a mash; mix with butter, salt,
a little milk and pepper, add flour enough and mix as codfish
cakes, and fry in the same manner.
Egg Plant au Gratin.
Peel and cut them in slices lengthwise, arrange them in
layers on a well buttered tin (previously rubbed with garlic).
Put between the layers a sprinkling of fine bread crumbs, chop-
ped parsley, sweet herbs, pepper and salt to taste; pour over
them some liquified butter; add a sprinkling of grated cheese
and a few baked bread crumbs; bake in the oven and brown
with a salamander.
To Cook Spinach.
Wash and clean the spinach thoroughly from grit, then boil
it in salt and water; press the water entirely out of it and chop
it as fine as powder. A quarter of an hour before serving it
put it into a saucepan with a piece of butter mixed with a
tablespoonful of flour and half a tumblerful of boiling water,
some salt, pepper and nutmeg, and let it simmer fifteen minutes.
Serve with hard-boiled eggs on the top.
Escalloped Onions.
Take eight or ten onions of good size, slice them, and boil
till tender. Lay them in a baking dish, putting bread crumbs,
butter in small bits, pepper and salt between each layer, until
the dish is full, putting bread crumbs last; add milk or cream
until full. Bake twenty minutes or half an hour.
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Stewed Tomatoes.
Pour boiling water over the tomatoes, and remove the skins;
cut them in pieces and stew them without water, seasoning them
with butter and salt, and a little pepper if desired.
Tomatoes Fried.
Do not pare them, but cut in slices as an apple; dip in
cracker, pounded and sifted and fry in a little good butter.
Green Corn.
Time, twenty minutes. This should be cooked on the same
day it is gathered; it loses its sweetness in a few hours, and
must be artificially supplied. Strip off the husks, pick out all
the silk and put it in boiling water, if not entirely fresh, add
a tablespoonful of sugar to the water, but no salt; boil twenty
minutes, fast, and serve; or you may cut it from the cob, put
in plenty of butter and a little salt, and serve in a covered
vegetable dish.
Succotash.
Time, two hours. Cut off the corn from the cobs, and put
the cobs in just enough water to cover them and boil one hour;
then remove the cobs and put in the corn and stringbeans
(carefully prepared by breaking off both ends and stringing)
about one inch long; add a piece of salt pork and boil one
hour; when boiled add some cream, or milk, salt and pepper,
and butter.
Parsnip Fritters.
Time, one hour and a half to boil. Boil four or five par-
snips until tender, take off the skins and mash them very fine,
add to them a teaspoonful of flour, one egg, well beaten, and a
seasoning of salt. Make the mixture into small cakes with
a spoon, and fry them on both sides a delicate brown in boiling
butter or beef dripping; when both sides are done, serve them
up very hot on a napkin or hot dish, according to your taste.
To Serve Celery.
Wash the roots free from dirt, and cut off all the decayed
leaves; preserve as much of the stalk as you can, removing any
specks or discolored parts. Divide it lengthwise into quarters,
curl the top leaves, and place it with the roots downwards in
a celery glass nearly filled with cold water.
Stewed Celery.
Time, one hour and twenty minutes. Wash four heads of
celery very clean, take off the dead leaves, and cut away any
72
spots or discolored parts. Cut them into pieces about two
or three inches long, and stew them for nearly half an hour.
Then take them out with a slice, strain the water they were
stewed in, and add it to half a pint of veal gravy, mixed with
three or four tablespoonfuls of cream. Put in the pieces of
celery and let them stew for nearly an hour longer. Serve
with the sauce poured over.
To Dress Cucumbers.
Pare the cucumbers, commence cutting from the thick end,
using a sharp knife and as thin as possible, drop in a large
pan of cold water, wring them in the hands, squeezing out all
of the seeds (which will float); skim, or pour off the seeds,
and arrange on a large dish, dress with French dressing to
suit taste. This receipt makes them deliciously crisp.
Rice Croquettes.
One teacupful of rice; boil in a pint of milk and a pint
of water, when boiled and hot add a piece of butter the size
of an egg, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, two eggs, juice and
grated peel of one lemon; stir this up well, have ready the
yolks of two eggs, beaten on a plate, cracker crumbs on an-
other; make the rice in rolls and dip in the egg and crumbs;
fry them in butter; serve hot.
Young Beets Boiled.
Wash them very clean, but neither scrape nor cut them.
Put them in boiling water, and, according to their size, boil
them from one to two hours; take off the skin when done, and
put over them pepper, salt and a little butter. Beets are very
nice baked, but require a much longer time to cook.
Lima Beans.
Shell them into cold water; let them lie half an hour or
longer, put them into a saucepan with plenty of boiling water,
a little salt, and cook until tender. Drain and butter well and
pepper to taste.
Stringbeans.
Break off both ends and string carefully; if necessary, pare
both edges with a knife. Cut the beans in pieces an inch long
and put in cold water a few minutes. Drain and put them into
boiling water with a piece of bacon or salt pork. Boil quickly
for half an hour, or till tender. Drain in a colander and dish
with plenty of butter.
73
Fried Parsnips.
Boil until tender, scrape off the skin and cut in lengthwise
slices. Dredge with flour and fry in hot dripping, turning when
one side is browned.
Boiled Cabbage.
Take off the outer leaves, cut the head in quarters, and boil
in a large quantity of water until done. Drain and press out
the water, chop fine and season. Boil three-quarters of an hour,
or till tender. The water can be drained off when they are
half done, and fresh water added if desired.
Boiled Onions.
Skin them and soak them in cold water an hour or longer;
then put into a saucepan and cover with boiling water, well
salted; when nearly done, pour off the water, add a little milk,
and simmer till tender. Season with butter, pepper and salt.
Winter Squash.
Cut it in pieces, take out the seeds and pare as thin as
possible; steam or boil until soft and tender. Drain and press
well, then mash with butter, pepper, salt and a very little sugar.
Summer squash may be cooked the same way; if extremely
tender they need not be pared.
Hashed Browned Potatoes.
So frequently husbands who travel and enjoy certain dishes
as served in hotels and restaurants, request their wives at home
to attempt these potatoes. They are rather difficult to prepare,
but a little practice will reward one with success in the effort.
Chop two cold boiled potatoes fine, dust with salt and pepper;
put one tablespoonful of butter in the fryingpan, and when hot
add potatoes, spreading them out evenly. A quarter of a cup
of milk may be added or one-eighth teaspoon of kitchen bouquet,
if liked. Have only a moderate heat, let potatoes stand to
cook and brown for about ten or fifteen minutes without stir-
ring. Then fold and roll as you would an omelet, and turn
on a heated dish to serve very hot.
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Do not be deceived by those that tell you they can produce
something from nothing it is impossible.
The first thing is to procure "the best," and use it to the
best advantage.
Don't believe that you can give a luncheon for eight per-
sons Cost 95 cents with a menu as follows:
Anchovy Paste and Sliced Tomatoes on Toast
Bouillon with Marrowbone Dumplings
Macaroni Italienne
Marinated Round Steak, Breaded and Fried
Fried Potatoes Asparagus Salad
Individual Strawberry Shortcake
It is a Joke, a Dream, both as to menu and cost.
Follow your own ideas, make everything count, make the
table look attractive, strive to please, and you will succeed
in not only being a good housekeeper and cook, but make home
happy.
SALADS.
Yolk of one or two raw eggs; one or two young onions or
leeks; three tablespoonfuls of salad oil; one of vinegar; some
lettuce, and slices of beetroot, salt and mustard.
Take the yolk of one or two raw eggs, according to the
size of the salad you require, beat them up well, add a little
salt and mustard, and chop up one or two young onions or leeks
about the size of grass, then add the salad oil and the vinegar,
and beat the whole up into a thick sauce. Cut in the salad, and
put thin slices of beetroot at the top. Sprinkle a little salt over
it, and do not stir up till the moment you use it. For a small
salad three dessert spoonfuls of oil and one of vinegar will do.
Summer Salad.
Three lettuces, a good quantity of mustard and cress, some
young radishes, boiled beetroot, hard-boiled eggs. Wash and
carefully remove the decayed leaves from the lettuces and mus-
tard and cress, drain them well from the water, and cut them
and the radishes into small pieces, arrange them on a dish
lightly with the mustard and cress mixed with them, and any
of the salad mixtures you prefer poured under, not over, them.
Garnish with boiled beetroot, cucumbers and hard-boiled eggs cut
into slices, and some vegetable flowers. Slices of cold poultry,
or flaked fish may be added to a summer salad, and are ex-
tremely good.
75
Cold Slaugh.
Shave cabbage fine, scald half-pint vinegar, mix one small
teaspoonful cornstarch in two-thirds cupful of cream (or con-
densed milk a very little thinner), with one egg well beaten
and a little salt; pour the scalded vinegar on the mixture very
slowly, so as not to break the egg, then boil until thick; pour
hot on the cabbage; a few capers and olives will improve
the slaugh for those who are fond of such things. The above
is a very nice dish to eat, either with fried or escalloped oysters.
Potato Salad.
Six cold boiled potatoes, one medium-sized onion, sliced
thin into a tureen; first a layer of potato, then of onion, alter-
nately, until the dish is full; sprinkle with pepper and salt
occasionally while filling the dish; do the same on the top; put
on four tablespoorifuls of sweet cream; melt one-half cup of
butter or lard from fried pork, with half a pint of vinegar;
when boiling hot pour over the salad and it is ready to serve.
Lobster Salad.
Take one hen lobster, lettuces, endive, mustard and cress,
radishes, beetroot, cucumber, some hard-boiled eggs; pour the
salad mixture into the bowl, wash and dry the lettuces and en-
dive, and cut them fine; add them to the dressing, with the
pickings from the body of the lobster and part of the meat
from the shell cut into small pieces. Rub the yolks of two or
three hard-boiled eggs through a sieve, and afterward the coral
of the lobster, then place the salad very lightly in the bowl, and
garnish it with the coral, yolks of the hard-boiled eggs, sliced
beetroot, cucumber, radishes, and the pieces of lobster; place
as a border hard-boiled' eggs cut across, with the delicate leaves
of the celery and endive between them.
Combination Crab and Shrimp Salad.
One crab and one quart of shrimps, both picked, crisp let-
tuce, according to the size of the salad required; mince the
lettuce in a salad bowl, covering with pure olive oil, using
wooden spoon; when all oil is absorbed, add the crab and
shrimps, and pour over a French dressing, mix thoroughly and
serve on individual plates.
Aspics.
These are meat and vegetable jellies, easily made, and
makes a beautiful garnish for cold meats, salads, etc. As a
76
binding for mixed salads it L most attractive. For instance,
chicken and celery may be mixed together molded plain or in a
border, using enough aspics to hold them in shape.
It looks different than plain chicken salad. One tablespoon-
ful chopped onion, one tablespoonful chopped carrot, one salt
spoonful celery seed or a little chopped celery, one box of
gelatine (two ounces), one bay leaf, one quart of water, one
level teaspoonful of salt, one tablespoonful of vinegar or lemon
juice, and a dash of cayenne. Cover the gelatine with a half
cup of cold water to soak for a half hour. Put all the vege-
tables in the quart of water, bring slowly to boiling point, sim-
mer gently ten minutes; add seasonings; stir for a moment, add
the gelatine, take from the fire and strain through two thick-
nesses of cheese cloth; if made carefully and quickly this will
be brilliant and clear; if it boils too hard or boils too long it
will be clouded. Then add the white of an egg beaten, bring
to boiling point, boil rapidly for a moment, stand aside to settle
for five minutes and strain through flannel or cheesecloth, and
put aside to cool.
Sardine Canapes.
Spread circles of toast with sardines rubbed to paste with
creamed butter, seasoned with Worcestershire sauce and few
grains of cayenne. Place an olive in the center of each when
ready to serve.
The Chafing Dish.
At the present time every good wife should be familiar with
the chafing dish, as PO many easy and inexpensive dishes may be
prepared at the table, and often they are more appreciated
than when brought from the kitchen.
Little Pigs in Blankets.
Take one can of finest oysters, drain off the juice, wrap
each oyster in a strip of the finest thin-cut bacon you can
procure, using the small Japanese toothpick for a skewer; place
in a chafing dish and cook until edges of oysters ruffle, serve
with fine slices of toast.
Sweetbreads a-la-Bechamel.
Time, ten minutes; six persons. One pair of sweetbreads,
two tablespoonfuls of butter, two tablespoonfuls of flour, half
a cup of boiling water, half a cup of milk, half a cup of mush-
rooms, chopped, one level teaspoonful of salt, yolks of two
77
eggs, one salt spoonful of pepper, six tablespoonfuls of cream.
Parboil and pick apart the sweetbreads, rejecting the mem-
brane. Put the butter and flour in the chafing dish; add the
milk, salt and pepper; stir until boiling; add the sweetbreads
and mushrooms. Cover the dish while you beat the yolks of
the eggs and cream together; add these hastily and, when smok-
ing hot, serve.
Chicken, game or veal may be substituted for sweetbreads.
For Cooking Venison Steak in a Chafing Dish.
Have your steaks cut from the leg and about one inch
thick; trim them nicely, cutting off the outside skin and all
the stray bits, and lay two steaks in a chafing dish; the lamp,
of course, being ready for lighting. Prepare a gravy thus: Put
into a saucepan about a cupful of nice stock, small teaspoonful
of salt, half teaspoonful of black pepper, a little cayenne, a few
cloves and allspice, and let boil up; then stir into it a piece of
butter the size of an egg, in which one-half teaspoonful or less
of flour has been rubbed, and two tablespoonfuls of currant
jelly. When these are dissolved pour the gravy over the steaks;
light the lamp, and while the other dishes are being served
the steaks will cook; serve with currant jelly; it is exceedingly
palatable and digestive. Mutton is also good prepared in this
manner.
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USEFUL KITCHEN HINTS.
Time-Table for Boiling Meats and Fish.
Mutton, per pound, 15 minutes; Corned Beef, per pound,
30 minutes; Ham, per pound, 18 to 20 minutes; Turkey, per
pound, 15 minutes; Chicken, per pound, 15 minutes; Tripe, per
pound, 3 to 5 hours; Codfish, per pound, 6 minutes; Halibut, per
pound, 15 minutes; Bass, per pound, 10 minutes; Salmon, per
pound, 10 to 15 minutes; Small Fish, per pound, 6 minutes;
Lobster, per pound, 30 to 40 minutes.
Proportions.
Three to four eggs to one pint of milk for custards.
One salt spoonful of salt to one quart of milk for custards.
One teaspoonful of vanilla to one quart of milk for custards.
Two ounces of gelatine to one and three-quarters quarts of
liquid.
Four heaping teaspoonfuls cornstarch to one quart of milk.
Three heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder to one quart
of flour.
One teaspoonful of soda to one pint of sour milk.
One teaspoonful of soda to one pint of molasses.
One even teaspoonful of baking powder to one cup of flour.
One teaspoonful of baking powder is the equivalent of half
a teaspoonful of soda, or one teaspoonful of cream of tartar.
Tables of Weights and Measures.
Four gills, one pint: two pints, one quart; four quarts, one
gallon; sixteen ounces, one pound; one-half kitchen cupful, one
gill; one kitchen cupful, one-half pint or two gills; four kitchen
cupfuls, one quart; two cupfuls of granulated sugar or two and
one-half cupfuls of powdered sugar, one pound; one heaping tea-
spoonful of sugar, one ounce; one cupful of butter, one-half
pound; four cupfuls of flour or one heaping quart, one pound;
one heaping teaspoonful butter or butter the size of an egg, two
ounces or one-quarter cup; eight round teaspoonfuls of dry ma-
terial or sixteen teaspoonfuls of liquid, one cupful.
79
TO MAKE PASTES, PASTRY, PIES, ETC.
German Paste.
Take three-quarters of a pound of fine flour, put into it
half a pound of butter, the same of powdered sugar, and the
peel of a lemon grated; make a hole in the middle of the flour,
break in the yolks of two eggs, reserving the whites, which are
to be well beaten; then mix all well together. If the eggs do
not sufficiently moisten the paste, add half an eggshell of water.
Mix all thoroughly, but do not handle too much. Roll out thin,
and you may use it for all sorts of pastry. Before putting it
into the oven, wash over pastry with the white of the beaten
eggs, and shake over a little powdered sugar.
A Light Puff Paste.
Take one pound of sifted flour, one pound of fresh butter,
two teaspoonfuls of cream or tartar, one teaspoonful of soda,
a little water. Work one-fourth of the butter into the flour
until it is like sand, measure the cream of tartar and the soda,
rub it through a sieve, put it to the flour, add enough cold water
to bind it, and work it smooth; dredge flour over the paste-slab
or board, rub a little flour over the rolling-pin and roll the paste
to about half an inch in thickness; spread over the whole sur-
face one-third of the remaining butter, then fold it up, dredge
flour over the paste-slab and rolling-pin, and roll it out again,
then put another portion of the butter, and fold and roll again,
and spread on the remaining butter, and fold and roll for the
last time.
Very Rich Short Crust.
Break ten ounces of butter into a pound of flour dried and
sifted, add a pinch of salt and two ounces of loaf sugar rolled
fine. Make it into a very smooth paste as light as possible, with
two well-beaten eggs and sufficient milk to moisten the paste.
Paste for Custards.
Rub six ounces of butter into half a pound of flour. Mix
it well together and two beaten eggs and three tablespoonfuls
of cream. Let it stand a quarter of an hour, then work it up
and roll out very thin for use.
To Ice or Glaze Pastry or Sweet Dishes.
To ice pastry or any sweet dishes, break the whites of
some new-laid eggs into a large soup plate, and beat them with
the blade of a knife into a firm froth. When the pastry is nearly
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done, take it from the oven, brush it well over with the beaten
egg, and sift the powdered sugar over it in the above proportion.
Put it again into the oven to dry or set, taking care it is not
discolored; or beat the yolks of eggs and a little warm butter
well together, brush the pastry over with it when nearly baked,
sift pounded sugar thickly over it and put it into the oven to
dry. For raised or meat pies, the yolks of eggs must be used.
Red Currant and Raspberry Tart.
Time to bake, three-quarters of an hour. Take a pint and
a half of picked red currants, three-quarters of a pint of rasp-
berries, a quarter of a pound of moist sugar, half a pound of
puff-paste. Pick the currants and raspberries from their stalks,
mix them together in a pie dish with the moist sugar. Wet the
edge of the dish, place a band of puff-paste round it, wet that
also. Cover the top with puff-paste, pressing it round the edge
with your thumbs. Cut the overhanging edge off evenly, Then
scallop the edge by first chopping it in lines all round and then
giving them a little twist at regular intervals with the knife.
Take the edges you have cut off, flour them, roll them out, and
cut them into leaves to ornament the top. Edd it over and
bake it. When done, dredge it with white sugar and salaman-
der it.
Cherry Tart.
Time to bake, thirty-five to forty minutes. Take about one
pound and a half of cherries, half a pound of short crust, moist
sugar to taste. Pick the stalks from the cherries, put in a tiny
cup upside down in the middle of a deep pie dish, fill round
it with the fruit, and add moist sugar to taste. Lay some short
crust round the edge of the dish, put on the cover as directed
before, ornament the edges and bake it in a quick oven. When
ready to serve, sift some loaf sugar over the top.
Gooseberry Tart.
Time to bake, about three-quarters of an hour. Cut off the
tops and tails from a quart of gooseberries, put them into a
deep pie dish with five or six ounces of good moist sugar,
line the edge of the dish with short crust; put or. the cover,
ornament the edges and top in the usual manner, and bake
in a brisk oven. Serve with boiled custard or a jug of good
cream.
Cranberry Tart.
Time to bake, three quarters of an hour or one hour. Pick
a quart of cranberries free from all imperfections, put a pint
81
of water to them, and put them into a stewpan, add a pound of
fine brown sugar to them and set them over the fire to stew
gently until they are soft, then mash them with a silver spoon,
and turn them into pie dish to become cold. Put a puff-paste
round the edge of the dish, and cover it over with a crust; or
make an open tart in a flat dish with paste all over the bottom
of it and round the edge; put in the cranberries; lay cross
bars of paste over the top and bake.
Rhubarb Tart.
Time to bake, three-quarters of an hour to one hour. Cut
the large stalks from the leaves, strip off the outside skin and
cut the sticks into pieces half an inch long. Line a pie dish
with paste rolled rather thicker than a crown piece, put in a
layer of rhubarb, stew the sugar over it, then fill it up with the
other pieces of stalks, cover it with a rich puff-paste, cut a
slit in the center, trim off the edge with a knife and bake it
in a quick oven. Glaze the top or strew sugar over it.
Plain Apple Tart.
Time to bake, one hour, or if small, half an hour. Rub a
pie dish over with butter, line it with short pie crust rolled
thin, pare some cooking apples, cut them in small pieces, fill
the pie dish with them, strew over them a cupful of fine moist
sugar, three or four cloves or a little grated lemon peel, and
add a few spoonfuls of water, then cover with puff-paste crust,
trim off the edges with a sharp knife and cut a small slit at
each end, pass a gigling iron round the pie half an inch outside
the edge, and bake in a quick oven.
Open Apple Tart.
Time, to bake, in a quick oven until the paste loosens from
the dish. Peel and slice some cooking apples and stew them,
putting a small cupful of water and the same of moist sugar
to a quart of sliced apples, add half a nutmeg and the peel of
a lemon grated, when they are tender, set them to cool. Line
a shallow tin pie dish with rich pie paste or light puff-paste, put
in the stewed apples half an inch deep, roll out some of the
paste, wet it slightly over with the yolk of an egg beaten with
a little milk, and a tablespoonful of powdered sugar, cut it in
very narrow strips, and lay them in crossbars or diamonds across
the tart, lay another strip round the edge, trim off the outside
neatly with a sharp knife, and bake in a quick oven until the
paste loosens from the dish.
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Tartlets.
Time, fifteen to twenty minutes. Cut as many rounds
of rich puff-paste with a tin cutter as you require. Then cut
an equal number, and press a smaller cutter inside them to
remove the center and leave a ring. Moisten the rounds with
water and place the rings on them. Put them into a moderate
oven for ten or twelve minutes, and when done fill the center
with any preserve of apricot, strawberry or orange marmalade.
Stamp out a little of the paste rolled very thin into stars, etc.
Bake them lightly, and place one on top of each tartlet. Serve
them hot or cold.
Orange Tartlets.
Time to bake, fifteen to twenty minutes. Take out the pulp
from two oranges, boil the peels until quite tender, and then
beat them to a paste with twice their weight of pounded loaf
sugar; then add the pulp and the juice of the oranges with a
piece of butter the size of a walnut, beat all these ingredients
well together, line some patty-pans with rich puff-paste, lay the
orange mixture in them and bake them.
Lemon Puffs.
Time, six or eight minutes to bake. Beat and sift a pound
and a quarter of loaf sugar, and mix with it the peel of two
lemons grated, whisk the whites of three eggs to a firm froth,
add it gradually to the sugar and lemon, and beat it all together
for one hour. Make it up into any shape you please, place the
puffs on oiled paper on a tin, put them in a moderate oven
and bake.
Apple Tarts.
To a quart of stewed apples run through a sieve, add three
eggs, half a pound of sugar, one ounce of butter, nutmeg and
rosewater to taste; paste at bottom only. Half a peck of apples
makes five good-sized pies.
Rhubarb Pie.
Take some fine rhubarb, strip off the skins, and cut the
sticks into inch pieces; fill a large dish with them, cover with
sugar and flavor with lemon juice and peel, cinnamon or vanilla.
Put this in the oven and when considerably shrunk put into a
smaller dish, add more sugar and flavoring if required, cover
with a good crust and bake for about half an hour.
83
Squash Pies.
Boil and sift a good, dry squash, thin it with boiling milk
until it is about the consistency of thick milk porridge. To every
quart of this add three eggs, two great spoonfuls of melted but-
ter, nutmeg (or ginger, if you prefer), and sweeten quite sweet
with sugar. Bake in a deep plate with an undercrust.
Lemon Maringue Pie.
Boil three lemons until they are soft enough for a straw
to penetrate the rind, mash them up fine with a tablespoonful
of butter, one cup and a half of powdered sugar, and the yolks
of six eggs; make a thin crust, put in the mixture and bake
it; when cool, beat up the whites of the eggs with one and a
half cups of powdered sugar and spread it over the pie; brown
it a nice color.
Boston Cream Pie.
Cream part. One pint of new milk, two eggs, three table-
spoonfuls of sifted flour, five tablespoonfuls of sugar. Put two-
thirds of the milk on to boil, and stir the sugar and flour in
what is left. When the rest boils, put in the whole and stir
until it cooks thoroughly. When cool, flavor with lemon or
vanilla.
Crust part. Three eggs, beaten separately, one cup of
granulated sugar, one and a half cups of sifted flour, one tea-
spoonful of baking powder. Divide in half, put in two pie tins,
and bake in a quick oven to a straw color. When taken out
split in halves, and spread the cream between.
Lemon Pie.
Yolks of four eggs, and one whole one, nine tablespoonfuls
of granulated sugar, juice of two lemons and the grated rind of
one, three pounded milk crackers soaked in one tumbler of
milk, mix and bake. Then beat the whites of the four eggs
with four tablespoonfuls of powdered or fine granulated sugar,
and spread and put in the oven to brown. This makes two
pies.
Lemon Pie Without any Thickening but the Eggs.
Mix together the grated rind of two lemons and the juice
(discarding the hard pulp), nine tablespoonfuls of white sugar,
the yolks of four eggs, two tablespoonfuls of melted butter, and
half a tumbler of milk; line a dinner plate with rich crust, two
layers on the edge; pour the mixture in and bake; while baking
beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, adding two even
tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar; when the pie is sufficiently
84
cooked, pour over the whites and return to the over for a few
minutes.
Ye Ancient Gingerbread.
One pint sorghum molasses, 1 cup (genuine) sour butter-
milk, 1 cup home-made leaf lard, 1 level tablespoonful soda, %
tablespoon ginger, 1 teaspoon allspice, 1 tablespoon cinnamon,
x /4 teaspoon salt, 2 eggs and flour to make a soft dough.
Mix lard and molasses, add beaten eggs, then add spices,
salt and soda sifted with about one cup of flour and alternate
with the milk, beating all well together. Finally add flour
enough to make a soft dough. Roll rather thick, cut in fan-
tastic shapes, "little gingerbread men," if to please the little
folks, or any desired shape. Have a moderate heat only, as
bread should not be baked too quickly.
Shortcake need not be confined exclusively to the straw-
berry season. Other berries and fruits and meats can be
utilized for very acceptable variety in cakes. What is known
as "biscuit dough," more or less rich was the original short-
cake, and the sweet cakes with elaborate fillings are the res-
taurant, or modern departures.
A Rich Short Cake Crust.
Is made by this recipe: Sift together l 1 /^ cups of pastry
flour, y 2 cup cornstarch, % teaspoon salt, 1 level tablespoon
sugar, 4 level or 2 rounding teaspoons baking powder. Cut into
this with a knife or work in with finger tips, %, cup butter; add
white of one egg beaten stiff; then add gradually, about one
cup of milk, making a dough similar to pie crust, in that it is
flaky and not too soft. Fold and knead lightly. Divide into
two cakes, pat into rounds or squares and bake in cake tins in
moderately quick oven 15 to 20 minutes. Individual shortcakes
may be made from this dough, and they are very attractive when
served.
The preparation of berries and fruit is so largely a matter
of taste that we leave this to the discrimination of the individ-
ual, offering but few suggestions. All fruit for shortcakes
should be prepared long enough however, in advance, to have
been sweetened by allowing sugar to remain a short time on
the cut fruit. When cream that may be whipped is obtainable,
it takes first rank as being most appropriate and acceptable
for serving with shortcakes and admits of a display of taste in
garnishing. What could be more appetizing and satisfying than
a delicious strawberry shortcake, surrounded with berries, cov-
85
ered with whipped cream, through which the largest and choicest
berries were peeping, tempting one to "come, eat and be
merry."
Tomato Pie.
Take six or eight tomatoes, two lemons, one teaspoonful
flour, and sugar to taste. Crust top and bottom.
Orange Pie.
Two oranges, eight tablespoonfuls of sugar, four eggs, two-
thirds tumbler of milk; beat the yolks, sugar, and grated peel
of the oranges, being careful not to grate off.
White Potato Pie.
For one good-sized pie, taks half a pound of potatoes, boil
and mash, and while hot squeeze half a lemon into it with a
good-sized piece of butter; add one cup white sugar, two or
three eggs, half a teaspoonful of mace and grate nutmeg on top
of pie.
Potato Pie.
Boil either Irish or sweet potatoes until well done, mash
and sift them through a coarse wire sieve; to a pint of pulp
add three pints of sweet milk, a tablespoonful of melted butter,
two eggs, a teacupful of sugar, half a teaspoonful of salt, nut-
meg or lemon to flavor. Bake it with an undercrust of rich
paste.
Apple Pie.
Stew a dozen tart apples, when soft add a tablespoonfuf of
butter, one cup of sugar, half a glass of rosewater, and a little
nutmeg. Bake the paste as for cream pie, and fill with apple
instead of cream.
Auntie's Cream Pies.
Make the paste for three pies, roll out and cover your
plates, then roll out and cover a second time, and bake. When
baked, and while warm, separate the edges with a knife and lift
the upper from the lower paste; fill in the cream, and put on
the upper paste.
The Cream. Put on a pint of milk to boil. Break two
eggs into a dish, and add one cup of sugar and half a cup of
flour; after beating well, stir it into the milk just as it com-
mences to boil; keep on stirring one way until it thickens; use
any flavor you may prefer.
86
Baked Apple Dumplings.
Make a crust as for soda biscuit, peel and core your apples,
cut the dough in square pieces, and put one apple for each
dumpling; put them in a dripping pan and place in the oven
for five minutes, then make a syrup with water and sugar, one
cupful of sugar to a pint of water, and pour into the dripping
pan, baste with the syrup (as you would a turkey), while they
are cooking; when done, eat with sweet cream.
MINCE MEAT.
One pound of currants, one pound of peeled and chopped
apples, one pound of suet chopped fine, one pound of moist
sugar, quarter of a pound of raisins stoned and cut in two, the
juice of four oranges and two lemons, with the chopped peel of
one; add of ground mace and allspice each a spoonful, and a
wineglass of brandy. Mix all well together and keep it closely
covered in a cool place.
Egg Mince Meat.
Six hard-boiled eggs, shred very fine; double the quantity of
beef suet, chopped very small; one pound of currants, washed
and dried; the peel of one large or two small lemons, minced
up; six tablespoonfuls of sweet wine, a little mace, nutmeg
and salt, with sugar to your taste; add a quarter of a pound
of candied orange and citron cut into thin slices. Mix all well
together and press it into a jar for use.
Lemon Mince Meat.
Take one large lemon, three large apples, four ounces of
beef suet, half a pound of currants, four ounces of white sugar,
one ounce of candied orange and citron. Chop up the apples
and beef suet; mix them with the currants and sugar; then
squeeze the juice from a large lemon into a cup. Boil the
lemon thus squeezed till tender enough to beat to a mash; add
it to the mince meat. Pour over it the juice of the lemon,
and add the citron chopped fine.
BAKED AND BOILED PUDDINGS.
For boiled puddings you will require either a mould, a
basin, or a pudding cloth; the former should have a close-fitting
cover and be rubbed over the inside with butter before putting
87
the pudding in it, that it may not stick to the side ; the cloth
should be dipped in boiling water, and then well floured on
the inside. A pudding cloth must be kept very clean, and in
a dry place. Bread puddings should be tied very loosely, as
they swell very much in boiling.
The water must be boiling when the pudding is put in,
and continue to boil until it is done. If a pudding is boiled in a
cloth it must be moved frequently while boiling, otherwise it
will stick to the sauce pan.
There must always be enough water to cover the pudding
if it is boiled in a cloth; but if boiled in a tin mould do not let
the water quite reach the top.
To boil a pudding in a basin, dip a cloth in hot water,
dredge it with flour and tie it closely over the basin. When the
pudding is done, take it from the water, plunge whatever it is
boiling in, whether cloth or basin, suddenly into cold water,
then turn it out immediately; this will prevent its sticking. If
there is any delay in serving the pudding, cover it with a nap-
kin or the cloth in which it was boiled; but it is better to serve
it as soon as removed from the cloth, basin or mould.
Always leave a little space in the pudding basin for the
pudding to swell, or tie the pudding cloth loosely for the same
reason.
Baked Puddings.
Bread or rice puddings require a moderate heat for baking;
batter or custard require a quick oven.
Eggs for puddings are beaten enough when a spoonful can
be taken up clear from the strings.
Souffles require a quick oven. These should be made so
as to be done the moment for serving, otherwise they will fall in
and flatten.
Noodle Pudding.
Time, one hour. Three eggs, beat light; add a little salt
and flour to make a paste that will roll; roll the paste an eighth
of an inch thick; fold the paste and shred fine; boil in clear
water, with a little salt, put them in the water while it is
boiling, and do not allow them to stick together, or uncover the
pot for ten minutes; take them out and drain well; bake them
one hour; beat two eggs light, mix them in a quart of milk, and
stir in the noodles; add salt, sugar and spices to taste, and
bake as custard.
88
Yankee Plum Pudding.
Time, four hours. Take a tin pudding boiler that shuts
over tight with a cover. Butter it well. Put at the bottom some
stoned raisins and then a layer of baker's bread, cut in slices,
with a little butter or suet strewed over, then raisins, bread
and suet alternately, until you nearly fill the tin. Take milk
enough to fill your boiler, and to every quart add three or four
eggs, some nutmeg and salt, and sweeten with half sugar and
half molasses. Drop it into boiling water, and let it boil three
or four hours. Be sure the cover fits tight, or your pudding
will be watersoaked. Serve with wine sauce.
John Bull Pudding.
Time, six hours. One pound of flour, one pound stoned
raisins, one pound currants, quarter of a pound sugar, one ounce
citron, one pound suet chopped fine, six eggs beaten very light,
one gill good brandy. Some of the flour (sifted) should be re-
served to mix with the dry fruit. Boil six hours; keep boiling
water at hand to replenish as it boils; to be eaten with hard
or liquid sauce, as taste may dictate; turn the pudding a few
times when you first put it to boil.
Cheap Plum Pudding.
Time, three hours. One cup suet, one cup raisins, one cup
currants and citron mixed, one egg, one cup sweet milk, half
a teacup molasses, one teaspoonful soda, three and a half cups
flour, a little salt; bcil three hours; serve with hard or liquid
sauce.
Plum Pudding.
Time, three hours. A pint of bread crumbs; pour over
them one-half pint boiling milk and let it cool thoroughly; then
add one pound stoned raisins, one-half pound currants, one
tablespoonful of butter minced fine, one tablespoonful of flour,
one tablespoonful of sugar, one small teaspoonful cloves, nut-
meg and cinnamon, each; five eggs, beaten light; flour your
fruit before mixing, and boil three hours; eat with hot brandy
sauce.
Indian Pudding.
Time, two hours. Scald one pound of Indian meal that is,
pour boiling water on it, stirring until stiff; have ready one
pound chopped suet; stir it in and add one pint molasses and
one ounce ground ginger; bake in a greased tin in a slow oven;
takes about two hours to bake.
89
Troy Pudding.
Time, three hours. One cup each of chopped suet, stoned
raisins, molasses and milk, and one egg, three cups of sifted
flour, a little salt and a pinch of soda; boil three hours; serve
with sweet sauce.
Poor Man's Pudding.
Time, two hours. Into two quarts of boiling water stir
six heaping tablespoonfuls of meal, a little salt and a piece of
butter the size of an egg. When nearly cold add three well-
beaten eggs and eight tablespoonfuls of sugar or molasses and
spice to taste.
Orleans Pudding.
Time, two hours. Two cups flour, one-half cup butter, one
cup molasses, one cup raisins, one and a half cups of milk, one
teaspoonful saleratus dissolved in milk; boil two hours in tin
boiler; serve with the above sauce.
Boiled Fruit Pudding.
Time, two hours. One quart crushed wheat, one teaspoon-
ful cinnamon, half teaspoonful cloves, two cups sugar, two
eggs, half a pound of suet, chopped fine, one teaspoonful cream
of tartar, half a teaspoonful of soda, half cup of molasses, half
pound of raisins chopped fine, citron or lemon peel if desired;
boil two hours.
Orange Pudding.
Time, twenty minutes. Four sweet oranges peeled and
picked to pieces, and put in a deep pudding dish, with two
cups of sugar. Put a quart of milk, the yolks of three eggs
and two dessert spoonfuls of cornstarch on to boil; take off,
cool it, and pour it on the oranges; then beat the whites to a
stiff froth, put it over the pudding, and place it in the oven
until it is of a light brown color.
Farina Pudding.
Time, three-quarters of an hour. Five ounces farina stirred
gradually and boiled in one quart of milk, then let it cool, sepa-
rate the yolks and whites of five eggs, beat the whites to a stiff
froth, and stir the yolks and sugar together, then stir all into
the cool boiled farina, flavor and bake; it will be light like a
souffle if made in this manner.
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Queen Pudding.
Time, half an hour. One quart milk, one pint (hardly full)
bread crumbs, four eggs yolks, whites for frosting, sugar to
taste. Serve with hard sauce and jelly; when the pudding is
done pour over it the whites of the eggs and brown.
Two-Hour Pudding.
One-half cup butter, one-half cup sugar, one-half cup (small)
molasses, one cup milk, two cups flour, one and a quarter cups
raisins, hard sauce; grease the tin well with butter, and let
it boil two hours.
Apple Pudding.
Time, two hours. Peel the apples and put them in a kettle
in halves, with a pint of water, a small lump of butter, a little
salt, nutmeg, and a handful of sugar, make a soda biscuit crust
about one-third inch thick, and put it on top of the apples, make
a hole in the center of the crust, boil until the apples are thor-
oughly cooked. Serve with hot sauce, adding wine or brandy
if you choose. A plate turned upside down in the kettle will
prevent it from burning.
French Tapioca Pudding.
Time, one hour. Take two ounces of tapioca, and boil it in
a half pint of water, until it begins to melt, then add half a
pint of milk by degrees, and boil until the tapioca becomes
very thick; add a well-beaten egg, sugar and flavoring to taste,
and bake gently for three-quarters of an hour.
Bread Pudding.
Time, one hour. Soak the bread in cold water, then squeeze
it very dry, take out the lumps and add boiling milk, about a
pint to a pound of soaked bread, beat up two eggs, sweeten, add
a little nutmeg, and bake the pudding slowly until firm. If
desired a few raisins may be added.
Aunt Mary's Pudding.
Time, two hours. Butter a tart dish, sprinkle the bottom
with finely minced candied peel, and a very little shred suet,
then a thin layer of light bread, and so on until the dish is full.
For a pint dish make a liquid custard of one egg and half a
pint of milk; sweeten, pour over pudding, and bake as slowly
as possble for two hours.
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Children's Pudding.
Time, one hour and a half. To make a nice pudding for
the children's diner, take three eggs, three tablespoonfuls of
flour, one quart of milk and a little salt; make a batter, then
have some apples nicely peeled and cored, place them in a well
buttered pie dish, then pour the batter over them. Let it bake
one hour and half and make a nice sweet sauce for it.
Oatmeal Pudding.
Time, one hour. Mix two ounces of fine Scotch oatmeal
in a quarter of a pint of milk add to it a pint of boiling milk,
sweeten to taste and stir over the fire for ten minutes; then
put in two ounces of sifted bread crumbs; stir until the mixture
is stiff, then add one ounce of shreded suet, and one or two
well beaten eggs; add a little lemon flavoring or grated nutmeg.
Put the pudding into a buttered dish and bake slowly for an
hour.
Macroon Pudding.
Time, half an hour. Soak a pound of fresh macroons in
milk, make a custard of eight eggs (reserving the whites of
four), a quart of milk sweetened with one-quarter pound of
sugar, put the macroons in the custard, bake in a deep dish in
the oven, putting a piece of paper on top to prevent burning;
when done whip the whites of the four eggs, with sugar, and
spread on top quite thickly, put in the oven again for about
five minutes.
Hard Times Pudding.
Time, three hours. Half a pint of molasses, half a pint of
water, two teaspoonfuls of soda, one teaspoonful of salt; thicken
with flour, sifted, to a batter, thick as cup cake, put into pud-
ding boiler, half full, to allow for swelling; boil steadily for three
hours; eat with or without sauce.
Pumpkin Pudding.
Time, two hours. Pare the pumpkin and put it down to
stew, strain it" through a colander; two pounds of pumpkin to
one pound of butter, one pound of sugar, and eight eggs; beat
to a froth; one wineglass of brandy, half wineglass of rosewater,
one teaspoonful mace, cinnamon and nutmeg all together.
Cornstarch Pudding.
Time, half an hour. Boil one quart of milk, then beat the
yolks of four eggs, with four tablespoonfuls of cornstarch and
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a little milk; stir into the boiling milk, let it boil up once and
turn into a pudding dish; then beat the whites of the eggs to a
froth and add four spoonfuls of white powdered sugar; cover
the pudding with the mixture, and set in the oven and brown
lightly; flavor with vanilla, lemon, etc.
Apple Batter Pudding.
Time, one hour. Core and peel eight apples, put in a dish,
fill the places from which the cores have been taken with
brown sugar, cover and bake; beat the yolks of four eggs light,
add two teacupfuls of flour, with three even teaspoonfuls of
baking powder, sifted with it, one pint of milk, and a teaspoon-
ful of salt, then the whites, well beaten; pour over the apples
and bake; use sauce with it.
Batter Pudding.
One quart of milk, four eggs, six spoonfuls of flour, a little
sale; bake twenty minutes.
Cocoanut Pudding.
Grate cocoanut, then stew it slowly in one quart of milk;
pour this on a half loaf of baker's bread; when cold add one
pound of sugar, and one-half pound butter, beaten to a cream;
then add six eggs and bake.
Snow Pudding.
One ounce of gelatine; pour on it a pint and a half of boil-
ing water; add two teacups of white sugar, the grated peel and
juice of two lemons; strain into a deep dish to cool; when it
commences to jell, add to it the whites of four well-beaten eggs,
beat until the dish is full, put in molds and place in a cool place.
Fig Pudding.
Time, four hours. Half a pound bread crumbs, half a pound
figs, six ounces of suet, six ounces brown sugar; mince the figs
and suet nicely, a little salt, two eggs, well beaten, nutmeg to
taste, boil in a mold four fours. Serve with wine sauce.
Mock Plum Pudding.
Time, three hours. One cup finely cut suet, one of dried
currants, one-third cup of molasses, two-thirds cup of milk
or water, one teaspoonful allspice, cloves and cinnamon mixed,
three cups of flour: mix well and steam three hours.
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PANCAKES, FRITTERS, ETC.
Pancakes should be eaten hot. They should be light enough
to toss over in the pan. Snow will serve instead of eggs for
pancakes; it should be taken when just fallen, and quite clean;
two tablespoonfuls of snow will supply the place of one egg.
Common Pancakes.
Time, five minutes. Beat three eggs, and stir them into
a pint of milk; add a pinch of salt, and sufficient flour to make
it into a thick, smooth batter; fry them in boiling fat, roll
them over on each side, drain and serve them very hot, with
lemon and sugar.
Snow Pancakes.
Time, five minutes. Make a stiff batter with four ounces of
flour, a quarter of a pint of milk, or more if required, a little
grated nutmeg, and a pinch of salt. Divide the batter into any
number of pancakes, and add three large spoonfuls of snow to
each; fry them lightly, in very good butter, and" serve quickly.
Batter for Fritters.
Time, five minutes. Mix eight ounces of fine flour with
about half a pint of water into a smooth batter, dissolve the
butter over a slow fire; and then stir it by degrees into the
flour; then add the whites of two eggs whisked to a stiff froth,
and stir them lightly in.
Apple Fritters.
Time, six minutes. Beat and strain the yolks of seven
eggs and the whites of three; mix into them a pint of new milk,
a little grated nutmeg, a pinch of salt, and a glass of brandy;
well beat the mixture, and then add gradually sufficient flour
to make a thick batter; pare and core six large apples, cut
them in slices about a quarter of an inch thick, sprinkle pounded
sugar over them, and set them by for an hour or more; dip
each piece of apple in the batter, and fry them in hot lard
about six minutes, the lard should not be made too hot at first,
but must become hotter as they are frying; serve on a napkin
with sifted sugar over them.
Cake Fritters.
Cut a stale cake into slices an inch and a half in thickness,
pour over them a little good cream, and fry them lightly in
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fresh butter, and when done place over each slice of cake a
layer of preserves.
Bread Fritters.
To a quart basinful of stale bread broken small, put a quart
of boiling milk, cover it for ten or fifteen minutes; when quite
soft, beat it with a spoon until it is smooth, add two well-beaten
eggs, half a nutmeg grated, a tablespoonful of brandy, one of
butter and a little salt; beat it light; make an omelet-pan hot,
put in a small piece of butter and when dissolved pour in suffi-
cient batter to run over the pan, let it fry gently; when one
side is a fine brown, turn the other, put butter and sugar with
a little grated nutmeg over, lay one on the. other, cut them
through in quarters, and serve them hot.
Blackberry Fritters.
Time, five minutes. Are made by mixing a thick batter of
flour and sour milk, or cream as for pancakes, only quite stiff;
if cream is used, allow one more egg than for sour milk, then
stir thick with berries; have ready a kettle of hot lard, dip a
tablespoon into the lard, then take a spoonful of batter and drop
it into the boiling lard; the grease will prevent the batter from
sticking to the spoon and will let it drop off in nice oval shape;
eat with syrup.
Grandma's Crullers.
Time, five minutes. Six eggs, six tablespoonfuls powdered
sugar, six tablespoonfuls melted butter, a wineglass of brandy,
and a little nutmeg; flour as for doughnuts; roll thin and
cut into fanciful shapes with a jagging iron.
Doughnuts.
Time, five minutes. Half a pint of sweet milk, half a cup
of butter (scant), one cup. of yeast, salt; flavor with nutmeg
or cinnamon; mix them at night; in the morning roll out and
let them raise until very light, and drop in hot fat; they are
very nice, after they are fried, to roll them in pulveried sugar.
Doughnuts.
Dissolve one cake of compressed yeast in one pint of luke-
warm milk; add flour to make a moderately stiff sponge, and
let rise until it begins to drop or go back (say about two hours);
rub together one-quarter pound butter, one-half pound sugar,
three eggs, a little extract of lemon, a little cinnamon; add
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the same with a cup of warm milk to the sponge, and make
dough as soft as it can be handled; let rise about an hour or
until light, then roll out, cut with round cutter, place on well-
dusted table until light, and then fry in hot lard.
Graham Griddle Cakes.
Time, five minutes. One pint of milk, half a cup of sour
cream, half a teaspoonful of soda, the same of salt; stir in
graham flour not as stiff as for fine flour cakes (no egg's) ; have
the griddle quite hot; or with yeast the same as with' buck-
wheat.
Hominy Croquettes.
Time, six minutes. To a cupful of cold boiled hominy add
a teaspoonful melted butter, and stir it well, adding by degrees
a cupful of milk, till all is made into a soft, light paste, add
a teaspoonful white sugar, and one well-beaten egg- roll it
into oval balls with floured hands, dip in beaten egg then
rolled cracker crumbs, and fry in hot lard.
Fried Bread.
Beat four eggs very light, add three tablespoonfuls of good
brown sugar, a little grated nutmeg, a tablespoonful of orange
or rosewater, and a quart of milk; cut into nice slices, an inch
thick, a stale loaf of bread; remove the crust from the sides
and cut each slice into halves; butter your frying-pan and when
hot lay in your bread (dipped in the custard) and brown on
both sides; lay them on a hot dish and sprinkle over them a
little loaf sugar.
Hominy Fritters.
Two teacupfuls of cold boiled hominy, add to it one tea-
cupful of sweet milk and a little salt, stir till smooth, then add
four tablespoonfuls of flour and one egg; beat the yolk and
white, adding the white last; have ready a pan with hot butter
and lard (half of each), drop the -batter in by spoonfuls and
fry a hght brown.
Omelet Souffle.
Separate the whites from the yolks of twelve eggs- put the
whites into a basin and beat them extremely fast till they form
a very thick snow; then beat six yolks separately, with two
ounces of sugar, and a dessert spoonful of orange flower water
or just enough to flavor it to your taste
Before beating the eggs have ready a' round tin, well greased
all over the inside with fresh butter.
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When you have finished beating the six yolks, mix them
very thickly with the whites, lest the snow should turn that is,
melt into water; put it then into the buttered tin, and place
it in the oven; it will be so thick, if it is well and skillfully
mixed, that there will be no fear of its running over; watch it
well, glancing at it from time to time through a little opening
of the oven door, to see how it is going on; as soon as it has
risen very high, and is of a golden color, take it out of the oven.
Do not suffer the omelet souffle to remain long in the oven;
if it is not watched it will fall in and become a mere galette;
let the oven be of a very gentle heat, or the bottom of the ome-
let will be burned before the ton is done.
Before putting the tin in the oven you may powder the
snow with fine sugar; it crystallizes and has a very pretty
effect; as soon as the omelet is done it must be sent to the
table; if it waits for longer than ten minutes it falls in; the
eggs should be beaten with a fork or a little whisk.
If this souffle is liked more solid, add to the yolks of the
eggs when beaten two dessert spoonfuls of rice boiled in milk
and flavored with vanila; in this case do not put in the orange
flower flavoring; the rice must be very well cooked, and well
sweetened before it is added to the eggs.
Friar's Omelet.
Boil eight or nine large apples to a pulp, stir in two ounces
of butter, and add pounded sugar to taste; when cold add an
egg well beaten up; then butter the bottom of a deep baking
dish, and the sides also; thickly strew crumbs of bread, so
as to stick all over the bottom and sides; put in the mixture and
strew bread crumbs plentifully over the top; put it into a
moderate oven, and when baked turn it out, and put powdered
sugar over it.
Orange Souffle.
Slice five oranges, and pour over them a cold custard made
of one pint of milk, the yolks of five eggs, sweetened to taste;
beat the whites of eggs to a froth, and brown carefully.
DAINTY DESSERTS FOR DAINTY PEOPLE.
Lemon Custard.
Take half a pound of loaf sugar, the juice of two lemons,
the peel of one pared very thin, boiled tender and rubbed through
a sieve, and a pint of white wine; let all boil for a quarter of
an hour, then take out the peel and a little of the liquor and
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set them to cool; pour the rest into the dish you intend for it;
beat the yolks of the eggs and the whites and mix them with
the cool liquor; strain them into your dish, stir them well up to-
gether, and set them on a slow fire in boiling water; when done,
grate the peel of a lemon on the top, and brown it over with
a salamander; this custard may be eaten either hot or cold.
Plain Boiled Custard.
Time, about twenty minutes to infuse the peel, ten or
fifteen minutes to stir the custard. Pour a quart of milk into
a delicately clean saucepan with three laurel leaves and the
peel of a lemon, set it by the side of the fire for about twenty
minutes, and when on the point of boiling strain it into a basin
to cool; then stir in a quarter of a pound of loaf sugar, and the
ten eggs well beaten, -again strain it into a jug, which place in
a deep saucepan of boiling water, and stir it one way until it
thickens; then pour it into a glass dish or into custard cups.
Blancmange.
Time, fifteen minutes. Put into a delicately clean stewpan
one ounce isinglass or gelatine, two ounces of sweet and bitter
almonds blanched and pounded, one pint and a half of new
milk, and pint of cream, the lemon juice and the peel grated,
with loaf sugar to taste; set the stewpan over a clear fire, and
stir it till the isinglass is dissolved, then take it off and continue
stirring it till nearly cold before putting it into the mold; this
quantity will fill a quart mold, but if you wish to make it in a
small shape you must not put more than a pint of milk and
half a pint of cream; color the top ornament with cochineal,
and let it get cold before you add the rest of the blanchmange.
Cheap Blancmange.
Time, fifteen minutes altogether. Pour two spoonfuls of
boiling water over an ounce of isinglass, take a quarter of a
pound of sugar, rub part of it on the lemon, and when the flavor
and color are well extracted, put it with the remainder of the
sugar into a stewpan with a quart of milk and a stick of cinna-
mon; let it all simmer until the sugar and isinglass are dis-
solved; then strain it through muslin into a jug, add the vanilla
flavoring, strain it again, and then pour it into a china mold
and let it stand all night in a very cold place.
Milan Souffle.
Take four lemons, rub the peel on the sugar, put to it the
yolks of six eggs made into a custard and the juice of the
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lemons; let it stand till cold, then add nearly half a pint of
whipped cream and an ounce of isinglass; the whites of the
eggs to be well whipped to a strong froth, and put round it
with the whipped cream when cold.
New Jersey Blanchange.
In three pints of sweetened cream, or milk, put one ounce
of Russia isinglass and a little salt; place it over the fire and
stir in the isinglass until dissolved; then boil it well; it will not
taste so rich if only scalded; flavor and strain into a pitcher,
stand the pitcher where it will keep hot and all the sediment will
settle; pour carefully into forms that the sediment may not
darken the ornaments; if peach water or almond is used for
flavoring, put it in after boiling; the peel of a lemon and stick
cinnamon boiled together in milk is very pleasant.
CREAMS.
Stone Cream.
One pot of preserved apricots or plums, half an ounce of
isinglass, one pint of cream, one lemon, two teaspoonfuls of
crushed white sugar (more or less, to taste) ; take a glass dish
and line it at the bottom about an inch thick with preserved
plums or jam; dissolve half an ounce of isinglass in a little
water, strain it, add to it a pint of thick cream, the peel of the
lemon grated, enough sugar to make it pleasant to your taste;
let it boil one minute, then put it into a jug that has a spout;
when it is nearly cold but not quite set, squeeze into it the
juice of the lemon (or rather, squeeze the lemon in a cup
and add it to the cream, lest a pip should fall into the jug) ;
pour it into the dish from a jug with a spout over the sweet-
meat, and let it stand all night; place on the top a few ratafias.
Velvet Cream.
Put one ounce of isinglass into a stewpan with a large cup-
ful of white wine, the juice of a large lemon, and sufficient
sugar to sweeten it rubbed on the peel to extract the color and
flavor; stir it over the fire until the isinglass is dissolved, and
then strain it to get cold; then mix with it the cream and
pour into a mold.
Coffee Cream.
Put three-quarters of a pint of boiled milk into a stewpan,
with a large cupful of made coffee, and add the yolks of eight
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well-beaten eggs and four ounces of pounded loaf sugar; stir the
whole briskly over a clear fire until it begins to thicken, take
it off the fire, stir it for a minute or two longer and strain it
through a sieve on the two ounces of gelatine; mix it thoroughly
together and when the gelatine is dissolved, pour the cream
into a mold, previously dipped into cold water, and set the
mold on rough ice to set.
Lemon Cream.
Pare into a pint of water the peels of three large lemons;
let it stand four or five hours; then take them out and put
to the water the juice of four lemons and six ounces of fine
loaf sugar; beat the whites of six eggs and mix it all together,
strain it through a lawn sieve, set it over a slow fire, stir it one
way until as thick as good cream; then take it off the fire and
stir it until cold, and put it into a glass dish. Orange cream
may be made in the same way, adding the yolks of three eggs.
Raspberry Cream Without Cream.
Pound and sift a quarter of a pound of sugar, mix with it
a quarter of a pound of raspberry jam or jelly, and the whites
of four eggs; all to be beaten together for one hour, and then
put in lumps in a glass dish.
Bavarian Cream.
Dissolve half a package of gelatine in one quart of boiling
milk; stir until it is dissolved, then add a pint of cream, and
sweeten to taste; add three tablespoonfuls of extract of vanilla;
let it cool a little, stirring it occasionally; then put it into cus-
tard cups, or in a mold, and leave it in a cold place till ready
to use.
American Cream.
One quart of milk, four eggs, half a box of gelatine, one and
a half teaspoonfuls of vanilla; soak the gelatine in a little cold
water twenty minutes; bfat the yolks of the eggs and the sugar
together, let the milk come to a boil, then stir in the sugar and
the yolks, then the gelatine, then the whites of the eggs (having
been beaten to a foam) ; gently stir all together, add the flavor-
ing, and pour into a mold to cool.
JELLIES, SWEET DISHES, RELISHES, ETC.
The Foundation of all Jelly.
Take a packet of gelatine, dissolve it in half a pint of cold
water, and then add a pint of hot water, the peel of five lemons
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without the pith, a small stick of cinnamon, the cloves, the
juice of the lemons, the sherry and the loaf sugar; when done
clarify it with the shells and whites of five eggs.
If you wish to ma'kp any other kind of jelly, omit the sherry
and add for instance, orange juice for orange jelly, or the juice
of strawberries, cherries, pineapple, or any other fruit; the jelly
takes its name from its flavoring; no jelly of several colors
should be set warm, as the different colors run and weaken
it extremely.
Calves' Feet Jelly.
Time, to boil the feet until reduced to one quart; to reboil
the jelly, a quarter of an hour. Cut two feet in small pieces
after they have been well cleaned and the hair taken off; stew
them very gently in two quarts of water till it is reduced to
one quart; when cold take off the fat and remove the jelly from
the sediment; put it into a saucepan with half a pound of loaf
sugar, a pint of white wine, a wineglass of brandy in it, four
lemons with the peel rubbed on the sugar, the whites of four
eggs well beaten and their shells broken; put the saucepan on
the fire, but do not stir the jelly after it begins to warm; let it
boil a quarter of an hour after it rises to a head, then cover it
close, and let it stand about half an hour; after which pour it
through a jelly bag, first dipping the bag in hot water to prevent
waste, and squeezing it quite dry; pour the jelly through until
clear, then put it into the mold.
Jelly From Cow Heels.
Time, to boil the cowheels seven hours, or until reduced to
three pints; boil five minutes after the wine is added. Put
two thoroughly clean cowheels into a stewpan with a gallon of
spring water, and let it boil until reduced to three pints; when
cold skim off the cake of fat and take the jelly carefully from
the sediment at the bottom, put the jelly into a stewpan with
one pint of white wine, half a pound of loaf sugar, and the
juice of five lemons; beat up the whites of six eggs, throw them
into the jelly, stir it all together, and let it boil five minutes;
then pour it into a jelly bag and let it run on the peels of four
lemons placed in the basin the jelly runs into, as the peel will
give a fine flavor and color; if not perfectly clear, run it
through again; pour into a mold, and turn it out the next day.
Apple Jelly.
Take some ripe apples, fine-flavored and juicy, pare and
cut them in quarters, put them in water as you cut them, or
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they will turn black; when all are cut put them in a preserving
kettle, and pour over them a little water; let them cook until
they are quite soft, then strain through a flannel bag; boil the
juice with an equal weight of sugar until it will jell (you can
test it by placing a little on a plate), and pour it, while hot,
into the jelly molds or jars. Golden pippin apples make the
finest jelly; if wanted for immediate use only you can use less
sugar.
Currant Jelly.
Mash the currants well to expel the Juice; strain through
a cloth, and to every pint of juice allow a pound of sugar; put
the sugar in the preserving pan and add a very little water;
heat gradually and boil it ten minutes, stirring constantly; skim
the sugar and add the currant juice; let the sugar and currant
juice cook ten minutes after they begin to boil; skim well and
pour at once into glasses or jars.
Grape Jelly.
Take grapes before they are fully ripe and boil them gently
with a very little water; then strain and proceed as with cur-
rant jelly. Wild grapes will not make as firm a jelly as culti-
vated ones.
Wine Jelly.
To one and a half boxes gelatine, one pint cold water, juice
of three lemons, grated rind of two; let stand an hour, then
add two pounds of loaf sugar, three pints boiling water; boil
five minutes; just before straining in flannel bag stir in one
pint sherry wine, six tablespoonfuls of best brandy.
Swedish Jelly.
Cover a knuckle of veal with water, add a small onion and
a carrot, and let it boil until the meat is ready to fall off the
bone; take the meat, hash it fine and return it to the liquor
after it is strained, and give it another boil until it jellies; add
salt, pepper, the juice and rind of a lemon cut fine, then pour
it into a form; put it in a cold place. It makes a nice dish for
lunch or tea. If the knuckle of veal is large, use three quarts
of water; if small, two quarts, and let it boil slowly three or
four hours, or until it is reduced to about half the quantity of
water put in.
Gelatine Jelly.
To make two quarts, take a two-ounce package of the gela-
tine and soak for one hour in a pint of cold water, add to this
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one pound and a half of sugar, the juice of four lemons, some
orange peel, stick cinnamon or other flavoring; when the gela-
tine is thoroughly soaked pour on three pints of boiling water
and strain immediately through a jelly bag or coarse toweling;
next pour into molds and set aside to cool; in .varm weather
use a little more gelatine.
Gateau de Pommes.
Boil one pound of sugar in a pint of water until the water
has evaporated, then add two pounds of apples pared and cored,
the juice of a large lemon, and the peel grated; boil all together
till quite stiff, then put it into a mold and when cold turn it out
and serve it with rich custard around it.
Gooseberry Fool.
Put two quarts of gooseberries in a stewpan with a quart
of water; when they begin to turn yellow and swell, drain the
water from them and press them with the back of a spoon
through a colander, sweeten them to your taste, and set them to
cool; put two quarts of milk over the fire beaten up with the
yolks of four eggs and a little grated nutmeg; stir it over the
fire until it begins to simmer, then take it off and stir it
gradually into the cold gooseberries; let it stand until cold
and serve it. The eggs may be left out and milk only may
be used. Half this quantity makes a good dishful.
Rice Snow Balls.
Time, twenty minutes to boil the rice. Put a quarter of a
pound of rice into a stewpan with a pint and a half of new
milk, two ounces of pounded sugar and two ounces of sweet
almonds blanched and minced fine, and boil it until the rice is
tender; dip some small cups into cold water, fill them with the
rice and set them to become cold; turn them out on a dish, ar-
range a border of preserves or marmalade all round them, and
pour a little rich cream into the center, if you have it.
Frosted Pippins.
Time, half an hour. Divide twelve pippins, take out the
cores, and place them close together on a tin, with the flat side
downward. Whisk the white of egg quite firm, spread it over
them, then strew some lemon peel cut very thin and in shreds,
and sift double refined sugar over the whole. Bake them half
an hour, and then place them on a hot dish and serve them
quickly.
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Rice and Pears.
Time, one hour and a half. Boil a cup and a half of rice
in one pint of milk till tender, then put in the cinnamon, sugar
and nutmeg. Take it up, let it get nearly cold, beat three eggs
well, and mix them with the rice; butter a mold, put the rice
in, tie it down tightly in a floured cloth, and let it boil for an
hour; turn it out, lay round it baked pears. Garnish with
slices of lemon stuck into the rice.
Meringues.
Whisk the whites of four small eggs to a high froth, then
stir into it half a pound of finely powdered sugar; flavor it with
vanilla, or lemon essence, and repeat the whisking until it will
lie in a heap; then lay the mixture in lumps on letter paper, in
the shape of half an egg, molding it with a spoon, laying each
about half an inch apart; then place the paper containing the
meringues on a piece of hard wood, and put them into a quick
oven; do not close it; watch them, and when they begin to have
a yellow appearance take them out; remove the paper carefully
from the wood, and let them cool for two or three minutes;
then slip a thin-bladed knife very carefully under one, turn it
into your left hand, take another from the paper in the same
way, and join the two sides which were next the paper together.
The soft inside may be taken out with the handle of a small
spoon, the shells filled with jam, jelly, or cream and then joined
together as above, cementing them together with some of the
mixture.
Rice Meringue.
Time, twenty minutes. Put a teacupful of rice into half
a pint of milk, and stand it at the side of the fire to simmer
until quite soft; then add the yolks of three beaten eggs to the
rice in the stewpan, and beat the whole up with a teaspoonful
of fine, moist sugar; then turn it out into the tin that it is to be
baked in, piling it up high in the center, and spread a thick layer
of apricot or any other jam over it; whisk the whites of the
three eggs to a firm froth with a teaspoonful of powdered loaf
sugar, spread it all over the jam and sprinkle loaf sugar on the
top of it; then drop a little of the froth about it in different
shapes; put it into the oven for about twenty minutes, leaving
the door open. Raspberry, strawberry or currant jam may
be used.
Curd for Cheesecakes.
Boil one quart of water in a stewpan; beat two eggs and
mix them with a quart of new milk; then add them to the
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water, with two spoonfuls of lemon juice of good vinegar; when
the curd rises lay it on a sieve to drain.
Cheesecakes.
Time, fifteen to twenty minutes. Beat half a pint of good
curd with four eggs, three spoonfuls of rich cream, a quarter of
a nutmeg grated, a spoonful of ratafia, and a quarter of a
pound of currants washed and dried; mix all well together and
bake in patty-pans lined with a good puff-paste.
Lemon Cheesecakes.
Time, fifteen to twenty minutes. Just warm a quarter of
a pound of butter, stir into it a quarter of a pound of sugar
pounded fine, and when dissolved mix with it the peel of two
lemons grated and the juice of one strained; mix all well to-
gether, and pour it into patty-pans lined with puff-paste. Put a
few blanched almonds on the top of each.
Macaroni as Usually Served.
Time, to boil the macaroni, half an hour; to brown it, six
or seven minutes. Take half a pound of pipe macaroni, seven
ounces of cheese, four ounces of butter, one pint of new milk,
one quart of water and some bread crumbs. Flavor the milk
and water with a pinch of salt, set it over the fire, and when
boiling drop in the macaroni; when tender, drain it from the
milk and water, put it into a deep dish, sprinkle some of the
grated cheese amongst it, with part of the butter broken into
small pieces, place a layer of grated cheese over the top, and
cover the whole with fine bread crumbs, pouring the remainder
of the butter lightly warmed over the crumbs; brown the top
of the macaroni with a salamander, or before the fire, turning
it several times that it may be nicely browned; serve it quickly,
and as hot as possible.
Ramaklns.
Mix a teaspoonful of flour with two ounces of grated cheese,
two ounces of melted butter, two tablespoonfuls of cream, and
two well-beaten eggs; stir all well together and bake it in small
tins. You may add a little cayenne pepper if you please.
Toasted Cheese.
Cut equal quantities of cheese, and having pared it into
extremely small pieces, place it in a pan with a little milk, and
a small slice of butter; stir it over a slow fire until melted and
105
quite smooth; take it off the fire quickly, mix the yolk of an
egg with it, and brown it in a toaster before the fire.
Welsh Rarebit.
Time, ten minutes. Take half a pound of cheese, three
tablespoonfuls of ale, a 1 thin slice of toast; grate the cheese fine,
put it to the ale, and work it in a small saucepan over a slow
fire till it is melted; spread it on toast, and send it up boiling
hot.
Stewed Apples and Rice.
Peel good baking apples, take out the cores with a scoop
so as not to injure the shape of the apples; put them in a deep
baking dish and pour over them a syrup made by boiling sugar
in the proportion of one pound to a pint of water; put a little
piece of shred lemon inside each apple and let them bake very
slowly until done, but not in the least broken. If the syrup
is thin, boil it until it is thick enough; take out the lemon peel
and put a little jam inside each apple, and between them little
heaps of well boiled rice. This dish may be served either hot
or cold.
BAKING BISCUITS AND CAKES.
General Directions.
An oven to bake well should have a regular heat throughout,
but particularly at the bottom, without which bread or cakes
will not rise or bake well. An earthen basin is best for beating
eggs or cake mixture. Cake should be beaten with a wooden
spoon or spatula; butter may be beaten with the same. Eggs
should be beaten with rods or a broad fork, a silver fork, or
one made of iron wire, is best, as it is broadest. Eggs should
be clear and fresh for a cake.
It is well, as a general rule in cake making, to beat the
butter and sugar (which must be made fine), to a light cream;
indeed, in the making of pound cake the lightness of the cake
depends as much upon this as upon the eggs being well beaten;
then beat the eggs and put them to the butter, and gradually
add the flour and other ingredients, beating it all the time.
In common cakes, where only a few eggs are used, beat them
until you can take a spoonful up clear from the strings.
In receipts in which milk is used as one ingredient, either
sweet or sour may be used, but not a mixture of both. Sour
milk makes a spongy, light cake; sweet milk makes a cake
which cuts like pound cake.
106
To blanch almonds, pour boiling water on them, and let
them remain in it until their skins may be taken off; then throw
the almonds into cold water to whiten them, drain them from
the water, but do not wipe them; the moisture will prevent
their oiling.
In making cakes, if you wish them to be pleasing to the
palate, use double-refined sugar, although light brown sugar
makes a very good cake. For icing cakes, the sugar must be
rolled and sifted, or pounded in a mortar.
To ascertain whether a cake is baked enough, if a small
one, take a very fine splint of wood and run it through the
thickest part; if not done enough, some of the dough or un-
baked cake will be found sticking to it; if done, it will come
out clean. If the cake is large, pass a small knife blade through
it instead of the splint. Cakes to be kept fresh should be placed
in a tin box, tightly covered, in a cool, dark place.
Icing for Cakes.
Beat the whites of the eggs to a high froth, then add to
them a quarter of a pound of white sugar, pounded and sifted,
flavor it with vanilla or lemon, and beat it until it is light and
very white, but not quite so stiff as meringue mixture. The
longer it is beaten the more firm it will become. Beat it until
it may be spread smoothly on the cake.
Feather Cake.
Two cups of sugar, one-half cup of butter, one cup of sweet
milk, three cups of flour, three eggs beaten separately, one tea-
spoonful of soda, and two of cream of tartar. Flavor with the
rind of a fresh lemon. Bake in jelly tins. It is also nice if
baked in a loaf and frosted.
Jelly Cake.
Beat three eggs well, the whites and yolks separately; take
a cup of fine white sugar and beat that in well with the yolks, and
a cupful of sifted flour stirred in gently; then stir in the whites,
a little at a time, a teaspoonful of baking powder and one table-
spoonful of milk, pour it in three jelly cake plates, and bake
from five to ten minutes in a well heated oven, and when cold
spread with currant jelly, and place each layer on top of the
other and sift powdered sugar on the top.
French Loaf Cake.
Two cups of white sugar, one scant cup of butter, one cup of
sweet milk, three heaping cups of flour, three eggs, two teaspoon-
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fuls cream of tartar, one teaspoonful soda. Put sugar, butter,
eggs (not previously beaten), soda and cream of tartar all to-
gether, beat to a froth; add the milk, beating well, flavor with
lemon extract, add the flour gradually, pour into a cake tin
lined with buttered paper, sprinkle a little powdered sugar over
the cake before baking. It is well to cover it when first put-
ting in the oven, in order not to harden the top too soon.
Marble Cake.
White Part. Whites of four eggs, one cup white sugar, half
cup of butter, half cup sweet milk, two teaspoonfuls of baking
powder, one teaspoonful of vanilla or lemons and two and a
half cups of sifted flour.
Black Part. Yolks of four eggs, one cup brown sugar, half
cup molasses, half cup butter, half cup sour milk, 'one teaspoon-
ful soda and one and a half cups sifted flour. Put it in the
cake dish alternately, first one part and then the other. The
tin should be lined with buttered paper.
Molasses Cake.
Two cupfuls of molasses, one cupful of lard, three-quarters
of a cupful of water, one tablespoonful of ginger, three tea-
spoonfuls of saleratus dissolved, flour enough to make it stiff
as pound cake dough.
New Year's Cake.
One pound butter, one and a half pounds sugar, three
pounds flour, two tablespoonfuls carraway seed, half a teaspoon-
ful of soda, dissolved in a cupful of milk. Cut long and print,
or cut as cookies.
Cocoanut Cake.
Four cups of flour, three of sugar, one cup of milk, five
eggs, beaten separately (save the whites of three for icing),
one cup of butter, two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar, one tea-
spoonful of soda, the half of a cocoanut grated and put into
the cake, the other half put with the whites of three eggs and
half a cup of powdered sugar, with a little orange water or
lemon juice for the icing; bake the cake in jelly pans; when done
spread the icing between and on top; put in the oven for a few
minutes.
Rich Plum Cake.
Quarter peck finest flour, one pound loaf sugar, three pounds
of currants, one pound of raisins, chopped, one-quarter ounce
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of mace and cloves, a grated nutmeg, peel of a lemon cut fine,
half a pound of blanched almonds beaten with rose or orange
flower water; mix thoroughly, then melt two pounds of butter
in rather more than a pint of cream, put to it a pint of sherry,
a glass of brandy, twelve eggs, yolks and white beaten apart,
and half a pint of yeast; strain this into the dry ingredients,
beat a full hour, butter your hoop, throw in plenty chips of
citron, lemon and orange candy, as you put in your batter; bake
moderately quickly.
Cream Cakes.
Boil together half a pint of water and two-thirds of a cup
of butter; while boiling stir in one and a half cups of flour
thoroughly; let it then cool sufficiently, not to cook the eggs,
five of which are to be well beaten, and the whole mixed to-
gether; drop on tins a spoonful in a place, and bake in a very
hot oven, twenty or thirty minutes. It will make two dozen. For
the cream boil a pint of new milk, stirring in, beaten together,
two eggs with one cup of sugar, and not quite a cup of flour;
boil a little, stirring briskly; when cool flavor with lemon; open
the cakes at the side with a sharp knife and pour in the cream.
White Mountain Cake.
One pound sugar, one pound flour, half pound butter, six
eggs, one large cup of milk, two teaspoonfuls cream of tartar,
one of soda, juice of a lemon. Beat yolks and whites together
first, then the sugar, beat the butter in a separate dish and then
add to the other. Take the milk, divide, and put soda in one-half
and cream of tartar in the other; just before you put in the
oven put both milks together. Bake one hour; mix the flour
in after the butter.
Cocoa Cookies.
Two cups of sugar, one of butter, two eggs, half a grated
cocoanut, with flour; roll thin and bake.
Sour Milk Cake.
One cup of sour milk, one cup -of sugar, one-half cup of
butter, two cups of flour, one egg, one level teaspoonful of soda,
half cup of raisins, chopped and spiced to taste.
Fried Cake.
One cup of sugar, one cup of sweet milk, one teaspoonful of
cream of tartar, half teaspoonful of soda; add spice to suit the
taste; mix in some flour and fry in lard.
109
Jelly Roll.
.
Three eggs, one cup of sugar, one teaspoonful of cream of
tartar, one-half teaspoonful of soda, one cup of flour; pour it
thin into a baking pan; bake slowly; spread jelly over it and
roll it up; wrap it in a cloth.
One-Egg Cake.
One and one-third cups of flour, one-third cup of sweet milk,
one cup of sugar, one tablespoonful of melted butter, one egg
and two tablespoonfuls of baking powder.
Coffee Cake.
One cup brown sugar, one cup molasses, one-half cup each
butter and lard, one cup cold coffee, two eggs, one tablespoonful
cinnamon, and one of cloves, one grated nutmeg, one teaspoon-
ful soda, flour, one pound each of currants and raisins.
Ginger Cookies.
One cup of sugar, one cup molasses, one cup of lard, two-
thirds cup of boiling water, one egg, one teaspoonful cream of
tartar, one tablespoonful ginger, one tablespoonful soda, one
teaspoonful salt.
Aunt Carrie's Snowflake Cake.
Three eggs, one cup and a half sugar, half cup butter, half
cup milk, half teaspoonful of soda, one teaspoonful cream of
tartar, two cups flour, whites of two eggs, half cup of sugar,
beaten together. Bake in jelly cake tins, frost each layer and
sprinkle with grated cocoanut.
Soft Gingerbread.
One tablespoonful butter, one tablespoonful ginger, one-half
cup brown sugar, two cups molasses, two cups water or sour
milk, one and a half teaspoonfuls soda; do not stir very long;
bake in a moderate oven.
Molasses Cookies.
Take two cups of molasses, one cup of sugar, two cups of
butter, four teaspoonfuls of alum, put in two cups of boiling
water, four' teaspoonfuls of soda and flour enough to roll out.
Gelatine Frosting.
One teaspoonful gelatine, two tablespoonfuls of cold water;
when the gelatine is soft, one tablespoonful of hot water. When
entirely dissolved, add one cup of powdered sugar, and beat
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it while it is yet warm, until white and light; lemon to taste.
This frosts one sheet of cake.
Lemon Cake.
One cup butter, three cups sugar, four cups flour, one cup
milk, five eggs, one teaspoonful soda, juice and rind of one
lemon.
Newport or Lunch Cake.
One quart sifted flour, two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar
mixed through it, one-half cup of sugar, two eggs, two table-
spoonfuls of lard, one cup of sweet milk; lastly dissolve one
teaspoonful of soda in a little hot water; mix and bake in a
hot oven from twenty to twenty-five minutes.
Scotch Cake.
Flour, one and a half pounds; powdered sugar, three-fourths
of a pound; butter, three-fourths of a pound; lard, one-fourth
of a pound. Warm your flour and sugar together, then whip
butter and lard to a cream, and mix with the flour and sugar.
It will be in crumbs which must be pressed together with the
hands into small cakes and laid on a paper (without buttering)
on a sheet tin. Sprinkle a few comfits on top before baking.
Mother's Raised Biscuit.
Scald one quart of milk; into this, while hot, put a piece
of butter the size of an egg; when cold, add one egg, a teacupful
of baker's yeast, or home-made; thicken with sifted flour to a
batter as thick as muffin batter; let rise, mold, rise again bake
quickly.
Fig Cake.
Two cups of sugar, one of butter, one of cold water, with
a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in it; three cups of raisins,
chopped fine, cinnamon and nutmeg, four eggs, one pound of
figs; use the figs whole, covering them well with the cake
to prevent burning; bake in layers, frosting between each layer.
Make as stiff as pound cake; cut with a very sharp knife to
prevent crumbling. This receipt makes two loaves.
Queen's Cake.
One pound of sugar, three-fourths of a pound of butter, eight
eggs, beaten separately, one pound of flour, one heaping tea-
spoonful of baking powder, one wineglass of cherry bounce, two
cups of currants.
Ill
Chocolate Cake.
Two cups of sugar, one-half cup of butter, whites of three
eggs, one cup of milk, two and three-fourths cups of flour, three
teaspoonfuls of baking powder; bake on jelly tins; whites of
two eggs, well beaten, with not quite a cup of pulverized sugar,
add six tablespoonfuls of grated German sweet chocolate, and
two teaspoonfuls of vanilla; spread the cakes.
Black Cake.
Two pounds of currants, two pounds of raisins (after wash-
ing both currants and raisins, when they are dry, dredge with
flour), one large spoonful of ground cinnamon, one large spoon-
ful of ground mace, four nutmegs, one gill of molasses, one gill
of brandy, one gill of rose water, if you choose; sift one pound
of flour into one pan, and one pound of sugar into another, add
to the sugar three-quarters of a pound of butter and stir to a
cream; beat six eggs light and stir into the butter and sugar
alternately with the flour; then add by degrees fruit, spice
and liquors, and stir hard; bake in a moderate oven about
four hours; let it remain in the oven to cool.
Rice Cake.
One pound of ground rice, one of sugar, half pound of butter,
six eggs; flavor with lemon or vanilla, or to suit taste.
Fruit Cake.
One cup of molasses, one pound flour, one of sugar, three-
fourths of a pound of butter, two pounds of seeded raisins, three
of currants, one of citron, half a pound of blanched almonds,
half an ounce of mace, one wineglass brandy, ten eggs; cream
the sugar and butter, add the eggs, beaten separately; stir in the
flour, brandy, spices and then the fruit.
Strawberry Short Cake.
One quart of flour, sifted, one teaspoonful of salt, two tea-
spoonfuls of cream of tartar, a piece of butter the size of an
egg; rub it in the flour well; dissolve one teaspoonful of soda
in a tablespoonful of water, and put the soda water in two cups
of milk; bake in a quick oven; take three pints of berries, press
half, and then put the other berries in; save some of the juice,
and mix some sugar with it; split the cake, butter it, and lay
the mixture between. Peaches cut up, sugared, and mixed with
a little cream or milk, or oranges cut up, with sugar, and laid
between the cake, are also very nice.
112
Raised Cake.
Three cups of new milk, one cup of yeast, two cups of sugar;
work it into a stiff batter with flour, let it rise over night; in
the morning put in one and a half cups of butter, one more cup of
sugar, one teaspoonful of soda dissolved in milk, put in spices
and raisins as long as you can stir it with a spoon.
Cold Water Pound Cake.
Half a cup of butter, two cups of sugar, three eggs, one
cup of cold water, three pounds of flour, one teaspoonful cream
of tartar, one-half teaspoonful soda.
Orange Cake.
One cup white sugar, one small half cup butter, two cups
flour, one-half cup cold water, five eggs Whites of four only,
two teaspoonfuls baking powder, juice and rind of one orange;
bake like jelly cake; frost each layer, make frosting of the re-
maining white.
Cornstarch Cake.
Half pound cornstarch, half pound wheat flour, six eggs,
half pound butter, one pound sugar, one small cup sweet milk,
two teaspoonfuls baking powder.
Wedding Cake.
One pound of butter, one pound of sugar, nine eggs, one
pound of 'flour, three pounds of currants, two pounds of stoned
raisins, one-half teacup of wine or brandy, from one-half to
three-quarters pound of citron, one grated nutmeg, some mace
and cinnamon; rub the butter and sugar together; when light,
add first the yolks and then the whites of the eggs the yolks
and whites of the eggs to be beaten separately then put in
nearly all your flour, keeping out just enough to dust your
raisins and cement them; cut your citron in such slices as
you like, and put in as you put the cake in the pan; after
mixing your fruit in the cake grease a four-quart pan carefully,
line it with clean straw paper, a little butter on the paper;
put your cake in and bake, in not too quick an oven, for it
burns easily. After it is baked take it out of the pan, paper and
all, and let it cool. The next day, to keep it fresh and moist,
put it back in the pan, or in a tin cake-box, and keep it tightly
covered.
Gingerbread Nuts.
One pound of sugar, two pounds of molasses, three-quarters
of a pound of butter, four pounds of flour, four ounces of ginger,
113
one ounce of allspice, two spoonfuls of coriander seed, some
candied orange peel; two spoonfuls of brandy, yolks of four
eggs. Mix the sugar, molasses and butter, and melt all together;
then stir in the flour, ground ginger, allspice, coriander seed, and
the orange peel, cut very small; mix all into a paste with the
eggs well beaten, and the brandy and make them into nuts or
cakes.
Ginger Snaps.
Work a quarter of a pound of butter into a pound of fine
flour, then mix it with a half pound of molasses, a quarter of
a pound brown sugar and one tablespoonful each of ginger
and caraway seeds. Work it all well together, and form it
into cakes not larger than a crown piece; place them on a
baking tin in a moderate oven, when they will be dry and crisp.
Brown Bread Biscuits.
One pound of coarse graham flour, two ounces of butter
and a little water. Make the butter and water boiling hot, add
it to the flour, keeping it very firm. Roll the biscuits out,
not too thin, and bake them in a rather quick oven.
Lemon Biscuits.
Dry well before the fire a pound and a half of flour, rub
into it a quarter of a pound of butter as fine as possible, mix
with it a pound and a half of loaf sugar, pounded, and the peel
of three lemons, chopped very fine. Well beat two eggs, add
to them the juice of two lemons, and stir thoroughly. Put the
mixture into the flour, and mix all well together, till you have
a stiff paste; roll it out to the thickness of a penny piece, and
divide it into biscuits with a paste cutter; bake them on a tin.
These biscuits should be kept in a tin box near the fire till
wanted, as they are apt to give.
Ginger Biscuits.
Eight ounces of flour, four ounces of butter, four ounces
of loaf sugar; yolks of three eggs and some ground ginger. Beat
the butter to a cream before the fire, add the flour by degrees,
then the sugar, pounded and sifted and a flavoring to taste of
ground ginger, and mix the whole with the yolks of three well-
beaten eggs. When thoroughly mixed, drop the biscuit mix-
ture on buttered paper, a sufficient distance from each other
to allow the biscuits to spread, and bake them a light color
in a rather slow oven.
114
Plain Biscuits.
One pound of flour, half a pint of milk, two ounces and a
half of fresh butter. Dissolve the butter in the milk made warm,
but not hot, and stir it into the flour to make a firm paste,
roll it out thin with a plain tin shape or a tumbler; prick each
biscuit and bake.
PRESERVES AND PICKLES.
Gooseberry Jam.
Three pounds of loaf sugar, six pounds of rough red goose-
berries. Pick off the stalks and buds from the gooseberries and
boil them carefully but quickly for rather more than half an
hour, stirring continually; then add the sugar pounded fine, and
boil the jam quickly for half an hour, stirring it all the time
to prevent its sticking to the preserving pan. When done put
it into pots, cover it with brandy paper, and secure it closely
down with paper moistened with the white of an egg.
To Preserve Cherries.
One pound of sugar to every pound of cherries; and three
tablespoonfuls of red currant juice. Lay some pounded sugar
at the bottom of the preserving pan, and place some cherries
on it, then another layer of sugar, then of cherries, repeating
this until all are in, leaving out a little of the sugar to stew
in as they boil; add three spoonfuls of currant juice to each
pound of fruit, and set it over a clear fire. Boil them quickly,
shaking them round frequently to prevent their burning, but
do not stir them. Take off the scum as it rises, and when
the syrup is thick and they look clear, put them into pots, and
when cold, cover them over.
To Bottle Cherries.
Have ready some wide mouthed bottles quite clean an'',
dry; cut each cherry from the stalk into the bottle, be sure
not to pull them off. To every bottle of cherries put three
ounces of powdered sugar, then tie them tightly over with
bladder. After drawing the bread, leave the oven door open.
About 9 o'clock at night put in the bottles and close the oven
door. Take them out the first thing in the morning and put
them in a dry place for use.
115
Apple Marmalade.
Take a peck of apples, full growth, but not the least ripe,
of all or any sort; quarter them and take out the cores, but
do not pare them; put them into preserving pan with one
gallon of water, and let them boil moderately until you think
the pulp will run, or suffer itself to be squeezed through a
cheese cloth, only leaving the peels behind. Then to each quart
of pulp add one pound, good weight, of loaf sugar, either broken
in small pieces or pounded, and boil it all together for half
an hour and ten minutes, keeping it stirred; then put it into
pots, the larger the better, as it keeps longer in a large body.
Rules to be Observed in Pickling.
Procure always the best vinegar. The success of your
pickles depends on the goodness of your vinegar. Use glass
bottles for your pickles; if earthen jars, they must be unglazed,
as the vinegar acting upon the glaze produces a mineral poison.
Use saucepans lined with earthenware, or stone pipkins to boil
your vinegar in. If you are compelled to use tin, do not let your
vinegar remain in one moment longer than actually necessary.
Employ also wooden knives and forks in the preparation of your
pickles. Fill the jars three parts full with the articles to be
pickled, and then fill the bottle or jar with vinegar. When
greening, keep the pickles covered down, as the evaporation of
the steam will injure the color. . A little nut of alum may be
added to crisp pickles, but it should be very small in proportion
to the quantity or it will give a disagreeable flavor.
To Pickle Mushrooms.
Gather some mushroom buttons, wipe them very clean with
a piece of flannel dipped in vinegar, then put them into an
iron saucepan with pepper, salt, two or three cloves and a very
little mace pounded; let them stew over the fire, and after
they have produced a great deal of liquor, let them stand by
the fire until they have consumed all that liquor up again; but
the saucepan must be shaken now and then to prevent their
sticking to the bottom. Put them into large nosed bottles, and
pour cold vinegar that has been boiled over them, and then cork
them up. They will keep for seven years. If the vinegar should
dry away, add a little more. Should they be wanted to put
over a broiled fowl or veal cutlets, take a few out of the bottle
and pour some boiling water over them to take off the sourness,
then put them immediately over the cutlets.
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To Pickle Onions.
Take some nice onions, peel and throw them into a stew-
pan of boiling water; set them over the fire, and let them re-
main until quite clear; then take them out quickly, and lay them
between two cloths to dry. Boil some vinegar with the ginger
and whole pepper, and when cold pour it over the onions in glass
jars, and tie them closely over.
Pickled Peaches.
Nine pounds peaches, three pounds sugar, three quarts good
cider vinegar. Peel the peaches, put two cloves in each peach,
then put them with the sugar and vinegar in a porcelain
lined kettle; cook from five to ten minutes. Add a little whole
allspice.
Sweet Tomato Pickles.
Eight pounds peeled tomatoes, four of powdered sugar, cin-
namon, cloves and allspice, each one ounce. Boil one hour, and
then add a quart of boiling vinegar.
Pickled Cucumbers.
To a gallon of water add a quart of salt, put in the cucum-
bers, and let them stay over night. In the morning wash them
out of the brine and put them carefully into a stone jar. Boil
a gallon of vinegar, put it in while cold, quarter of a pound
of cloves, and a tablespoonful of alum; when it boils hard skim
it well and turn over the cucumbers. In a week they will be
fit for use.
Green Pickles for Daily Use.
A gallon of vinegar, three-quarters of a pound of salt, quarter
pound of ginger, an ounce of mace, quarter ounce of cayenne
pepper, and an ounce of mustard seed, simmered in vinegar, and
when cold put in a jar. You may throw in fresh vegetables when
you choose.
Tomato Soy.
To one peck of grene tomatoes, sliced thin, add one pint of
salt; stand twenty-four hours; strain, and put on the fire with
twelve raw onions, an ounce of black pepper, one ounce of all-
spice, quarter of a pound of ground mustard, half a pound of
white mustard seed, and a little cayenne pepper. Cover with
vinegar and boil till as thick as jam, stirring occasionally with
a wooden spoon, to prevent burning.
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Mock Capers.
Take green nasturium seeds when they are full grown, but
not yellow; dry for a day in the sun; then put them in jars and
cover with boiling vinegar, spiced, and when cool cork closely.
Fit for use in six weeks.
Pepper Catsup.
Fifty pods of large red peppers, with the seeds. Add a
pint of vinegar, and boil until the pulp will mash through
a sieve. Add to the pulp a second pint of vinegar, two spoonfuls
of sugar, cloves, mace spice, onions and salt. Put all in a ket-
tle, and boil to a proper consistency.
Pickled Red Cabbage.
Cut the cabbage in thin slices, spread it on a sieve and
sprinkle it with salt; let it drain for twenty-four hours, dry it,
pack it in pickle jars, fill them with cold vinegar, put in spice
to taste, and tie the jars up firmly. Open the jars in a few days
and if the cabbage has shrunk, fill up with vinegar.
Pickled Green Tomatoes.
Let the tomatoes stand in salt and water for twelve hours.
Then stick four or five cloves in each one, and pour boiling
vinegar over them. Place them in a jar and set them in a cool
place.
Spiced Currants.
Five pounds of currants, two pounds sugar, one pint vinegar,
one tablespoonful each of salt, pepper, cinnamon and cloves,
mash well together and boil twenty minutes.
Tomato Catsup.
Cut the tomatoes in two and boil for half an hour, then
press through a hair sieve and add spices in the proportion given
below, after which boil for about three hours over a slow fire.
Remove from the fire, turn it out, and let it stand till next day,
when you must add half a pint of vinegar for each peck of
tomatoes. For every like amount of the vegetable, add, while
boiling, one-eighth of an ounce of red and one-quarter of an
ounce of black pepper, half an ounce each of mace, allspice and
cloves, and two ounces of mustard all finely powdered. Salt
to suit, and put in a little ginger, and essence of celery, if you
so desire. Bottle, seal the corks and keep in a dark place.
Pickled Pears.
Ten pounds of pears, three pounds of light brown sugar, one
quart of vinegar, one ounce of cinnamon, one ounce of cloves
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(ground), one-quarter pound of citron; put all in together and
boil until the pears are tender, skim the pears out and let the
syrup boil half an hour longer.
French Mustard.
Take a quarter of a pound of best yellow mustard, pour
over it half a pint each of water and vinegar. Add a pinch
of salt and a piece of calamus root the size of a pea. Put it on
the fire and when it boils add a tablespoonful of flour, let it boil
twenty minutes, stirring it constantly. Just before taking it off
stir in a teaspoonful of sugar or honey. When cool, put it into
bottles and cork tightly.
Chow-Chow.
A peck of tomatoes, two quarts of green peppers, half a
peck of onions, two cabbages cut as for slaw, and two quarts of
mustard seed. Have a large firkin, put in a layer of sliced toma-
toes, then one of onions; next one of peppers, lastly cabbage;
sprinkle over some of the mustard seed, repeat the layers again
and so on until you have used up the above quantity. Boil a
gallon of vinegar with a bit of alum, two ounces of cloves and
two of allspice tied in a little bag and boiled with the vinegar,
skim it well and turn into the firkin. Let it stand twenty-four
hours, then pour the whole into a large kettle and let it boil
five minutes; turn into the firkin and stand away for future use.
Preserved Apples.
Core and pare a dozen good-sized apples, and cut into eighths,
make a syrup of a pound of sugar to half a pint of water; let it
boil, and then put in as much apple as can be boiled without
breaking; remove them carefully when tender; after all are
done, add a little more sugar, boil a few minutes, flavor with
lemon and pour over the apples.
Preserved Pineapple.
A pound of sugar to a pound of pineapple; put the slices in
water, and boil a quarter of an hour; then remove them and
add the sugar to the water; put in the apple and boil fifteen
minutes. Boil the syrup till thick.
Apple Jam.
Core and pare a good quantity of apples, chop them well, al-
low equal weight of apples and sugar, make a syrup of your
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sugar by adding a little water, boiling and skimming well, then
throw in some grated lemon peel and a little white ginger with
the apples; boil until the fruit looks clear.
Green Gage Jam.
Rub rips green gages through a sieve, put all the pulp into a
pan with an equal weight of loaf sugar pounded and sifted. Boil
the whole till sufficiently thick, and put into pots.
Preserved Lemon Peel.
Make a thick syrup of white sugar, chop the lemon peel fine
and boil it in the syrup ten minutes; put in glass tumblers and
paste paper over. A teaspoonful of this makes a loaf of cake,
or a dish of sauce nice.
To Crystalize Fruit.
Pick out the finest of any kind of fruit, leave on their stalks,
beat the whites of three eggs to a stiff froth, lay the fruit in the
beaten egg with the stalks upward, drain them and beat the part
that drips off again, select them out one by one and dip them
into a cup of finely powdered sugar, cover a pan with a sheet of
fine paper, place the fruit inside of it and put it in an over that
is cooling; when the icing on the fruit becomes firm pile them
on a dish and set them in a cool place.
Preserved Tomatoes.
A pound of sugar to a pound of tomatoes. Take six pounds
of each; the peel and puice of four lemons and a quarter of a
pound of ginger tied up in a bag; put on the side of the range
and boil slowly for three hours.
Cider Apple Sauce.
Take a porcelain lined kettle, fill it with rich, sweet cider,
boil more than half way, then empty into stone pot. Have ready
sweet apples, pared and quartered, fill the kettle with them, pour
on part of the cider, cover and let them stew until the apples are
done, add the rest of the cider and a little sugar, and stir until
quite thick. It is better to boil it several hours, as the longer
it is boiled the longer it can be kept; while boiling add spice to
taste.
Preserved Strawberries.
Pick off all the stems, and to very quart of fruit add a quart
of sugar; mix well with the sugar and put them over a slow fire
120
till the syrup commences to form, then put them over a hot fire
and let them boil quickly for fifteen minutes, skimming it well.
Put them boiling hot into stone jars, seal up tightly.
To Preserve Green Gooseberries Whole.
To one pound of gooseberries allow one pound and a half of
double refined sugar, and one pint and a half of water. Pick off
the black eye, but not the stalk, from the largest green goose-
berries you can procure, and set them over the fire to scald,
taking care they do not boil. When they are tender, take them
out, and put them into cold water. Then clarify a pound and a
half of sugar in a pint and a half of water, and when the syrup is
cold put the gooseberries singly into your preserving pan, add
the syrup, and set them over a gentle fire. Let them boil
slowly, but not quick enough to break them. When you perceive
the sugar has entered them, take them off, cover them with white
paper and let them stand all night. The next day take out the
fruit and boil the syrup until it begins to be ropy. Skim it well,
add it to the gooseberries, and set them over a slow fire to sim-
mer till the syrup is thick. Then take them out. Set them to
cool, and put them with the syrup into pots. Cover them over,
and keep them in a dray place.
Strawberry Jam.
To six pounds of strawberries allow three pounds of sugar.
Procure some fine scarlet strawberries, strip off the stalks and
put them into preserving pan over a moderate fire, boil them for
half an hour, keeping them constantly stirred. Break the sugar
into small pieces and mix them with the strawberries after they
have been removed from the fire. Then place it again over the
fire, and boil it for another half an hour very quickly. Put it
into pots, and when cold cover it over with brandy papers and
a piece of paper moistened with the white of an egg over the
tops.
Raspberry Jam.
To every pound of raspberries use the same weight of
sugar, but always boil the fruit well before you add the sugar
to it, as that will make it a better color. Put the fruit in a
preserving pan, mashing it well with a long wooden spoon. After
boiling it a few minutes, add the same quantity of sugar as fruit,
boiling it half an hour, keeping it well stirred. When done, and
sufficiently reduced, fill the jars, and when cold ocver them over
with white paper moistened with white of an egg.
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Rhubarb Marmalade.
To one pound of loaf sugar, one pound and a half of rhubarb
stalks, peel of half a large lemon, a quarter of an ounce of bitter
almonds.
Cut the rhubarb stalks into pieces about two inches long and
put them into a preserving pan with the loaf sugar broken small,
the peel of the lemon cut thin, and the almonds blanched and
divided. Boil the whole well together, put it into pots and
cover it as directed for other preserves.
To Preserve Plums.
To every pound of fruit allow three-quarters of a pound of
sugar. Divide the plums, take out the stones, and put the fruit
on a dish with pounded sugar strewed over; the next day put
them into a preserving pan and let them simmer gently by the
side of the fire for about thirty minutes, then boil them quickly,
removing the scum as it rises, and keep them constantly stirred,
or the jam will stick to the bottom of the pan. Crack the stones
and add the kernels to the preserve when it boils.
To Preserve Lettuce Stalks.
Cut into pieces of about three inches in length some stacks
of large lettuce, and soak them in cold water for ten minutes,
washing them very clean. Put a pound and a half of sugar into
a preserving pan with six pints of water and three large des-
sertspoonfuls of ground ginger. Set it over a clear fire to boil
for twenty-five minutes, then pour it into a deep dish to remain
all night. The next day repeat the boiling for half an hour; do
this for five or six days, and then drain them free from moisture
on a sieve reversed. Make a rich syrup of sugar, water, and
three ounces of whole ginger, just bruised; put the lettuce again
into a preserving pan, pour the syrup over them, and boil them
several times until the stalks become clear, taking care the
syrup is sufficiently strong of the ginger.
Blackberry Jam.
Crush a quart of fully ripe blackberries with a pound of the
best loaf sugar pounded very fine, put it into a preserving pan,
and set it over a gentle fire until thick, add a glass of brandy,
and stir it again over the fire for about a quarter of an hour;
then put it into pots and when cold tie them over.
Black Currant Jam.
Gather the currants when they are thoroughly ripe and dry,
and pick them from the stalks. Bruise them lightly in a large
122
bowl, and to every pound of fruit put three-quarters of a pound
of finely beaten loaf sugar; put the sugar and fruit into a pre-
serving pan and boil them from three-quarters to one hour,
skimming as the scum rises, and stirring constantly; then put
the jam into pots, cover them with brandy paper, and tie them
closely over.
Black Currant Jelly.
Gather the currants when ripe, on a dry day, strip them from
the stalks and put them into an earthen pan or jar, and to
every five quarts allow a half pint of water; tie the pan over
and set it in the oven for an hour and a quarter, then squeeze
out the juice through a coarse cloth, and to every pint of juice
put a pound of loaf sugar, broken into pieces; boil it for three-
quarters of an hour, skimming it well; then pour it into small
pots, and when cold put brandy papers over them and tie them
closely over.
Red Currant Jelly.
Pick the currants from the stalks into a broad earthenware
pan. To about one gallon of the picked currants put half a
pound of sifted lump sugar. Put the sugar over the picked cur-
rants the day before you make the jelly. Set the currants over
a slow fire to simmer gently for about twenty minutes, the
slower they simmer the greater quantity of juice they will dis-
charge. There should be an equal quantity of red and white
currants. When all the juice is discharged, strain it through
a hair sieve, and then through a jelly bag while quite hot. Now
to each quart of juice put one pound of powdered loaf sugar.
Put it into a preserving pan, and set it over a quick stove to
boil for twenty minutes. If any scum rises, skim it off. When
done, put it into small white pots or little glasses, and cover it
with brandied paper. Tie down.
Orange Marmalade.
Take six pounds of oranges; cut the peel so as to make it
peel off in four pieces. Put all the peels on the fire in a pre-
serving pan, with a large quantity of water, and boil them for
two hours, then cut them in very thin slices. While they are
boiling press the inside of the oranges through a splinter sieve,
narrow enough to prevent the seeds and skin from going through.
When this is done, and the peels cut into the thinnest shreds,
put the whole on a fire in a copper or brass pan, with eight
pounds of loaf sugar broken small. Boil it all together for ten
minutes ;it may then be taken off the fire and put into preserv-
ing jars.
123
HINTS TO HOUSEWIVES.
How to Choose Meat, Fish, Poultry, Etc.
We advise housewives to market for themselves; but as
some skill is required in a purchaser (if this duty is to be per-
formed to advantage), we will endeavor to give directions by
which inexperienced housewives may be enabled to select good
articles.
First in the list comes butcher's meat; of which beef is con-
sidered the best by most people. An ox should be kept five or six
years before it is killed; it is then in its prime. Ox-beef is the
best. It is a fine grained meat; the lean of a bright red color,
intermingled with grains of fat, when it is well fed and good.
The fat should be white, not yellow, and the suet also white and
firm. Beef should never be lean; it is tough and bad unless
there is a good quantity of fat. Heifer beef is paler than ox beef,
and closer grained; the fat whiter, and the bones, of course,
smaller. Bull beef is only described to be avoided. It is dark
colored and coarse grained; has very little fat, and a strong
meaty smell about it.
Of these joints, choose the rib or sirloin for roasting. If you
purchase ribs of beef, let them be the middle ribs. You may
have one, two, three or four ribs, as you will; but one rib is
too thin to be economical, as it dries up in cooking. If, however,
your family be small, a single rib, with the bones taken out,
rolled, and stuffed will make a nice little roast. If you buy a
sirloin, take care to have it cut from the thin end, which has
a good under cut or fillet, as then, in addition to a roast joint,
you will have another dish, a fillet of beef, one of the best
dishes ever served.
The rump is preferred to the sirloin by epicures, but it is
too large to be served whole. A sufficiently large joint is cut
from the thin end to roast.
For dinner for a large family, where economy is essential,
the buttock of beef is excellent, and very profitable. It is
cheaper than the other roasting portions of the ox, has no bones,
and affords quantities of rich gravy. But it should be hung for
some time until quite tender. The round, aitchbone and silver-
side are usually salted and boiled. The neck is used for making
soup or gravy ask for it as "gravy beef," the thin flank is the
part to be collared. A "rump steak" is to be ordered for frying,
etc. A "beefsteak" does for stewing, puddings, pies, etc. The
inferior and cheaper parts of beef make excellent soup.
124
Veal should be small and white, and the kidney well covered
with fat. The flesh should be dry, closely grained and white;
if it is moist and clammy it is stale, and not fit for cooking.
The fillet, loin, shoulder and best end of the neck are the
roasting joints. The breast is sometimes roasted in very small
families, but it is usually stewed, as is also the knuckle; or
the knuckle may be boiled, and served with parsley and butter;
a calf's head is a delicacy. Calf's feet are also valuable boiled,
stewed or used for jelly. Veal makes the best stock for rich
soups and gravies. It is a most useful meat for made dishes
of all kinds, on account of its delicate flavor.
Mutton. Wether mutton is best. It may be known by
its having a knob of fat on the upper part of the leg. It should
be dark colored and have plenty of fat. The color is important,
as it is a proof of age, and the older mutton is the better it
is. All the joints of a sheep may be roasted. The saddle is
the best. The haunch is next best to the saddle; it is the leg
and loin undivided. The leg and neck are frequently boiled. The
leg and loin separated are the best joints after the haunch.
Chops are cut from the loin; cutlets from the thick end of
the loin, best end of the neck, or middle of the leg. The leg is
sometimes cured and smoked as a ham. The breast of mutton
is often salted and boiled. The scrag end of mutton is very
good stewed with rice.
Lamb should be small, of a pale colored red, and fat.
Lamb is generally roasted. The leg of "house lamb" (which is
in season just before Christmas) is sometimes boiled and served
with white sauce.
Venison. You can tell as to being "high" or not, by running
a skewer into the shoulder and observing the scent on it when
withdrawn. The fat should be thick and clean. If the cleft of
the haunch is smooth and close, the animal is young.
Pork. The fat of pork should be firm, and the lean white
and finely grained. The rind or skin thin and smooth. If the
flesh feels clammy to the touch the pork is bad; if the fat has
kernels in it the pig has been measly, and the meat should not
be eaten. Pork should be perfectly sweet to be good, therfore,
do not hang it long.
Bacon. If bacon is good the rind is thin, the fat firm and
pinkish, the lean tender and adhering to the bone. Rusty bacon
has yellowish streaks in it.
Hams are tried by sticking a knife or skewer into them up
to the knuckle, if when drawn out it has a nice smell, the ham is
good. A bad scent will be perceived if it is tainted.
125
The roasting joints of pork are the spare rib, loin and the
leg, the other joints are salted; the leg may also be cured
and boiled. The sides or flitches are made into bacon. The leg
makes a ham.
Meat should be wiped with a dry cloth as soon as it comes
from the butcher's flyblows should be cut out, and in loins, the
long pipe that runs by the bone should be taken out as it soon
taints; the kernels also should be removed from beef. Never re-
ceive bruised joints. If you wish to keep your meat hanging
longer than ordinary, dredge it well with pepper. Powdered
charcoal dusted over it will also prevent its tainting, nay, will
absolutely remove the taint from meat already gone; we have
seen a pair of fowls quite green from unavoidable long keeping,
made fresh and sweet as ever by being sprinkled with pow-
dered charcoal for an hour before dressing. In hot summers
it is advisable to keep a lunmp of charcoal in the larder. Meat
becomes more digestable and tender by hanging, but lamb and
veal cannot be kept so well as beef and mutton.
To Choose Poultry and Game.
Turkey. The cock bird," when young, has a smooth black
leg with a short spur. The eyes are bright and full, and the
feet supple, when fresh; the absence of these signs denotes
age and staleness; the hen may be judged by the same rules.
Fowls. The young rooster has a smooth leg and a short
spur, when fresh the vent is close and dark. Hens, when
young, have smooth legs and combs; when old, these will be
rough; a good capon has a thick belly and large rump, a poll
comb and a swelling breast.
Geese. In young geese the feet and bills will be yellow
and free from hair. When fresh the feet are pliable; they are
stiff when stale.
Ducks may be selected by the same rules.
Pigeons, when fresh, have supple feet, and the vent will
be firm; if discolored they are stale.
Rabbits. When a rabbit is young and fresh, the cleft in
the lip is narrow, the body stiff, and the claws are smooth and
sharp; old and stale ones will be the opposite of this.
To Choose Eggs.
Shake the eggs; if they are bad they will rattle. But we
think the best plan is to put them in a basin of water, and see
if they lie on their side, down in it. If the egg turns upon its
end it is bad; if it lies obliquely, it is not quite fresh, but may
do for puddings, etc.
126
A happy home,
A smiling wife,
A meal cooked right,
Ah, that is life!
FOR ADVANCED PUPILS.
CANDY FOR THE CHILDREN.
Maple Caramels.
One pound sugar, one-half pound maple sugar, one-half pint
rich cream. Heat slowly and when it begins to boil, add two
tablespoonfuls butter and one-quarter teaspoonful cream of tar-
tar; cook slowly until it snaps in cold water. Pour on buttered
tins and mark in squares while warm.
Ice Cream Taffy.
Two cups sugar, one tablespoonful of butter, enough water
to dissolve the sugar. Boil eight minutes. Add one-half tea-
spoonful of cream of tartar and boil seven minutes longer. Take
from the fire and add one teaspoonful of vanilla extract and
pull until white.
Chocolate Caramels.
Take of grated chocolate, milk, sugar, molasses, one cupful
of each, piece of butter the size of an egg; boil until it drops
hard; pour on buttered dish and before it cools mark off into
square blocks.
Butter Scotch.
Five tablespoonfuls molasses, four tablespoonfuls sugar,
four tablespoonfuls water, two tablespoonfuls butter; let boil
until when dropping a little in cold water it will be brittle.
Put in a pinch of soda before taking off the stove, pour on
buttered tins and when cool enough, mark in squares.
Cocoanut Caramels.
Two cups sugar, with enough water to boil it. When ready
to take off the stove, put in one cup of cocoanut, with a piece
of butter. Flavor with vanilla.
Chocolate Fudge.
Two cups sugar, two-thirds cup of milk and butter size of
a walnut. Put on the stove and when it comes to a boil add
one square of chocolate, grated. When done remove from fire
and add one teaspoonful of vanilla and stir with a spoon until
it thickens. Then pour on buttered tins and when cool enough
mark in squares.
127
THIS IS A JOKE DON'T USE THE RECEIPT.
Question.
Dear Editor: How do you make peach marmalade?
NEWLY WED.
Answer.
Peach marmalade: Take four able-bodied peaches, soak in
vinegar until mellow; then add four ounces of baking powder
and Worcestershire sauce to taste. Bake over a slow fire until
thoroughly done. Serve hot with lettuce and bay rum. This is
original.
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