USTR
-
&ERKEIEY
LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF
CALIFORhHA
THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
AGRICULTURE
BEQUEST
OF
ANITA D. S. BLAKE
MISS PARLOA'S
KITCHEN COMPANION.
A GUIDE FOR ALL WHO WOULD BE
GOOD HOUSEKEEPERS.
BY
MARIA PARLOA,
FOUNDER OF THE ORIGINAL COOKING-SCHOOL IN BOSTON ; PRINCIPAL
OF THE SCHOOL OF COOKERY IN NEW YORK; AND AUTHOR OF
"MISS PARLOA'S NEW COOK-BOOK," "THE APPLEDORE
COOK-BOOK," " FIRST PRINCIPLES OF HOUSEHOLD
MANAGEMENT," " CAMP COOKERY," ETC.
ILLUSTRATED.
BOSTON:
ESTES AND LAURIAT.
Copyright, 1887,
BY MARIA PARLOA,
AGRICUI.TI IRE
GIFT
SHntfartattg
JOHN WILSON AND SON, CAMBRIDGE.
PREFACE.
A LARGE part of my leisure time in the last few years
has been passed in working on this book, which it has
been my ambition to make of real and lasting value to
all who may use it. Those who are familiar with my
other cook-books will see that this one contains not
only many hundred new receipts, but a number of
chapters on important subjects treated only briefly, if
at all, in my earlier works. My publishers' liberality
in regard to illustrations and the size of the book has
enabled me to give a more comprehensive volume than
it has ever before been my privilege to prepare, and
one which I hope may be found a trusty guide for all
who are travelling on the road to good housekeeping.
To two things let me call special attention: First,
do not undertake to cook a new dish until you have
carefully read the receipt at least once ; and secondly,
do not be discouraged by failure in first experiments.
By means of the asterisk (*) ths plain receipts have
been distinguished from those for rich food ; therefore
housekeepers in search of the former can find them at
a glance.
139
iv PREFACE.
To quote from the preface of my last work : " After
much consideration it was decided to be right to call
particular attention in different parts of the book to
certain manufactured articles. Lest her motive should
be misconstrued, or unfair criticisms be made, the author
would state that there is not a word.of praise which is
not merited, and every line of commendation appears
utterly without the solicitation, suggestion, or knowledge
of anybody likely to receive pecuniary benefit there-
from." This statement applies to the present book as
well as to the last.
That the KITCHEN COMPANION may prove a welcome
visitor to thousands of households throughout the land,
is the parting wish with which it is sent before the
public.
M. P.
NEW YORK, March, 1887.
CONTENTS.
AN IDEAL KITCHEN.
PAOB
Plans to attain the greatest convenience. Where the pantry,
china-closet, and storerooms should be located 9
KITCHEN FURNISHING.
A list of articles needed. Descriptions of many new and useful
inventions 29
CARE OF UTENSILS.
How to keep them in good condition for years 58
ABOUT FOOD.
Advice in regard to marketing and gardening. When various
articles of food are in their prime. Canned goods ... 66
SOUPS.
Best methods of obtaining stock. Processes of clarifying.
More than a hundred receipts for soups 104
FISH.
How to clean it. Directions for filleting. Many excellent
modes of cooking 170
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT.
Boiling, broiling, frying, and roasting. Valuable advice to
young housekeepers, and helpful reminders for those that
are experienced 232
vi CONTENTS.
ENTREES.
PAGE
A great variety of toothsome dishes. Croquettes, timbales,
fritters, patties, vol-au-vents, etc 307
CHEESE DISHES.
Numerous good ways to cook cheese. How rare-bits, puffs,
straws, and other dainties are made 399
DISHES OF EGGS.
Why eggs are often indigestible. The right way to boil them.
The art of making an omelet 406
SALADS.
Delicacies which every housekeeper should provide. Full in-
formation about all kinds 426
GARNISHES.
Ways to improve the appearance of soups and dishes of fish
and meat 440
MEAT AND FISH SAUCES.
A branch of cookery with which all housekeepers should be
familiar. Numerous receipts for old and new sauces . . 462
VEGETABLES.
When various kinds are best, and how they may be most pala-
tably cooked and appropriately served 489
SPECIAL ARTICLES.
Brioche paste. Curry-powder and its uses. Various ways of
using a calfs head. The warming over of meats. A boiled
dinner. A salt-fish dinner 546
A GROUP OF SIMPLE DISHES.
die-cakes, mush, toast, short-cake, and other good things
for breakfast and tea . . 569
CONTENTS. vii
PIES.
PAGE
Puff paste and plain paste, and what each is used for. Mince-
meat. Pies and tarts 584
PUDDINGS.
Many kinds, both hot and cold, and excellent sauces to go
with them 603
DESSERT.
Ice-cream, sherbet, jellies, and many other delicacies . . . 674
CAKE.
Plain and rich kinds in abundance. Directions for making
and using icing 742
BREAD, ROLLS, AND MUFFINS.
An important department. Advice about yeast, and receipts
for bread in all its forms 780
BEVERAGES.
The cup that cheers. Why it is often disappointing, Ap-
proved ways of making coffee, chocolate, and cocoa . . . 818
PRESERVING.
When it should be done. The utensils needed. How various
kinds of pickles are made 827
FOOD FOR THE SICK.
What to provide, and the best modes of serving. Receipts
for gruels and kindred things, besides dainties to arouse an
appetite 852
WHAT ALL HOUSEKEEPERS SHOULD KNOW.
Points which will help one to avoid failures and disappoint-
ment, to economize, and to do many perplexing things
quickly and well 87;
Vlii CONTENTS.
BILLS OF FARE.
PAGE
An extensive collection, suited to all occasions, What to serve
at weddings, parties, gentlemen's suppers, etc. Thanks-
giving, Christmas, and Lenten fare 898
INDEX 915
NOTE.
The receipts which are starred (*) are for simple dishes.
MISS PARLOA'S
KITCHEN COMPANION
AN IDEAL KITCHEN.
How few people who build houses give proper atten-
tion to the plan and construction of the kitchen ! Pains
may be taken to have the exterior of the building attrac-
tive, the halls broad, the parlors spacious and finely fin-
ished, the dining-room bright and inviting, the chambers
airy and sunny, but the plan of the kitchen generally
receives much less thought than its importance deserves,
if one be seeking to make the house as nearly perfect as
is practicable. The trouble is not wholly due to UI-K
willingness to expend more money than may have been
at first appropriated. A little extra thought alone is
needed to effect many improvements on the average
kitchen when a house is in process of construction, but
this extra thought usually is missing. Of course, in
order to have a model kitchen, one must be willing to
pay a good price for it ; yet the price will not be so high
that one will ever regret the expenditure ; indeed, most
persons will promptly admit that the money has been
used as profitably as that used for any other part of
the house. The object of this chapter is to show how
a model kitchen may be arranged; and although few
people may adopt the recommendations as a whole, it
10
MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
BAC_K OOOB
STAI R S
RUOM
PANTRY.
KlTCHCN.
SITTING ROOM.
DINING ROOM
is hoped that every reader may find some suggestions of
value, to be followed whether the house be already built
or yet to be erected.
The first matter to be considered is the size of the
room. While it is important to have ample space for
range, sink, dresser, tables, and chairs, and for free move-
AN IDEAL KITCHEN. 11
ments, it also is important to avoid having the room so
large as to oblige one to take many steps to and from
range, sink, table, and pantry. A good size is 16 X 16
or 15 x 17 feet.
Be particular to have the ventilation as good as possi-
ble ; for the comfort of not only those who have duties
in the kitchen, but of the entire household, is in a meas-
ure dependent upon it. If the ventilation be poor, the
strength of those who work in the room will needlessly
become exhausted, and they are likely to get irritated
easily. Moreover, odors of cooking will escape to other
parts of the house instead of passing to the open air.
The room should be high, and have large windows that
can be raised or dropped easily. If the kitchen be
located in a one-story extension, almost perfect ventila-
tion may be secured by means of a ventilator in the roof
or by a skylight; or it may be found easy to have a
ventilator placed in the chimney. If expense be no
obstacle, it will be well to have a separate chimney for
the kitchen, as this is one of the surest ways of prevent-
ing odors of food from reaching other rooms. Although
cAe room may be admirably arranged and finished, it will
not be a model apartment unless there be good ventila-
tion and an abundance of light. Most kitchens have
some dark corners, but there should be none.
Excepting the ceilings, every part of the room, as well
as of the pantry and the adjoining closets, should be fin-
ished in a way that permits of washing. A hard-wood
floor is desirable. Avoid spruce. Hard pine, if care-
fully selected, makes a good floor ; but the best wood is
maple or birch, in strips not more than three inches
wide. If soft wood be used, splinters will in time get
torn up. Oil-cloth often is used for covering the floor.
It may look bright and clean, but is too cold, and fre-
quently causes rheumatism. Lignum, which somewhat
resembles oil-cloth, but is thicker and warmer, is as good
a covering as can be found. It is clean and durable.
12 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Tiles are sometimes recommended for the floor of a
kitchen ; they can be kept clean and will wear well, but
they tire the feet, and for that reason should not be
used.
It is well to have the woodwork in a kitchen oiled. A
wainscot is desirable. Have the walls painted a rather
light color. If one can afford it, the walls about the
range and sink should be tiled. At the outset tiles may
appear costly, but after experience one finds it is really
a saving to use them. They can easily be kept perfectly
clean, and will last as long as the house itself. English
or Dutch tiles should be used, and there is nothing more
appropriate than the blue and white. The price for fur-
nishing and setting such tiles is from seventy cents to a
dollar per square foot. Probably the time will come
when nobody will think of finishing a house without
them.
Do not be satisfied with a small sink. Have one of
good size, and of iron, with a sloping and grooved shelf
at one end, on which to drain dishes after washing them.
Let the sink rest on iron legs. The space under it should
not be enclosed, as every dark place is a source of temp-
tation to a slovenly domestic.
One caution in regard to the sink : have the strainer
screwed down firm. Anything that will not pass through
the strainer should not go into the pipes. The hinged or
loose strainer gives but little protection, as the temp-
tation to lift it and let sediment pass through is very
great. With an immovable strainer and the use, once
a fortnight, of the hot solution of soda described in the
chapter on " Care of Utensils," there will be no trouble
with pipes, unless it be caused by wear or freezing.
After using the hot soda, flush the pipes with cold
water. This plan has been followed in the care of the
plumbing of a large house for many years, with the
most satisfactory results. Put hooks under the sink, for
dish-cloths, dish-pans, etc. Unless there be tiles above,
AN IDEAL KITCHEN.
13
ROLLER FOR TOWEL
ABOVE QROOVEO
DRAINING BOARD.
TO HALL
AND
MAIN PART or HOUSE.
below, and at the sides of the sink, all this space should
be finished in hard wood. If tiles be used, have a broad
capping of hard wood extend across the upper edge of
the top row, in which to place brass hooks for the various
small utensils in frequent use at the sink.
14 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Between the doors leading to the china closet and the
hall have a dresser. Here can be kept the kitchen table-
ware and some utensils. Near the back part of each
shelf have a groove, so that plates and platters may be
placed on edge without danger of their falling. There
also should be two drawers, and below the drawers two
closets containing shelves. The doors of the upper part
of the dresser should be made in part of glass, and in-
stead of swinging on hinges they should slide one in
front of the other.
Allow enough room for the tables, so as to avoid
crowding and confusion when a meal is being prepared
or served. Swinging tables are convenient, as they oc-
cupy no space when not in use. At one end of the sink
have a table, about 2 X 3 feet, containing one drawer
for knives, forks, and spoons, and one for towels. This
table should be placed on castors, so that it can easily
be moved to the centre of the room. There should be
a small table, about the height of the range, for use as a
resting-place for utensils when omelets, waffles, griddle-
cakes, etc., are made. Its top should be covered with
zinc. When not in use this table may be moved to some
other part of the room. There should be one more table
in the kitchen, between two windows if the space will
permit, a settle table, which serves as a seat when
not in use for ironing or some other purpose. Above
the table have two shelves, one for a clock, and the
other for cook-books, the grocer's and marketman's order-
books, etc. It is a good idea to have the corners of all
the tables rounded, so that nobody shall be hurt by
striking against them.
Have broad window-seats, in order to keep a few pots
of flowers, herbs, or other plants in the room. Flowers
brighten a kitchen wonderfully, and seem to grow better
there than in any other part of the house. One other
point about the windows : they should be supplied with
wire screens in summer. Swarms of flies will get in
AN IDEAL KITCHEN.
15
f
^
f
16
MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
unless this precaution be taken. The same barrier is
needed at the outside door as much as at the windows.
The most important piece of furniture is the range.
Many housekeepers find it difficult to decide which is
better, a set or a portable range. Each has merits. Less
room is required for set ranges; broiling and roasting
can be done before the fire, and a constant supply of
hot water is insured. But set ranges are rather slow to
respond to draughts and checks ; they consume a great
deal of coal ; the hearth becomes hot, and uncomfortable
to stand on ; and there is but one side of the range to
approach, which necessitates the frequent lifting and
moving of heavy utensils.
Now, a portable range can be so placed as to permit
of one's walking almost around it ; it can be used as
advantageously as a set range, with about half the same
quantity of coal ; there is a prompt response to the
opening or closing of a draught ; one's feet do not get
heated by standing near it ; there are no dark corners ;
the need of moving utensils is to a large extent avoided,
and it can be so managed that there shall be a hot oven
at any time of the day. But roasting must be done in
AN IDEAL KITCHEN. 17
the oven, and broiling over the coals, and the supply of
hot water is limited.
With a set range there must be a broad hearth of tiles,
slate, or best face-brick. If a portable range be used,
only a large piece of zinc will be required under it.
THE PANTRY.
And now the pantry. It should be about 12 x 8 feet.
The window should have a wire screen, and inside fold-
ing blinds will be found a great convenience, indeed,
they are a necessity. A large, strong table, containing
two drawers, should be placed at this window. There
should be hooks at the ends of the table, from which to
suspend the pastry-board, the board on which cold meats
are cut, arid that on which bread and cake are cut. In
one drawer the rolling-pin, knives, pastry and cake
cutters, and a few other utensils may be kept ; and in the
other drawer, spices, flavoring extracts, etc.
At one end of the room the wall should be covered
with hooks on which to hang . saucepans. At the same
end, about a foot from the floor, there should be a broad
shelf on which to keep heavy pots and kettles, turned
upside down to keep out dust. Two feet above this
shelf there should be a narrow one for the covers of the
utensils just mentioned. By following this plan one
can keep all these articles together and always in sight,
and no time need be lost in searching for any of them.
There will be space in this end of the room for small
shelves for the glass jars in which to keep materials
used frequently, such as tapioca, barley, rice, baking-
powder, soda, cream-of-tartar, ginger, split peas, etc.
Here, also, may be kept small pasteboard boxes contain-
ing herbs.
In the window-frame put brass hooks, on which to
hang the egg-beater, spoons, graded measuring-cups, a
whisk, etc.
18
MISS PAKLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
At the lower end of the pantry have a strong rack,
a few inches from the floor, on which to place flour-
barrels. This plan insures the circulation of air under
the barrels, keeping their contents sweet. About a foot
above the barrels have a wall closet, with shelves about
twenty inches wide. This should be supplied with a
lock, as it is designed for keeping cooked food and such
groceries as raisins, currants, and citron, in glass jars,
besides fresh fruit. The door or doors should be made
partly of wire.
Extending the length of one side of the room have a
tier of shelves, beginning about a foot from the floor and
running as high as the top of the wall closet. Tin cans
of meal und sugar, stone jars of salt, and jugs of molas-
ses and vinegar may be kept on the lower shelves ; and
mixing-bowls, mixing-pans, stone-china measuring-cups,
etc., indeed, all utensils for which no other place has
been provided, may be kept on the upper shelves.
AN IDEAL KITCHEN. 19
In some place near the door of the pantry have a hook
or a roller for a towel, in order to avoid taking steps
across the kitchen whenever the hands require wiping.
Now, if a kitchen and pantry be built or reconstructed
on this plan, the cooking can be done with comfort, and
the washing of dishes will not seem so burdensome as
it does in the ordinary kitchen. Even if one find it
impracticable to follow all or many of the suggestions
made, pains ought to be taken whatever the plan of the
kitchen be to concentrate the work, obtain good light,
good ventilation, and ample table-room ; and all meas-
ures which are calculated to insure cleanliness and to
make the kitchen an attractive place should be adopted.
There must be a closet near by for brooms, brushes,
dusters, etc. ; and there should be a cold room near the
kitchen, in which to keep most of the perishable stores.
In case there be no room of this kind, it will be well to
keep the refrigerator in the pantry.
THE STOREROOM.
A storeroom well arranged and properly managed is
a source of economy, security, and comfort to a house-
keeper. It should be kept locked except when stores
are being put in or taken out. Light should be fur-
nished by a small window. For a household of moderate
size a room 7x5 feet will suffice. In the ground-plan
given on page 10 no provision is made for such a room
on the first floor, but there would be space for one if the
china closet were made smaller and there were no closets
in the back hall.
Broad shelves should run all round the room, and
there should be a movable set of broad, firm steps say
two or three steps for use in reaching the upper
shelves. The floor and shelves should be planed smooth,
that there may be no grooves nor defective places where
any substance which may be spilled will lodge, giving
20 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
a disagreeable odor to the room. The shelves must be
made strong, so that no danger shall arise from putting
a great weight of stores on them. A tier of three shelves
will be enough. Have a space of about twenty inches
between the shelves. Do not have any of the woodwork
painted. The walls may be plastered or sheathed. If
plastered, they may be whitened each spring, if neces-
sary. This will freshen and sweeten the room. The
shelves and floor may be cleaned once a month, and the
other woodwork washed twice a year. Care must be
taken not to use much water. The room should be kept
dry, as well as clean, cool, and dark.
Use the lower shelves for such supplies as are fre-
quently drawn upon, and the upper ones for those stores
which are used the least. On the upper shelves there
may also be kept such kitchen utensils as may be re-
quired to replace those which become worthless, such
as bowls and cups, saucepans, etc., which a wise house-
keeper will always keep in reserve.
If flour be kept in a barrel in the storeroom, there
should be a strong rack, a few inches from the floor (as
recommended for the pantry), on which to place the
barrel ; the idea being to get a free circulation of air
under the barrel and prevent dampness. Such grocer-
ies as molasses, granulated sugar, vinegar, wine, cider,
washing-soda, etc., may be kept on the floor. A strip
of wood into which are screwed half a dozen or more
hooks, may be fastened (5n one side of the room, and
on it can be hung the brushes, brooms, etc., required to
replace those which become worn out.
Following is a list of supplies which should be kept
in the storeroom. In sections of the country where such
articles as shrimp and lobster can always be found fresh
it will not be necessary to use canned goods. Again, in
those places where fish and oysters are never found
fresh, it is well, on account of the saving in cost,
to buy them ,by the quantity, as one would buy canned
AN IDEAL KITCHEN. 21
peas, tomatoes, mushrooms, etc. In some parts of the
country the people depend almost wholly upon condensed
milk rather than upon the fresh fluid. If canned milk
must be used, a considerable saving can be made by buy-
ing a large quantity at one time. Then, too, if one be so
placed that it would not be possible to obtain an extra
quantity of milk in an emergency, it will be well to keep
a few cans of condensed milk on hand.
Time and money will be saved by purchasing by the
dozen such canned goods as peas, tomatoes, mushrooms,
peaches, apricots, as well as gelatine, etc. Soap and
Sapolio, candles and starch, all should be bought by the
box. It is well to have peas of two qualities, the
small French peas for use as a vegetable, and the larger
and cheaper kind for making soups and purees. Truffles,
caviare, sardines, anchovies in various forms, and a few
other things, are luxuries in which many housekeepers
never indulge ; and in any case a small can or bottle
is all that one will require in a storeroom, provided one
lives in or near a large city where such articles can be
obtained.
In the list of supplies which follows these remarks
are mentioned many things not actually essential, but
which are very useful in giving variety to the fare. It
may surprise some readers that dried or smoked fish,
ham, bacon, salt pork, brown soap, and some other arti-
cles are not included in the list. The reason is, that
they have moisture or a strong odor, two things to be
avoided in a storeroom where delicate groceries are kept.
A cold room where there is a free circulation of air is
a better place for them.
Experience has proved that tin boxes are the best
receptacles for all kinds of food that would attract mice
or weevils. Tin boxes are, to be sure, much more expen-
sive than wooden buckets ; but as they are lasting and
perfectly secure, it is, in the end, economical to buy
them. Each box should be labelled ; and if they be
22 MISS PAKLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
made to order, it will be well to have the labels painted
on them at the time. Such boxes as cracker-manufac-
turers use will answer for this purpose, and a house-
keeper may obtain them through her grocer if no more
convenient way presents itself. When made to order,
tin boxes are expensive.
first Shelf. Graham, corn meal, both white and yel-
low, oatmeal, rye meal, hominy, buckwheat, rice, soda,
crearn-of-tartar, tapioca, powdered and block sugar, dried
peas, beans, barley, picked raisins, currants that have
been cleaned, eggs, cheese, gelatine, tea, coffee, chocolate,
starch, bluing, candles; all the articles, except the last
three and the gelatine, to be kept in tin boxes.
Second Shelf. Olive oil, vanilla, lemon, orange, and
almond extracts, Santa Cruz rum, eau-de-vie de Dantzic,
maraschino, brandy, white wine, tarragon vinegar, olives,
capers, liquid rennet, table salt, macaroni, spaghetti,
vermicelli, crackers, lime-water, stove-polish, Sapolio,
Castile soap, toilet soap, chloride of lime.
Preserved ginger, pickles, anchovy paste, chutney
sauce, extract of meat in small jars, arrowroot, corn-
starch, potted ham, tongue, and chicken, French paste
for coloring soups and sauces, devilled ham, anchovies
in oil and in salt, Russian caviare, sardines, orange mar-
malade, jellies, canned and preserved fruits, almonds,
citron, candied lemon and orange peel, tomato, walnut,
and mushroom ketchup, essence of anchovy, curry-pow-
der, white and red pepper, essence of shrimp, Worcester-
shire or Leicestershire sauce, and these whole spices,
nutmegs, cloves, cinnamon, mace, allspice, pepper-corns,
and ginger ; these ground spices, mace, cinnamon, clove,
allspice, ginger ; these whole herbs, sage, savory, thyme,
parsley, sweet-marjoram, summer savory, tarragon ; these
ground herbs, sage, summer savory, thyme, parsley,
sweet-marjoram.
Third Shelf. These canned vegetables, button
onions, cauliflower, peas, string beans, shelled beans,
AN IDEAL KITCHEN. 23
mixed vegetables, tomatoes, and corn ; also, canned
eepes, mushrooms, truffles, salmon, lobster, shrimp,
chicken and tongue, and dessert biscuit, prunes, twine,
chamois skin, whiting, household ammonia, clothes-pins.
Floor. Molasses, cider, vinegar, granulated sugar,
wine, coarse salt for freezing, washing-soda for the
plumbing.
THE COLD STOREROOM.
This room should be on the north side of the house,
and should have two small windows, on two sides of the
room, if possible. A broad beam should extend across
one end of the room, at least one foot from the wall.
Strong meat-hooks should be fastened in this beam, on
which to hang harn, bacon, smoked tongue, smoked sal-
mon, and fresh meat or poultry that is to be kept a day
or more. At the other end of the room there should be
broad, strong shelves on which to put the tubs or jars in
which pork, lard, pickles, etc., are kept. All the things
which should be kept very cold, such as fruits, vegeta-
bles, preserves, etc., may be stored in this room.
If one hav a good light cellar, the cold storeroom
may be arranged there. The entrance should be near
the kitchen stairs. In most modern cellars the furnace
gives so much heat that a separate place is required for
storage purposes. If one be about to build a house, it
will be well to take this matter under consideration.
Have a separate cellar under the kitchen, and keep it
for vegetables and a storeroom. In the larger cellar
have the furnace, fuel-bins, and a workshop, if one be
needed. If the cellar extend the entire length of the
house, a cold room may be made by building a brick
partition at the end of the cellar farthest from the
furnace. The room, whether on the ground floor or
downstairs, should be so arranged that it can be made
light when necessary. The windows should have inside
blinds.
24 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
In most households the cellar will be found to be the
most desirable place for a cold room, because the temper-
ature will be more even than in a place above ground.
Dry atmosphere, light, and ventilation are the special
points to keep in mind. Even in an old house, where
the light is insufficient, large windows may be put in,
and the trouble thus easily remedied. Perfect cleanli-
ness and frequent airing are necessary for the preserva-
tion of food in this room.
Of course, it is desirable to have the room divided into
two parts, a thin partition will suffice, that the milk
and butter in one compartment shall not absorb the
flavor of meats, fish, fruits, or vegetables kept in the
other. If there be no refrigerator in the pantry, have
one in this room. Ice will not melt so quickly here as
in other parts of the house.
A writer who has given considerable thought to the
subject of ventilation says that " a great mistake is some-
times made in ventilating cellars and milk-houses. The
object of ventilation is to keep the cellars cool and dry,
but this object often fails of being accomplished by a
common mistake, and instead the cellar 'is made both
warm and damp. A cool place should never be venti-
lated unless the air admitted is cooler than the air
within, or is at least as cool as that, or only a very little
warmer. The warmer the air the more moisture it holds
in suspension. Necessarily, the cooler the air the more
this moisture is condensed and precipitated. When a
cool cellar is aired on a warm day, the entering air being
in motion appears cool ; but as it fills the cellar the cooler
air with which it becomes mixed chills it, the moisture
is condensed, and dew is deposited on the cold walls, and
may often be seen running down them in streams. Then
the cellar is damp, and soon becomes mouldy. To avoid
this, the windows should only be opened at night, and
late, the last thing before retiring. There is no need
to fear that the night air is unhealthful ; it is as pure
AN IDEAL KITCHEN. 25
as the air of midday, and is really drier. The cool air
enters the apartment during the night and circulates
through it. The windows should be closed before sun-
rise in the morning, and kept closed and shaded through
the day. If the air of the cellar be damp, it may be thor-
oughly dried by placing in it a peck of fresh lime in an
open box. A peck of lime will absorb about seven
pounds, or more than three quarts, of water ; and in this
way a cellar or milkroom may soon be dried, even in the
hottest weather."
THE CHINA CLOSET.
Between the kitchen and dining-room there should
be a closet where the dining-room dishes (except rare
glass and china) can be kept, and where the glassware,
silver, and delicate china if not all the china can be
washed. A window is needed in this room. Have the
floor made of hard wood, unless it is to be covered. If
covered, use lignum. A woollen carpet never should be
laid in a china closet. The walls may be sheathed, or
plastered and painted. Everything considered, sheathing
with well-finished hard wood is the best plan.
On one side of the room have closets about three feet
high, beginning at the floor. Above the closets have
broad shelves. These should have deep grooves, so that
meat dishes may be placed on edge and inclined against
the wall. On the opposite side of the room have a sim-
ilar tier of shelves, with drawers, instead of closets,
under the lowest. If the room be planned like that in
the design given, there will be space between the two
tiers of shelves already mentioned for still another tier,
although it will be better to save this space for the steps
needed for reaching the high shelves. These steps
should be broad, as a precaution against accidents to
anybody and damage to dishes.
The shelves should be made of smooth hard wood,
which is easily kept clean. It adds considerably to the
26
MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
AN IDEAL KITCHEN. 27
cost of the room, but also considerably to the conven-
ience, to have sliding glass doors in front of the shelves.
They will exclude a great deal of the dust which other-
wise would collect.
At one end of the room, near the window, have a s,ink
for washing dishes, not such a sink as that in the
kitchen, but a rather small basin, say of copper, about
eighteen inches long, twelve wide, and eight or nine
deep. Copper is especially recommended because it
wears better than zinc. A soapstone sink or a porcelain-
lined pan would be desirable but for the greater liability
of breaking dishes. It is a good idea to have a small
cedar tub they are made with brass hoops, and look
very neat for the washing of the most delicate china
and glassware, which is likely to get marred or broken
if crowded into a pan with other heavier articles.
On each side of the sink have a swinging table, on
which to place dishes. The tables will at times be
convenient when making salads and other similar
dishes. Above the table nearest the kitchen have a
slide in the wall, that dishes may be passed to and from
the kitchen. This small space will not admit odors or
the hot air as the door would if kept open. In case
there be two or more servants in the household, the
door from the closet to the kitchen need not be opened
at all while a meal is served, all dishes being passed
through the slide.
The small closets in the room are for the sugar, tea,
condiments, and the cake, bread, and cracker boxes.
There should be one small closet for the articles used
in cleaning the table-ware, such as soap, whiting, alco-
hol, ammonia, brushes, chamois skin, etc. The drawers
under the shelves are intended for the table linen, clean
dish-towels, etc.
A towel-rack that can be fastened to the window-
casing is a necessity. In case the walls be plastered or
28
MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
tiled, a broad moulding of wood should be placed just
above the sink. Brass hooks screwed into this moulding
will prove to be a great convenience.
This room is often called the butler's pantry.
KITCHEN FURNISHING.
29
KITCHEN FURNISHING.
To a woman who is interested in cooking and in her
kitchen there are few places so tempting as a kitchen-
furnishing store. There are so many articles that are
of no great value in the kitchen that one must exercise
great care in selecting what is best adapted to her wants.
Closets crowded with all sorts of utensils are not a help
to order, neatness, and expedition in cooking ; but it is
essential to the highest perfection in cooking that there
shall be enough of the right kind of utensils.
The object of this chapter is to show what a good
housekeeper really needs, of what material the uten-
sils should be made, and some of the numerous inven-
tions which, if not absolutely needful, are at least very
desirable in a modern kitchen.
Here is a list of articles with which every housekeeper
should be supplied :
Apple-corer.
Baking-pans, four, of tin, and
shallow.
Baking-pans of Russian iron, two
sizes.
Bean -pot.
Biscuit-cutter.
Blacking-brash, for polishing stove.
Block, or thick board, on which to
break bones, open lobsters, etc.
Boards, two, on which to cut bread
and cold meat.
Boning-knife.
Bowls, four, yellow earthenware,
holding from six quarts down.
Bowls, four, white, and smooth-
bottomed, holding one quart
each.
Boxes, of tin or wood, for rice,
tapioca, crackers, barley, soda,
cream-of-tartar, etc.
Braising-pan, say of granite -ware,
round and deep, with cover.
Bread-pans, two, holding six and
eight quarts respectively.
Brown-bread pans, two.
Buckets or tin boxes for sugar,
graham, Indian, and rye meal.
Butcher's knife.
Cake-box.
Case knives and forks, two each.
Chocolate-pot.
Chopping knife and tray.
Coffee-biggin.
Coffee-pot.
Colander.
30
MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Covers for flour-barrels.
Cups, six, holding half a pint each.
Dipper with long handle.
Dish-cloth, of wire.
Dish -pan.
Double-boiler, hoi ding three quarts.
Double-broilers, three, one each
for toast, fish, and meat.
Dredgers, one each for flour, pow-
dered sugar, salt, and pepper,
the last two to be small.
Dust pan and brush.
Egg-beater, Dover.
Fish-kettle.
Flour-sieve.
Fork, large.
French cook's knife.
Frying-basket.
Frying - kettle, Scotch, No. 4
(which is deep).
Frying-pans, French, polished,
Nos. 3 and 6.
Grater, large.
Gravy-strainer.
Griddle.
Hand- basin.
Jagging-iron.
Larding-needle.
Lemon-squeezer.
Meat-rack.
Melon-mould.
Milk -pans, two.
Moulding-board, of hard wood.
Muffin-pans, two, of stamped iron.
Pail, for cleaning purposes.
Pans, four, deep, for loaves of
bread or cake.
Pots, two, of cast-iron (they come
with the stove).
Preserving-kettle, porcelain-lined.
Pudding-dish, of earthenware.
Pudding-mould, round.
Quart measures, two.
Rolling-pin.
Roll-pan, French, of Russian iron,
and deep.
Scoops, one each for flour and
sugar.
Scrubbing-brush.
Skewers, of steel, one set.
Spice-box.
Spoons, four, large, for mixing
purposes.
Squash-strainer.
Steamer that will fit on to one of
the cast-iron pots.
Stew-pans, four, of stamped tin or
granite-ware, holding from one
pint to four quarts.
Stew-pans, three, porcelain-lined,
holding from one to six quarts.
Stone pots, one holding ten
quarts, for bread ; one holding
six quarts, for butter ; and one
holding three quarts, for pork.
Table-spoons, two.
Tea-canister.
Teapot.
Teaspoons, six.
Trussing-needle.
Vegetable-cutters, two.
Vegetable-knives, two.
Vegetable-masher.
Waffle-iron.
Whip-churn.
Wire beater or whisk.
Wooden bowl, for chopping pur-
poses.
Utensils made of iron increase in value with use, as
the surface becomes smooth. In buying them, be care-
ful to see that they are of the best quality and are well
finished. There are few things that come into the
kitchen which will cause more annoyance than iron uten-
sils of poor quality. Before being used they should be
KITCHEN FURNISHING. 31
washed and be wiped perfectly dry. Then the inside
should be rubbed over with some kind of fat or oil that
is perfectly free of salt. Let the utensils stand for
several hours before washing again. Now put them on
the fire where they will be heated gradually, and then
wash them with soap and water, rinse thoroughly in hot
water, and wipe perfectly dry. They should be rubbed
hard with a dry towel. This will make the surface
smooth. If this work be done carefully, and the iron
be good and the utensil well made, there will be no
further trouble.
Iron utensils that are wiped with a wet cloth and then
put on the stove to dry are liable to have a rough surface
and to rust.
Among the iron goods used in the kitchen are frying-
pans, waffle-irons, roll-pans, griddles for batter cakes,
large iron pots, etc. Sometimes some of these things
are so highly polished that they only require to be washed
in soap and water and then rubbed dry. This is the
case with what are called French fry-pans, English
hammered pans, and steel-finished griddles. A good
deal of the heavy iron-ware, like stew-pans, soup-kettles,
fish-kettles, etc., comes with either porcelain or tin
lining, in which case washing in soap and water is all
that is required. For long, slow cooking these porcelain-
lined or tin-lined stew-pans are quite desirable, as the
article cooking can be kept at a more even temperature
than in the tin or granite-ware stew-pan. Iron conies
next to copper in retaining heat, yet is far below copper
in this respect. But there are two objections to the use
of many copper utensils, their weight, and the danger
of poisoning. Pains must be taken to care properly
for such as are used. In large establishments where the
special duty of one or more persons is to take charge of
the stew-pans and other utensils, there is no reason why
copper may not be used, provided the articles are in-
spected frequently. In private families where only a
32 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
few servants are employed, the cook does not have the
time to keep copper utensils in proper condition.
For all cooking where the process is not long and slow,
nothing can be cleaner, lighter, or more easily kept in
good condition than granite-ware. Its enamel, like that
of porcelain-lined ware, will crack and chip off with
rough treatment ; but if it has proper care it will be found
most serviceable.
When buying this ware examine it carefully ; and if
it does not seem firm in every part or if it has a flaw in
the enamel, do not take it. If the utensil can be bent
in any way, the enamel will crack and chip off, making
the dish worthless. This is the reason why the spoons
of this ware are not a success. Some persons still are
prejudiced against this ware. The constant use of it
for eight years has proved it perfectly reliable and the
most satisfactory of all materials for kitchen utensils,
its lightness and cleanliness especially commending it.
A large proportion of utensils are made of tin. One
should be careful in the purchase of tin articles to get
the best. So much cheap metal is sold for a song that
dealers do not find a ready sale for the best quality, and
therefore even first-class houses do not keep it made up.
Articles made of good block-tin will outwear half a
dozen sets of the cheap, light tin that is used so freely.
The best tin has a smooth and rather dull-looking sur-
face, and is so strong and firm that it will keep its shape
until worn out. It will stand great heat without the
surface becoming rough. The poorer quality of tin has
a more brilliant surface, which will be found upon ex-
amination to be a little rough. When exposed to great
heat the tin coating melts, giving a rough, uneven sur-
face which it is difficult to clean and to which a cook-
ing substance clings, thus getting burned. Most utensils
should be made of XX tin; at least XXX tin, if not
XXXX, should be used for bread and cake pans when
they are not made of sheet-iron. Tin boxes in which
KITCHEN FURNISHING. 33
groceries are kept need not be of this quality of tin.
Such boxes as are made for cracker-manufacturers would
cost no more than the wooden buckets. One can nearly
always get them through one's grocer. It is a simple
matter to paint the labels on them. - These can be used
in the storeroom for the articles enumerated in the list
on page 22. There should be kept in the pantry two
tin boxes for bread, fresh and stale ; two for sugar,
powdered and granulated; and one for each kind of
meal.
For the daily or weekly supplies for the pantry there
is nothing better than glass preserving- jars. In these can
be kept rice, beans, split peas, tapioca, sago, barley, ver-
micelli, roasted coffee, etc. A glance at the row of jars,
and one sees at once the article required, a great sav-
Soup-digester. Ham -boiler.
ing of time and thought. Then, too, the housekeeper
can ascertain each morning, without opening the jars,
which need replenishing. This plan of keeping groceries
in sight is of the greatest advantage.
A soup-digester, which is used in making soup, is not
a necessity, but is of great value in the kitchen. If
not made so tight that all the steam is kept in, one
might as well use an ordinary kettle. There is a little
opening in the cover, which lets the steam escape in case
there should be hard boiling. Soup-digesters are made
in this country, and cost about one-third less than the
English ; but so far they have not been made steam-tight,
3
34 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
and are of no greater value than an ordinary kettle with
a good cover. Those imported from England are well
made.
A fish-kettle is almost a necessity, and is not very ex-
pensive. It is long, -but light, and has a perforated tray
with handles, which fits loosely into the kettle. The fish
rests on this tray while cooking, and when done is lifted
from the water and drained on
the tray. An oval sheet-iron
ham-boiler is cheap and light,
and can be used for boiling a
ham, turkey, a small fish, or a
cut of a large fish, like halibut
or salmon. It has a perforated
tray, like the fish-boiler.
The waffle-iron is one of the
things that should be of the
best quality, as the work of
cooking waffles is hot and hard
at any time ; and when
the iron is
too shallow,
or is in a
frame that
lifts it too
high from
Waffle-iron. the fire, or
when it does
not fit perfectly over the opening in the stove, it causes
a great deal of annoyance. Griswold's American waffle-
irons are the most satisfactory. They are comparatively
new.
Nearly every family has griddle-cakes at least one or
two mornings in the week in cold weather, and the
question of what kind of griddle to use is often de-
bated. One made of soapstone, when properly handled,
is to most people very satisfactory. The advantage is,
KITCHEN FURNISHING. 35
that it does not require greasing, and therefore there is
no smoke nor odor from the cooking of the cakes, a
great consideration when the dining-room is located where
the odors and smoke from the kitchen are likely to reach
it. One objection to the soapstone griddle is that the
cakes and muffins baked on it are not quite so tender as
those baked on the iron griddle. Of iron griddles there
are two kinds. First, there is the common one made of
cast-iron, with very little polish. A good-sized griddle
of this class can be bought for less than a dollar. Then
there is a thick, highly polished kind, the surface looking
like steel, which will cost three or four times as much.
If one can afford it, it will pay to buy the better griddle.
It is so thick and smooth that the heat is more uniform
than on the thinner and cheaper iron.
Cast-iron roll and gem pans are very heavy, and it
takes some use to get them smooth; but they can be
heated thoroughly before a mixture is put into them,
which at times is a great consideration, and no diffi-
culty arises when a thin mixture is used. The Kussian-
iron pans are not made tight, and cannot be used when
the mixture is thin enough to run freely ; therefore, if
a housekeeper can have but one kind of pan, it will be
wise to have the cast-iron kind.
A common short-handled cast-iron
frying-pan' that can be put in the
oven, is a necessity. After a little Frying-pan,
service it becomes smooth, and is
useful for hash, spider corn-cake, baked omelets, etc.
There are three other varieties of frying-pans, which
come in sets, and a housekeeper should have some of
the pans in at least two sets. The most common is
that called the French polished fry-pan, though it really
is not a French pan. It is smooth, light, well made,
and cheap. These pans may be used for various pur-
poses. They are so smooth that the materials do not
stick to them, and therefore there is little danger of
36 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
burning. They are convenient to make sauces in, or
for use in frying vegetables for soups or garnishes, or,
indeed, for any kind of frying when the articles are
not to be immersed in fat. They answer also for omelet-
pans. In brief, these pans are the most useful of all
utensils. They are made in many sizes. The prices
range from twenty cents upward. It will be found a
good investment to get a set of these pans, beginning at
zero, and going as high as No. 4 or 5. The regular
French pans have much deeper sides, and are of finer
finish. The objection to them is that the handles are
rather short, which is especially inconvenient in making
omelets.
For an omelet-pan there is nothing in the market that
compares with the pans of English hammered ware.
They are very similar in shape to the French polished
pans, but are much heavier, and the handles are longer.
The marks of the hammer give the pans a rather rough
appearance, but this roughness is not the slightest obsta-
cle to perfect work. The only objection to the pans is
the unfinished edges, which are sharp, and sometimes
cut one's hands when washing them. The sizes and
prices are about the same as those of the French pol-
ished pans.
Frying-pans that can be used for all purposes come in
granite-ware ; but as they are not so durable, and the heat
is not so even as with iron, they are not desirable. They
cost about the same as iron.
A good substitute for wooden pails is what is called
wood-pulp ware. Pails, dish-pans, wash-bowls, etc., are
made from this substance. They are light ; there are no
hoops to rust or loosen, and the pails or pans can be
kept clean and dry without danger of damage.
There should be at least two chopping-trays in the
kitchen. The long, deep tray, which is made of one
piece of wood, will last almost a lifetime.
The round wooden bowls, though not eo durable, are
KITCHEN FURNISHING.
37
yet very useful, and there should be one, at least, in the
pantry. The second or third size is best in a small
family.
Chopping-tray.
Butter-bowls.
A chopping-knife with only one blade is much more
desirable than one with two. The blade should be almost
.
Scales and Weights.
straight across. When it is rounded a good deal, much
time and strength are wasted in chopping.
,s nl
;
'37 "fl;
-^-^^^^^_^^_^^_,
No kitchen outfit is complete without scales. Two
kinds come for use in the household. The old-fashioned
is the better, as there is nothing to get out of order.
Dial Scales.
38
MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
These scales are more cumbersome than the dial scales,
but the latter are likely to require repairing.
A lignum-vitse mortar and pestle will last for genera-
tions, and there should be one in every kitchen.
Mortar and Pestle.
Coffee-mill.
A French coffee-mill, which is simple and durable, is
a necessity where filtered coffee is made. This will
grind coarse or exceedingly fine, as desired. It is easily
adjusted, and so simple that a child can use it.
A rack to put in the dripping-pan for a piece of meat
to rest on when cooked in the oven is needful.
Sherwood's meat-pan grates, which
come in four sizes, are light, strong,
and easily kept clean. They cost
Meat-pan Grate. from twenty-five to forty cents.
In a large family a meat-
chopper is a great conven-
ience. These cutters come
in three sizes for family use.
A meat-press is not a
necessity, but is very use-
ful; the meat that is
pressed in it coming out
as a solid piece from which
slices of good shape may be
cut. These presses come
in several sizes. Meat-chopper.
KITCHEN FURNISHING.
39
Nothing in the way of an egg-boiler has ever taken
the place of the old-fashioned egg-coddler, with which
the cooking can be done in a scientific way. Boiling
water is poured into the coddler, and it stands until the
Meat and Jelly Press.
Egg-coddler.
tin is thoroughly heated. The water is poured out and
the eggs are arranged in the coddler, which is then filled
with boiling water and kept in a warm place for .ten
minutes. At the end of that time it is sent to the table,
water and all.
Egg-poacher.
Silver & Co.'s (41 Broadway, New York) new egg-
poacher will be found of great value in the kitchen.
Place it in a pan of boiling water, with a teaspoonful of
salt to a pint of water. Let the water boil for two min-
utes ; then draw the pan back where the water will hardly
bubble, and break an egg into each ring. Let the eggs
stand for about three minutes and they will be done. Al-
ways be sure to have the poacher hot before the eggs are
put in ; and it must be in the water when the eggs are
broken into it. One can use muffin-rings and keep the
shape of the egg round ; but this new poacher is so
40
MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION
convenient that one will hardly care to do without it,
if poached or dropped eggs are a popular dish in the
family.
Egg-poacher.
A chocolate-pot with a muller that is, a sort of
dasher made of wood and tin, the handle of which comes
up through the cover of the pot
enables one to make a fine and
frothy drink. When the chocolate
is made it is poured into this pot,
and the dasher is worked rapidly up
and down. This makes the choco-
late froth and thicken. The choc-
olate is served in the pot, which is
Chocolate-pot to use ,, , , -, -, , . .-, , .,
with a Muller. usually made of block tin, though it
may be of plated ware or solid silver.
Salt, pepper, flour, and sugar dredgers are as necessary
as spoons. There are two kinds, with a great difference
Flour-dredger. Salt-box.
English ware.
Dredge-box. Pepper-box.
Japanned ware.
in price. The English dredge-boxes are made of the
best of tin, with concave covers, and are well finished.
These are the only suitable kinds for flour and salt.
The common flat dredgers, made of common tin, usually
are badly finished. They are more often Japanned than
KITCHEN FUKNISH1XG.
41
left plain. Such dredgers serve very well for pepper,
but not for salt and flour. Always have a rather small
salt-dredger, and have the pepper-dredgers of the small-
est size in the Japanned ware. This will reduce the
chances of using the wrong
seasoning when one is work-
ing hastily. The distinc-
tion should be so great that
there need be no doubt
which dredger contains
flour, which salt, and which
pepper. If a dredger be
wanted for powdered su- Tapering Strainer.
gar, have it of a different size from that containing flour,
and do not keep it on the same shelf.
A tapering strainer presents such a large surface
through which material can be pressed that it saves
Grocer's Tunnel.
Tunnel.
Flour- scoop.
much time, and is therefore to be preferred to the ordi-
nary strainer.
^hree tunnels are needed, a grocer's tunnel, for fill-
ing preserving-jars, and
one large and one small
tunnel for filling bottles,
jugs, arid cruets.
There should be a
scoop for the flour-barrel
and another for sugar.
Spice-boxes are made
in many forms. Little
boxes labelled with the various kinds of spice are fitted
Spice-box.
42
MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
into one large box. If they were well made they would
be very desirable, but they are so poorly made that it is
difficult to take the covers off or to put them on. The
cut given on page 41 illustrates a very simple and good
box with three compartments on each side ; the only
objection being that the spice is not protected so well
as in the case of the little boxes within one large box.
However, one does not keep much spice at a time in
these pantry boxes, and the saving of time and patience
by using this box is a consideration.
A flat-handled skim-
mer is one of the things
that should be in every
kitchen, and also a cake-
turner.
Many housekeepers
prefer the kind of po-
tato-masher shown be-
low to the wooden one.
In unskilled hands it
gives a lighter dish of potato than the wooden masher,
Flat-handled Skinmx
Potato-masher.
but the wooden one will be needed for many other things
for which the wire masher would not answer.
There are many kinds of
ice-picks, but for general use
none are better than the iron-
Iron-bound Ice-pick. bound one.
Skewers should always be of
steel. It is well to have two sets, a graded set for
meat and poultry, and a small kind for birds.
KITCHEN FURNISHING.
Nothing made for opening cans is equal to sardine-
shears, which with care will last for a generation.
Sardine-shears. Fluted Cake-pan.
A cake baked in a fluted round pan, like that shown
above, is nice to put on the table whole.
Fancy Cake-pans.
A few of each of the small moulds represented above
give variety to a cake-basket. Plain cake baked in these
44
MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Border-mould.
fancy shapes is more attractive than a rich kind in one
large loaf.
In selecting baking-pans, get those made of XXX tin
or sheet-iron, with perfectly straight sides and level
bottoms.
A plain round or oval border-
mould will be very serviceable, as it
can be used for baking cakes for des-
sert, for steaming any kind of force-
meat which is to be served with a
garnish or ragout, or for shaping any
kind of mashed vegetable, such as
rice or potato, when it is to be served with a blanquette
or ragout. These moulds are not expensive.
There are some kinds of batters
that require a peculiar kind of baking
to make them perfect. Pop-overs
and various kinds of puffs must
always be baked in stoneware cups.
When cooked in these cups they
increase to four or five times the
original size. These stone cups will last twenty years
or more, and be perfectly sweet at the end of that time.
Brown or yellow earthenware, or even stone-china cups,
will absorb fat, and soon acquire a strong and disagree-
able odor and flavor ; besides, they break and crack
easily. Outside of New England these stone cups some-
times are called Boston cups, probably because they are
used so generally in New England, and Boston is the
chief place of distribution. They are imported from Eng-
land. With a dozen of them, and knowledge how to use
them, one can have muffins "as light as air" without the
use of a particle of baking-powder, yeast, or, indeed, any
of the agencies especially designed to make breads light ;
eggs and the air being sufficient. F. A. Walker & Co.,
Cornhill, Boston, may be mentioned as among the dealers
in such cups.
English Muffin -cup.
KITCHEN FURNISHING.
46
un
Dariole-moulds.
Dariole-inoulds can be used for baking cakes and corn
muffins, as well as for timbales and various other things.
There are two qualities.
The cheap ones cannot bear
a high, dry temperature,
such as one needs for bak-
ing corn cakes. Moreover,
they do not keep their shape ;
and this would be a draw-
back when making timbales. These moulds come in
several sizes, the smallest costing about $1.25 per dozen.
This size is quite desirable when plain "timbales are made
for a company dinner or luncheon, as the contents of one
mould are enough to serve to one person. Some of
these shapes are imported from France. These moulds
are made of the best quality of tin, and are annealed
while being made. They are purchased largely by pro-
prietors of first-class hotels and restaurants for baking
corn cakes. They are expensive at first, but wear so
well that it is real economy to buy them in preference to
the poor tin that loses shape and becomes rough when
exposed to heat and hard usage.
This cut shows the French tin, which is
2 x 2i inches.
Besides the tapering strainer already men-
tioned, there should be a strainer of this
shape. It should be only fine enough to
keep back the seeds of small fruits, and
should be quite concave. There should
be a generous number of holes. Lewis &
Conger, of
have strainers of this
pattern for sale. They
cost sixty cents, and are
well worth that sum.
A finer strainer that
can be used for liquids is necessary. These strainers
Corn-cake
Pan *
Strainer.
New York,
Handled Strainers.
46
MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
are made of such fine wire that they cannot be cleaned
in the ordinary way, and should be rubbed with a stiff
brush.
A strainer for the teapot also will be required. It
may be had in tin, silver-
plated ware, or silver.
Purees are fashionable now-
a-days. Even under favorable
conditions, considerable work
is required to make them ; and
unless there be proper uten-
sils for doing the work, much
time will be lost and there
will be a great waste of materials. A coarse and a fine
sieve are needed where the best modern cooking is to be
Teapot Strainer.
Coarse Puree Sieve.
done. The coarse sieve is used not only for purees, but
for force-meats. The frame may be made of wood or
strong tin; the strainer, of strong wires woven into a
coarse netting ; this netting being strengthened by two
cross-pieces of coarse wire. The substance to be strained
KITCHEN FURNISHING. 47
is placed in the sieve and rubbed through with a wooden
vegetable-masher. Properly used, this sieve will last a
long time. Fine French sieves, for use in straining semi-
liquid purees, are made of the finest woven wire. They
are used only for fine cooking, and therefore should last a
great many years.
The shapes in which pudding jellies, creams, etc., are
cooked or chilled, may make much difference in the at
tractiveness of the dish. A few well-chosen forms are
more to be desired than many that are neither handsome
nor clearly defined. Moulds that have the designs
stamped on them are comparatively cheap. American
moulds of this class usually have^ the design at the top
deep and clear ; but the impression in the sides is so
slight that the cream or jelly, when turned out, is
found to have perfectly smooth sides.
The English makers stamp the sides deep, and the
mould of jelly presents a beautiful appearance when on
a dish. The cost of the English goods is from one-third
to one-half more than those of American make. All
the handsome forms are imported. They are made of
many pieces soldered together, and consequently are
very expensive, costing five and six times as much as
Jelly-moulds.
a mould of the same size on which the design is
stamped. But these expensive forms are made of the
best tin, and will last a great many years. Some of
the finest shapes come in copper ; but this is a metal
in which a combination of milk and eggs, or an acid,
48
MISS PAKLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
cannot be kept with safety for many hours. The safest
and sweetest ware is earthen or china, but the finest
shapes do not corne in these materials. Besides, it takes
much longer to cool a jelly or cream in such moulds than
in tin.
The two moulds on page 47 are very desirable, as they
can be used for rice, vegetables, creams, or jellies. The
fluted mould is quite cheap. The cross-fluted is made
of more pieces and is more expensive. It is, however,
one of the prettiest moulds made.
Here are simple and hand-
some moulds for jelly, Bavarian
cream, or. any kind of dessert
that is served with whipped
cream. It is particularly nice
Jelly-mould, for imperial pudding. There Jelly-mould.
are several sizes. A two-quart
mould costs $1.75.
This mould is made of so many
pieces as to be costly. Beautiful
effects can be produced with it ;
for example, a jelly, cream, or
blanc-mange of three colors could
be arranged in it.
Below and on page 49 are some
handsome shapes in individual
moulds. They are simple and
cheap; good to have in a small
family, or to use when sending delicacies to the sick.
Jelly-mould.
Individual Jelly-moulds.
KITCHEN FURNISHING.
49
Individual Jelly-moulds.
Ice-cream moulds come in many pretty shapes. Do
not choose elaborate styles for this purpose. Only pro-
fessionals can pack such
moulds properly.
Charlotte-russe P,u;.
Pudding-mould.
Charlotte-russe moulds are needed in the modern
kitchen. They come in all sizes from half a pint up-
ward. Those of oblong shape, with slanting sides, are
Vegetable-cutters.
the best. One rarely wants a mould of a greater size than
two quarts. The quart mould, or even a smaller size, is
the most useful.
50
MISS PABLO A'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
A fluted pudding-mould costs but little more than a
plain one, yet the appearance of the pudding cooked in
the former is twice as attractive.
A set of vegetable-cutters will add much to the beauty
of many a dish. It should be
made of the best tin. Boxes of
graded cutters may be had. They
are very useful in stamping out
vegetables, force-meat, and jellies
for decorative purposes, and also
are valuable for coring apples and
other fruit, stoning olives, etc.
Fluted cutters for patties can
be bought in sets of two or in
nests. Oblong fluted cutters for
large vol-au-vents can be found at
the best kitchen-furnishing stores.
Besides these fancy cutters there should be a plain,
round biscuit-cutter, two and one-half inches in diameter,
Box of Cutters or Carers.
Cutters.
Biscuit-cutter. Doughnut-cutter.
These answer for
and another, four inches in diameter,
biscuit, patties, and ginger-snaps.
Where doughnuts are made, a double
cutter will be found very convenient.
Where one is fond of cone-shaped cro-
quettes, such a mould as this will be
needed.
There should be a cutlet-mould in every
kitchen. The cost is only twenty-five
cents.
Swedish timbale-irons are made plain
and fluted. The plain kind is the better ; the other
holds too much fat.
Croquette-mould.
KITCHEN FURNISHING.
51
Cutlet-mould.
Timbale-mould.
A salamander is a round, flat piece of iron attached
to a long iron handle. When one desires to brown
Salamander.
without putting it
made red-hot and
into the oven,
held over the
an article quickly
the salamander is
dish.
Genuine gratin dishes are rather deep platters, made of
copper, with the inside silver-plated. They come in many
sizes, and are used for cooking all kinds of fish, meat, and
vegetables that are browned in the oven and served in
the dish in which they were cooked. They are imported
by Lewis & Conger, New York. Silver baking-dishes are
Silver Baking-dish.
used when the article to be cooked should be cooked in
a deep dish. These baking-dishes are, however, more
appropriate for hot puddings and souffles. The baking
is done in a porcelain-lined dish that fits into a silver
frame. Beautiful fluted pudding-dishes, with a baking-
dish inside, come in English china. They are, however,
suitable only for puddings and souffles, whereas the silver
52 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
dish may be used for escaloped fish, meats, or vegetables,
as well as for desserts.
Silver Baking-dish.
A palette-knife, which costs fifty or sixty cents, should
be included in the kitchen supplies. It is used to scrape
mixing-bowls free of dough or batter of any kind.
Palette-knife.
Two useful articles in a kitchen are a meat saw and
cleaver.
Cleaver. Braising-pan.
A deep, round granite- ware dish, similar to that in the
cut, when covered closely with a tin cover free of solder,
answers all purposes for braising.
The Dean lemon-squeezer works easily, is strong and
very clean. It is a wise plan to buy one or two extra
tumblers.
KITCHEN FURNISHING.
Whisk.
Lemon-squeezer.
Spoons made of hard maple are light and quite strong.
They come in all sizes. Some have slits cut in them,
which make the spoon particularly useful for beating
cake and frosting.
A wire whisk is neces-
sary for beating whites of
eggs and jellies, and mak-
ing snow-pudding, etc. The
American whisk is light, and has a wooden handle.
It is not durable. The French whisk is heavy, the han-
dle being made of wire, and wears well.
Graded measuring-cups are of great value. They are
made of tin. One cup is divided into four parts, so that
fourths, halves, and three-quarters can be measured ac-
curately. The other cup is divided into
thirds. There are several patterns of these
cups. Get those which are gauged by the
old-fashioned beer-measure.
A pair of creased wooden hands, for
making butter balls, should be included in
the outfit of the kitchen. With a little
practice, butter may be shaped in many
pretty forms, so that the dish will look
very nice on the table. Be particular to
select hands with fine grooves, as they give
J *
much better results than those with coarse
grooves.
Creased Hum Is
for Shaping
Butt. -r.
*
54
MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Mixing-bowls come in deep yellow and light buff
earthenware ; also in white stone-china. The deep yel-
low ware is made of a rather soft material and breaks
easily ; and although this ware is much cheaper than the
lighter yellow, one hardly practises economy in buying
it. The white stone-china is the most expensive of the
three, but it wears so well that it pays to buy it in pref-
erence to any other kind.
Chafing-dish.
Although a chafing-dish is not a necessary utensil, it
insures perfection in serving many little dishes, like
venison steaks, oysters in many forms, Welsh rarebits,
etc., and is desirable on that account. These dishes
come in the best quality of tin and in plated ware. The
first cut gives the best-shaped dish. This may be used
for many things which must be served very hot. The
Chafing-dish.
Wire Dish-covers.
Meat-safe.
-vick of the lamp should be kept rather low, so that the
heat shall not be intense. The dish shown in the second
cut is cheaper, yet quite good.
Wire dish-covers are serviceable when food is put away
on plates.
KITCHEN FURNISHING. 55
In some parts of the South where there are no cellars,
and at the North where food is kept in an open cellar or
in a cold room, a meat-safe is needed. The circulation
of air is perfect, and the contents are protected from
mice and cats. These safes usually are supplied with
locks and keys.
Upright cake-boxes, with shelves,
are the only kind that can be used
with satisfaction. They are pretty
expensive, however, costing from
$2.25 to $3.75.
When preparing soups and jel-
lies, there will be required, be-
sides the tin and wire strainers,
two other kinds, one made of
flannel, and the other a coarse
sort of napkin. The flannel Cake-box,
strainer, which should be in the
form of a bag of triangular shape, should be made of a
square of rather coarse white flannel, and have four
pieces of strong tape sewed on at the opening, so that the
bag may be hung from a frame or two chairs. Napkins
costing about $1.50 per dozen are about right for use in
straining soups and jellies. Buy at least half a dozen
at a time. Have them washed twice, with a hard rub-
bing, to get out all the dressing. It is a good plan to
use the napkins in some way before the second wash-
ing, so much that a thorough rubbing will be necessary.
Liquids will not pass through while the dressing remains
in the fabric.
When a filter will not work well, water may be strained
through a flannel bag as it comes from the faucet. Have
three or four small square bags made of coarse white
flannel for this purpose. Cotton and wool may be used
instead of all-wool cloth. Make a rather broad hem at
the top, through which put a strong tape about half a
yard long. This bag can be put on the faucet and fas-
56
MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
tened firmly with the tape. One will not like to drink
unfiltered or unstrained water after seeing one of these
bags which has been used for a day.
Besides the cooking utensils, many other articles are
needed for furnishing a kitchen properly. There should
be a strong coal-hod, but be careful that it is light and
not too large. Many persons are considerably injured
by lifting heavy hods. Then a poker is wanted, one
with a long flat end that will cut through the coal when it
is used. It should have a riveted iron handle; wooden
handles soon become loosened.
Sink-rack.
Sink -shovel.
A wooden sink-rack, on which to place the dish-pan, is
a desirable article. Sink-cleaners strips of rubber
fastened into frames are so useful that one would not
like to do without them after a trial ; and a sink-shovel
also is a convenient thing to have.
A knife-board, which will
hold Bath brick and cloths,
and can be hung up, is so
cheap that every housekeeper
should have one.
Have a towel-rack fastened
near the range. It will be
especially convenient on rainy
days when the dish-towels
cannot be dried in the open
air.
A wire rack should be fas-
tened over the sink in which
to keep the various brushes
Kitchen Knife-boards. which are used to keep strain-
KITCHEN FURNISHING.
57
ers, pure'e sieves, tables, etc., clean. As nothing cleans
wood-work and tiles more thoroughly than a sponge, a
large coarse sponge also should
be kept in this rack.
Towel-rack.
Wire Rack.
A German heath sink-brush is clean and strong, be-
sides being inexpensive. One should always be kept
near the sink.
Have a good clock in the kitchen, even if something
else must be sacrificed for it. Many folk think that any
kind of a timepiece will do, and others have none at all.
Cooking cannot be done properly without a good clock
as an aid.
A soap-shaker is a convenient and economical utensil
to have in both the kitchen and china-closet. All the
Soap-shaker.
X . .
small pieces of soap can be saved and used in this
shaker, and there is no danger of soap sticking to the
dishes, as it does sometimes when a large piece of soap
is put into the pan with the table-ware or cooking-
utensils.
Ash and garbage barrels should be made
of galvanized iron. The coal-sifter should
fit over the ash-barrel, which, of course, is
to be kept where it is most convenient for
emptying. The garbage-barrel should not
be so large that it cannot be handled
easily. Ash-barrel.
58 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
CARE OF UTENSILS AND KITCHEN
FURNITURE.
MUCH of the flavor, delicacy, and wholesomeness of
food depends upon the proper care of the utensils
used. Besides, utensils which are properly cared for
will last much longer than those which are not.
Sand is used in many kitchens for scouring tins,
tables, and floors. It is good for unpainted tables and
floors, provided it be carefully washed off, but it never
should touch tin or granite ware. Every kind of utensil
tin, iron, wood, etc. should be. washed and wiped
as carefully as the dining-room china. Many house-
keepers do not provide proper towels for the kitchen.
They think of the utensils as coarse things, and provide
only coarse, hard crash for towels, with which dishes
cannot be wiped smooth and dry. Every kitchen should
be provided generously with three kinds of towels, some
of soft crash, for the hands, which can be made to go
over a roller, or have tapes at the ends that they may
be hung on hooks; a dozen, also of soft crash, made
about a yard long, for the dishes, from plates and bowls
to saucepans and iron pots ; and half a dozen of coarser
texture, yet not hard and unyielding, for use about the
range when lifting hot utensils. The towels mentioned
last should be about four feet long. Unbleached cotton
and linen are good and cheap material of which to make
them.
Housekeepers may think that it is a piece of extrava-
gance to buy these large towels for lifting utensils, but
they are really as necessary as the dish-towels. The
small padded holders that many people use are both
CARE OF UTENSILS AND FURNITURE. 59
inconvenient and unclean, because they are not washed
as soon as soiled, as in the case of the stove-towel.
These towels are made long so that they can be used
in putting large pans into the oven and taking them out
of it.
Having enough towels, and a plentiful supply of soap
and hot water, there is no reason why dishes should not
be sweet and clean. Be as generous with soap as you
are with towels. Greasy dishes cannot be washed with-
out it.
Every dish must be scraped free of particles of food.
As soon as you are through with a bowl or pan, fill it
with water, that the substance prepared in it shall not
harden on the surface and make your work ten times as
difficult and long as it should be.
When ready to wash the dishes, half fill the dish-pan
with water as hot as you can bear your hand in. Have
a second pan half filled with water that is even hotter.
Shake soap in the first pan until strong suds are formed ;
then begin washing the dishes, rubbing well with the
dish-cloth every part, inside and out. When about
eight or ten dishes have been washed, rinse them in the
pan of clean hot water and drain them on the inclined
grooved board beside the sink ; or if you have not that,
an old tray will do. Wipe them dry with a clean soft
towel ; and if the utensils be tin, granite-ware, or iron,
place them near the fire but not in a very hot place
for a few minutes, to insure their being perfectly free of
moisture before they are put away. If all the utensils
be treated in this manner, even the iron pots would not
soil a cambric handkerchief.
The tinware, granite-ware, and frying-pans will need
scouring frequently. This should be done whenever a
dish looks rough or dull, or when soap and water will
not remove all traces of the food prepared in the dish.
For this purpose there is nothing better than Sapolio,
which cleans without scratching. Many housekeepers
60 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
complain of the expense of this article ; but if it be
bought by the box it will be found comparatively cheap.
Where the cost of Sapolio is an objection, soap and pow-
dered Bristol brick may be used. This is not so con-
venient, and therefore the dish will not get cleaned so
often as it would if it were only a matter of rubbing a
cake of Sapolio on a dish-cloth and then on the article
to be cleaned.
When washing wooden-ware, like chopping-bowls,
moulding-boards, etc., never dry them by the fire. They
warp and crack when exposed to dry heat while they are
wet.
Sometimes the most careful washing will not wholly
remove the flavor or odor of food from the utensil in
which it was cooked. This is frequently the case with
fish, onions, cabbage, etc. After any of these articles
have been cooked, wash the utensil carefully with soap
and water. Now nearly fill it with cold water, and for
each quart of water add about a table-spoonful of dis-
solved washing-soda. Place on the fire, and let the water
get boiling hot. Now turn this water into the sink.
Rinse the utensil with clean warm water, and on wiping
it dry it will be found perfectly sweet.
In washing dish-towels, brushes, the sink, etc., dis-
solved soda will be found most useful, cleaning and
sweetening all that it touches. It should be kept in a
large olive-bottle or preserving-jar, and should be labelled
" Washing-soda." To prepare it, put one pint of the
dry soda in a saucepan, kept for this purpose, and add
to it three quarts of boiling water. Let this mixture
stand upon the stove, stirring it frequently, until the
soda is dissolved. When cold, put into bottles.
It may be said, in passing, that this preparation, when
hot, is an excellent agent for cleaning and sweetening
the plumbing in the house. Pour a pint of the hot liquid
into each bowl, basin, and sink about once a fortnight.
As the liquid unites with grease, it keeps the kitchen
CARE OF UTENSILS AND FURNITURE. 61
sink-pipes free of greasy deposits. It is well to buy
this soda by the quarter-barrel. It is extremely cheap
when bought by the quantity. The housekeeper should
attend to the dissolving of the soda herself, and be care-
ful that none of the solid article is taken from the
storeroom by anybody else, because it might be used
improperly in laundry work or for other purposes.
Every kitchen should be supplied with soft soap.
This can be made once a month with very little trouble.
It is almost impossible to keep unpainted tables and
floors perfectly clean without it.
Steel knives and forks should be cleaned with Bristol
brick after each meal.
Some kitchens have what is considered as a conven-
ience in the form of a scullery, where the dishes are
washed, the vegetables prepared, etc. They are not
desirable in any house, large or small.
The garbage pail or barrel should be washed once a
week. Monday, when there is plenty of hot suds, is
a good time for this. Scrub the pail with the suds,
using an old broom for the purpose. Now rinse with
clean hot water, to which has been added half a cupful
of dissolved soda. Drain, and dry in the sun. Wash
the cover also.
The care of the refrigerator is very important. Every
shelf should be taken out twice a week, and every part of
the refrigerator, except where the ice is kept, should be
washed and carefully wiped dry. The ice compartment
need be washed only once in two weeks. The greatest
Dare must be exercised in examining and washing the
refrigerator, else a bit of meat or fish, or some other
substance, may lodge in a corner or in the pipe, and
taint the entire contents. The waste-pipe of the re-
frigerator should not be connected with the sewer-pipe,
tf one wish to have the water carried off by the sewer,
have it drip from the pipe in the refrigerator into a
tunnel that is fitted to a pipe connected with the general
62 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
waste-pipe of the house. Then there will be a current
of air between the refrigerator pipe and the tunnel. A
plumber will show you where to have a trap placed.
The stove or range requires careful and scientific use,
if one would get the best results with the smallest
amount of fuel and the least expenditure of time and
patience. It is marvellous what good work a stove will
do under all sorts of bad treatment. Every housekeeper
should make herself familiar with the construction of
her range. The same general principles are observed in
the making of all stoves, but each manufacturer has
some peculiarities of construction. The general princi-
ples are these : to have a free draught, causing the fuel
to burn easily and quickly, and to have dampers that
will so control this draught that the fuel shall burn
quickly or slowly as one may desire. Perfect ranges
have several dampers and checks, because the hot air is
not carried in one straight channel, but must be distrib-
uted throughout the range, on the top, the bottom, and
sides of the ovens, and also on the top of the range,
where the boiling, frying, stewing, etc., are done. There
must be several flues to carry on this distribution, and
each set should have a damper. A damper usually is an
iron rod, to which is attached a flat piece that acts as a
door to the flue. The turning or pulling backward or
forward of the iron rod opens or closes the flue. When
the door is opened the hot air is drawn into the flue and
carried through a certain space in the range : conse-
quently this part is hotter than any other except where
the fire is burning.
Now, it must be remembered that the hot air carries
with it fine ashes, a part of which lodge in these flues
and ultimately so clog them that only a small quantity
of air can pass through them ; hence the necessity for
frequent cleaning. With every modern range there
comes a card of instructions, which should be preserved.
It tells how to regulate the fire by means of the draughts
CARE OF UTENSILS AND FURNITURE. 63
and dampers, and how to clean the flues. On getting a
new range a housekeeper should remove the covers and,
as she reads the printed instructions, work the dampers
until she becomes perfectly familiar with their positions
when open and when closed, and the probable effect on
the fire in each case.
There is one draught that is to be kept open only
while the lire is being started. As soon as the smoke
passes off this damper should be closed. Eemember that
it is not to be kept open until the fire becomes clear and
red, but only until the smoke passes off, say for ten or
fifteen minutes after the fire is lighted. This damper
does a great deal of mischief, because its office is so
poorly understood. It opens and closes the flue that is
connected with the chimney, so that, when open, the
draught is great, the fire burns rapidly, the top of the
range is hot, often red, and a large proportion of the
heat passes into the chimney. The oven is never hot
while this damper is open, and the coal burns out in
less than half the usual time. It will be seen that this
is the most important damper, and that it is necessary
to close it very soon after the fire is lighted.
After coal has been burning bright and clear for an
hour or two it begins to have a white look, and the heat
given out is not half so great as at first. Under ordi-
nary circumstances, a coal fire should last three or four
hours without being replenished, and this with cooking
going on all the while. This depends, however, upon
the proper use of the dampers and checks.
If the following rule be observed there will be a great
saving of patience as well as coal : Close the smoke-
damper as soon as the fire begins to burn. When the
coal is nearly all bright, close all the other draughts and
dampers unless a very hot oven be required, in which
case let the slide at the bottom of the grate remain open.
Just as soon as the oven or the top of the range is required
less hot, close all draughts and open the checks. When
64 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
greater heat is required, open the draughts and close the
checks again. It is really like using an organ; when
soft, low tones are required the stops are closed, but as
one wishes to increase the volume of tone the stops are
opened.
Following this rule, the writer has frequently used a
lire for six hours without replenishing it; one hod of
coal being put on at the start.
The range should be washed off with soap and water,
and then rubbed with a stove-brush. The top may
be blacked, but the hearth and sides should only be
washed and brushed, as blacking would soil dresses and
aprons.
Good modern stoves are made in such a way that ashes
and cinders can be taken out without making much dust.
Now, in making a fire, first collect in the grate all the
ashes and cinders from the top of the stove ; then put on
the covers, shut the doors, and dump the contents of the
grate into the ash-pan. Remove the ash-pan and empty
its contents into the sifter ; then return the pan to its
place, and close the door. Put shavings or paper into
the grate, and place on top several pieces of light wood,
crossing them, so as to cause a draught of air through
them. Add three or four sticks of hard wood, and set
the shavings on fire, opening all the, draughts in the
stove. As soon as the wood begins to burn, cover it
about six inches deep with coal. Watch the fire to pre-
vent the coal from burning too red ; but just as soon as
it begins to take fire, close all the oven dampers, keeping
open only the slide in front of the grate.
Be careful that the coal does not come above the lin-
ing of the stove. A different practice will result in a
waste of fuel ; and besides, the fire will not be so bright
and clear, because the draught will not be so good. When
you are not using the fire, keep the dampers closed. It
will be ready when needed, and the draughts can be
opened then. ,
CARE OF UTENSILS AND FURNITURE. 65
If, after dinner, you wish to have a clear fire for bak-
ing purposes, fet the lire burn quite low ; then remove
all the covers, and with a long poker, rake the coals'
from one end of the grate to the other. When all the
ashes have been raked down in this way, and all the coal
has been separated, put two sticks of hard wood into the
stove, and fill up with fresh coal. Then the fire will be
quite as good as if freshly made. When you wish to
keep just enough fire to make tea and toast, put on cin-
ders after dinner, and shut all the dampers until twenty
minutes before the fire is again needed. Reopening the
draughts will quickly rekindle the fire.
66 MISS PAKLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
ABOUT FOOD.
MARKETING has been treated so fully in "Miss Par-
loa's New Cook Book and Marketing Guide " that there
is no occasion for an exhaustive article in this volume.
But new ideas constantly come to one who makes a
study of matters pertaining to the kitchen, and it seems
worth the while to record some of them here.
Fashion affects food as well as clothing, and many
articles in the market that may have no great value as a
food command exorbitant prices simply because they
are in fashion. For example, time was when sweet-
breads were almost given away; now they are rarely
sold for less than thirty cents a pair in large cities, and
in winter they often bring $1.50. At present, calves'
brains sell at ten cents a pair ; but as they are becoming
fashionable, doubtless they will in time be worth a quar-
ter of a dollar. With vegetables and fruit it is different,
because when fashion creates a demand for an article,
gardeners quickly give special attention to its cultiva-
tion, and the increased demand is met by an increased
supply, and prices become lower instead of higher. Good
sense, as well as fashion, dictates a free use of fruits and
vegetables, and our markets are well stocked with them
all the year round. Prices, too, are reasonable.
VEGETABLES.
Cauliflower.
This vegetable, which used to be so expensive, is now
so cheap in the late summer and fall that the poorest
man can indulge in it, and besides being cheap at that
ABOUT FOOD. 67
season, it also is large and perfect. It is found in large
markets at any season, but in the spring and early sum-
mer the heads are small and costly. It is a pity that so
few people know how to cook this delicious vegetable.
When bought, it should be white and firm, and the green
leaves surrounding it should be crisp. It always im-
proves the cauliflower to soak it in a pan of salted cold
water one table-spoonful of salt to two quarts of water
for an hour before cooking. This will freshen the
vegetable, and draw out worms or snails, if there be any
concealed in the leaves or head.
Asparagus.
Asparagus is now bleached in somewhat the same
manner that celery is. This is the fashion in New York
and its vicinity ; but it is an unfortunate fashion, for the
vegetable does not compare in flavor or tenderness with
the old-fashioned green asparagus. This vegetable used
to be good until about the last of June, after which it
became "woody." Now, however, it comes earlier and
stays later, being tender and delicate until the first of
August. This is such a delicious and healthful vegeta-
ble that it is a pity we cannot extend its season still
more.
Brussels Sprouts.
This vegetable, so scarce and expensive a few years
ago, is now quite common in our large markets. It is
raised in this country and also is imported from England.
It belongs to the cabbage family ; grows from three to
five feet in height, and produces from the stem small
heads resembling miniature cabbages. The stalk is usu-
ally covered with these little heads. The top of the
stalk terminates in a large head similar to a cabbage.
Brussels sprouts should be compact and firm, like heads
of cabbage. The loose heads will prove unsatisfactory.
The sprouts should be fresh and crisp. The outer leaves
68 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
are taken off, and the firm heads are soaked in salted
cold water for an hour before cooking.
Broccoli.
Broccoli closely resembles cauliflower, and is treated in
much the same manner. It does not grow so well in this
country as cauliflower, and therefore is not cultivated to
the same extent.
Salsify.
This is found in the market the greater part of the
year. Its root is the part eaten, and it is about the shape
and color of a parsnip, but much smaller. Salsify is sold
in small bunches. It is a cheap and delicate vegetable,
and can be served in many ways.
Kohl-Rabi.
This is sometimes called turnip-rooted cabbage. When
this root is cooked it is treated like a turnip, and the
result is a dish with a flavor between that of a turnip
and a cabbage. Kohl-rabi can be kept through the
winter.
Sweet Spanish Peppers.
The large sweet Spanish pepper is now used while
green as a vegetable. It is much milder than the com-
mon bell-pepper, although they look so much alike that
it is often difficult to distinguish them. They are gener-
ally stuffed and baked. The ripe pods may be dried
and kept for seasoning many dishes which are improved
by the peculiar pungent flavor given by the pods.
The Egg-Plant.
This vegetable can be found in the market the greater
part of the year. It is in perfection through the sum-
mer, fall, and early part of winter. Like most of our
vegetables, this is supplied to the North by the South
in the early weeks of summer, and later in the season
ABOUT FOOD.
the North reciprocates. The egg-plant is popular and
cheap, and when properly cooked is delicious.
Okra.
This is found in the market nearly all the year. Al-
ways highly prized at the South, it is becoming more
popular at the North every year. It is delicious as a
vegetable or in soup. The price varies considerably
with the season and supply. The pods should be green
and crisp.
Celeriac.
This vegetable is sometimes called German, and some-
times knob, celery. It is an irregular brownish root,
and is used as a vegetable and as a salad. It is cheap,
and keeps well for winter use if packed in sand or
earth.
Shallot.
The shallot belongs to the onion family. The large
bulb is made up of a number of small ones, which are
called cloves. This plant has not so strong an odor as
the common onion, and for that reason is preferred by
many in soups, sauces, ar?d salads.
Garlic.
Garlic is like the shallot in many ways. The root is
composed of numerous small bulbs, which are called
cloves. They are smaller than the cloves of the shallot,
and the flavor and odor differ somewhat.
Rocambole.
This vegetable is very much like garlic, but is milder.
Spanish Onions.
It is only a few years since the Spanish onion was
found only at fruit-stores. Now it can be bought in all
the markets. It is a large white onion, very delicate
in flavor and odor. Cut in thin shavings, it is used by
70 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
itself as a salad, or is mixed with other vegetables to
give a delicate flavor of onion. It also is served as a
vegetable, fried, boiled, or stuffed and baked.
Escarole.
This vegetable is used principally as a salad. The
leaves should be broad and crisp. Escarole has a bitter
taste. It is particularly good in winter as a salad,
either served alone or mixed with lettuce. The French
esteem this as one of their best salads. Each year it is
becoming better known in this country, French garden-
ers introducing it into the city markets.
Barbe de Capucin, or Monk's Beard.
This is a variety of escarole. It is grown in dark
places, such as cellars or vaults. The leaves are long,
narrow, tender, and almost white. The flavor is a
pleasant bitter one. The vegetable makes a nice salad
by itself, or may be mixed with lettuce, sorrel, etc. It
is sometimes served in fish sauce or as a garnish for fish.
Barbe de Capucin and escarole belong to the endive
family. Either makes a most desirable salad to serve
with game.
Cress.
There are two kinds of cresses, the garden cress and
the water-cress, which is grown in water. They are
found in the market from early spring until very late
in the autumn. Cresses by themselves make a delicious
salad ; or they may be combined with young onions,
cucumbers, or tomatoes. Sometimes, too, they are served
with a simple dressing and a few green herbs.
Sorrel.
Sorrel is a vegetable that is particularly grateful in
the spring and early summer. It is found in the large
markets as early as February and March. This culti-
vated sorrel is much larger, milder, and tenderer than
ABOUT FOOD. 71
the wild plant which grows all over the country. But
a little of the wild sorrel is often a great addition to a
salad, sauce, or soup. That which is found around
flower-beds is usually large and tender.
Fetticus.
This vegetable is sometimes called lamb's lettuce, and
sometimes corn salad. As a salad, it is not so pleasing
as those already mentioned ; but it is one of the earliest
green salads and is usually quite cheap.
Chervil, Borage, and Tarragon.
These are all excellent herbs for use in salads, soups,
and sauces. They may be found in the large markets
from early spring until late autumn. They can be
raised in the garden with the common herbs, such as
parsley, thyme, sage, etc. When chervil and tarragon
are in season, break up a small bunch of each they
will cost five cents apiece and put into two wide-
mouthed bottles. Now pour into each bottle about one
quart of vinegar. Put on the covers and set in a cool
place. At the end of a month strain off the vinegar, and
you will have tarragon and chervil vinegar ready for use
in salads or sauces.
While the herbs are fresh and cheap, tie up a bunch
of each and hang in the shade to dry. They will add
much to the flavor of soups and sauces in the winter.
FRUITS.
Fruit is an important item in the housekeeper's list of
supplies. Being of a perishable nature, judgment and
care must be used in the purchase and use of it. If one
have a cold, well- ventilated cellar, many things such as
apples, oranges, and pears may be bought in quantity
when cheap. But it is better to buy most of the fruits
only as they are required for the table. When berries
72 MISS FARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
are in season it is best to buy only what is required for
each day, unless one be at a distance from the mar-
kets. Strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries keep
about equally well ; raspberries are the most perishable
of all our common fruits. You may put them in your
cellar or refrigerator at night, expecting to find them
firm and bright in the morning, and you will often be
sadly disappointed to find them one mass of mould.
When purchasing these berries for preserving, have all
your plans so made that you can do the work as soon as
the berries are brought home. This is the only way in
which to be sure of saving all. Other berries will keep
well for a day or more.
To keep fruit, avoid crowding it. The boxes or bowls
containing it should not be covered, and the room should
be cool, sweet, and well ventilated. Washing fruit mars
the flavor and softens the fruit, and it will not keep so
well. To some tastes fruit is more palatable if it has
been sprinkled with sugar and has stood for some hours
afterward. Berries, however, should not be treated in
this way unless it be necessary to do it in order to keep
them for a few hours, because the sugar draws out the
juice. Grapes, bananas, pears, watermelons, cantaloupes,
and pineapples all keep well in cold places, and should
be thoroughly chilled before they are served.
MEATS.
Among the various cuts of meat there are some which
are well known only to a few butchers and caterers. In
many small towns butchers do not know what the fillet
of beef is ; and although they may know, they frequently
are unwilling to cut it out for a customer, because it
injures the sale of the rest of the piece. In a small
part of the United States the hind-quarter of beef is so
cut that what is called a " short fillet " can be, and is,
taken from one of the cuts without loss to the buyer or
ABOUT FOOD.
73
the seller of the rest of the cut from which it is taken.
This is often done in Boston. This short fillet is cut
from the rump, and rarely weighs more than two pounds
SIRLOIN ROAST.
A, Tenderloin. B, Back of Sirloin. C, Flank. D, Suet.
and a half. The price is seldom more than thirty-five
cents a pound. When a fillet is cut from the loin the
price charged is from seventy-five cents to a dollar a
pound ; and even at that price it does not always pay
SIRLOIN ROAST, WITH TENDERLOIN REMOVED.
A, Tenderloin. B, Back of Sirloin. C, Flank.
the butcher to sell it, because for most customers it spoils
the roasts or steaks that are left.
In a large or moderate-sized family it is not a bad
plan to buy a large sirloin roast, as the fillet can be cut
74 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
out and used for one dish, and the flank be used for
braising, stewing, soup meat, etc. Or, the flank may be
left on the roast, folded over the place from which the
tenderloin was taken, and then fastened firmly with
skewers, giving a handsome roast.
In large establishments, like Delinonico's in New York,
where so many tenderloins of beef are served in various
ways, after removing the fillet, they cut off the flank,
using it for divers purposes, and then they cut the rest
of the joint into steaks, freeing it from the greater part
of the backbone. These pieces are called " short steaks,"
and are delicious.
If one want a fillet weighing about three pounds,
enough for a party of twelve, get the first cut of the
sirloin, as this part has the thickest tenderloin. If the
cut be from a heavy animal, eighteen pounds will give
about three pounds of tenderloin. This piece would cost,
at 25 cents per pound, $4.50. If the three pounds of
tenderloin were bought separately, the lowest price would
be $2.25, and in all probability it would be $3. Besides,
a butcher will not always sell the tenderloin.
If the family be large, it will be economical and satis-
factory in cold weather to buy the first cut of the sir-
loin. With a small family, it will be better to buy only
the piece you want, no matter what the price, provided
you can get the butcher to cut it.
Entrecdte Steak.
This is a rib steak, and one that is little known and
little used in the United States. It is one of the best
steaks in the animal. The meat that is cut with one rib
will give two steaks. Cut the meat from the backbone
and the rib by slipping a sharp knife between the bones
and flesh. Stop where the flesh becomes thin on the
rib, and cut across the end of the meat. Now cut the
piece of clear meat into two steaks. The backbone and
ribs may be used for soups or stews.
ABOUT FOOD. 75
Chuck Steaks.
Another steak that is frequently cut to take the place
of the round steak is the chuck steak. This is cut from
the chuck ribs. It makes an excellent cheap steak. It
is about four or five cents less a pound than the round
steak ; but this does not make it any cheaper than the
round, because there is so much bone in it.
Fricandeau of Veal.
This is another cut that it is difficult to get the butch-
ers to give you, even when they know what it is and
how it is obtained. There is the same objection to cut-
ting this piece from the leg that there is to taking the
Fricandeau of Veal.
tenderloin from the sirloin of beef ; namely, it spoils the
piece termed the fillet. The fricandeau consists of that
part of the leg of veal called the cushion or mousepiece,
and which the French call the noix. It is what in a leg of
beef would be called the top of the round. It costs about
thirty-five cents per pound. Three or four pounds is about
the average weight of a good-sized fricandeau. It should
be cut about four inches thick, and a large piece of the fat
called the udder should be left on it. A wooden vegetable-
masher should be dipped in cold water, and the fricandeau
be beaten flat until it is only about three inches thick.
Fillet of Veal.
The entire fillet of veal, or a piece from the shoulder,
is frequently used for a fricandeau, but it does not give
the same result that the cushion gives.
76 MISS PAKLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
The fillet of veal is the cut from the upper part of the
leg. It includes all the upper part, and may be from
Fillet of Veal. Part above dotted line is the fricandeau.
four to six inches thick. Only one good fillet can be cut
from a leg of veal. It costs about thirty cents a pound.
Veal Cutlets.
These are often cut from the leg, and many persons
are unacquainted with cutlets from any other part of the
animal. The rib chops are the true cutlets, and are much
more tender and savory than those obtained from the leg.
They are cut and trimmed like a mutton-chop when it is
taken from the ribs; but as they must be cut thinner,
there are three cutlets to two ribs, that is, there are
two cutlets with the rib bones and one without any bone.
Have all the trimmings from these cutlets sent home for
the soup-pot.
Porterhouse Chops.
These chops are but little known, but they are very
popular with gentlemen who try them once. They re-
semble English chops. This is the way they are cut :
Trim nearly all the flank from a loin of mutton. Now,
about one inch from the end of the loin, saw through the
backbone, being careful not to cut into the meat. Move
the saw one inch farther up the loin and cut through the
bone again, and then cut the chop off with a sharp knife.
This gives a chop two inches thick, with the bone sawed
in two. Now take a sharp knife and cut out half of the
ABOUT FOOD. 77
bone, being careful not to cut the meat too much. Trim
off some of the fat ; then place the chop on its side, hav-
ing the side in which the bone remains come under.
Give it two or three blows with the flat side of the
cleaver, and it will be flattened out to resemble a large
English chop and be about one inch thick. Any butcher
should be able to cut such chops by these directions.
It is very important, when trimming off the fat, to do
the work in just the right way. Having the fatty side
of the chop nearest you, cut away from the centre so as
to leave a ridge of fat extending the length of the chop ;
yet all parts of the back of the chop should be covered
with at least a little fat. When the meat is pounded it
will be seen that the fat does not spread readily, and
that but for this careful trimming, the chop would look
over-weighted with fat.
Mutton.
The strong taste in mutton to which people often ob-
ject is largely due to a lack of proper care in trimming
and cooking the meat. This flavor, instead of being a
quality belonging to the lean part of the meat, is almost
always given by the fat. Frequently, when the sheep
are skinned, a thin membrane to which a little wool
clings, is left on. It is hardly perceptible unless closely
examined. This is what gives that rather unpleasant
flavor to some properly cooked meat.
A thin shaving of fat should be taken off every piece
of mutton, whether it be a chop, leg, or loin. A very
' sharp knife will be required for this operation.
Another cause of the taste so disagreeable in mutton
is, that it is often fried instead of broiled ; or if it be
" roasted," it is put into a dripping-pan without a rack or
grate under it, and it stews in its own fat instead of be-
ing roasted. Even a delicate piece of spring lamb can
be made to taste strong and r^sagreeable by this method
of cooking.
78 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Tongues.
Every one knows the value of a beef tongue, but few
people realize how delicious a calf's, sheep's, lamb's, or
pig's tongue may be. There is so little demand for them
that they are cheap. Get those which are plump, firm,
and rather white. When they look dark and flabby they
have come from a poorly fed animal, and will be found
tough and without good flavor.
These small tongues may be put in brine for a few
days and then boiled, or they may be partially boiled
and then braised, or they may be stewed. They are
cheap, and, cold or hot, make a handsome dish.
Sweetbreads.
The calf and young lamb are the animals that yield
the sweetbreads which are used as food. Lamb sweet-
breads usually are left in the forequarter, and are cooked
with it. They are rarely cooked separately. They are,
however, sometimes sold by the pound or pair, the same
as veal sweetbreads.
Sweetbreads are good only so long as the animal is fed
chiefly on milk. The sweetbreads from a calf that has
been fed wholly on grass for one or two weeks before
being slaughtered will be dark, flabby, and tough, where-
as those from a calf that has been fed generously with
milk will be white, firm, and tender. Sweetbreads spoil
very quickly, and should not be kept long, even on ice.
In the late spring and summer they are the cheapest, but
in winter they are very expensive and scarce. Like all
other articles of food, they may be frozen, and kept in
that way for months at a time.
GAME.
The local names given to some kinds of game are
very confusing to the inexperienced housekeeper. This
is particularly the case with partridges, grouse, and
ABOUT FOOD. 79
quail. The quail is a small bird, about the size of a
squab, and is kiiown by the name of quail throughout
the North and West. At the South, however, this bird
is known as the partridge.
Again, the real partridge, the grouse, and the ptar-
migan are often indiscriminately called grouse or par-
tridge. There is this distinction between partridge
and grouse : the meat of the former is white, and that
of the latter dark. The partridge is frequently called
ruffled grouse. These birds are common in the Eastern
States. The season for them is between October and
January.
Grouse is sometimes called prairie chicken and some-
times red grouse. This bird is found in great abundance
in the West. The season is from September to April
in some sections of the country, and in others it is from
October to January. Game laws vary considerably in
the several States.
Ptarmigan is not so well known as the other two
birds, but it is often sold under the name of grouse, or
white-breasted grouse. It resembles the grouse very
closely ; but the plumage, instead of being brown, like
that of the true grouse, is almost white. The feet are
covered with fine white feathers resembling fur. This
bird is not quite so large as the grouse, and the meat
is a little drier. It comes from the cold climate of
Canada and the country bordering on Hudson Bay. It
is very welcome in the market ; for it comes in about the
last of January, when the game law prohibits the sale
of grouse. Ptarmigan is prepared in exactly the same
manner as grouse.
The same cold region from which it comes supplies
the markets with antelope, which reaches the markets
as deer goes out. This is a smaller animal than the
deer, and its flesh is paler and more delicate. It is,
however, cooked in aboutrthe same manner.
80 MISS PAKLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
FISH.
Lobsters.
A word in regard to lobsters. In sections of the coun-
try where lobsters are caught and consumed in large
quantities, they are never brought into the market alive
except to fill special orders. A short time after the
lobster- catchers take them from the pots or cages they
are plunged into kettles of boiling salt water. It stands
to reason that the meat of these lobsters must be better
flavored and more healthful than that of lobsters which
are kept out of water several days before being cooked.
Then, too, these men make a business of boiling lobsters,
and know just how to do it. The result is, firm fine-
flavored meat.
One of the arguments against buying boiled lobsters
is that one cannot tell whether they are stale or fresh.
If the lobster be stale, the tail, when drawn out, will be
found limp, and will not spring back ; besides, a stale
lobster , always 'gives out a very unpleasant odor. It
seems as if everything were in favor of the lobster's
being boiled as soon as taken from the water.
The time of boiling this fish depends upon the size.
They rarely weigh more than three pounds now, and are
often as light as a pound and a half. The small ones
can be boiled in twelve or fifteen minutes, and the large
ones that is, those weighing three pounds in
twenty or twenty-five minutes. Too rapid and too long-
boiling makes them tough.
Shrimp.
Shrimp are usually found in the market in the cooked
state. They are plunged into boiling water as soon as
possible after being taken from the net. Shrimp are
generally sold in the Southern markets in the shell, but
in the Northern markets they are usually shelled. They
ABOUT FOOD. 81
are nice in soup, fish sauces, salads, and curries. Canned
shrimp is a nice article. Either canned or fresh shrimp
are usually so salt that they are improved by standing
m cold water for ten minutes or more before being
used.
Prawns.
These fish are something like shrimp, but are larger
and coarser. They are prepared in the same manner as
shrimp.
Crawfish.
Crawfish are a sort of fresh-water lobster in miniature.
They are usually sold by the dozen and in the shells.
They are used for bisques and to decorate other dishes
of fish.
FILLETS.
The word " fillet," when used in a culinary sense,
means a delicate, tender piece ; so when we wish for a
fillet of fish, flesh, or fowl, we take it from the tenderest
part of the animal. All the flesh of fish except the
flank can be cut into small fillets.
Fillet of beef is the tenderloin; fillet of veal, the
upper part of the leg ; fillet of fowl or birds, the breasts.
There are four fillets in the breast of every fowl or bird,
two large and two small. The small fillets are called
minion fillets. Grouse and other birds are frequently
spoiled by shot; or they are sometimes kept so long
that only the breast is sweet. They are then bought
for the fillets. If you wish, the butcher will fillet them
for you.
When buying fish to fillet, save in the case of halibut
or salmon, it is best to get rather small fish that will
not give more than four fillets to one fish. Bass and
flounder are used the most for this purpose. Bass is
dark and rich, and the price is rather high. Flounder
82 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
is white and delicate, and always cheap. It is very
much like sole, and fashionable people always call it
sole. The fact is, sole has never been caught in Ameri-
can waters ; but in future years there may be a supply,
as the Fish Commissioners have made an attempt to
introduce them into our waters.
WHEN MEAT AND FISH ARE GOOD.
Almost all fish are perfect only directly after they come
from the water, and begin to deteriorate soon afterward.
The lighter and more delicate the fish, the poorer the
keeping qualities. Nothing could be more delicate than
the white fish when taken from the great Western lakes,
but there are few fish that bear transportation so poorly.
Again, codfish, when cooked directly after it is taken
from the sea, is a fish fit to place before a king ; but when
it has been packed in ice and carried over the country,
it loses its fine characteristics and becomes rather ordi-
nary food unless great pains be taken in its preparation.
The richer fish, like salmon, halibut, bass, etc., will bear
transportation and keeping better than the lighter kinds.
It is well to remember this, that an ordinary fish,
freshly caught and cooked, will always surpass in deli-
cacy and wholesomeness a fish of the rarer and richer
kind that has been kept days or weeks, as is often the
case, packed in ice.
It is a good plan to confine the greater part of the fish
purchased to those kinds which are found in the waters
near home. Of course, there are localities where this
would mean nothing but such small fry as is caught in
brooks and ponds, and in such places one must get that
which is brought to the market.
Never buy stale fish. It will look flabby and dark,
and will have an unpleasant odor. Fresh fish is firm ;
the eyes are full and rather bright, and the odor, while
it is always fishy, will not be disagreeable.
ABOUT FOOD. 83
Turbot is an exception to the general rule. It is
better for twenty-four or forty-eight hours' keeping.
There is one thing which is not generally understood
by butchers and housekeepers. It is that while the
fibres of the flesh of an animal are set, as they are as
soon as the animal cools after being killed, the meat is
much harder than at any other time. For this reason it
should not be cooked while in this state. The meat
should hang at least twelve hours after the fibres become
set. Chickens, however, may be dressed and cooked
while yet warm, and the meat will be found tender,
juicy, and of fine flavor. Let the same chickens stand
until the fibres get hard and rigid, and then cook them,
and the meat will not be nearly so tender and juicy.
This is true of all animals : the meat should be cooked
either while it still contains the natural heat or not
until after the muscles have relaxed ; the time of relaxa-
tion being from twelve to twenty-four hours after the
animal is killed. This time answers very well for
poultry, veal, and lamb. The last two meats will not
retain a sweet flavor many days. Mutton and beef, to
be in perfection, should be hung for about three weeks
in a place where the temperature is low. This, of course,
is not possible in warm weather or in a warm country,
except where there are large refrigerators ; but all first-
class butchers have such refrigerators.
When buying meat, remember that the flesh of ma-
tured animals will keep much longer than that of young
animals.
Here is a point to bear in mind when purchasing
poultry. Select that which is " dry picked," though it
may cost several cents more a pound. Poultry that is
scalded before being picked loses much of its flavor and
will not keep so well. It may be recognized by the skin,
which will be smooth, and drawn rather tight over the
flesh. The fowl will have a plump appearance because
of the contraction of the skin by the heat. About three-
84 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
fourths of the poultry that is brought into the markets
is scalded, though scalding is practised much more in
the West and South than in the East.
FROZEN FOOD.
Fish, game, poultry, sweetbreads, etc., often are frozen,
either to permit of their being transported to places
where the supply of such articles is scanty, or to provide
in times of plenty for demands when the stock shall
have run low. Large quantities of frozen food are
shipped in the course of a year from American ports to
large cities in Europe, being kept in refrigerators on the
passage. But frozen meats and fish are not to be com-
pared in flavor with fresh articles, and should be used
only when it is impossible to obtain anything better.
There should be but a short interval between the thawing
and cooking.
CANNED GOODS.
In every household more or less canned goods are
used ; and as the consumption appears to increase stead-
ily, this subject is worth considering at some length.
When people can afford the luxury, fruits, fish, and vege-
tables preserved in glass jars are preferred to those in
tin ; but the great difference in cost makes an immense
difference in the sales, although the sale of food con-
tained in jars has grown considerably within the last few
years.
Every little while there is a scare in regard to canned
goods, caused by reports of poisoning by eating canned
meat or fish. The best of authorities claim that the
poisoning is not caused by the cans, but that the contents
were not in good condition when packed. Sometimes,
too, the cans are not carefully sealed, and air finds its
way into them. This will cause decomposition, and
gases will be generated,
ABOUT FOOD. 85
After cans have been filled with the material to be pre-
served, the tops are soldered on, a small hole being left
in each piece. The cans are next placed in a bath, the
temperature of which is gradually raised until all the air
is expelled from the cans through the small opening in
the cover. This opening is now closed and soldered. If
all this work be done properly, the food will keep for
years. The cans are now put in a test-room, where the
temperature is very high. If they have not been prop-
erly sealed, the food will begin to decompose, gas will be
generated, and the ends will begin to bulge out. Some-
times dishonest firms have these cans punctured and re-
sealed. This is not common ; but since it is sometimes
done, the housekeeper should examine each can, and if
she finds that two holes have been made in the cover,
should reject the can.
Good and Easy Tests of Wholesomeness.
A prominent physician of Brooklyn, IS". Y., gives these
rules for testing canned goods. If a housekeeper fol-
lows them she will not be liable to use food that has
decomposed in the slightest degree.
" Every cap should be examined ; and if two holes be
found in it, send the can to the Health Board, with its
contents, and the name of the grocer who sold it.
" Reject every article of canned food that does not
show the line of resin around the edge of the solder of
the cap, the same as that seen on- the seam at the side of
the can.
" Press up the bottom of the can. If decomposition is
commencing, the tin will rattle the same as the bottom
of the oiler of a sewing-machine does. If the goods be
sound, it will be solid, and there will be no rattle to the
tin.
" Reject every can that shows any rust around the cap
on the inside of the head of the can."
86 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Sources of Danger.
There are other sources of danger besides decomposi-
tion. Many folk fear tin or lead poisoning. The conclu-
sion has been reached by some men who have investigated
the matter with much care that there is no danger to be
feared from the cans, but that the solder sometimes causes
trouble. The articles most likely to be tinctured are
those containing a good deal of acid. One physician
found the sides and bottom of a can were fastened by
the usual resin amalgam, and were perfectly bright and
sound ; but a trained tinsmith pointed out that the cap
of the can was fastened on with an amalgam made of
muriate of zinc. The tin was corroded around the cap
on the inside of the can. The mechanic explained that
pieces of zinc are placed in muriatic acid and dissolved,
and this saturated solution of zinc had been painted with
a brush into the grooves of the head of the can. He
said this was a very favorite amalgam with roofers, on
account of the quickness with which it could be applied,
but that good architects and builders would not allow
its use, because it rotted the tin. It is safe to conclude
that wherever the inside of a can-lid shows that the tin
has come off in patches, something has dissolved it, and
it is mixed with the can's contents.
Food should not be allowed to stand for many hours in
an open can. The best way is to turn it into an earthen
dish as soon as the can is opened.
French Peas*
French peas have been very popular in the past. They
are delicate and of a good color. The delicacy comes
from their being picked while yet small and young, and
they are also naturally greener on this account. The
Boards of Health in several cities have been examining
canned peas, and have found that many brands are dan-
gerous ; sulphate of copper being used to make the peas
ABOUT FOOD. 87
retain their beautiful color. In some places a warning
has been given by the authorities against the use of the
following-named brands :
Henry Deler et O, petit pois moyens.
Daudicole'e et Gaudin, Bordeaux, petit poia inoyeus.
J. Nouville, Bordeaux, petit pois moyens.
Perry fils, A. Lazun, petit pois verts.
E. Estibal, Bordeaux, petit pois extra tins.
E. M. Daelzin, Bordeaux, preparation & FAnglaise.
D. M. Ansone, Bordeaux, petit pois verts.
L. Carpe et O, Lundeville, haricots verts extra fins.
Soule et Prise, Bordeaux, petit pois verts.
F. Fiton aine, Bordeaux, petit pois verts au naturel
John Moir & Son, London, Aberdeen, and Seville, petit pois fins.
Charles Julien, Paris, petit pois.
Barton fils, (three kinds) petit pois fins.
Fontaine Frferes, Paris, petit pois extra fins.
Q. Talbot, Bordeaux, petit pois verts extra fins.
G. Garies, aine et fils, (two kinds) petit pois fins.
Louit Freres et O, petit pois surfins.
B. Eygrien, petit pois verts.
The writer has freely used French peas no particu-
lar brand for a great many years, and has never known
of any ill effects from eating them. In preparing these
peas, as with all canned peas or other green vegetables,
the water in which they were canned was always drained
off and they were then rinsed in clean cold water.
Canned Goods a Blessing.
Taken for all and all, canned foods, especially fruits
and vegetables, are a great blessing, and as safe as most
of the food that we use. A quartermaster in the regular
army, who has held that position for years, and at various
posts where canned food was a necessity, says that he
never knew of a case of poisoning from its use.
When buying canned goods of any kind, always try to
get those which have been put up near where the fruit
or vegetable is found in the best state. Apricots that
88 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
are canned in Southern California are better than those
from points farther north, where the fruit does not ripen
so perfectly ; peaches that are packed near the orchards
where they grow are superior to those canned in large
cities. Blueberries and huckleberries in tin are said to
be very dangerous, and should not be used at all.
There is hardly a food product that is not available at
all times of the year, now that canning and preserving-
are brought to such perfection ; and yet no housekeeper
should use canned food if she can get just as good an
article in a fresh state.
Among the canned and potted goods there are a few
which may be classed among luxuries. Some of these
are only imperfectly known. For the benefit of the young-
housekeeper, brief mention will be made of these goods
and their uses.
Anchovies.
These fish are prepared in several ways for the market.
Sometimes they are preserved whole, in either oil or brine,
and in small bottles. They come under the head of
relishes in this form, and are served on toast, in salads,
omelets, and sauces. Anchovy paste and anchovy es-
sence are sold in small jars and bottles. These prepara-
tions are used on toast and in sauces. They are said to
be adulterated with coloring matter, and for this rea-
son many persons prefer to buy the bottled whole fish
and make their own paste or -essence. These prepara-
tions of anchovy are of great value in making many fish
sauces and dainty little relishes for an elegant dinner ov
supper.
Russian Caviare.
Caviare is the roe of the sturgeon. It is put up in
small cans, which cost fifty cents. It is served on toast
with a bit of lemon. Like the anchovies on toast, cavi-
are may be served at the beginning or at an early stage
of the dinner. It is also served as a relish at gentle-
men's suppers.
ABOUT FOOD. 89
Truffles.
Truffles are being used in this country much more
freely than formerly. They are imported in small cans
from France, where the finest truffles in the world are
obtained. They are found in oak groves, several inches
beneath the surface of the earth. They grow in Eng-
land, but are not so large nor fine-flavored as those found
in France. It is said that they have also been gathered
in the oak groves in California.
When they are taken from the earth the aroma is very
fine, but after the truffles have been exposed to the air
for a time, much of this passes off. The truffles that
come in cans have very little of the flavor or odor of the
fresh ones. In no food adjunct does one get so little for
the money. The smallest-sized can, holding a gill, costs
sixty cents.
Truffles are used as a garnish and to flavor sauces and
made dishes. When only a part of a can is needed, the
remainder may be covered with salad oil and kept in a
cool place until required for use. They must be washed
free of the oil before using.
Cdpes.
Cepes are a species of mushroom, grown largely in
Russia and to some extent in France. They are thicker
and firmer than mushrooms. They come canned in oil.
After they have been washed free of the oil they will be
ready for use, the same as mushrooms.
When it is impossible to get large fresh mushrooms
for broiling, cepes can be used for this purpose with sat-
isfactory results.
Foie Gras.
Foie gras fat liver is the liver of a goose that has
been kept fastened in one position and fed generously
with corn meal for several weeks. Under this treatment
the livers grow to an enormous size. They are prepared
90 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
for the market in several ways : they are studded with
truffles, cooked, and then packed in tin cans or in flat
earthen jars, being in the latter case covered with a thick
layer of fat to exclude the air ; or they are prepared
without the truffles, and are of course sold for less.
Sometimes force-meat is packed with them, for use in
making a pate. Occasionally one sees them put up with
force-meat, seasoning, and a crust of puff paste. In this
form they are shipped all over the world.
The simplest form in which the foie gras is canned is
the most popular, because it is the cheapest, and the liv-
ers can then be prepared in any way that suits the house-
keeper's taste. The price of a small jar, holding about
half a pint, is $ 1.25. This is enough for a small dish.
Pat3 de foie gras is nearly always served cold in some
form, and is generally served at a luncheon or supper, if
at all.
Suggestions to Housekeepers.
The list of the canned, potted, and bottled delicacies
for the table is very long, and one can buy at first-class
groceries almost everything that would be needed for a
dinner, and few of the dishes require any preparation
for the table other than heating. If a housekeeper
should desire to make a selection of these prepared
articles, for her use when away from the markets, she
can send to a first-class grocer for his catalogue. She
will find there a list of soups, fish, meats, vegetables,
preserves, wine jelly, dessert biscuit, etc., from which to
choose.
RELISHES.
India chutney is a sauce that is held in high favor by
gentlemen. It is not very expensive, and keeps well.
It is a combination of apples, onions, ginger, vinegar,
lemon juice, sugar, and other seasonings. Sometimes
tomatoes are used. It is served the same as pickles, to
ABOUT FOOD. 91
which class of relishes it belongs. It is also added to
some fish sauces.
Soy is a sauce made in China and Japan. It is a thick
reddish-brown liquid, and is used in many fish sauces.
The queen olive is very large, and is particularly well
adapted to the purposes of cooiing ; therefore, when the
olives are to be used as a garnish in a sauce or a salad,
or when they are to be stoned and stuffed for a relish,
the queen variety is the best for use.
The " baby " olive is considered as the most desirable
for ordinary table use.
Stuffed olives come bottled, the same as the plain fruit.
They make a pleasing variation as a relish for the table
or for a picnic party.
FLAVORS.
Some of the flavors which have been in use in Euro-
pean cookery for the last century or more are beginning
to be used freely in this country. Cordials are among
the most popular flavors for various kinds of creams and
jellies. They are made by adding a rich syrup (obtained
by boiling sugar and water together) to distilled spirits,
and flavoring the mixture with various fruits and spices.
These cordials are always rather thick. They are some-
times clear and sometimes slightly colored. Mention
will be made only of those used in cookery.
Maraschino is flavored with a bitter cherry.
Cura$oa is flavored with orange-peel.
Noyau is flavored with the kernels of the peach and
apricot.
Eau de vie de Dantzic is made of brandy, is highly
flavored, and has gold leaf distributed through it. This
cordial is used in making jellies. There is rarely
enough gold leaf in it to give a pretty effect, and a small
quantity may be cut up fine and put in the bottl? when
it is opened. A small book of gold leaf can be bought
for half a dollar or a less amount.
92 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Cordials are very strong, arid only a small quantity is
required to flavor a dish.
In buying rum for cooking purposes, get Santa Cruz.
A small pint bottle will* answer in a small family for a
year, if it be used only for flavoring creams or puddings.
CEREALS.
Flour.
Flour made from wheat is so largely used that it is
one of the most important items in the housekeeper's
list of food supplies.
The processes of milling have changed a good deal
within the last twenty-five years. We now have what is
called low milling, high milling, and half-high milling.
Low milling is the old process of grinding between two
stones, and gives us the old-process, or pastry, flour.
High milling is the new process of cracking the wheat
between rollers. Flour made by the first process is
smooth to the touch, and when pressed into a ball in the
hand, retains its shape. This flour is particularly nice
for cake and pastry, but the ordinary brands do not make
good bread.
There is a process followed by many millers, called
half-high milling, which gives flour good for all pur-
poses. Nothing is better for bread than the best quality
of the new-process flour. There are dozens of mills
all over the country making an equally good article.
Housekeepers should remember this; and when they
become accustomed to one brand, if it proves satis-
factory, they should not change for an unknown brand.
It is frequently the case that the flour from one mill
will require a little different treatment from that made
in another. Bread-making demands so much care that a
housekeeper should take no chances in the work. The
best flour is the cheapest, as there is no waste* in
using it.
ABOUT FOOD. 93
New flour will not make so good bread as that which
has been kept for a few months after milling. New flour
made from good wheat will have a very sweet, nutty
flavor ; but it is a difficult matter to make light, delicate
bread of it. The dough will be sticky, and what cooks
term " runny."
Flour should be kept in a cool, dry room, the barrel
being placed on a 1'ow rack, so that there shall be a free
circulation of air under it.
The best flour will have a tinge of yellow; reject
flour that has a grayish color.
A flour that retains the greater part of the wheat is
made in Lockport, N. Y. It is sold under the name of
"Franklin Mills Entire Wheat Flour." It is dark-
colored, and makes a rather brown bread or muffin.
The bread made of it is very sweet and nutritious. The
dough must be made much softer than with the ordinary
flour, and the beating and kneading be very thorough.
Rye Flour and Meal.
Rye flour is used extensively in some parts of the
country. It is a fine-bolted flour made of rye. The
treatment of it in bread is about the same as that of
the entire-wheat flour.
Rye meal is used much more than the flour in all the
New England States except Connecticut, where the flour
is used very commonly. Outside of New England it is
difficult to get the meal. You order meal, and almost
invariably they will send you flour. For muffins, Boston
brown bread, and mush, the meal is indispensable. Only
a small quantity should be bought at a time, and the
meal should be kept in a cool, dry place.
Graham.
Graham is one of the most uncertain of the bread
materials with which we have to deal. A large part of
it is made by mixing a poor quality of flour with coarse
94 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
bran. In buying graham, select that containing a rather
fine bran, which does not separate readily from the flour
when shaken in the hand. The Health Food Company
makes an excellent graham j and when there is any doubt
as to the quality of the ordinary graham, it would be
wise to purchase that sold by this company. The price
is much higher than that of the ordinary article.
There are many mills which supply the pure article,
but there are so many which do not that one is often at
a loss to know where to get the best. The mills at
Akron, Ohio, make an excellent graham, and also a good
quality of oatmeal.
Fine granulated meal is a fine quality of graham,
manufactured by the Health Food Company. It makes
delicious bread and muffins.
Corn Meal.
Corn meal, past and present, is an interesting subject.
The changing quality of this meal is a source of much
annoyance to the housekeeper of to-day. Rules which
always worked to perfection in the past are now as un-
certain as the weather. The old process of making corn
meal was to take corn which had dried naturally for a
few months, and crush it between mill-stones. This gave
a sweet-flavored but uneven meal, some parts being as
fine as flour, while others were rather coarse ; besides,
there was a considerable amount of coarse bran. As the
corn was not entirely free of moisture, and was heated
in being crushed between the mill-stones, it could not
be relied upon to keep good ; a few weeks was as long
a time as it was expected to remain sweet. It is to be
regretted that this delicious meal has passed away.
About fifteen or twenty years ago the granulated meal
began to appear in the market. It was sweet, dry, and
of even texture, being cut instead of being ground be-
tween stones. The corn was thoroughly dried before
being sent to the mill ; at first it was kept for two or
ABOUT FOOD. 95
three years, until all the moisture had evaporated. This
new kind of meal was very satisfactory, because it was
of uniform quality and would keep for any length of
time. If the manufacturers had been content to follow
this process up to the present time, housekeepers would
have been well pleased ; but the drying of the corn was
not rapid enough for the millers, who soon began to use
kilns. At the outset of the new departure the corn was
dried slowly and at a low temperature, and the meal
was nearly as good as that made by the original method.
But the time for drying has been reduced more and
more, until now the grains of the corn meal are as hard
as the grains of hominy, and it is rather hard to distin-
guish between the two. Then, too, the meal is ground
much finer than formerly. All these changes in the
meal have damaged it considerably, and it is almost
impossible to get the moist, sweet corn-bread of years
gone by. If in using old receipts for corn bread, one-
eighth of the quantity of meal called for be omitted, the
bread will be nearer what it should be than it will if all
the meal be used.
Hominy, Grits, etc.
Within a few years a great many new preparations
have been manufactured from the cereals. Nearly all
these goods have been prepared with a view to their use
in breakfast dishes. Some of them have been a success,
and others a bad failure. Since it has become the custom
to have mush of some kind for breakfast, and so many
people cannot eat oatmeal, other materials are substituted
for the old-fashioned cracked wheat and oatmeal.
Wheat germ meal is one of the most agreeable of the
new preparations. It comes in small packages, and is
quickly and easily cooked.
Hominy snow flakes is another new preparation which
makes a pleasant change on the breakfast-table or for
the nursery.
96 MISS PAKLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Grits is the name given to fine hominy in some sec-
tions of the South, " hominy " there meaning the coarse
hominy. Both the coarse and fine hominy are desirable
food materials, and should be found in every household.
The fine hominy can be used for many more purposes than
the coarse, and is therefore more desirable. The former
comes in five-pound packages ; the coarser kinds can be
bought in bulk.
MOLASSES.
When sugar was made in the old-fashioned way it
was always possible to obtain good black molasses.
Now that sugar is finally boiled in vacuum pans, the
best quality of molasses is very scarce. The finest conies
from Porto Kico, and the next best from New Orleans.
A good test of molasses is to put a bit of dissolved
soda in a spoonful of the molasses, and if the latter be
good it will foam up in a rich dark color, and the odor
will be pleasant. If, however, it should turn a greenish
shade, and the odor should be unpleasant, it will not
give satisfaction.
OLIVE OIL.
Unless one have a good cool cellar, it will be best to
buy oil in small quantities. Buying in large quantities
is much more economical if there be a good place to
keep the supply. Oil is cheaper when bought in large
bottles than in small ones ; yet in a small family it is
better to buy the small bottles, as oil loses its fine flavor
if the bottle be opened often.
Bae's Lucca oil is very reliable ; so is Barton & Gues-
tier's. There are many other good oils, and these brands
are mentioned only for the benefit of those who find it
difficult to judge of the quality.
One cannot be too careful in the selection and care
of salad oil. It should always be kept in a cool, dark
place. When the bottle is opened, wipe the inside of
the neck of the bottle before pouring out the oil. Some-
ABOUT FOOD. 97
times a particle of oil will cling to the cork and become
rancid. Unless this be wiped out, the whole bottle may
be tainted by it. Always taste or smell of the oil before
using it.
MACARONI, SPAGHETTI, ETC.
Macaroni, spaghetti, and all the other Italian pastes
are made of a hard wheat that is rich in gluten. These
pastes, when of the best quality, have a hard appearance,
with a slight yellowish tinge.
The Italian paste made in this country and there is
a great deal of it has a softer, lighter look. Some-
times it is colored with saffron, in which case it will
have a deeper yellow tinge.
Spaghetti is one form of macaroni, the only difference
being that the stems are only about one fourth as large
round as macaroni. It is prepared the same as macaroni.
Italian paste comes in the form of tiny figures and let-
ters. This is used largely for soup.
TAPIOCA.
This is sold in three different forms. Flake tapioca is
that which comes in large, coarse flakes. Pearl tapioca
comes in small globules about half the size of a pea. It
cooks soft more readily than the flaked kind, but never
seems quite so rich. " Tapioca exotique " is a prepara-
tion of tapioca that has been ground as fine as granulated
sugar. It cooks clear in a short time, and is convenient
and nice for soups and jellies. It comes in small pack-
ages, the smallest weighing half a pound. The house-
keeper who once tries this preparation for soups and
desserts will always have it in her storeroom.
ARROWROOT.
This has so long been considered as belonging to the
food supplies for invalids and the sick that it is not used
to any great extent in ordinary cookery. It has, however,
7
98 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
properties which will commend it to the cook for many
dishes. It will, for example, become perfectly transpar-
ent when cooked in a clear liquid, and for this reason it
is a valuable thickening agent in soups and sauces that
are required to be thick and yet clear.
Arrowroot absorbs odors readily, and therefore should
be put up and kept in tin boxes. Never buy it in any
other form, and never buy it at the druggist's, because it
will have absorbed the odors of some of the things near
it. All first-class grocers keep it.
GELATINE.
Gelatine is now used so freely in all households that
it pays to buy it by the quantity. It is one of the most
valuable ingredients that we have for making desserts
and jellies. There are a good many brands. The pack-
ages are all supposed to hold the same amount, two
ounces and a half with the wrappers, and two ounces if
weighed without them. Sometimes the gelatine weighs
a little more, and frequently less, than two ounces ; so it
is best to weigh it before it is used. This shortness in
weight probably is due to the carelessness of the packers
and not to a desire to defraud, as gelatine is cheap.
Pink gelatine comes in sheets. It can be bought at
the grocer's by the ounce. It costs a little more than
the ordinary gelatine.
Using half plain and half pink gelatine will give a
rich pink color to a jelly or cream.
Many people prefer using the Eussian isinglass, which
comes in sheets. This costs more than the prepared gel-
atine. It is nice for blanc-mange, and besides being used
for jellies and creams, it is frequently used for clearing
soups and coffee.
CONDIMENTS.
In this age of adulterations nothing suffers more than
ground condiments. The only safety is to buy them at
ABOUT FOOD. 99
first-class stores. This does not always mean that you
will get a pure article, but your chances are much greater
than when trusting to the common grocer. After salt,
pepper is the most extensively used condiment; black,
white, and red pepper being in common use.
White pepper is better than black for cooking pur-
poses, because it is so much more delicate in flavor and
does not mar the looks of a white sauce, soup, or ragout.
It is not so liable to be adulterated as the black. It,
however, costs more. Always keep pepper in a glass jar
or tin box.
Cayenne is used in such a small quantity that a two-
ounce bottle will last an ordinary family for a year or
more.
Nepaul pepper, a delicate red kind, comes in small
bottles, and is a great addition to the seasoning of some
soups, sauces, and entrees.
Mustard, when pure, has a dull yellow appearance.
When ground mustard is mixed with cold water, the odor
will be so pungent as to affect the eyes, as peeling raw
onions will. Unless you are a chemist, this is the surest
test you can make to ascertain whether <the mustard is
adulterated. The bright yellow color does not always
mean that the mustard is inferior to the paler kind.
The pure mustard is frequently colored to give it the
bright yellow hue which so many people demand. Since
this article is used extensively in sickness, a generous
supply should always be kept in the storeroom, and care
should be taken to have only the purest.
Curry-powder is being employed more and more each
year. It is a useful and healthful condiment when
properly used. Some housekeepers try to make this
powder themselves, but it is much better to buy it. The
ingredients vary a little in the different makes. They
usually consist of the following-named articles ground
to a smooth powder : Coriander seed, black and Cayenne
pepper, cumin seed, cardamon seed, turmeric. Some-
100 MISS PAKLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
times cinnamon, ginger, caraway seed, and other spices
also are used. The most reliable makes are Cross &
BlackwelPs. Curry-powder should be kept in a dark
place, in a tightly corked bottle.
CINNAMON.
In buying ground cinnamon, like all ground spices,
one must depend upon taste for the real article, for
this spiee is as much adulterated as pepper and ginger.
But with the whole cinnamon the case is different, for
here the eye can recognize the true and detect the false.
The genuine cinnamon comes in small, thin, rather
tight rolls. It can be broken in long splinters. The
taste is delicate, sweet, and spicy. The price is much
higher than for cassia.
Cinnamon is sometimes mixed with cassia and sold
for a pure article, and it is quite common to sell pure
cassia for cinnamon.
Cassia is more than twice as thick as cinnamon ; the
rolls are large and loose ; the bark breaks off brittle and
will not break in splinters ; the flavor is strong. It
makes a good deal of difference in the flavor of a soup,
sauce, or jelly, whether cinnamon or coarse cassia be
used.
SUMMER SALADS AND SWEET HERBS.
How to Get Them from One's Own Garden.
When the time comes for garden-making, people will
do wisely to set apart a small portion of their land for
salads and herbs. Many persons who live in towns have
not only land for flower-beds, but enough also for a salad
and herb garden, and yet they feel that it is not worth
the while to try to raise anything for the table, because
they have not an acre or more to cultivate. A small
piece of land, properly used, will yield wonders in the
way of flavors and relishes. In France mere yards.
ABOUT FOOD. 101
as we would call them, produce vegetables for seasoning
purposes, salads, herbs, grapes, apples, peaches, and pears.
There are no trees in such little gardens, the fruit being
trained on frames and the walls. The meats of France
are not remarkably fine ; yet the poorest parts of a poor
animal are prepared in a manner which renders them
not only digestible, but very savory. Slow processes of
cooking make the meat tender, and much of the flavor
is obtained by the use of the sweet herbs and delicate
vegetables.
But to return to the proposed garden. About one
hundred square feet of land will suffice, twenty-five
for vegetables, forty for herbs, and the rest for salads.
It is calculated to raise only enough vegetables for sea-
soning purposes. Here is a list of things which it will
be well to plant : Salads, lettuce, sorrel, burnet, borage,
chives; vegetables, carrots, turnips, celery (only for
the leaves), onions ; herbs, parsley, chervil, tarragon,
sage, sweet-marjoram, summer savory, thyme.
As the salads and vegetables should be planted twice
during the season, only half of the land set apart for
them should be sown at first. The first sowing should
take place in May or June, the time depending upon the
season and climate ; the second in August. Seeds and
bulbs may be got from any good seedsman, and their
transportation by mail is not costly. The care of a little
garden is likely to be a source of health and pleasure to
a woman, and a surprising variety of fine flavors may be
obtained for soups, ragouts, and other dishes.
It is strange that people generally are ignorant of the
use and value of some of the best and most delicate herbs
and salads. Sage, savory, thyme, and marjoram are
common enough. Tarragon and chervil are employed
in the making of sauces, soups, salads, and ragouts.
Chervil is somewhat like parsley, but more delicate in
texture and more agreeable in flavor. It is used only s
a flavor and in small quantities. Tarragon is a
102 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
plant, like thyme, but its leaves are about four times as
large. It has a flavor unlike anything else, and gives
to lettuce salads that peculiar and pleasing savor which
one gets in France. In New York the French cooks use
large amounts of it ; outside that city, however, it is but
little known except by French people. If the roots be
protected, the plant will last for years. Chives are a
species of onion. Only the delicate green tops are used.
They should be cut frequently, but not very close to the
ground. Chives are delicious in all kinds of vegetable
salads, particularly in potato salad ; and they are also
nice in soups, stews, and fish or savory omelets. Cooking
does not mar the beautiful green as it does some kinds
of vegetables. For winter use gather chervil, tarragon,
marjoram, savory, sage, thyme, and parsley, before they
go to seed ; tie them in bunches, and hang in a shady
place to dry ; and keep them, when dry, in boxes or
paper bags.
In summer, when garden products are fresh, sorrel,
borage, and burnet should be prepared for the table just
the same as lettuce. Two, three, or more of the salads
may be combined, and seasoned with French dressing.
For example, to each head of lettuce put a few leaves of
sorrel, two sprigs of chervil, a few sprigs of tarragon,
and a teaspoonful of chopped chives mixed with one
table-spoonful of vinegar, three of oil, half a teaspoonful
of salt, and one-eighth of a teaspoonful of pepper. Or
borage may be substituted for the head of lettuce ; or
any one of the three, sorrel, borage, or lettuce, may be
used with a single herb and the dressing.
There are numerous salads besides these, but enough
have been mentioned to enable a housekeeper of ordinary
ability to give a pleasing variety to her bills of fare.
All the vegetables, herbs, and salads named can be found
in large markets during May and June, and they will be
delicate, having come chiefly from hot-beds. A city
housekeeper who knows what she wants, and has the
ABOUT FOOD. 103
money to get supplies, will meet with no difficulty in
an attempt to make frequent changes of dishes; but
she who lives out of the city, and cannot readily obtain
the variety desired, should have a little garden of her
own.
The seeds, roots, or bulbs for this garden can be bought
of any reliable seedsman. Alfred Bridgeman, No. 37
East Nineteenth Street, New York City, keeps all these
seeds.
Tarragon is a perennial, and is rarely raised from the
seed. Get two or three roots. Pli\nt them in April or
May, in a rather dry, sheltered place. In the fall, cover
them with straw to protect the roots.
Chives are grown from small bulbs. Plant the bulbs
a few inches apart. Let this bed be long and narrow.
Begin cutting at one end of the bed, and continue to the
other. end. By the time it is reached the plants that
were cut first will be ready to yield another crop. Take
up some of the bulbs, in the fall, for winter use. Plant
them in small boxes at various times through the winter,
and you will have the green relish during the cold sea-
son. Cover the out-door bed with straw, and the chives
will come up early in the spring. A bed of chives prop-
erly worked and fertilized will last for several years.
Borage is grown from seed, and must be planted twice
during the season, in April or May, and again in July or
August.
Burnet is raised from seed. It has a flavor a little
like cucumbers.
Sorrel is grown from seed. It is perennial, and a bed
will last for years if properly cared for. When the
flower buds appear they should be cut off, that the leaves
of the sorrel shall grow large and tender.
In the fall take up a dozen roots of parsley and plant
them in a box, keeping it in a sunny window. It will
pay.
104 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
SOUPS.
To be a maker of good soups one must not only have
skill and patience, but also must use good materials.
There seems to be a rather general impression that soups
should be made from almost nothing. This is a great
error. To be sure, one often is served with a plate of
liquid called soup, which, so far as nutrition and flavor
are concerned, might as well have been made of nothing
but water, a little coloring, and some salt and pepper.
But such soups ought never to be put upon the table.
Soup should be palatable and nutritious. If these
qualities be lacking, there will be no excuse for serving
it. Knowledge and care must be applied in combining
the various ingredients in order to secure results at once
pleasing and healthful; ignorance and carelessness are
drawbacks under which a maker of soups cannot work
with a reasonable hope of success.
In preparing soup stock the first step is to obtain from
the meat all the nutritive and flavoring qualities, which
are the albumen, gelatine, osmazone, and salts, and are
contained principally in the lean parts of the meat,
though the bones also contain considerable gelatine.
Osmazone and albumen are dissolved and drawn from
meat in water heated to a temperature of 100 to 110 ;
gelatine must be subjected for several hours to a heat of
200, or more, before it will dissolve in the meat and
bones.
Simplest Way of Making Stock.
.Now, as the object is to dissolve and draw out these
substances, it is best to cut the meat into small pieces
before adding the water. The meat and water should
sours. 105
stand on the back part of the range, where the heat is
not great, for at least an hour ; and at the end of that
time the kettle should be moved forward where the con-
tents will slowly get heated to the boiling-point. When
this temperature is reached a thick scum will rise on the
surface of the liquid, which should be carefully skimmed.
During the next half-hour skim every ten minutes ;
then cover the kettle closely, and set it back where its
contents will just bubble for from six to ten hours.
When this time has passed, strain the soup. All the
soluble matter will be dissolved, and the remaining bones
and shreds of fibres will have no value as food. All the
flavoring and nutritive elements will be contained in the
strained liquid.
This is the simplest way of making soup stock. By
following it, anybody can prepare the foundation for a
plain or rich soup. A light stock is made by allowing
a quart of water to a pound of meat. Perhaps it will be
well to state here that there should be not more than a
quarter of a pound of bone to three-quarters of a pound
of meat. A rich stock is obtained by using only a pint
of water to each pound of meat and bone.
Materials for Stock.
Stock may be made of one kind of meat, or many
kinds; of fresh meat, or the remains and trimmings of
roasted and broiled meats. The greater the number of
kinds used, the finer will be the flavor. When bones
are used, care must be taken to prevent the contents of
the soup-kettle from boiling hard ; for a very high tem-
perature would dissolve the lime in the bones, and give
the stock a milky appearance. It is difficult to make a
clear soup of stock that was clouded by hard boiling;
but if a white soup is to be made, the clouding of the
stock will not be a serious matter.
To insure getting clear soup, free of every particle of
fat, it is necessary to make the stock the day previous,
106 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
that the fat may form in a cake on the surface of the
stock and easily be taken off. Then, too, if the stock be
liquid it may be poured off, leaving the sediment at the
bottom of the bowl ; or if it be in the form of jelly it
may be turned out, and the sediment can be scraped
from the bottom. In either case a comparatively clear
stock will be obtained. Seasoning may be added, the
stew-pan set on the stove, and its contents heated to the
boiling-point and kept at that temperature for half an
hour; then the soup will be ready for straining and
serving. For a change, there may be added, after the
straining, Italian paste in any form, cooked vegetables,
cooked rice or barley, or, indeed, almost any embellish-
ment that one may fancy. For inexperienced cooks this
is the safest kind of clear soup to make.
How Soups are Cleared.
By some accident or oversight the stock may not be
properly skimmed, or may be allowed to boil too hard, so
that it becomes cloudy j or possibly the cloudiness will
be brought on by the use of cooked meats. . In any of
these cases there will be necessity for clearing the soup,
an operation which but comparatively few persons un-
derstand. Soups are cleared by various articles, the most
common being the white of an egg. Professional cooks
use fine-chopped raw meat for clearing bouillon and con-
somme". The white of an egg is so cheap and convenient
to use that its value should be better known. When it
is used it makes no difference whether or not any sedi-
ment gets into the soup-pot.
To season and clear four quarts of soup, use the whites
of two eggs, four blades of celery, one large onion, one
large slice of carrot, two bay leaves, one leaf of sage,
two sprigs of parsley, two small sprigs each of thyme,
summer savory, and .sweet-marjoram, all the herbs
being tied together, six whole cloves, three dozen
pepper-corns, a two-inch piece of cinnamon, half a tea-
SOUPS. 107
spoonful of sugar, and three teaspoonfuls of salt. Beat
the egg whites until they are light but not dry, and put
them into the stock with the other ingredients. Place
over the fire and heat slowly to the boiling-point. This
is the critical stage of the work. Just as soon as the
soup bubbles, move the kettle back where its contents
will keep at the boiling-point for half an hour without
really boiling. The kettle should be closely covered all
the time. At the end of the half-hour strain the soup
through a napkin into a clean kettle. It will be clear
and sparkling if the directions have been followed to
the letter. The stock must be cooked for at least half
an hour after the egg whites are added. It must, how-
ever, be heated only to the boiling-point and not allowed
to boil rapidly ; otherwise the egg will be broken up by
the rapid motion of the liquid, and will not harden in a
sheet, and the stock will not be rid of, the foreign
substances which the egg is expected to collect. .
Value of Remnants of Meat.
The belief, unfortunately, appears to be quite common
that if one would have stock on hand for made dishes
and the various kinds of soup made partly of stock
and partly of milk, there must always be kept on the
stove a stock-pot, into which all the bones and odds
and ends of meat are to be put from day to day, and
from wliich the stock may be taken at any time it is
needed.
All meat trimmings that are sweet, and all the bones
from roasts and broils, should be boiled slowly in water,
to extract any nutritive elements remaining in them.
The stock thus produced varies in strength and is rarely
clear; nevertheless, it is of much value in the prepara-
tion of soups, sauces, and made dishes. Care must be
taken that the bones and meat are perfectly sweet, or a
bad flavor will be developed in the process of cooking,
and the stock obtained will give this flavor to any dish
108 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
in which it is used. It is advisable to boil the bones
and trimmings as soon as possible, and not to wait until
a large quantity has accumulated for the stock-pot. If
you have any bones or meat left aftej a sirloin or porter-
house steak has formed a part of a meal, do not wait a
day or two in order to boil the remains of a roast of beef
or poultry at the same time. Put the first remnants on
the stove in a small stew-pan, with a sufficient quantity
of cold water, and boil gently for five or six hours ; then
strain and cool before adding to the other stock. The
small amount of stock obtained perhaps not more than
three gills may seem to be a poor return for the trouble
taken. How much trouble ? Simply putting the materi-
als into the stew-pan, straining and cooling the liquid
after the boiling, and finally washing the strainer and
stew-pan. What do you get for the work ? Three gills
of stock, which will make a sauce for any kind of cold
meat ; will moisten a dish of hash, when water otherwise
would be used ; or will serve as a foundation in which
rice, barley, tapioca, or something else may be cooked for
a cream soup, making the dishes at least fifty per cent
better than if water be used.
Stock of this kind is, therefore, one of the most useful
things prepared in the kitchen. Never forget that the
materials must be sweet, and that warm stock must not
be added to that which is cold. When there is any cold
stock on hand, it is well to put it with the new stock
about an hour before the latter is taken from the fire.
This will give it a thorough scalding, and insure the
stock keeping good for three or four days in winter, and
a day or two in summer.
In making stock, allow a quart of water to every
pound of meat and bones, and let it boil down one-half.
In a well-managed kitchen there always will be at least
a small quantity of this stock. Then, too, the water in
which poultry or mutton was boiled may have the meat
and bones added to it, and four or five hours' simmering
SOUPS. 109
will give a rich stock from which a variety of soups may
be made.
Maigre soups are those made without meat, and are
especially appropriate for fast days. Some of them are
good enough for any season, and make a pleasant change
from meat soups.
Beef the Best Meat for Stock.
Of the various kinds of meat used in soup-making,
beef is the most valuable and, generally speaking, the
cheapest. All the tough and coarse parts can be used.
Those parts containing a good deal of gelatine are es-
pecially desirable if the stock is to be kept for several
days, because the stock, upon cooling, becomes a rather
solid mass, through which the air will not pass freely,
and therefore fermentation is not likely to ensue. The
soup, too, will have the deceptive appearance of being
much richer than that made with clear, lean meat. But
many people enjoy a gelatinous soup when one rich, but
clear, would seem to them to be light. Every part of
the beef contains some gelatine, and if the meat be
cooked for several hours in water which is kept at 200,
or even a little higher temperature, the gelatine will be
dissolved, and if there be a pound of meat to each pint
of water the stock will jelly on cooling. But should the
clear meat and water be kept at about 170 during the
cooking, the stock will remain liquid when cold, and
very little trace of gelatine will be found in it. This
point always should be remembered when making bouil-
lon to be served cold, as the soup should be rich, and icy
cold, and yet perfectly clear like water.
The parts of beef used for soup are for bouillon or
consomme, the round, shoulder, flank, or brisket; for a
clear beef soup, the neck, cheek, leg, shin, and any
scraggy, rough part, besides the bones. The cheek, leg,
and shin all will give a soup rich in gelatine.
A shin or leg of beef will be found to be an economical
110 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
piece for making stock. Butchers seldom break these
parts into small enough pieces. The bones of a leg
should be broken into eight or ten pieces, and these
should be washed in cold water. Be very careful that
the part which was separated from the hoof is perfectly
sweet and clean. Sometimes it is necessary to cut off
and throw away bits of tendon which appear to be u
trifle tainted.
When the cheek and neck are used, they should be
washed. The round should not be washed, but should
be wiped well with a wet towel.
A Word about Poultry.
Poultry is of great value in making stock. One of the
most economical ways of getting a light white stock is to
clean and truss a fowl, put it, breast down, in as small a
stew-pan as will hold it, cover it with cold water, and
heat it slowly to the boiling-point. Skim carefully, and
simmer until the fowl is tender ; then take up the fowl
and set it away to cool. Strain the water in which it
was boiled, and set that away to cool. When it becomes
cool, the fat may be skimmed from it. The fowl will be
ready for any kind of a dish for breakfast, luncheon, or
tea, or may be made into an entree for dinner. The stock
will serve as the foundation of cream soups or white
sauces, or may be used with made dishes.
Do not use a fowl for stock unless it be plump and
sweet and not more than two years old. The dark, lean
birds, which can be bought for a few cents a pound less
than a fat, rich chicken, will prove a dear purchase if one
be tempted to take them. Many persons are so foolish
as to think that because the meat is to be used for soup,
it is not necessary to have a good quality. Just as good
meat is wanted for this purpose as for anything else.
Sometimes the feet of poultry are used in soups. There
are two ways to clean them : one is to hold them in tongs
over clear coals until the skin cracks and curls, when it
SOUPS. Ill
can be rubbed off easily ; and the other mode is to cover
them with boiling water for a few minutes and then
scrape off the skin and nails. Being gelatinous, they
give body to the soup.
Other Meats for Stock.
Mutton does not enter largely into soup-making. When
it is used it should be freed as much as possible of fat,
which would give a strong flavor to the stock. The
neck, shoulder, and feet are the parts most in demand for
soups. The feet, like those of the calf, are very gelati-
nous, and are sometimes used with other meats, like beef,
to increase the gelatinous element of the stock.
Almost all kinds of game may be used for stock. In
most cases it is too expensive, but the remnants left from
roasts and broils improve any stock greatly. Where
there is game in abundance, it may be treated in soups
the same as other meats.
Young meat, such as lamb and chicken, rarely is used
in stock. The bones or trimmings from roasts or broils
may be added to stock, but nothing else should be.
Osmazone, which gives flavor and odor to meat, is found
in larger quantities in old animals than in young ones ;
therefore the meat of matured animals is the best for
stock. ~
Veal combined with beef gives a smoothness to soup
which is lacking when only beef is used. The best parts
of veal to use are the shin, head, and feet. They contain
the most gelatine, and are less useful for other modes of
cooking; but the stock made from them has very little
flavor, and is usually combined with stock made from
other meats or with milk or cream.
Thickening for Soups.
In thickening soups one aims first to get consistency,
next color, and finally flavor. Sometimes a soup is
wanted rather thick and yet perfectly clear. There are
11 J MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
three substances which will give this effect, arrowroot,
ooru-starch, and tapioca ground fine. Arrowroot is by
far the best of the three if one be particular to avoid
leaving any trace of the thickening ingredient in the
soup. One table-spoonful mixed with a cupful of cold
stock until smooth, and then stirred into one quart of
boiling stock, the whole being simmered for half an
hour, will give a soup considerable body aud yet leave
it perfectly transparent.
Corn-starch is used in the same manner as arrowroot,
but there is always a little cloudiness in the soup.
Fine tapioca "Tapioca Exotique," a French prepara-
tion will give a clear, gelatinous soup, but the grains
will be faintly perceptible. One table-spoonful of this
preparation may be sprinkled into one quart of boiling
stock. The soup must be stirred for the first three or
four minutes ; then it can be pushed back where it will
simmer for half an hour. If there be no objection to the
distinct grains in the soup, ten minutes' cooking of the
tapioca will be sufficient This preparation is very nice
for any kind of soup, thick or clear. It may be added to
any kind of stock, and in ten minutes the stock will be
ready for use. Host first-class grocers keep this article,
which may be had in half-pound packages.
For white or cream soups the three substances already
named are used, though rice, bread, barley, and flour are
more commonly employed.
When it is desired to make a cream soup yellow and
rich, the yolks of eggs are used. They are beaten thor-
oughly, and after a little cold liquid like cream or
milk has been added, they are stirred into the soup
just before it is taken from the fire.
When a thick soup is desired brown, the flour is either
stirred over the fire in a dry pan until it becomes dark
brown, or it is put into a pan with its own volume of hot
batter and stirred until it turns dark brown. A coloring
substance like soup paste, caramel, beef extract, or some
SOUPS. 118
of the many preparations for coloring soups and sauces,
is nearly always necessary where the stock is not a rich
brown one.
Various other substances are used occasionally for
thickening soups, but only those mentioned are in gen-
eral use.
Miscellaneous Notes.
He particular to cool stock rapidly. If it be allowed
to cool partially on the range before it is strained, it will
riot keep well. The more quickly it is cooled after the
straining, the better it is.
Cooking meat at a high and in a dry temperature de-
velops a richer and more savory flavor; so, when it is
possible, it is well to brown the meat before adding the
water to it.
The less fat there is in the stock-pot the more delicate
will be the flavor of the soup. Cut off as much fat as
possible before putting the meat into the pot.
A delicate flavor of ham improves stock, but it should
be so slight as hardly to be recognized. An ounce of
ham to a gallon of water is a generous allowance.
Herbs, vegetables, and spices always should be used in
making stock, but only in such quantities that all the
flavors will be nicely blended. Here is where one
has a chance to display skill. Inexperienced house-
keepers should, however, carefully follow rules, rather
than trust to their own judgment as to the proper quan-
tities to use.
Stock made with Shin of Beef.
Have a shin of beef broken into small pieces. Wash
it well and trim off any tainted pieces that may be found
at the lower end. Put it in a large soup-kettle with a
quart of cold water for every pound and a half of meat
and bone. Heat slowly to the boiling-point, and then skim
thoroughly. The liquid should be skimmed several times
114 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
in half an hour. Now place the pot where its contents
will boil gently for ten hours. When it has been cook-
ing for eight hours, put in a stew-pan four table-spoonfuls
of butter, two onions, cut fine, three table-spoonfuls of
minced carrot, three of minced turnip, six of celery ; then
cook slowly for half an hour. At the end of that time
cook the vegetables a little more rapidly for about a
minute, stirring all the time. When they have become
browned slightly, add them, with the butter, to the
stock. Add also six cloves, a stick of cinnamon, three
dozen pepper-corns, two table-spoonfuls of salt, and a
bouquet of sweet herbs. Cook for an hour longer, and
then strain. Cool quickly, and put in a cold place for
the night. In the morning skim off all the fat, turn out
the jelly, and scrape off the sediment. This jelly, when
heated, will give a clear, well-flavored stock.
A little more salt or pepper may be required. The
seasonings given are for a shin or leg of beef weighing
ten or twelve pounds. This stock may be used anywhere
that bouillon or consomm^ would be.
Bouillon.
This is always made of beef, and may be very rich or
rather poor and light. Here is a rule for nutritious
bouillon : For a gallon of soup use ten pounds of clear
beef cut from the under part of the round or from the
shoulder, four quarts and a pint of water, one large on-
ion, one large slice of carrot, and a slice of turnip, each
slice weighing about three ounces, three blades of
celery, three dozen pepper-corns, half a dozen cloves, a
piece of cinnamon about three inches long, three tea-
spoonfuls of salt, the whites of three eggs, two sprigs
each of parsley, thyme, and summer savory, three bay
leaves, and a leaf of sage.
First rid the meat of all its fat, then cut off a pound
of lean meat and put it away in a cool place ; and after
cutting the remainder of the beef into small pieces, put
SOUPS. 115
it into a soup-pot with the cold water. Heat slowly,
watching carefully all the while, and as soon as the
water begins to boil skim it carefully. When the liquid
has been thoroughly skimmed, move the pot back where
its contents will keep at the boiling-point for six hours.
A slight bubbling at the sides of the kettle is a sufficient
cooking. At the end of the six hours add the spice, salt,
vegetables, and the herbs, which should be tied in a
bit of thin muslin, and after making these additions,
cook for one hour longer. When this time has passed,
draw the pot forward, and let the soup boil rapidly for
one minute; then strain immediately, and set away to
cool.
The next morning remove all the fat from the stock.
Chop very fine the pound of meat that was reserved,
and put it into the soup-kettle with the stock. Beat the
whites of the three eggs until light, and stir them into the
pot containing the other ingredients. Place on the stove,
and heat slowly to the boiling-point, stirring occasion-
ally. When the soup begins to bubble, remove it imme-
diately to the back part of the range. Cover, and keep
at the boiling-point for one hour ; then taste the soup to
find whether it is properly seasoned. It may require a
very little salt aud pepper. Strain through a napkin,
and it will be ready to serve.
A soup made in this way will never jelly, and will
have a peculiar flavor not found in a soup made by cook-
ing at a higher temperature.
Sometimes bouillon is given a little more body by the
addition of gelatine. To do this, soak a package of gel-
atine in half a pint of cold water for two hours or more.
When the stock, fine-chopped beef, and the three whites
of eggs are put on the stove, add the soaked gelatine.
Stir the stock well from the bottom two or three times
while it is heating, otherwise the gelatine may stick to
the kettle, get burned, and spoil the soup.
A soup only half as rich may be made by following
116 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
the above rule, but using only half the quantity of meat
stated. Bouillon may have added to it vegetables, rice,
barley, or any form of macaroni; but it is generally
served plain, either in soup-plates, if at dinner, or in
cups, at lunches and germans.
Consomm6.
So much work is required to prepare this soup that
inexperienced housekeepers hesitate to try to make it.
Here is a comparatively simple and sure receipt: Use
for a gallon of soup four pounds of beef, cut from the
under part of the round, four pounds of a shin of veal,
a fowl weighing about five pounds, six quarts of cold
water, a large onion, four table-spoonfuls each of chopped
carrot, turnip, and celery, two sprigs each of parsley,
thyme, and summer savory, three bay leaves, and one
large leaf of sage, all these herbs being tied in a piece
of muslin, forty pepper-corns, half a dozen cloves, a
three-inch piece of cinnamon, a tiny bit of mace, ten all-
spice, two level table-spoonfuls of salt, four table-spoon-
fuls of butter, and the whites of two eggs.
Cut the beef and veal into small pieces and put them
in the soup-pot. Cook over a rather hot fire for half an
hour, stirring often; then add the six quarts of cold
water, and let the contents of the soup-pot heat slowly
to the boiling-point. Skim carefully, and set back where
the soup will bubble all the while, and in every part of
the kettle. Cook for three hours, and then add the fowl,
first cleaning it thoroughly.
When the soup has been cooked for five hours, put the
butter, the onions cut fine, and the chopped vegetables
into a frying-pan and cook gently for half an hour ; then
turn these ingredients into the kettle, and add also the
spice, herbs, and salt. Cook for an hour and a half
longer.
When the fowl has been cooked for two hours and a
half, see if it is not tender enough to take up, as it need
SOUPS. 117
be cooked in the soup only long enough to make it tender.
In that time it will impart a good flavor to the stock.
After the soup has simmered in all for six hours and
a half, pour it through a fine sieve and set it away to
cool. In the morning there will be a jelly, from which
every particle of fat should be removed. Put the jellied
stock into the soup-pot, with the well-beaten whites of
the eggs, and heat slowly to the boiling-point. The in-
stant the stock begins to bubble, set it back where it will
keep just at the boiling-point for half an hour. Strain
it at the end of that time, and it will be found clear and
of fine flavor. The soup may be used as it is, or may be
garnished, like bouillon.
Simple Consomm6.
It often happens that there is a little chicken stock
and a little beef stock in the pantry, not enough of
each, perhaps, for a tureen of soup, but which combined
will give a delicate consomme of good flavor.
Put into the soup-pot one quart of each kind of stock,
one pound of veal, free of fat and chopped very fine, six
pepper-corns, three cloves, an inch piece of stick cinna-
mon, a bit of mace, one teaspoonful of salt, and one-third
of a teaspoonful of white pepper.
Now put two table-spoonfuls of butter into a small fry-
ing-pan, and add two table-spoonfuls of chopped celery,
two of onion, one of carrot, one of turnip, one bay
leaf, one sprig of parsley, and a tiny sprig of thyme.
Cook slowly for half an hour; then draw forward and
stir until the vegetables begin to turn brown. Press the
vegetables against the side of the pan, to get the butter
out. When they are as free of butter as possible, put
them into the soup-pot with the other ingredients. Place
the pot on the fire, and when the soup begins to boil, set
it back where it will hardly bubble for an hour. Taste
at the end of that time, to be sure that no more salt is
needed. Pour the soup into a common strainer and then
118 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
through a napkin that has been dipped in ice water and
wrung afterward.
The veal that is left may be used for croquettes.
Chicken Consomm6.
The first step is to cut the breasts from two large
fowls and put them away in a cool place, and then cut
the other parts of the fowls into joints. Wash these, and
put them into a soup-pot with four quarts of cold water ;
and when the broth has been heated to the degree at
which it boils, skim it carefully, and set back where it
will boil gently for six hours. During the last hour and
a half one of the breasts should be cooked with the soup,
and it should then be taken out and put away to cool.
The soup, after being strained through a colander, should
also be put away. When it has become cold, and all the
fat has been skimmed off, turn it back into the soup-pot,
and add a small piece of mace and of cinnamon, a large
onion or two small ones, two blades of celery, two tea-
spoonfuls of salt, three dozen pepper-corns, the whites of
two eggs, well beaten, and the uncooked breast of one of
the fowls, chopped very fine. Let the soup heat slowly
to the boiling-point, and set back where it will retain
that degree of heat for one hour. It should then be per-
fectly clear, the whites of the eggs and other sediment
having settled on the bottom of the pot. Taste the soup
to find whether it requires more seasoning. Dip an old
napkin into hot water and place it in a strainer, and after
the consomme has been poured through this it will be
ready for serving. It may be improved, however, by
cutting the cooked breast of one of the fowls into thin
bits, and heating the meat in the consomme after the
straining.
Consomm6 with Rice.
Use two table-spoonfuls of uncooked rice to two quarts
of clear soup. After ridding the rice of all dark par-
ticles, wash it in three waters, rubbing it thoroughly
SOUPS. 119
between the hands while it is in the first water. When it
has been properly washed, put it into an uncovered stew-
pan with one quart of boiling water, and place the pan
where its contents will boil for twenty minutes. At the
end of the first fifteen minutes add one teaspoonful of
salt ; and at the end of the twenty minutes turn the rice
into a strainer and pour over it a quart of cold water,
which will rinse off any starch that may be clinging to the
grains. Heat the soup, and after adding the rice to it,
cook for ten minutes without letting it boil.
Consomme with Barley.
With two quarts of the clear soup use two table-spoon-
fuls of pearl barley. Wash it in the same way rice is
washed, and put it on the stove with three pints of cold
water. Cook gently for five hours, adding a heaping tea-
spoonful of salt when four hours have passed. Strain the
barley, rinse with cold water, and treat the same as rice.
Consomm6 with Macaroni.
Break half a dozen sticks of macaroni into pieces about
two inches long, and boil them for twenty minutes in one
quart of water. Add a teaspoonful of salt when the first
fifteen minutes have passed, and treat in every particu-
lar the same as rice. Any kind of Italian paste may be
used in the same way.
Consomm6 with Profiteroles.
Make profiteroles by the rule given under " Garnishes."
Pour the soup into the tureen, and then add the profite-
roles. Half a pint of the little balls will be enough for
three pints of soup.
Consomm6 with Force-meat Balls.
Prepare chicken force-meat as directed in " Garnishes."
Form into balls about the size of a cherry. Drop them
into a pint of clear boiling stock that is set back where
120 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
it will not boil up. Cook for five minutes, then put
them into the tureen and pour in three pints of hot con-
somme. Serve at once.
One cupful of the force-meat will make a generous
allowance of balls. Save for sauces the stock in which
they were boiled.
Consomm6 with Quenelles.
Make some chicken or veal force-meat as directed.
Butter the bottom of a small saucepan. Dip two tea-
spoons in hot water, and after filling one with the force-
meat, turn the contents into the other spoon. This will
give the quenelles their shape. Drop them in the but-
tered pan. When all are done, cover with hot stock, and
place where they will keep hot without boiling. Pro-
ceed as for consomme with force-meat balls.
Consomm with Green Peas.
For six persons use one pint of green peas. Boil them
in salt and water ; then drain them, and put them in a
stew-pan with three pints of consomme. Cover, and
cook gently for five minutes.
In winter use one cupful of the best French peas. Turn
them into a strainer, and pour cold water over them.
Drain well, and proceed the same as with fresh peas.
Consomm6 with Asparagus Tops.
Cut the delicate green tops from a bunch of asparagus.
Wash them, and put them in a stew-pan with a pint of
boiling water and a teaspoonful of salt. Cook for fifteen
minutes ; then drain them, and put them in a stew-pan
with three pints of consomme. Cook gently for five
minutes, and serve immediately afterward.
Consomm6 with Poached Eggs.
For six persons provide three pints of consomme and
six eggs. Have the consomme hot. Butter the bottom
SOUPS. 121
of a large frying-pan, and put six small muffin-rings in it.
Put in enough boiling water to cover the rings. Add
one table-spoonful of vinegar and one of salt. Draw the
pan to the side of the range where the water will just
bubble at one side of the pan. Break the eggs into the
rings, being careful not to break the yolks, and cook un-
til the whites are rather firm. It will take about three
minutes.
Pour the water from the pan, and then take out the
rings. With a cake-turner, take out the eggs, being
careful to drain oft' all the water. Put them in the soup
tureen, being careful to leave a little space between each
one, that they may be lifted readily with the ladle.
Now add the consomme, and serve.
Julienne Soup.
Authorities differ as to the origin of the name of this
soup. The commonly accepted idea is that it was sug-
gested by the French word for July, Juillet, because the
vegetables used in making the dish are in their prime in
early summer. An attempt also has been made to prove
that the soup was invented by a Boston restaurateur
named Julian, who carried on his business near the Old
South Church a great many years ago, and gave his name
to the soup after it became popular.
Julienne soup is now understood to be prepared of a
rich, clear stock and several kinds of vegetables, car-
rots, turnips, celery, lettuce or cabbage, and sorrel. Peas,
beans, cauliflower, and asparagus often are used. Some-
times the onion also is used. In such cases it seems as
if it would always be -well to cook the onion in the stock,
and remove it when the meat and bones are removed,
because many people who will not eat this vegetable
like its flavor in soup or sauce.
The vegetables may be cooked in either of two ways,
fried in butter, or boiled in water. By the first method
the soup is made more savory, and by the second mode,
122 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
handsomer. Any kind of clear stock may be employed
for the soup ; but the richer it is, the better.
For two quarts of stock use, in equal quantities, one
pint of turnips, carrots, and celery, all cut into narrow
strips about an inch long, one pint of fine-shred lettuce,
and one gill of sorrel, cut into thin strips.
After putting four table-spoonfuls of butter into a
small frying-pan, set the pan on the stove. When the
butter becomes melted, put in the carrots, turnips, and
celery, besides a teaspoonful of sugar. Cook slowly for
half an hour, being careful that the vegetables do not
get browned.
As soon as the vegetables are put on to fry, put the
stock into a clean stew-pan, and set it on the back part of
the stove where it will heat slowly. Now wash the sor-
rel, and cover it with cold water. Wash the lettuce also ;
and after putting it into a stew-pan with a cupful of
boiling water, boil it for ten minutes, and then drain it
carefully.
When the vegetables have been cooking for half an
hour, draw them to one side of the pan, and press out as
much of the butter as possible. Put the drained lettuce,
the sorrel, and fried vegetables into the two quarts of
stock, which should now be at the boiling-point. Add
one-eighth of a teaspoonful of pepper and one level tea-
spoonful of salt. . Cover the stew-pan, and cook the soup
gently for a quarter of an hour. It will then be ready
to serve.
If one lack garden sorrel, wild sorrel may be used.
Of course, when this soup is made in the winter, it has
to be made without sorrel, unless one be near enough to
a large city market to obtain a supply.
Here is a different receipt for Julienne soup : Use two
quarts of clear stock, one pint of carrots, turnips, and
celery combined, half a pint of peas, half a pint of cauli-
flower, and one teaspoonful of salt.
SOUPS. 123
Put the carrot and one quart of boiling water into a
saucepan, and cook for half an hour ; then add the turnip
and celery, and cook for ten minutes longer. When this
time has passed, add the cauliflower, and cook for twenty
minutes. If the water should boil away, add more ; for
the vegetables must be covered all the time. If canne 1
peas be used, they will only need to be rinsed and added
to the soup with the other vegetables ; but if fresh peas
be used, they must be boiled for twenty or thirty minutes
in clear water.
When all the vegetables are done, drain off all the
water, and add the vegetables and the teaspoonful of salt
to -the two quarts of hot stock. Cook for a quarter of an
hour, and serve.
This soup will be improved if a gill of sorrel be added
with the cooked vegetables. It should be understood
that the stock must be properly seasoned before the veg-
etables are put into it, the spoonful of salt being used
simply to season the vegetables. Julienne soup is best,
of course, if madft when vegetables have just been taken
from the garden, and are very delicate ; still, it may be
made at any time with satisfactory results, if a little
care be given to its preparation.
Still another rule : Chop fine three pounds of the round
of beef. Add to it three quarts of cold water, and let
it stand for two hours ; then place on the fire, and heat
the water slowly to the boiling-point. Simmer the meat
gently for four hours; then add an onion, two cloves, a
bay leaf, a sprig of parsley, a teaspoonful of salt, and
one-eighth of a teaspoonful of white pepper, and cook an
hour longer. Let the soup boil rather briskly for the
last ten minutes; then strain, and cool quickly. The
next morning skim off all the fat, and pour the soup
back into the kettle, being careful to keep out the sedi-
ment. Cut into small dice enough turnips, carrots, cauli-
flower, and celery to make a half-pint of each vegetable.
124 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Cover all with boiling water, and boil gently for an hour.
Heat the soup to the boiling-point, and after adding the
vegetables (without the water in which they were cooked),
simmer for a quarter of an hour. Taste before serving,
to be sure there is enough seasoning.
Brown Soup.
This is rich and fine, suitable for a most elaborate din-
ner. It cannot be made in a hurry, yet its manufacture
is not so great a task as may at first appear, because the
soup requires no special attention the major part of the
time it is cooking.
Use a gallon of water, three pounds of the round of
beef, two pounds of a shin of veal, one table-spoonful of
butter, one table-spoonful each of chopped onion, carrot,
and turnip, a sprig of parsley, a bay leaf, two cloves,
eighteen pepper-corns, two table-spoonfuls of arrowroot,
and a teaspoonful and a half of salt.
Cut the meat into bits, and putting it into a soup-kettle
with the cold water, heat it slowly to the boiling-point ;
then skim the liquor carefully, and set the kettle back
where its contents will boil gently for ten hours. At the
end of eight hours put the butter and vegetables into a
small frying-pan, and cook slowly for fifteen minutes;
then add to the soup, together with the spice and herbs.
When the soup has cooked for the required time, strain
it, and put it in a cool place. The next morning skim
off all the fat, and pour the soup into the kettle, being
careful that no sediment follows the liquid. Set the
kettle on the stove, and then mix two table-spoonfuls
of arrowroot with half a cupful of cold water. As
soon as the soup begins to boil, stir the arrowroot
into it, and set it back where it will only simmer for
the next twenty minutes. Taste, to be sure that there
is enough seasoning; for more salt and pepper may be
required to produce the best flavor. To the ininds of
some people it will be considered as an improvement
SOUPS. 125
to put two table-spoonfuls of brandy into the soup at the
last moment.
A quick way of making a brown soup is to thicken
three quarts of clear consomme or bouillon with arrow-
root, and flavor it with brandy.
Beef Soup, with Barley.
Use two pounds of beef, from the round. After re-
moving all the fat, cut the meat into small pieces and
then chop it very fine. Put it into a soup-pot with two
quarts of cold water ; and after slowly heating the liquid
to the boiling-point, and skimming carefully, cover it
closely, and set it back where it will simply bubble for
three hours. At the end of that time add an onion, a
small slice of carrot, a stalk of celery, two cloves and
a bay leaf; then simmer for another hour.
At the same time the chopped meat is put on to boil,
put one-third of a cupful of well- washed barley into a
stew-pan with a pint of cold water. Simmer for four
hours.
Strain the soup, and add to it the cooked barley.
Return the pot to the fire, and let the soup boil up. Put
a table-spoonful of butter into a small stew-pan, and when
it becomes hot add a table-spoonful of flour. Stir until
smooth and brown; then add to the soup. Season to
your taste with salt and pepper.
* Barley Soup.
Put into the soup-pot the bones and trimmings left
from a dish of beefsteak, roast chicken, or other meat.
Add six quarts of cold water, and when it has become
heated to the boiling-point, skim it carefully, and set
back where it will boil gently for four hours. Wash
two-thirds of a cupful of barley, and let it simmer for
three hour's in two-thirds of a quart of water, cold
when put on. Cut an onion, half a small carrot, and
half a small turnip into small cubes, and put them into a
126 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
frying-pan containing three table-spoonfuls of butter.
Cook slowly for twenty minutes. Strain the liquor from
the bones in the soup-pot, and add the cooked barley to
it. Now add two table-spoonfuls of flour to the butter
and vegetables in the frying-pan, and stir until the mix-
ture begins to bubble; then add the contents of the
frying-pan to the soup. Season with salt and pepper,
and cook half an hour longer. Serve with toasted
bread.
* Shin-of-Beef Soup.
The ingredients are six pounds of the shin of beef,
three onions, one turnip, one carrot, half a cupful of rice,
six potatoes, a few leaves of celery, one quart of finely
shred cabbage, salt, pepper, seven quarts of cold water.
Having had the shin-bone cracked, wash it, place it in
the soup-kettle, and set it over a slow fire for about
twenty minutes. Stir often. Now add the onions,
sliced thin, and cook ten minutes longer, stirring fre-
quently. Add the cold water, and when it conies to the
boiling-point, skim. Simmer for two hours, and then
add the carrot, turnip, and cabbage, all cut fine. Sim-
mer two hours longer, and add the rice, potatoes, salt,
and pepper. Cook one hour longer before serving.
Barley may be used instead of rice ; but in that case
it should be added with the cold water, as it requires a
great deal of cooking.
* Sago Soup.
After freeing of fat all the bones that were left from a
dish of roast beef, put them, with the tough, hard bits of
meat, into the soup-kettle, together with a gallon of
water, and boil gently for two hours ; then add half a
cupful of sago, three cloves, a piece of stick cinnamon
about three inches long, half a teaspoonful- of pepper,
one table-spoonful of salt, a large onion, two large slices
of carrot, two of turnip, two of parsnip, two stalks of
SOUPS. 127
celery or a few leaves, a small leaf of sage, a sprig of
parsley, one of thyme, and one of summer savory.
Simmer gently for four hours. Taste to see if seasoned
enough ; and if it be not, add salt and pepper. Mix two
table-spoonfuls of corn-starch with a cupful of cold
water, and stir into the soup. Cook half an hour longer ;
then strain through a colander, and serve with strips of
toasted bread.
Mock Turtle Soup.
The cooking must be begun the day before the soup
will be wanted. A calf's head is one of the articles
needed, but a part of it may be used for dishes other
than the soup. The full list of materials required for
six quarts of soup is as follows : A calf's head, a shin of
veal weighing six pounds, an onion, two table-spoonfuls
of chopped carrot, two of turnip, three stalks of celery
if it may be had, a piece of stick cinnamon about three
inches long, half a blade of mace, ten cloves, twenty
pepper-corns, a bay leaf, a sprig of parsley, four table-
spoonfuls of butter, six table-spoonfuls of arrowroot or
corn-starch, one table-spoonful each of walnut, mushroom,
and tomato ketchup (as ketchups vary in strength, more
may be needed to give the soup the best possible flavor),
two lemons, a quantity of cold water, a gill or more of
Port, some salt and pepper, and, if one choose, some egg
or force-meat balls. It may seem as if six quarts of
soup were too large a quantity to make at one time ;
therefore it may be well to say, in explanation, that a
calf's head is sufficient for that quantity, and half of a
head cannot be bought. Bear in mind that if all the
soup be not wanted at one meal, the remainder will be
good if warmed again.
Have the butcher split and scrape the calf's head,
and saw the bone of the shin of veal into several parts.
Wash all carefully. Put the head into a large pan, and
after covering it with cold water, soak it for two hours.
128 MISS PAKLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
At the end of that time take out the brains, place the
head in a large soup-pot, and after putting in the shin
also, pour in two gallons of cold water. Heat slowly to
the boiling-point ; then skiin carefully, and set the pot
back where the liquor will simply bubble for three hours.
When that time has passed, take up the veal with a
skimmer, and then remove the head, being careful not to
break it. Strain the stock that is in the soup-pot, and
put all but two quarts away to cool. These two quarts
should be returned to the kettle with the shin of veal ;
the spice mentioned above should be added, and the
kettle covered and set where its contents will only
simmer.
Now put the vegetables, cut fine, and the butter into
a frying-pan, and fry gently for twenty minutes. At the
last moment draw the pan forward, so that the vegetables
shall become slightly browned by more rapid cooking.
Be careful that they do not get burned. Add these
vegetables to the veal and stock, and cook all for four
hours ; then strain and put away to cool.
In the morning, after skimming off all the fat, turn
the two lots of strained stock into the soup-pot, and set
upon the stove. Add the ketchup, and also salt and
pepper in quantities to suit your taste; and when the
soup boils up, add the juice of a lemon, the wine, and
the face of the calf, cut into small strips. Cover the
soup-pot closely, and set it back where its contents will
hardly bubble during the next fifteen minutes. It will
then be ready to serve ; but if it be intended for a late
dinner it may be cooled, put away, and heated again
when wanted.
Thin slices of lemon, cut in quarters, and egg balls and
force-meat balls should be put into the tureen before the
soup is turned into it, if one would have mock turtle
soup in perfection. As it takes much time to make
force-meat balls, they may be omitted ; but egg balls
should be used, as they are easily prepared.
SOUPS. 129
Spaghetti Soup.
Put into the soup-pot two quarts of chicken stock, a
whole onion, two cloves, twelve pepper-corns, a bit of
cinnamon, three stalks of celery, a slice of carrot, a slice
of turnip, and a bay leaf. Cover closely, and cook
slowly for an hour. Season to your taste with salt and
pepper, and strain through a napkin. Keturn to the
soup-pot, and add a cupful of spaghetti, broken into
short pieces. Cover the kettle, and set it where the
soup will hardly bubble for an hour. This mode of
cooking will insure a fine mellow flavor of the spaghetti,
without breaking it, or clouding the soup.
* Turkey Soup.
After cutting from the remains of a turkey as much
fat as possible, break the bones, and put them into the
soup-pot, together with any dressing and bits of tough
meat left from a turkey dinner. Pour upon them three
quarts of cold water, and simmer for four hours. After
the soup has been cooking for one hour, add one-third of
a cupful of rice ; and after three hours, take out the bones
and skim off all the fat. Put three table-spoonfuls of
butter into a small frying-pan; and when melted, put
into it an onion, a slice of carrot, and three stalks of
celery, all cut fine. Cook slowly for twenty minutes ;
then skim the vegetables from the butter and put them
into the soup. Into the butter remaining in the pan put
two table-spoonfuls of flour, and stir until smooth and
frothy ; then add this mixture to the soup. Season with
salt and pepper, and cook ten minutes longer.
Chicken Soup.
Use a fowl weighing four or five pounds, one-fourth of
a cupful of rice, three quarts of water, two table-
spoonfuls each of minced onion, carrot, turnip, and
celery, one teaspoonful of minced parsley, three table-
spoonfuls of butter, two of flour, one of salt, one-third of
9
130 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
a teaspoonful of white pepper, and a slight grating of
nutmeg.
Singe, draw, and wash the fowl. Put it breast down
in a deep kettle. Pour in three quarts of cold water,
and then set the kettle on the fire. When the water
begins to boil, skim it carefully ; then set the kettle
back where the contents will only simmer during the
next three hours. At the end of the first hour add the
rice, well washed. At the end of the three hours take
up the fowl, skim the fat from the broth, and then
gently pour off one pint from the upper part of the
liquid, being careful to keep out all the rice. Put this
away for use in making other dishes.
Now put the butter and minced vegetables into a small
frying-pan, and cook slowly for ten minutes. Skim the
vegetables from the butter and put them in the soup.
In the butter remaining in the pan put the dry flour,
and stir until smooth and frothy ; then add to the soup.
Add also the salt and pepper. Cook for half an hour
longer, and then add the parsley, a grating of nutmeg,
and one pint of the chicken, cut into cubes. Boil for five
minutes before serving.
If it be inconvenient to use celery, take one-fourth of
a teaspoonful of celery seed.
Chicken Gombo.
Cut two chickens into handsome pieces, and fry until
a delicate brown in half a cupful of salt-pork fat, ob-
tained by frying half a pound of salt pork slowly. When
the chicken is cooked, take it up and put it into a large
stew-pan. Into the fat in which the meat was fried put a
large onion, cut into thin slices, and fry slowly for ten
minutes ; then add a quart of okra, cut fine, five sliced
tomatoes, and two sprigs of parsley. Fry all these in-
gredients rather slowly for half an hour ; then add them
to the fried chicken. Pour into the dish a pint and a
half of boiling water, and season with half a teaspoonful
SOUPS. 131
of pepper and two scant table-spoonfuls of salt. Stew
slowly for two hours ; then add a cupful of cream and a
cupful of boiled rice. Taste, to be sure there is enough
seasoning ; and if there be, boil up once, and serve.
This is a famous Southern dish. When fresh okra
cannot be obtained, one can of the article may be substi-
tuted. The chickens may be a year or more old. One-
fifth of a teaspoonful of cayenne may be used instead of
white pepper, if preferred. The dish is so substantial
that it is sufficient for a dinner, with vegetables, and a
light dessert.
Oyster Gombo.
Use one large chicken or two small ones, three table-
spoonfuls of butter, four table-spoonfuls of flour, one
quart of oysters, two quarts of boiling water, two sprigs
of parsley, two of thyme, three teaspoonfuls of salt, half
a teaspoonful of white pepper, one-eighth of a teaspoon-
ful of cayenne, and one scant teaspoonful of powdered
sassafras.
Draw, singe, and wash the chickens. Wipe them, and
then cut into joints. Eoll these pieces in the flour. Put
the butter on the fire in the frying-pan ; and when it
becomes hot, put in the chicken, and cook until brown
on all sides. Take the chicken from the frying-pan
and put it in a large stew-pan with the boiling water.
Put into the frying-pan any flour remaining from that
in which the chicken was rolled, and stir until smooth
and frothy. Add this mixture to the chicken and water.
Now add the salt and pepper and the parsley and thyme,
tied in a bunch. Simmer for two hours. See if the
bones will slip from the chicken ; if they will not, sim-
mer until they will ; then take out the herbs.
Mix the powdered sassafras with half a cupful of cold
water, and stir into the stew-pan. Now add the oysters.
Let the contents of the kettle boil up once, and then serve
in a tureen. A dish of rice should accompany the gombo.
132 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Okra Soup.
This is a palatable and substantial soup. It is made
of a quart of okra, a fowl, a quarter of a pound of
salt pork, half a can of tomato, an onion, two generous
quarts of boiling water, four table-spoonfuls of flour,
two generous table-spoonfuls of butter, three teaspoon-
fuls of salt, and half a teaspoonful of pepper. The
tomato is not absolutely indispensable.
Wash the fowl, and cut it into joints and other pieces
convenient to handle. Slice the pork, and fry it brown ;
then remove it, and put the meat into the fat. Fry
until brown, and then put into a soup-pot. Wash the
okra carefully, and cut it into slices. Cut the onion fine,
and cook it in the frying-pan for two minutes ; then put
in the okra, and after cooking for ten minutes, transfer
it to the soup-pot. Put the butter and flour into the
frying-pan, and stir until brown. Pour two quarts of
boiling water into the soup-pot, and then stir in the
browned flour. Add the tomato and seasoning, and after
covering the soup, let it simmer for two hours and a half.
At the end of that time remove the bones of the fowl,
and serve the soup without straining.
Okra-and-Rice Soup.
The materials required are two quarts of chicken
stock, one quart of green okra, one uncooked tomato or
four table-spoonfuls of stewed tomato, two table-spoon-
fuls of chopped onion, two of flour, three of butter, one-
fourth of a cupful of rice, half a teaspoonful of pepper,
three teaspoonfuls of salt.
Cook the butter and onion together for three minutes ;
then add the flour, and stir until smooth and brown.
Heat the stock, and add this mixture to it ; then add
the tomato, salt, and pepper, and simmer for an hour.
Wash the rice in three waters, and put it into a large
stew-pan. Wash the okra carefully, and after cutting
SOUPS. 133
off the ends of the pods, cut the remaining parts into
thin slices. Put the okra into the stew-pan with the
rice. Place a coarse strainer over the stew-pan, and> pour
the liquid mixture through it ; then cover the soup, and
let it simmer for an hour or more. Taste it, to ascertain
whether there is a proper amount of seasoning, before
serving.
* Bean Soup.
Use one pint of beans (scarlet runners are the best),
two quarts of water, one table-spoonful of butter, one-
fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper, and one table-spoonful
of salt.
Wash the beans, and let them soak over night in three
quarts of cold water. In the morning pour off the water,
and put the beans in a soup-pot with two quarts of fresh
cold water. Cook slowly for five hours, stirring fre-
quently. Take the beans from the fire at the end of
that time, and rub them through a sieve. Return them
to the soup-pot, and after adding the salt, pepper, and
butter, cook for twenty minutes longer. Serve with
small squares of toasted or fried bread.
* Scotch Pur6e.
This is a substantial soup, being made of six large
potatoes, two large onions, the yellow part of a medium-
sized carrot, one pound of the neck of mutton, half a
teaspoonful of pepper, two level table-spoonfuls of salt,
one table-spoonful of butter, and three scant quarts of
water.
Cut most of the fat from the mutton, and then cut
nearly all the meat from the bones. Put the meat and
bones into a large stew-pan with the cold water, and
after heating slowly to the boiling-point and skimming
carefully, simmer for one hour. Scrape the carrot, and
then grate the yellow part, not touching the heart. Chop
the onion very fine, and slice the potatoes thin.
134 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
When the meat has simmered for an hour, add the
vegetables, and simmer for two hours more. At the end
of that time add the pepper, salt, and butter, and cook
half an hour longer. Kub through a coarse sieve, and
serve hot.
* Pea Soup.
Pick over and wash a quart of dried peas, and soak
over night in three quarts of cold water. In the morn-
ing pour off all this water, and put the peas into the
soup-kettle with seven quarts of cold water, a pound
of salt pork, three cloves, two large onions, and three
stalks of celery, or, if you have no celery, one tea-
spoonful of celery salt. Boil gently for seven hours,
stirring often, and at the end of that time rub the soup
through a fine sieve. Return it to the kettle ; and after
tying two sprigs of parsley and two bay leaves together,
add them to the soup. Taste, to be sure there is season-
ing enough, and add a pint of milk or cream. When the
soup boils up, serve with toasted bread cut into dice.
The milk may be omitted.
St. Germain Soup.
Two cans of peas, an onion, a bay leaf, a sprig of
parsley, a bit of mace, a teaspoonful of sugar, a quarter
of a teaspoonful of white pepper, one table-spoonful of
salt, three of butter, three of flour, a pint of milk, and
three pints of stock are what St. Germain soup calls
for.
Eeserve half a pint of the peas, and put the remainder
of the contents of the two cans into a stew-pan with the
onion, pepper, salt, and sugar. Tie the herbs and mace
together, and add them also. Cover the stew-pan, and
simmer for half an hour, being careful not to burn ; then
mash the onion and peas very fine, and add the stock
to them. Let the soup heat to the boiling-point, and
add the flour and butter, rubbed together until light
and creamy. Stir well, and cook ten minutes longer;
SOUPS. 135
then rub through a fine sieve. Return to the fire, and
add the milk and remainder of the peas, well drained.
Cook ten minutes longer, and then satisfy yourself that
there is sufficient seasoning. Serve with toasted bread.
Green Pea Soup.
This soup is made of a can of peas, a quart of chicken
stock, a cupful of cream or milk, two table-spoonfuls of
butter, two of flour, an onion, and salt and pepper.
Cook the onion, peas, and stock together for twenty
minutes ; then remove the onion, and rub the peas and
stock through a sieve. Return the soup to the stew-pan,
and let it simmer for ten minutes. Rub the butter and
flour to a cream, and gradually add to this half a cupful
of the soup; then pour the mixture into the stew-pan.
Add the pepper and salt and cupful of cream ; and after
the soup has boiled for three minutes, it will be finished.
A much more delicious soup can be made of fresh
green peas when they are in season.
Asparagus Soup.
Use a can of asparagus, a pint of white stock, a pint
of cream or milk, two table-spoonfuls of butter, one of
chopped onion, two of* flour, one teaspoonful of sugar, one
teaspoonful and a half of salt, and one-eighth of a tea-
spoonful of pepper.
Cut off and lay aside the heads of the asparagus, and
cut the stalks into short pieces, and put them on to boil
in a stew-pan with the pint of stock. Put the butter and
onion into a small frying-pan, and cook slowly for ten
minutes ; then add the flour, and stir until the mixture
is smooth and frothy, being careful not to brown. Add
this, together with the sugar, salt, and pepper, to the
stock and asparagus, and simmer for a quarter of an
hour ; then rub the soup through a sieve, and return it
to the stew-pan. Add the cream and asparagus heads,
and after boiling up once, serve without delay.
186 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
In case fresh asparagus be substituted for canned, use
two bunches. Cook them in the stock or water for
twenty minutes. Remove the heads for later use, and
proceed with the cooking the same as when canned as-
paragus is used.
Sorrel Soup.
This palatable spring soup requires a quart of sorrel,
three table-spoonfuls of butter, two table-spoonfuls of
flour, a teaspoonful and a half of salt, a quarter of a tea-
spoonful of pepper, a teaspoonful of sugar, half an onion,
half a cupful of water, a pint of milk, and a pint of
cream.
After washing the sorrel, put it into a stew-pan with
the cold water, and boil for ten minutes ; then drain off
the water, and chop the sorrel very fine. Cut the onion
into bits, and putting it into a frying-pan with the but-
ter, cook it slowly for five minutes ; then add the flour,
and stir until smooth and frothy. Add the chopped
sorrel, sugar, salt, and pepper, and after stirring for
three minutes, gradually pour in the milk, which should
be cold. Simmer for five minutes, and meanwhile heat
the cream to the boiling-point. Strain the soup, and add
the cream to it ; then serve immediately.
This is the simplest kind of sorrel soup, save that
milk may be substituted for the pint of cream. A richer
kind is made by using a pint of white stock in place of
the same quantity of milk, and the richness may be fur-
ther increased by beating the yolks of two eggs with two
table-spoonfuls of milk and pouring the soup upon this
mixture just before serving time. Do not fall into the
error of supposing that it will be as well to stir the eggs
into the soup, because they would then be cooked in
flakes, whereas by the other way they are cooked to a
smooth cream. Sorrel soup is not so handsome as some
green soups, because the heat spoils the original color of
the plant, but it is certainly delicious.
SOUPS. 137
Normandy Soup.
Normandy soup is made of three pounds of the knuckle
of veal, three quarts of cold water, one quart of milk, an
onion, a slice of carrot, a slice of turnip, a slight grating
of nutmeg, a quart of stale bread, free of crust, two large
table-spoonfuls of butter and one of flour, and some salt
and pepper.
After washing the veal, put it on the stove with the
cold water j and when the water begins to boil, skim it
carefully, and set back where it will boil only gently.
After the meat has been cooked for three hours, put the
butter into a small frying-pan with the onion, turnip, and
carrot, all cut fine, and cook slowly for ten minutes ;
then draw the vegetables to the side of the pan, press
the butter from them, and transfer them to the soup-pot.
Put the flour with the butter remaining in the frying-
pan, and stir until the mixture is smooth and frothy, but
not till it is brown ; then add to the contents of the ket-
tle. Add also the bread, nutmeg, one table-spoonful and
a half of salt, and half a teaspoonful of pepper. Cook the
soup slowly for two hours more ; then remove it from
the fire, and press through a colander. The veal, of
course, will not pass through, but all the rest should. It
should then be returned to the kettle, and the quart of
milk, heated to the boiling-point, should be added. When
the soup boils up it will be ready for serving.
Garbure a la Printanidre.
This is a variety of vegetable soup which is very popu-
lar in France. For six or eight persons use three quarts
of cold water, four or five pounds of the upper part of
the round of beef, two onions, a quart of fine-shred cab-
bage, one pint each of carrots and turnips, and half a
pint of celery, cut into dice, one pint of peas, if they be
in season, two young leeks, four cloves, the crust of a
good-sized loaf of bread, one level teaspoonful of pepper,
138 MISS PARLOA-'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
one table-spoonful of sugar, two of salt, and three of
butter.
After putting the beef, in one solid piece, into the
soup-pot, and adding the cold water, set the soup-pot
where its contents will heat slowly to the boiling-point.
Skim the liquid carefully, and set back where it will re-
main at the boiling-point temperature for five hours.
When three hours have passed, pare one of the onions,
and placing it in an old saucer, bake it in a hot oven
until it turns a delicate brown, say for fifteen or twenty
minutes. Put the onion into the soup-pot, and also put
in a table-spoonful of the carrot, of the turnip, of the
celery, and of the salt, as well as half a teaspoonful of
the pepper. Cover the kettle, and cook the contents for
an hour and a half.
At the end of the hour cut the bread crust into pieces
about two inches square, and after spreading them in a
pan, put them into a moderate oven to dry. Now put
the cabbage into a stew-pan with one pint of boiling
water. Cover the pan, and set where the contents will
boil gently. Next put the butter into a stew-pan, and
add the remaining carrots, turnips, and celery, and the
onion, cut fine. Shake the pan over the fire for a few
minutes ; then add the sugar. Cover, and cook slowly
for half an hour, stirring frequently, and being careful
not to brown the vegetables.
At the end of the half-hour turn the cabbage into a
strainer, and pour cold water over it. Drain the cabbage
well, and add it, with the peas, to the vegetables in the
stew-pan. Add, also, a quart of broth from the soup-pot,
besides the remaining salt and pepper. Cover, and cook
slowly for one hour.
When the vegetables have been cooking for half an
hour in the stock, spread the crust of bread on the bot-
tom and sides of a deep dish, and moisten them with a
generous pint of broth from the soup-pot, taking the
broth from the top, so as to get as much fat as possible.
SOUPS. 139
Set the dish in a moderate oven, and cook for half an
hour. On taking it from the oven at the end of this time,
pour the vegetables and their broth over the bread crusts.
Strain the broth from the soup-pot into the tureen, and
serve at once.
The mode of serving this is to put some of the vegeta-
bles and the bread in each soup plate, and then turn a
ladle of soup into the dish.
The meat may be served in a separate course. There
should be a good brown sauce or a Mayonnaise sauce to
go with it.
Spring Soup.
This differs only slightly from ordinary Julienne soup.
The carrots and turnips should be cut into little balls
with a vegetable-cutter, and the string-beans and shell-
beans should be cut into small cubes. Any vegetable or
any green salad may be used in the soup. The French
word printaniere is used more commonly on bills of fare
to describe this soup than the English word "Spring."
One finds under various fine names dozens of soups that
vary only in the slightest degree. This is the case with
a great many soups made of clear stock ; the change of
a single ingredient often being sufficient cause for a
change of name.
Carrot Soup.
For this light summer soup there will be needed a
quart of grated carrot, which gives it the flavor and
color, and two quarts of stock, two table-spoonfuls of
butter, two of flour, one of salt, half a teaspoonful of
pepper, an onion, and a pint of milk or -cream.
Wash, scrape, and grate enough carrots to fill a quart
measure, and turn into a soup-pot with the stock, onion,
salt, and pepper. Heat to the boiling-point, and set back
where the soup will simply simmer for one hour. At
the end of that time put the butter into a small frying-
pan, and when it becomes hot, add the flour. Stir the
140 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
mixture until it gets smooth and frothy ; then add to
the contents of the soup-pot. Boil for ten minutes.
Pour the soup into a line sieve, and after removing the
onion, rub as much of the carrot as possible through the
sieve. Return the strained mixture to the soup-pot, and
add the milk or cream. Boil up once, and serve.
It adds to the appearance and flavor of the soup to
stir the beaten yolks of four eggs into the cold cream or
milk before turning it into the soup-pot. But if eggs be
used, great care must be taken to prevent the soup from
boiling after the addition is made. Simply allow it to
get hot, for boiling would curdle the eggs and mar the
appearance of the dish.
Pure of Carrots.
For this soup use one quart of the red part of the
carrot, grated, one quart of white stock, one quart of
milk, one pint of boiling water, one pint of stale bread,
free of crust, two teaspoonfuls of sugar, three level tea-
spoonfuls of salt, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper,
and four table-spoonfuls of butter.
Put the grated carrot, the pint of boiling water, the
butter and sugar into a stew-pan, and after covering
closely, let them simmer for one hour ; then add the
bread and stock, and cook for an hour longer. At the
end of that time take the pan from the stove, and rub its
contents first through a puree sieve, and then through a
fine French sieve. Add the salt and pepper ; and after
reserving half a cupful of the milk, add the remainder,
which should be hot. Eeturn the soup to the fire, and
let it boil up once ; then add the egg yolks, after beating
them in the cold milk that was. set aside. Cook for one
minute, stirring all the while, and serve immediately
afterward.
With the materials given in this receipt, two quarts
of soup may be made, enough for ten or twelve
persons.
80UPS. 141
* Tomato Soup.
Put a gallon of water into the soup-pot, and add to it
the bones and gristle left from a roast of mutton or any
other roast. Boil until the liquid is reduced to two
quarts ; then strain, and set in a cool place. At the end
of an hour skim off all the fat, and return the stock to
the soup-pot, adding to it a can of tomatoes, four cloves,
half a teaspoonful of pepper, a table-spoonful of salt, and
a grain of cayenne. Put on to boil. In the mean time
put four table-spoonfuls of butter into the frying-pan,
and when it has become melted, add an onion, two slices
of carrot, two of turnip, and four stalks of celery, all
cut fine. Cook slowly for a quarter of an hour ; then
draw the vegetables to the side of the pan, and after
pressing the butter from them, put them into the soup.
Into the butter remaining in the frying-pan put four
table-spoonfuls of flour, and stir until smooth and
frothy; then add to the soup, being careful to scrape
every particle of the mixture out of the pan. Let the
soup simmer for half an hour. Taste, to ascertain
whether there is enough seasoning. Strain, and serve
with fried bread.
Two quarts of stock may be substituted for the bones
and water.
* Green-Corn-and-Tomato Soup.
This requires two pounds of the neck of beef, a quart of
sliced tomatoes, a quart of corn sliced from the cob, three
pints of water, one table-spoonful of butter, one of flour,
and salt and pepper to suit the taste. Put the meat and
water into a soup-pot, and as soon as the liquor begins
to boil, skim it carefully. Simmer for three hours ; then
add the tomato and the corn-cobs. Cook for half an
hour ; then strain into another kettle, and add the corn,
the flour and butter mixed together, and enough salt and
pepper to season well. Cook forty minutes longer.
142 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
* Macaroni-and-Tomato Soup.
The materials required are two pounds of the neck
of beef, three quarts of water, one pint of stewed
tomato, one pint of macaroni broken into two-inch
pieces, an onion, two cloves, a sprig of parsley, half
a cupful of corn-starch, two table-spoonfuls of butter,
about three teaspoonfuls of salt, and half a teaspoonful
of pepper.
Have the meat perfectly clean and broken into small
pieces. Put it into a soup-pot with the cold water, and
heat it slowly to the boiling-point ; then skim carefully,
and simmer for two hours. At the end of that time add
the onion, parsley, and clove, and cook for an hour longer.
After skimming off all fat from the soup, mix the corn-
starch with a cupful of cold water, and stir it into the
soup. Now add the tomato, salt, and pepper, and cook
gently for half an hour longer. Wash the macaroni in
cold water, and put it into a stew-pan with a quart of
boiling water. Boil rapidly for twenty minutes; then
turn the macaroni into a colander, and pour a quart of
cold water over it. Strain the soup, and return it to
the kettle ; then add the macaroni, and cook for twenty
minutes. Serve toasted bread with the soup.
* Rice-and-Tomato Soup.
For six or eight persons use one can of tomato, one-
third of a cupful of rice, a large onion, a large slice of
carrot, a quart of water, three table-spoonfuls of butter,
three teaspoonfuls of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper,
and two table-spoonfuls of flour.
Cut the onion and carrot very fine, and put them into
a small frying-pan, with the butter. Cook slowly for
twenty minutes. Put the tomato and a quart of water
into a stew-pan, and heat until the liquid boils up.
When the vegetables have been cooked for twenty min-
utes, skim them from the butter, and add them to the
SOUPS. 143
tomato and water. Put the flour with the butter re-
maining in the pan, and cook until smooth and frothy,
stirring all the while ; then add to the mixture in the
stew-pan, and set this pan where its contents will simmer
for half an hour.
Wash the rice, and put it into the soup-pot. When
the tomato mixture has been cooked for half an hour,
rub it through a sieve, pressing everything through
except the seeds and skins. Pour the strained mixture
over the rice. Add the salt and pepper, and set the
soup-pot where its contents will cook slowly for an
hour. Stir the soup several times to prevent the rice
from sticking to the bottom of the kettle. Serve very
hot.
Puree of Tomatoes.
To make soup enough for eight or ten persons, use one
can of tomatoes, three pints of stock, one ounce of ham.
a table-spoonful of chopped onion, one of chopped carrot
a sprig of parsley, a clove, two table-spoonfuls of butter,
two of flour, half a teaspoonful of pepper, three level tea-
spoonfuls of salt, one teaspoonful of sugar, and a pint of
stale bread, free of crust.
Put the tomato, ham, parsley, and clove on to boil.
Put the butter and vegetables in a small frying-pan, and
cook slowly for fifteen minutes ; then skim the vegetables
from the butter, and add them to the tomato. Stir the
flour into the butter remaining in the pan, and cook until
smooth and frothy, stirring all the while. Add this mix-
ture, with the salt and pepper, to the tomato, and cook
for forty minutes.
Let the bread and stock simmer for half an hour.
Strain the tomato mixture over this liquid, and then
rub the soup through a fine sieve. Return it to the fire,
and let it boil up once ; and after tasting, to make sure
that it is properly seasoned, serve at once.
:
144 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Pur6e of Spinach.
In making this soup there will be used half a peck of
spinach, a quart of stock, a pint of milk, half a pint of
cream, three table-spoonfuls of butter, the same quantity
of flour, a teaspoonful of sugar, and some salt and
pepper.
Wash the spinach until there is no sand visible, and
put it into a stew-pan without water. Cover closely,
and simmer for half an hour. Take up, chop very fine,
and pound to a paste ; then rub through a puree sieve.
Put the butter and flour into a stew-pan, and stir until
the mixture is smooth and frothy ; then add the spinach,
sugar, salt, and pepper, and stir for ten minutes. Grad-
ually add the stock; and when the mixture begins to
boil, add the hot milk and cream. Boil up once, and re-
move and rub through a fine sieve. Return to the fire ;
and when the puree begins to boil again, serve with fried
or toasted bread.
Pur6e of Cauliflower.
For this soup there will be required one good-sized
cauliflower, three table-spoonfuls of butter, two table-
spoonfuls of flour, a small onion, a stalk of celery, a bay
leaf, a teaspoonful of sugar, one quart of white stock,
say chicken stock, one pint of milk, half a pint of
cream, and some salt and pepper.
After ridding the cauliflower of its green leaves, let it
soak, head down, in a pan of cold water for two hours ;
then put it into a stew-pan, with one table-spoonful of salt
and enough boiling water to cover it, and boil gently for
twenty-five minutes. Drain off all the water, and after
taking from the cauliflower enough little flowerets to
make a scant pint, chop and pound the remainder.
Put the butter into a stew-pan ; and when it becomes
melted, add the onion and celery, cut fine, and the bay
SOUPS. 145
leaf. Cook slowly for ten minutes; then remove the
leaf and put in the flour. Stir until smooth and frothy ;
and after adding the mashed cauliflower, sugar, salt, and
pepper, stir the mixture ^over the fire for ten minutes,
being watchful to prevent it from browning. Rub through
a sieve, and return to the stew-pan. Stir until hot ; then
gradually add the stock. When the soup has been heated
to the boiling-point, add the milk and cream, which should
be hot, but not boiling. Let the puree bubble for a min-
ute ; then rub through a sieve for the second time, and
return it to the fire. Add the flowerets, boil up once,
and serve.
Do not be deterred by these long directions from mak-
ing the soup, for the work is not difficult.
Bisque of Mutton.
Provide for this soup three pounds of the neck of mut-
ton, two quarts of water, one quart of milk, half a cup-
ful of rice, a cupful of stewed tomatoes, two slices of
carrot, an onion, three teaspoonfuls of salt, half a tea-
spoonful of pepper, a table-spoonful of flour, and a table-
spoonful of butter.
See that the meat is perfectly clean and free of fat.
Put it into a soup-pot with the rice, vegetables, and cold
water, and heat slowly to the boiling-point. When the
liquid begins to boil, skim it carefully ; then cover the
soup-pot closely, and set back where its contents will
cook gently for four hours. At the end of that time add
the butter and flour, mixed to a smooth paste, and the
salt and pepper. Put the quart of milk on the stove in
a double-boiler ; and as soon as it gets boiling hot, pour it
into the kettle. Strain the soup immediately, and the
work will be finished.
The bones and hard bits left from a roast of mutton,
veal, or beef may be used for this soup, which should
then be given the name of the meat taken for its foun-
dation.
146 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Bisque of Beef.
Use three pounds of the lower part of a leg of beef
(have the butcher cut it into small pieces), three quarts
of cold water, one pint of milk, a scant half-cupful of
rice, half a pint of strained tomato, a table-spoonful of
salt, and a quarter of a teaspoonful of pepper.
Put the meat and bone into the soup-pot with the cold
water, and heat slowly to the boiling-point; then skim
the liquor carefully, and set the soup-pot back where its
contents will only simmer during the next five hours.
At the expiration of that time strain the liquor, and free
it of fat ; then return it to the soup-pot. Wash the rice
thoroughly, and after adding it to the bisque, cook for
half an hour ; then put in the milk and seasoning, and
boil up once. The addition of the tomato completes the
work.
* Scotch Broth.
From about two pounds of the neck of mutton remove
all fat and bone. Put the bone into a stew-pan with two
quarts of water, and simmer for one hour. Cut the lean
mutton into cubes, and put it into a stew-pan with a
scant half-teacupful of well-washed pearl barley, and
two table-spoonfuls each of onion, carrot, turnip, and
celery, all cut fine. Strain the water from the bones on
this preparation, and place where the broth will simmer
for three hours. When it begins to bubble, skim it, and
add half a teaspoonful of pepper and a level table-spoon-
ful of salt. At the end of the three hours put a table-
spoonful of butter into a small saucepan, and place it on
the fire. As soon as the butter becomes hot, add a table-
spoonful of flour, and stir until the mixture is smooth
and frothy. Stir this into the broth, add the minced
parsley, and cook for ten minutes longer.
This is such a substantial soup that it should be served
for luncheon, or when the main part of the dinner is light.
SOUPS. 147
If the amount of salt and pepper given be insufficient,
add more.
Cream-of-Cauliflower Soup.
Carefully wash a good-sized cauliflower, and putting
it into a kettle that will hold little beside it, cover with
boiling chicken stock, and boil slowly for thirty-five min-
utes. Boil together for twenty minutes a quart of milk
and a large onion. When the cauliflower has been cooked
for the prescribed time, take it up, and after putting aside
a quarter of it, mash the remainder fine in a wooden
bowl, using a vegetable-masher. Eeturn this part to
the liquor in which it was boiled (there should not be
more than a quart), and add the milk in which the onion
was cooked, as well as the slightest ' grating of nutmeg.
Strain the mixture into the double-boiler, and return
to the fire. Mix three large table-spoonfuls of butter
with three of flour, and stir into the soup. Season with
salt and pepper. Break into little pieces the quarter
of the cauliflower which was reserved, and add to the
soup. With ten minutes' more cooking, the dish will
be finished.
Cream-of-Macaroni Soup.
Break up fine, and then wash, half a cupful of maca-
roni, and put it into the soup-pot with a quart of chicken
stock, a quarter of an onion, a small slice of carrot, a
stalk of celery, a small piece of cinnamon, and a slight
grating of nutmeg. Cover, and cook very slowly for
two hours. Tie together a sprig of parsley, a bay leaf,
a leaf of sage, and a sprig of thyme, and allow the bunch
to remain in the soup-pot for five minutes. Rub the
soup through a puree sieve (one of coarse wire, some-
times called a squash sieve, may be used) ; then add
one-third of a teaspoonful of white pepper and a heaping
teaspoonful of salt, and rub through the sieve again.
Return to the double-boiler, and cook for half an hour,
148 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
At the end of that time put two table-spoonfuls of butter
into the frying-pan, and when it has become hot, add a
table-spoonful of flour. Stir until smooth and frothy,
being careful that it does not become brown, and then
stir into the soup. Add a pint of cream that has been
heated to the boiling-point. Beat together the yolks of
two eggs and a cupful of cold milk, and stir this mixture
into the soup. Serve immediately.
This soup should not be allowed to boil after the yolks
of the eggs have been added. As salt and pepper vary
in strength, more may be required than the quantities
stated above. Just before stirring in the egg mixture,
taste the soup ; and if more seasoning be needed, add
it then.
* Cream-of-Rice Soup.
For three quarts of soup there will be required two
pounds of the neck or shin of beef or veal or of the
neck of mutton, an onion, two slices of carrot, a stalk of
celery, when it may be obtained, half a cupful of rice,
two quarts and a pint of water, a quart of milk, a gener-
ous table-spoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper,
one table-spoonful of butter, two cloves, and a small piece
of stick cinnamon.
Be careful that the meat is perfectly sweet and clean,
and rid it of all its fat. After cutting it into small
pieces and putting it into a good-sized stew-pan, pour
the cold water upon it. Heat slowly to the boiling-
point; then skim, cover closely again, and set back
where the water will boil slowly for four hours. At
the end of three hours add the vegetables and spice.
Wash the half-cupful of rice carefully, and put it into
a deep stew-pan. Strain upon it the liquor from the
meat, when it has cooked four hours, and set the stew-
pan where the soup will simmer for an hour and a half;
then add the salt and pepper, and strain the soup through
a fine sieve, rubbing every particle of rice through the
SOUPS. 149
meshes. Return the mixture to the stew-pan, and put it
back on the fire. Heat the quart of milk to the boiling-
point, in a double-boiler (so as to prevent burning), and
add it to the soup. Add also the table-spoonful of butter.
Boil up once, and serve.
Cream-of-tapioca and cream-of-sago soups may be pre-
pared in the same way, only the soup should not be
strained after the sago or tapioca has been added, the
first straining being sufficient.
* Cream-of-Barley Soup.
This is made in the same way as cream-of-rice soup,
only the barley must be cooked for four hours. If it
be one's custom to have an early dinner, or if the soup
is to be served at luncheon, it will be well to prepare
the stock the previous day.
Cream-of-Bread Soup.
The directions for cream-of-rice soup should be fol-
lowed, save that two quarts of broken bread should be
substituted for the half-cupful of rice. It should be
cooked in the stock and rubbed through a sieve, and the
soup should be finished like the first one. The bread
used must be yeast bread, at least two days old ; it should
be broken into pieces about half the size of a hen's egg,
and be measured lightly. This soup is a very smooth
and nice one.
Two quarts and half a pint of any kind of stock, if
you have it, will do for these soups. All the trimmings,
bones, and gristle left from broils or a roast may be used
to produce stock. The water in which poultry or mut-
ton has been boiled will answer very well. Of course the
richer the stock, the more nutritious the soup will be.
Peas, asparagus, cauliflower, carrots, celery, and pota-
toes all make the most delicious cream soups, with or
without stock for a foundation. When one has cream
150 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
to spare, it is advisable to put it into a soup ; for half a
pint, costing perhaps ten cents, will add fifty per cent
to the flavor.
* Tapioca-and-Milk Soup.
For six or eight persons use half a cupful of tapioca,
two cupfuls of water, three pints of inilk, three table-
spoonfuls of butter, two of flour, one of salt, one-third
of a teaspoonful of pepper, one large onion, two blades
of celery, and a slight grating of nutmeg.
Wash the tapioca, and let it soak for six hours or
more in the two cupfuls of cold water ; then put it into
the double-boiler, and cook it for an hour. At the end
of this time put the milk into another double-boiler, and
set it on the stove to heat. Now put the butter, the
onion, and the celery, chopped fine, into a small frying-
pan, and cook slowly for ten minutes; then add the
flour, and stir until smooth and frothy. Pour the con-
tents of the pan into the boiler of hot milk ; and after
adding the salt, pepper, and nutmeg, cook ten minutes
longer. At the end of this time strain the milk mixture
into the boiler containing the tapioca, and cook all for
half an hour. Taste the soup, to be sure that there is
seasoning enough ; it may be necessary 'to add some salt
or pepper.
Rice, sago, and barley soup may be made in the same
manner, save that barley must be cooked for five hours.
* Poulette Soup.
For this soup use three pints of milk, three table-
spoonfuls of butter, three of flour, three each of chopped
onion, celery, carrot, and turnip, a bay leaf, a sprig of
parsley, half a blade of mace, three level teaspoonfuls
of salt, one-third of a teaspoonful of pepper, one cupful
of cream, and the yolks of four eggs.
Put the milk on the stove in a double-boiler, with the
mace, parsley, and bay leaf. Put the butter and chopped
SOUPS. 151
vegetables in a saucepan, and let them cook slowly for
twenty minutes, being careful that they do not brown ;
then add the flour, and stir until the mixture becomes
frothy. Now gradually pour the milk upon it, and cook
for five minutes, stirring all the while. Add the salt
and pepper, and turn the mixture into the double-boiler,
to cook for half an hour.
Beat the yolks of the eggs well, and add the cream to
them. Stir this mixture into the soup, and cook for one
minute, stirring all the time. Eemove the soup from
the fire immediately, and strain into a tureen. Serve
with either toasted crackers or bread.
* Noodle Soup.
To make the noodles, break a large egg into a bowl,
and beat into it a little more than half a cupful of flour
and one-fourth of a teaspoonful of salt. Now work this
dough with the hands until it becomes smooth and like
putty. Sprinkle a moulding-board with flour, and roll
the dough as thin as possible. It should be like a wafer.
Let it lie upon the board for five minutes; then roll
it up loosely, and with a sharp knife cut it into slices
about one-third of an inch thick. Spread these little
pieces on the board, and let them dry for half an hour
or more. Put on the stove a large saucepan contain-
ing two quarts of boiling water. Add a table-spoonful
of salt, and after turning the noodles into the water,
cook them rapidly for twenty-five minutes. Turn into
a colander, and drain.
To make the soup, use three pints of milk, three table-
spoonfuls of flour, one slice of onion, a bit of mace, two
teaspoonfuls of salt, and one-third of a teaspoonful of
pepper.
Ee serve half a cupful of the milk, and put the rest,
with the onion and mace, on the stove in a double-boiler.
Mix the flour and cold milk, and stir the mixture into
the boiling milk Add the salt and pepper, and cook for
152 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
fifteen minutes. At the end of that time take out the
mace and onion and add the noodles. Five minutes'
cooking will complete the work.
Cream-of-Artichoke Soup.
When French artichokes are comparatively cheap and
in fine condition, it is well to use them in soup as well
as a vegetable. Here is a simple rule for a cream soup
made with them :
Use one quart of milk, two artichokes of good size,
two table-spoonfuls of butter, two generous table-spoon-
fuls of flour, one teaspoonful of salt, and one-fourth of a
teaspoonful of white pepper.
Wash the artichokes, and let them stand for an hour
in two quarts of cold water to which has been added
two table- spoonfuls of salt. If the edges of the leaves
be dry or brown, cut them (the edges) off. At the end
of the two hours place the artichokes in a stew-pan with
boiling water enough to cover them, and boil for thirty-
five minutes. Now take from the fire, and drain. Pull
the leaves from the head; then take out the "choke"
and throw it away. Put the leaves and the bottoms of
the artichokes in a puree sieve, and rub all the soft parts
through. Add the strained artichokes to a cream foun-
dation, and after boiling the soup up once, serve.
This is the way to make the cream foundation to which
reference has just been made : When the artichokes
have been cooking for a quarter of an hour, put the milk
on the fire in the double-boiler. Beat the butter and
flour together, and gradually pour upon this mixture
about half a pint of the boiling milk. Stir this new
mixture into the milk remaining in the double-boiler.
Add the salt and pepper, and cook for ten minutes. The
cream will then be ready for the artichokes.
This soup is sometimes garnished with chicken force-
meat balls or with profiteroles. Indeed, the latter arti-
SOUPS. 153
cles are becoming quite popular as an accompaniment of
cream soups as well as of consomme.
* Palestine Soup.
For one quart of soup use enough Jerusalem artichokes
to make a generous pint when pared and sliced, one gen-
erous pint of milk, one teaspoon ful of salt, one-fourth of
a teaspoonful of pepper, two table-spoonfuls of butter,
and two of flour.
Scrape the artichokes, and put them in cold water.
When they all have been scraped, slice them, and place
them in another basin of cold water. Let them stand
for half an hour ; then put them in a stew-pan with two
quarts of boiling water, and cook for an hour and a quar-
ter. At the end of that time rub the artichokes through
a fine sieve ; then add to them one pint of the water in
which they were boiled. Set upon the stove, and heat to
the boiling-point. Rub the butter and flour together, and
stir into the boiling mixture. Add the salt and pepper,
and cook for ten minutes. Put the milk on the stove in
a double-boiler ; and when the soup has cooked for ten
minutes, add the hot milk to it, and boil up once. Serve
with toasted bread.
Unless the artichokes be kept in water until they are
cooked they will grow dark, and spoil the appearance of
the soup.
Imperial Soup.
If enough be wanted for six persons, use one quart of
chicken stock, one pint of cream, half a pint of stale
bread, free of crust, half the breast of a fowl, one level
teaspoonful and a half of salt, one-fourth of a tea-
spoonful of pepper, one table-spoonful of flour, two of
butter, two of sherry, one of brandy, one bay leaf, one
clove, one sprig of parsley, one of thyme, a bit of cinna-
mon and of mace, a table-spoonful each of carrot, onion,
and celery, and the yolks of four eggs.
I
*
154 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Clean the fowl, and cover it with cold water. About
three quarts will be needed. Heat it slowly to the boil-
ing-point, and skim carefully ; then set back where the
meat will simply be simmered until tender.
On removing the fowl, boil the water rapidly until
there is but a little less than two quarts left. Strain
this, t and set away to cool ; and when it is cool, skim off
all the fat. Put a quart of this stock in a stew-pan with
the stale bread, and cook for one hour, being careful not
to let it boil.
Put the butter and vegetables in a small frying-pan, and
cook slowly for twenty minutes. Pains must be taken to
prevent them from getting browned. At the end of the
twenty minutes skim out the vegetables, and put them in
a muslin bag with the herbs and spice. Tie the bag, and
put it in the stew-pan with the stock and bread.
Add the flour to the butter remaining in the pan, and
stir until smooth and frothy ; then stir into the mixture
in the stew-pan. Add the salt and pepper, and continue
cooking the stock until the hour expires.
Meanwhile chop the breast of the cooked chicken, and
pound it to a powder. Take the bag of seasonings from
the soup, and add the powdered meat. Cook for ten
minutes, and then rub through two sieves, the second
being a French fine sieve. Put the strained mixture
into a double-boiler, with three gills of hot cream, and
after covering, cook for five minutes.
Beat the yolks of the eggs until light, and add to them
a gill of cold cream. Stir this liquid into the soup, and
cook for one minute, stirring all the while; then take
the soup from the fire, add the brandy and wine, and
serve at once.
Not everybody would like the flavors of the wine and
liquor. They are not essential to the success of the
soup. People who are fond of berrapin will, however,
consider the soup as much improved if these last two
ingredients be used.
SOUPS. 155
Velvet Soup.
At one time it was fashionable to serve only clear soups
at company dinners or luncheons; but opinions on the
subject have changed, and now delicate cream soups and
bisques are considered better. For velvet soup you will
require a fowl weighing about five pounds, three pints
of cream, half a pint of blanched almonds, a generous
pint of stale bread, two table-spoonfuls of butter, one of
flour, three stalks of celery, a slice of carrot, an onion,
two bay leaves, two sprigs of parsley, two cloves, a small
piece of cinnamon, a bit of mace, a table-spoonful and a
half of salt, half a teaspoonful of white pepper, and two
generous quarts of water.
After cleaning the fowl, place it in a small stew-pan,
breast down. Pour in the water ; and when it has been
heated to the boiling-point, skim carefully, and set the
pan back where the water will simply simmer until the
meat is tender, say for two hours. When the cooking
is over, take up the fowl, and skim all the fat from the
water. Strain the water through an old napkin into a
clean stew-pan, and put with it the stale bread and the
vegetables and spice, tied loosely in a small piece of
thin muslin. Simmer for one hour. Meanwhile free
the breast of the fowl of skin, fat, and bones ; and after
chopping it fine, pound it to powder with a vegetable-
masher. Put aside for the present. Blanch the almonds,
and pound them to powder in a mortar, adding, in small
quantities from time to time, half a cupful of cream
taken from the three pints.
When the chicken stock has simmered for an hour,
take it from the fire ; and after removing the muslin and
its contents, rub the stock and bread through a fine sieve.
Add the salt, pepper, almonds, powdered breast of the
fowl, and the cream. Place on the fire ; and as soon as
the mixture boils up, add the flour and butter, rubbed
together until creamy. Boil for five minutes, and rub
156 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
through a French fine sieve. Serve with chicken force-
meat balls.
This soup may be begun the day before it is to be
served. But the almonds and creain should not be
added. Stop when reaching that point. Let your meas-
uring of salt and pepper be generous.
Those parts of the fowl not needed for the soup may
be used for croquettes, a fricassee, blanquettes, or salad.
Pur6e of Grouse.
The ingredients are : a grouse, a quart of beef stock,
three pints of water, two table-spoonfuls of butter, one of
flour, one-third of a cupful of rice, an onion, a lemon,
two stalks of celery, a bay leaf, two cloves, and some
salt and pepper.
Eoast the bird for half an hour. Take all the meat
from the bones, and after removing the skin and fat,
chop it fine, and pound to powder. Set away for a while,
and, putting the bones into a stew-pan containing three
pints of water, simmer for three hours. There should
be a quart of liquor at the end of that time. Strain it,
and return it to the stew-pan.
Wash the rice, and put it into a small stew-pan with
one cupful and a half of the beef stock, to cook slowly
for an hour, the pan being covered closely all the time.
Rub the rice through a sieve, and add it to the powdered
grouse.
Put the butter, vegetables, bay leaf, and spice into a
small frying-pan, and cook slowly for ten minutes ; then
draw the pan forward to a place where the heat is
greater. Add the flour, and stir until it gets brown.
Gradually add the remainder of the stock, and after
boiling for five minutes, strain into the dish containing
the water in which the bones of the grouse were
simmered.
Put the rice and grouse into a stew-pan, and after
adding the salt and pepper, stir over the fire for eight
SOUPS. 157
minutes. Add the seasoned and thickened stock, a little
at a time. Heat the puree to the boiling-point, and rub
it through a sieve ; then heat it again, and serve with or
without force-meat balls, as suits your fancy. After the
soup has been put into the tureen, add the lemon, sliced
very thin.
Potato Soup.
For six persons use half a dozen large potatoes, one
table-spoonful of chopped onion, half a pint of chopped
celery, one table-spoonful of flour, a heaping teaspoonful
of salt, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of white pepper, a
pint and a half of milk, one pint of cream, four table-
spoonfuls of sherry.
Pare the potatoes, and put them in a stew-pan with
enough boiling water to cover them. Boil for half an
hour. When the potatoes are put on to boil, put the
celery, onion, and a pint of milk on to boil in the double-
boiler. Mix the half-pint of cold milk with the flour,
and stir the mixture into the boiling milk.
Five minutes before the potatoes are done, put the
cream in a small saucepan, and place this on the fire in
a larger saucepan containing a little boiling water.
Drain all the water from the potatoes, and mash them
until they are smooth and light. Gradually add the
boiling milk and vegetables, beating constantly. Now
add the salt and pepper, and. strain the mixture into
the double-boiler, rubbing as much as possible through
the strainer. Place over the fire, and after adding the
butter, cook for five minutes. Now add the hot cream,
and turn the soup into the tureen at once. Stir in the
sherry, and serve immediately.
The wine may be omitted.
* Corn Soup.
Use one can of corn, one quart and two gills of milk,
three table-spoonfuls of butter, two of flour, one gen-
158 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
erous teaspoonful of salt, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of
pepper, one table-spoonful of minced onion, and the
yolks of two eggs.
Put the corn into a wooden bowl or chopping-tray, and
mash it as fine as possible. Now put it in the double-
boiler, with one quart of milk, and cook for fifteen
minutes.
Put the butter and onion in a small frying-pan, and
cook slowly for ten minutes. Now add the flour, and
cook until the mixture is frothy, being careful not to
brown. Stir this into the corn and milk. Now add the
salt and pepper, and cook for ten minutes longer. At
the end of this time rub the soup through a strainer, and
return to the fire.
Beat the yolks of the eggs well, and add to them the
half -pint of cold milk. Stir this mixture into the soup,
and cook for one minute, stirring all the while.
Chestnut Soup.
Use fifty French chestnuts, two quarts of stock, one
pint of stale bread, free of crust, one pint of milk or
cream, a slight grating of nutmeg, one table-spoonful of
butter, one of salt, and half a teaspoonful of pepper.
Blanch the chestnuts, and then boil them for half an
hour in plenty of water. Drain off the water, and pound
the chestnuts in a mortar until a fine meal is produced.
To this gradually add one quart of the stock, pounding
all the while. Bub this mixture through a fine sieve.
Now put the strained mixture and all the other ingre-
dients, except the butter and milk, in a stew-pan, and
place on the fire. Cook gently for two hours. At the
end of that time take from the fire, and rub through a
fine sieve. Add the butter and milk, and return to the
fire. Heat to the boiling-point, stirring constantly.
Taste, to see if seasoned enough. Possibly it may be
well to add some salt and pepper. Serve at once.
SOUPS. 159
* Fish Chowder.
Almost any kind of fish may be used for a chowder,
but nothing is quite equal to cod or haddock when either
may be had fresh. White fish is always preferable to
any dark fish. For a chowder for six persons use a fish
weighing four pounds, a quart of pared and thin-sliced
potatoes, a quarter of a pound of salt pork, two good-
sized onions, half a dozen crackers (Boston butter crack-
ers are best, though any kind of plain crackers will do),
two quarts of water, one pint of milk, one table-spoonful
of flour, and salt and pepper to suit the taste, perhaps
four teaspoonfuls of salt and half a teaspoonful of
pepper.
Put the potatoes into a large stew-pan with one quart
of the cold water, and boil for ten minutes. After
freeing the fish of skin and bones, cut it into small
pieces. Spread these upon a platter, and dredge them
with salt and pepper. Cut the pork into bits, and cook
in a frying-pan until brown ; then add the onion, sliced
very thin, and fry slowly until it turns light brown.
Spread the pork and onion on the fish, and cover until
ready for use. Stir the flour into the fat remaining in
the frying-pan, and cook until smooth and frothy ; then
gradually add the milk, and boil up once.
By this time the potatoes will probably have boiled
ten minutes. If not, wait until they are cooked, and
then add the fish, pork, and onion to them. Add, also,
the second quart of water, boiling hot, and cook for
three minutes; then turn the thickened milk from the
frying-pan into the stew-pan. Split the crackers, and
put them into a tureen. Let the chowder boil up once,
and after satisfying yourself that it is sufficiently sea-
soned, turn it into the tureen.
In case it be inconvenient to get milk for the chowder,
use an extra, but scant, pint of water. If one choose,
the potatoes, fish, onion, and pork all may be prepared
160 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
some time in advance of the cooking, which, in that case,
will take only about twenty minutes. The potatoes
must be covered with cold water, and the fish be kept in
a cold place until the time for cooking.
*Clam Chowder.
For six persons use one quart of clams or thirty of
good size, one pint and a half of thin-sliced potatoes,
three pints of water, one pint of milk, one large onion,
three ounces of fat salt pork, two table-spoonfuls of flour,
one table-spoonful and a half of salt, half a teaspoonful
of pepper, and six Boston crackers.
Wash the clams in the cold water, and turn both water
and clams into a colander that has been placed over a
bowl. Now cut the soft parts of the clams from the hard,
and put them away in a cold place. Chop the hard parts
rather fine, and put them in a stew-pan. Strain through
a napkin the water in which the clams were washed, and
add it to the chopped parts. Cover the stew-pan, and
cook slowly for half an hour.
Now cut the pork in thin slices, and fry slowly for ten
minutes ; then add the onion, cut fine, and cook for ten
minutes longer, stirring frequently, that it may not
burn.
When the onions have been cooked for ten minutes,
take them, and also the pork, from the pan, and add both
to the chopped clams and water. Cook for ten minutes.
Into the fat remaining in the pan put the flour, and stir
until smooth and frothy. Add this mixture also to the
clain broth. Now put the sliced potatoes into the soup-
pot, and sprinkle in the salt and pepper. Strain over
the chowder the liquor in which the clams and other
ingredients were cooked, and place the kettle on the
fire. Cook for twenty minutes.
Split the crackers, and soak them in the cold milk for
one minute. Now add the soft .parts of the clams and
SOUPS. 161
the crackers and milk to the contents of the soup-pot.
Let all boil up once, and serve.
The milk may be omitted, and one pint of strained
tomatoes be substituted for it. In this case add the
tomatoes when the broth and potatoes have been cooking
for ten minutes, and cook twenty minutes longer. Soak
the crackers in water for half a minute ; then drain
them well, and add them, together with the soft parts
of the clams, to the chowder. Cook for five minutes
longer.
* Cut the black heads from a quart of clams, and boil
them gently in three pints of water for twenty minutes.
Cut a quarter of a pound of salt pork into slices, and fry
until brown and crisp ; then add a large onion, cut into
slices, and cook slowly for ten minutes. Put a quart of
pared and sliced' raw potatoes into a soup-kettle, and
after placing a strainer over them, pour the onion and
pork into the strainer ; then pour in the water in which
the black parts of the clams were cooked. Remove the
strainer, with the pork and onion, which are of no
further use. Heat the mixture in the kettle to the boil-
ing-point, and add three table-spoonfuls of flour, mixed
with a cupful of cold water. After boiling gently for
twenty minutes, add a quart of milk that has boiled up
once, a table-spoonful of butter, eight soft crackers, the
soft parts of the clams, and salt and pepper to suit the
taste. Boil up the chowder once, and serve.
In cooking clams in any manner, remember that they
are toughened by long cooking.
* Danbury Clam Chowder.
Use for six persons one quart of clams, one pint of
canned tomatoes (or one quart of fresh tomatoes), one
quart of sliced potatoes, one pint of sliced onions, one
pint of water, half a teaspoonful each of powdered
11
162 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
thyme, summer savory, and sweet-marjoram, half a tea-
spoonful of celery seeds (or, when it is convenient to get
fresh celery, use half a pint of it, chopped fine), one-
quarter of a pound of salt pork, one teaspoonful of
pepper, and three teaspoonfuls of salt.
Place a colander in a basin, and turn the clams into it.
Now pour the water over the clams, stirring well with
a spoon in order to make the washing a thorough one.
Save the clam liquor and water that fall into the basin.
Chop the clams rather fine, and put them in a cool place
until the time for cooking.
Cut the pork in thin slices, and fry slowly for ten
minutes. Add the sliced onion to the pork, and cook on
a hotter part of the stove for ten minutes, stirring fre-
quently. The onions should be tender, but not browned,
at the end of the ten minutes. Turn the pork and onions
jnto a stew-pan, and add to them the clam juice and water,
the potatoes, tomatoes, and the celery, if that is to be
used. Cook for thirty minutes ; then add the seasoning
and chopped clams, and cook ten minutes longer. Taste,
to be sure that there is seasoning enough; and if no
seasoning be required, serve the chowder.
This is a very savory dish. When it is served in a
dinner, it is well to have the meat or fish in the next
course simple and light.
*Clam Soup.
These are the ingredients : a quart of clams, a quart
of milk, a pint of water, three table-spoonfuls of butter,
three of flour, four of cracker crumbs, and small quan-
tities of salt and pepper, for seasoning. Separate the
heads from the clams, and put them on to simmer for
half an hour in the pint of water. Chop the soft part of
the clams, and put aside temporarily. Bub the butter
and flour together, and stir in the water in which the
heads of the clams are boiling ; then add the milk, salt,
and pepper, and after allowing the soup to boil up once,
SOUPS. 163
strain it upon the chopped clams. Keturn it to the fire,
and boil for three minutes ; and after adding the cracker
crumbs, serve.
Wadsworth Clam Soup.
Use twenty-five clams, three pints of cold water, one
table-spoonful of butter, one of flour, half a pint of
cream, half a pint of milk, the yolks of four eggs, one-
fourth of a teaspoonful of white pepper, and about a
teaspoonful and a half of salt.
Wash the clams, and then chop them. Put them in a
stew-pan with the cold water, and let them simmer for
three hours. At the end of that time rub the flour and
butter together, and stir the mixture into the boiling
clams. Cook for five minutes. Put the milk on to heat
in the double-boiler. Strain the clam liquor into the
milk, and add the salt and pepper. Beat the yolks of
the eggs well, and add the cold cream to them. Stir this
into the mixture in the double-boiler, and cook for two
minutes, stirring all the while. Serve at once.
Cream of Clams.
Use about fifty large, soft clams, half a cupful of
butter, three pints of milk, one pint of cream, four table-
spoonfuls of flour, one slice of onion, a slight grating of
nutmeg, and salt and pepper to suit the taste.
After washing the clams, put them into a stew-pan,
covering it closely, and simmer for three minutes ; then
strain off the liquor and put it aside. Pound the clams
in a mortar or a wooden bowl, and rub through a sieve
as much of the mass as possible. Add to it the liquor.
Put the milk and onion on the stove in a double-
boiler. Rub the butter and flour to a cream, and add
four table-spoonfuls of the hot milk. Stir this mixture
into the boiling milk, and after skimming out the onion,
add the nutmeg, salt, "and pepper. Cook for five min-
164 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
utes ; then add the pint of cream and the sifted clams
and clam liquor, and cook five minutes more. Serve
without delay.
Bisque of Clams.
Chop a quart of clams rather fine, and putting them
into the soup-pot with a quart of chicken stock, simmer
for an hour. Cut an onion fine, and put it into a small
frying-pan with three table-spoonfuls of butter. Cook
slowly for a quarter of an hour, being careful not to
brown ; then draw the onion to the side of the pan, and
after pressing out all the butter, put the onion into the
soup-pot with the clams. Put two table-spoonfuls of
flour into the butter remaining in the small frying-pan,
and stir until smooth and frothy ; then stir this mixture
into the soup. Add a bay leaf, a sprig of parsley, a
sprig of thyme, a blade of mace, a table-spoonful of salt,
and a quarter of a teaspoonful of white pepper. Simmer
for ten minutes ; then remove the herbs and spice, and
rub the soup through a puree sieve. Return to the soup-
pot, and heat to the boiling-point. Add a pint of cream ;
and when the bisque has been once again heated to the
boiling-point, put it back until serving-time. Beat the
yolks of four eggs thoroughly, and add a pint of cold
cream to them. Draw the soup forward, and let it boil.
Stir the new mixture into it, and cook for two minutes,
stirring all the while. Taste, to be sure that there is
enough seasoning ; and if there be not enough, add salt
and pepper. Serve immediately.
This soup must not boil after the yolks of the eggs
are added. Toasted crackers or toasted bread may be
served with it, but it is so delicate that the accompani-
ments should be prepared very carefully, or omitted.
Crab-and-Tomato Bisque.
Use for this soup one quart of milk, one pint of
cooked and strained tomatoes, half a pint of crab meat,
SOUPS. 165
two table-spoonfuls of flour, two of butter, one teaspoon-
ful and a half of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, and a
scant half-teaspoonful of soda.
Put the milk, except half a cupful, on the stove in a
double-boiler. Mix the cold milk with the flour, and
stir into the boiling milk. Cook for ten minutes.
Put the tomatoes on to cook in a saucepan. When
they have been boiling for five minutes, stir in the soda ;
and continue stirring until there is no froth on the vege-
table. Strain the tomatoes, and add to them the butter,
salt, and pepper. Add the crab meat to the mixture
of milk and flour, and after cooking for three minutes,
stir the contents of the double-boiler into the stew-pan.
Serve at once.
When it is inconvenient to use fresh crab meat,
canned meat may be taken instead.
Crab Bisque.
*
For eight persons use eighteen hard-shell crabs, one
quart of chicken or veal stock, one quart of cream, one
pint of stale bread, free of crust, two table-spoonfuls of
butter, one of flour, one small slice of carrot, one large
slice of onion, two bay leaves, one stalk of celery, a
sprig of parsley, a bit of mace, a slight grating of
nutmeg, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of white pepper,
one-tenth of a teaspoonful of cayenne, and three tea-
spoonfuls of salt.
Put half of the meat of the crabs and all of the claws
into a stew-pan. Add the spice, vegetables, herbs, and
half the stock, and place the pan where its contents will
simmer gently for forty minutes. Ten minutes later
put the bread and the remaining stock into another
stew-pan, and set the pan where its contents will simmer
gently for thirty minutes.
When the first mixture has cooked for the proper
period, strain it over that in the second stew-pan. Mix
166 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
all these ingredients thoroughly, and rub through a tine
sieve. Return to the fire, and add the butter and flour,
rubbed together. Cook five minutes longer; then add
the cream, heated in a double-boiler, the remainder of
the crab meat, and the salt and pepper. Let the soup
boil up once, and serve without delay. If one choose, a
table-spoonful of brandy and three of sherry may be
added to the bisque after it is taken from the stove.
A table-spoonful of lobster coral and the shells of two
crabs may be pounded with a table-spoonful of butter,
and cooked with the crabs to give the bisque a fine
color.
Lobster Bisque.
For this soup there will be required a lobster weigh-
ing five pounds, one pint and a half of chicken stock,
one quart of cream, one scant pint of stale bread, free of
crust, one table-spoonful of salt, one-fourth of a tea-
spoonful of white pepper, one-tenth of a teaspoonful of
cayenne, one bay leaf, one sprig of parsley, one blade of
celery, a large slice of onion, a small piece of whole
mace, a slight grating of nutmeg, three table-spoonfuls
of butter, and one of flour.
Remove the meat of the lobster from the shell. Cut
in cubes the tenderest part of the meat taken from the
claws, there should be about half a pint, and put
away until serving-time. Pound the remainder to paste.
Now put one table-spoonful of butter, four of the small
claws, and the coral from the lobster into the mortar,
and pound until a smooth paste is formed. Hard pound-
ing will be required to accomplish this. Put the pounded
meat and the coral, shell, and butter in a stew-pan with
the herbs, mace, vegetables, and half the stock, and cook
for an hour, being careful that the mixture does not bub-
ble after it has once been heated to the boiling-point,
though it should still be kept on the stove, in a cooler
place, and kept heated almost to the boiling-point.
SOUPS. 167
At the end of half an hour put the bread and the re-
maining stock in a stew-pan, and cook for twenty minutes,
keeping at the boiling-point all the while; then strain
the contents of the first stew-pan into the stew-pan re-
maining on the stove, pressing every particle of moisture
from the meat and seasoning. Eub this new mixture
through a French fine sieve ; then return it to the fire,
and add salt, pepper, and a slight grating of nutmeg.
Hub the remaining two table-spoonfuls of butter with
the flour until a smooth, light mixture is formed, and
stir this into the soup. Simmer for ten minutes.
When the butter and flour are added to the soup, put
the cream on the stove in the double-boiler. It will be
hot at the end of the ten minutes ; add it, with the cubes
of lobster, to the soup. Let the soup boil up once, and
serve it.
When making this bisque, if there be no coral in the
lobster, pound six of the small claws to powder, and mix
with one table-spoonful of butter. Use this to give the
soup a pink color. Or, in the absence of coral, the color
may be imparted by adding to the bisque, just as it is to
be. served, half a cupful of strained hot tomato.
Bisque of Oysters.
Use one quart of oysters, one quart of cream, one pint
of chicken stock, one scant pint of stale bread, free of
crust, one bay leaf, one sprig of parsley, one stalk of cel-
ery, one small slice of onion, a bit of mace, two table-
spoonfuls of butter, one of flour, the yolks of four eggs,
one-fourth of a teaspoonful of white pepper, one-tenth of
a teaspoonful of cayenne, and salt to suit the taste.
Chop the oysters, and put them in a stew-pan with the
seasonings, one-half the stock, and their own liquor.
Cook slowly for twenty minutes.
Put the bread and the remaining half-pint of stock in
another stew-pan, and cook slowly for twenty minutes.
168 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Strain the liquor from the first stew-pan into the second
pan, pressing all the liquid from the oysters. Cook for
ten minutes longer.
Reserve half a cupful of the cream, and put the rest
on to heat in the double-boiler. Now rub the butter and
flour together until smooth and creamy. When the con-
tents of the stew-pan have been cooking for ten minutes,
rub them through a fine sieve and return them to the
stew-pan. Add the flour and butter to them, and place
on the fire. Stir the mixture until it boils; then add
the hot cream, and draw back to a cooler place. Now
beat the yolks of the eggs well, and add the cold cream
to them. Stir this mixture into the bisque, and cook for
one minute, stirring all the while.
When the cream is rich, use half cream and half milk.
The egg yolks may be omitted; the soup will, however,
be less rich without them. This is one of the most deli-
cious soups made.
* Oyster Soup.
For six or eight persons use one quart of oysters, one
quart of milk, one pint of cold water, three table-spoon-
fuls of flour, four of butter, half a teaspoonful of white
pepper, a piece of onion the size of half a dollar, a bit of
mace, and salt to suit the taste.
Put a colander over a bowl, and turn the oysters into it.
Now pour the water over the oysters, and stir with a
spoon until all the liquid has passed into the bowl. Put
the oysters into a bowl, and set away in a cold place.
Pour the water and oyster liquor into a stew-pan, and
heat slowly, being careful to avoid scorching. When the
liquid comes to the boiling-point, skim carefully, and
set back where it will keep hot.
At the same time that the oyster liquor and water are
put on to heat, put the onion, mace, and all the milk,
except half a pint, on the fire in the double-boiler. Mix
SOUPS. 169
the cold milk with the flour, and stir it into the boiling
milk. Cook for fifteen minutes.
Now take out the onion and mace. Draw the oyster
water forward where it will boil up once j then add it to
the thickened milk. Now add the oysters, butter, salt,
and pepper. Boil up once, and serve immediately.
170 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
FISH.
FRESH fish requires careful handling and cooking.
Nothing is poorer or more unappetizing than a piece of
fish that is prepared carelessly ; but a dish of fresh fish,
well cooked, and served with a good sauce, is always
welcome.
Market men usually scale and draw the fish, but the
cook should always scrape around the head and tail, to
remove a few scales that will invariably be found there.
The blood and dark substance that are found on the
backbone must be scraped off. If the fish is to be
boiled or baked, leave the head and tail on, but cut the
fins from the body. A pair of fish scissors, kept for this
purpose, will be found a great convenience. Wash the
fish quickly in cold water, and then wipe it carefully.
It will then be ready to prepare for cooking.
Fish that live a good part of the time at the bottom of
lakes or rivers are likely to have a muddy taste, which
can be removed by soaking for several hours in salted
water. Fish that have a rather strong flavor, like sword-
fish and sturgeon, also are made more delicate by soak-
ing for a few hours in salted water.
In boiling fish the water should always be salted, and,
when possible, made acid with lemon juice. The acid
whitens the flakes of the fish and makes them firm, be-
sides giving the fish a good flavor. Lemon juice can be
used to advantage with any kind of fish, no matter
how cooked.
In boiling fish a few things must be remembered.
First, if the fish be put into cold water the juices will be
drawn out, thus impoverishing the fish. But many kinds
FISH. | 171
of fish have such delicate skin that it contracts and
breaks as soon as it is plunged into hot water, thus mar-
ring the appearance of the dish. For these kinds of fish
the water should be of a temperature not higher than
150. A good plan is to put into the fish-kettle half as
much cold water as will be required ; then put the fish
in, and gradually add boiling water enough to cover. By
this method the skin will be made to contract slowly,
and it will not break. Mackerel, trout, striped bass, etc.,
should be treated in this manner if they are to be served
with the skin on. Fish that have a thick, tough skin
can be put into water that is at the boiling-point, though
not bubbling. Halibut, sturgeon, or any fish that is not
to be served with the skin on is better for being put
into boiling water.
When boiling fish, the water should never be allowed
to do more than bubble. Rapid boiling breaks the fish,
thus making it unsightly.
Too much cooking makes the fibres dry and woolly;
but fish should be cooked enough to have the flakes
separate readily.
When baking fish, remember that constant basting is
essential to the success of the dish. Use plenty of salt
when basting.
When breading fish for frying, be very generous with
salt.
Fish that have extremely delicate flesh like white
fish should be cooked only in the simplest manner.
It is almost impossible to fillet a white fish, and indeed
it seems almost shameful to attempt to improve any-
thing so delicate and fine in itself.
The lighter the fish, the greater the variety of modes
by which it may be cooked. It also may be served more
frequently without one's becoming tired of it. For exam-
ple, at the Isles of Shoals visitors are offered broiled
scrod every day in the week, yet they do not weary of
the dish in a stay of months. At Nantucket broiled
172 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
bluefish is served daily, and it is so delicious that its
appearance three times a day is at first hailed with
pleasure; but after a few weeks the appetite becomes
palled, because the fish is rich. It would be the same
with the freshest and most toothsome salmon and mack-
erel. A rich fish satiates much sooner than a lighter
and poorer kind, and for this reason it is advisable to
avoid having the richer varieties frequently. Of course,
the poorer kinds require more and richer sauces than
salmon, mackerel, or bluefish. White fish, like cod, had-
dock, cusk, halibut, and flounders, all are improved by
the addition of sauces made of milk, cream, or white
stock.
Serving Fish.
Long, narrow dishes are used for long, slender fish.
The fish may be slipped on to the warm dish; or a
napkin, folded the length and width of the fish, may be
placed on the dish and the fish be laid upon this. Only
boiled or fried fish is served on a napkin.
When the dish is large enough, a sauce is poured
around the fish (no napkin being used in that case), and
the head and tail may then be garnished with parsley.
When a sauce is poured around fish, it must be rather
thicker for a boiled fish than for any other kind.
Fillets of fish, when rolled, may be arranged in a
circle on the dish, and the sauce be poured in the centre ;
when flat, they may be heaped in a pyramid in the
centre of the dish, or may be arranged in a circle, one
fillet overlapping the other. The centre should then be
filled with a sauce or a garnish.
How to Fillet Fish.
There are two kinds of fish (the flat and the round)
that are used in preparing fillets. The flat fish, such as
flounder, turbot, chicken halibut, etc., have one large
flat bone which extends the entire length and breadth.
FISH. 178
The fins are on both sides, from head to tail. In
the round fish, such as bass, cod, salmon, trout, etc., the
large bone does not extend the entire breadth, and the
fins are placed variously on the different kinds of fish.
In these fish there is always found a thin and fat piece
of flesh on each side, near the head, extending about
one-third the length of the body. This is called the
flank. Now, in most fish this flank is thin and the skin
delicate, so that the flank may easily be cut from the
fish, and when the fin bones are removed the fillets are
ready to be breaded and fried.
Let it now be supposed that
a round fish is to be filleted. In
order to do the work successfully
one should have a small sharp
knife, commonly called a boning-
knife; or a
sharp vegeta-
ble-knife will
answer. Lay
the fish flat on
a board that Drawing the Skin from a Fish,
has been placed
on a table. Cut off the flanks. Next cut through the
skin, beginning at the head and continuing down by the
fins on the back to the end of the tail ; then cut on
the other side from the tail up to where the flanks
were cut off. Begin to draw the skin from the fish,
starting at the head and drawing gently and firmly
toward the tail. It will almost always tear off smoothly.
Turn the fish over, and skin the other side in the
same manner. Cut the flesh from the bones, beginning
at the head, and working the knife between the bones
and the flesh from the head down to the tail and round
on the other side to the head. If the knife has been
kept close to the bone, the flesh will come off in one
piece, leaving the bone almost perfectly clean. Turn
174 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
the fish over, and fillet the other side in the same
manner. You will now have two fillets, which, if large,
may each be divided into two or four smaller pieces.
Fillets of Fish.
Flat fish are skinned and filleted in much the same
manner. There is this difference : the skin is cut
all arpund near the fins, from head to tail (as shown by
the dotted lines in the cut below), and on both sides.
There are no flank pieces to cut off. A flat fish, no mat-
Flounder and Turban of Flounder.
ter how small, always gives four fillets, because it is so
broad that it is cut through the centre lengthwise.
Fillets are often cut from large fish like halibut and
salmon. When this is done the large slices are cut into
small strips about three or four inches long and two or
three wide.
Fillets may be served in the form in which they are
cut, or be rolled and fastened with small skewers (being
then called turbans), as shown in the last illustration.
FISH. 175
Sturgeon.
Sturgeon is abundant in the markets from April to
September, and is therefore cheap. This fish is very
highly valued in European countries, but from various
causes it does not hold the same place in the estimation
of the people of the United States. It is a shark-like
fish, with strong fins, but no scales. The fat is yellow,
the flesh a pale red, and the flavor a little like meat.
The flank is thought to resemble pork, while the mus-
cular flesh of the back is thought to taste like veal.
This fish requires more cooking than the ordinary kinds,
and pork is employed in its preparation almost as often
as with veal. When sturgeon forms a part of a meal,
less meat will be required than if a lighter kind of fish
were used. A piece from a fish of medium size will be
found more delicate and tender than a cut from a
large sturgeon.
* Boiled Sturgeon.
Have a middle cut of sturgeon, weighing about four
pounds. Wash it in salted water, and then put it in a
new basin of salted water one table-spoonful of salt to
two quarts of water to soak for twenty minutes. Into
the fish-kettle put one onion, six cloves, one large slice
of carrot, three sprigs of parsley, three bay leaves, four
quarts of boiling water, four table-spoonfuls of vinegar,
and two of salt. Let this simmer for half an hour.
Now take the sturgeon from the salted water, and roll
the flanks inside. Pin a broad band of cotton cloth
around the piece of fish to keep the flanks in place.
Now put the fish into the kettle, and cook gently for one
hour. At the end of that time take it from the water,
and drain well. Take off the band of cloth, and slip the
fish on a warm dish. Serve with any good fish sauce,
like lobster, anchovy, egg, parsley, or oyster.
A pint of wine is sometimes added to the water in
which the sturgeon is boiled.
176 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
* Baked Sturgeon.
Use four pounds of sturgeon, one quarter of a pound
of pork, one table-spoonful each of chopped carrot, turnip,
and onion, two table-spoonfuls of butter, two of lemon
juice, two of sherry, one table-spoonful of salt, half a
teaspoonful of white pepper, and flour for basting.
Wash the fish in cold water, and let it stand in clean
salted water for one hour.
Cut the pork in thin slices, and lay about one-third of
it on a tin sheet that has been placed in the dripping-
pan. Sprinkle the chopped vegetables over this pork.
Take the fish from the water, and wipe it dry.
Skewer the flanks into position, and then rub the lemon
juice and half the salt and pepper into the fish. Now
put the piece of fish on the vegetables, placing it on end,
so that it resembles a fillet of beef. Cover the top with
the remainder of the slices of pork. Now put it in
the oven, and cook for ten minutes without water in the
pan ; then add half a pint of boiling water. Five min-
utes later begin to baste in this manner : dip some of
the gravy from the pan, and pour it over the fish ; then
dredge with salt, pepper, and flour. Do this every
fifteen minutes while the fish is cooking. The water in
the pan must be renewed frequently.
When the fish has been cooking for one hour, lift the
pork from the top of the fish and drop it into the pan.
Now baste the fish with the wine, and spread one table-
spoonful of the butter over it ; then dredge rather
thickly with flour. Kepeat this in fifteen minutes.
Cook for a quarter of an hour longer, and then take
from the oven. The sturgeon should be a rich brown
color. Slip the fish on to a warm dish, and place where
it will keep warm while the sauce is being made.
To Make the Sauce. Take the tin sheet and the slices
of pork from the pan in which the fish was cooked.
Now add enough boiling water to make one pint of sauce,
FISH. 177
and place the pan on the top of the range. Mix one
table-spoonful of flour with half a cupful of cold water.
Gradually add this to the boiling liquid, stirring all the
time until the mixture is about as thick as cream. Now
taste, to see if it is seasoned enough. Add more salt, if
any be needed. If any fat should float on top, skim it
off. Strain, and serve with the fish.
Sturgeon may be cut into steaks and broiled ; or be cut
into small cutlets and breaded and fried, the same as
other fish.
* Boiled Red Snapper.
The flesh of this fish is very firm, and is more suitable
for boiling and baking than for any other form of cook-
ing. Tastes differ as to whether or not the fins should
be cut off. If you decide to have them cut, let the
marketman do the work, as the bones of the fins are
large, sharp, and strong.
Have the fish opened only enough to admit of its
being drawn readily. See that all the scales are off, and
wash it quickly in cold water. Have enough boiling
water in the fish-kettle to cover the fish. Add two
table-spoonfuls of lemon juice, two of salt, and one of
vinegar to a gallon of water. Draw the kettle back
where the water will stop boiling, and add one pint of
cold water ; then lower the fish into it. Now push the
kettle forward where the water will boil. Watch care-
fully, and when it begins to boil, draw the kettle back
where the water will only bubble. Cook, counting from
this time, for half an hour, if the fish does not weigh
more than six pounds ; but if it be heavier, cook for ten
minutes longer.
Now lift the fish from the water, and drain well. Slip
on to a warm dish, and serve at once with either lobster,
anchovy, or Hollandaise sauce ; or indeed, any simple fish
sauce will answer.
178 MISS PAKLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
* Baked Red Snapper.
"For a red snapper weighing five pounds, use one pint
of oysters, half a cupful of powdered cracker crumbs,
half a teaspoonful of onion juice, half a teaspoonful of
pepper, four table-spoonfuls of butter, one teaspoonful
of chopped parsley, and flour for dredging.
Chop the oysters very fine ; then add to them the
powdered cracker, one generous table-spoonful of butter,
one quarter of a teaspoonful of pepper, one teaspoonful
of salt, and the parsley. Mix all thoroughly, and let the
mixture stand until the fish is ready. Now cut the fins
from the fish, and see that there are no scales left on.
Wash quickly in cold water.
Kub one table-spoonful of the salt into the fish, and
then pack the stuffing into the vent. Fasten the open-
ing with steel skewers, or sew it together.
Have a flat tin sheet well buttered, and place it,
buttered side up, in a large dripping-pan. Lay the fish
on this, and dredge lightly with salt, pepper, and flour.
Pour half a pint of boiling water into the pan, and place
in a hot oven.
Put two table-spoonfuls of butter in a frying-pan, and
place on the fire. When the butter becomes hot, add
the flour, and stir until it is brown. Now draw the pan
back, and gradually add one pint of cold water. Let
this boil for five minutes, and turn it into a small basin
and keep it hot on the back of the range. This is for
basting the fish. Begin at once, and use about one-
fourth of the sauce ; then dredge lightly with salt,
pepper, and flour. Baste again in ten minutes, and twice
more in the next half-hour. The water in the pan will
need renewing with every basting. It will take the fish
one hour to cook. Serve with a brown or Madeira
sauce. Any of the simpler sauces will answer, if more
convenient.
FISH. 179
* Baked Mullet.
Mullet frequently has an earthy taste. If it be
cleaned, and then soaked in acidulated and salted water
for one hour, the taste will disappear. Use a table-
spoonful each of salt and vinegar to each quart of cold
water. Make a stuffing the same as for shad, and cook
in the same manner as baked shad. A mullet weighing
two pounds will require only* one-half the amount of
stuffing, and it will cook in thirty-five minutes. Serve
with any good sauce.
Mullet maybe split and broiled, the same as mackerel.
* Baked Shad.
After cutting the shad only enough to take out the roe,
and then removing the roe, wash the fish, and fill the
body with a dressing made by mixing thoroughly the
following-named ingredients : a cupful of cracker crumbs,
a teaspoonful of salt, a quarter of a teaspoonful of pepper,
two table-spoonfuls of butter, one teaspoonful of chopped
parsley, one table-spoonful of capers, one table-spoonful
of lemon juice, and two-thirds of a cupful of cold water.
After using this dressing, fasten the opening in the fish
with a skewer, and dredge generously with salt. Place
the shad on a tin sheet that will fit loosely in a large
dripping-pan, and after putting this sheet into the pan,
rub soft butter over the shad, and dredge thickly with
flour. Pour into the pan just enough boiling water to
cover the bottom, and then bake the fish in a hot oven for
three-quarters of an hour. Baste every ten minutes with
the gravy in the pan and a little butter, and dredge
lightly each time with salt, pepper, and flour. When the
fish is done, slip it upon a warm dish, and pour brown
sauce around it. Or, if you prefer, have the sauce in a
separate dish. Serve the roe on a small platter, giving a
portion to each person with the fish. Or, the roe may be
saved for a breakfast dish, This is the way to cook it :
180 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Drop into boiling water, and cook gently for twenty
minutes ; then take from the fire, and drain. Butter a
tin plate, and lay the drained roe upon it. Dredge well
with salt and pepper, and spread soft butter over it;
then dredge thickly with flour. Cook in the oven for
half an hour, basting frequently with salt, pepper, flour,
butter, and water.
Brown sauce is made ijj this manner : Into a saucepan
put a pint of water, a slice of onion, a slice of carrot, a
sprig of parsley, a bay leaf, and a table-spoonful of beef
extract. Cook for five minutes ; then add two large
table-spoonfuls of arrowroot mixed with one-third of a
cupful of cold water. Season with salt and pepper, and
simmer for ten minutes ; then add a table-spoonful of
butter, and, as soon as it is melted, strain the sauce. A
pint of clear soup may be substituted for the water and
beef extract.
Sheep's-head, white-fish, bass, bluefish, haddock, etc.,
all may be stuffed and baked the same as shad.
* Broiled Shad.
Have the shad split the entire length. Cut off the
fins, and scrape the fish carefully, to be sure that there
are no scales left on. Wash quickly in cold water,
and then wipe dry. Rub the bars of a double-broiler
lightly with butter, and then place the fish in it. Dredge
with salt, pepper, and flour. Place over a clear but not
fierce fire, having the inside turned to the fire at first.
Watch carefully, and turn frequently to prevent burning.
A large, thick shad will require twenty-five minutes'
cooking. On taking the broiler from the fire, let it rest
on a dish. Slip a knife between the bars and the fish,
and when one side is loosened, turn the broiler over,
and free the other side. Now raise the broiler with the
skin side of the fish up. Place a warm platter upside
down over this, and turn broiler and dish simultaneously.
FISH. 181
Lift the broiler, and the fish will be found on the centre
of the dish, ready for the sauce, which may be simply
butter; with salt and pepper, or maitre d'hotel butter.
Fish requires a good deal of butter ; use four table-
spoonfuls for a large one.
Shad is sometimes served with a cream or Bechamel
sauce.
White-fish, blue fish, young cod or haddock, and, in
fact, all fish that are broiled, may be treated in this
manner.
A very dry fish is improved by a dressing of melted
butter or salad oil before being broiled.
* Boiled Halibut.
Pour into a shallow pan boiling water to the depth of
one-third of an inch, and in it lay a five-pound piece of
halibut, the black skin down. In two minutes remove
the fish from the wafer, and scrape the black substance
from the skin. Now wash the fish in cold water, and
after laying it on a plate, set the plate in a stew-pan and
cover with boiling water. Add a table-spoonful of vine-
gar, a table-spoonful of salt, two slices of carrot, and a
small onion. Boil gently for forty minutes, and serve
with any light fish sauce.
* Baked Halibut.
Use a piece of halibut weighing about four pounds.
Into a shallow pan put about a third of an inch of boil-
ing water, and lay the fish in it, black-skin side down.
In about two minutes, remove from the water, and
scrape off all the black part of the skin; then wash
quickly in cold water. Place a tin sheet in a dripping-
pan, and lay the fish upon it. Score the fish about half
an inch deep, and put long, narrow strips of salt pork
into each cut. Dredge well with salt, pepper, and flour.
Cover the bottom of the pan with boiling water, and
182 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
bake the fish in a very hot oven for one hour. Baste
every quarter of an hour with the gravy in the pan and
with salt, pepper, and flour ; but the last time omit the
gravy, and use two table-spoonfuls of melted butter and
a considerable quantity of flour. This will insure a rich
crust. If you wish a high flavor, put a bay leaf, a sprig
of parsley, half an onion, and two slices of carrot into
the dripping-pan before you begin the cooking. A clove
of garlic may be substituted for the onion, if you prefer.
Either tomato, Bechamel, shrimp, or oyster sauce is a
good accompaniment.
Baked Chicken Halibut
The fish should weigh about five pounds. After cut-
ting off the fins, wash it in cold water, and then dredge
lightly with salt and pepper. Make a dressing of a cup-
ful of cracker crumbs, a heaping table-spoonful of butter,
a teaspoonful of chopped green .parsley, half a table-
spoonful of salt, a quarter of a teaspoonful of pepper, a
teaspoonful of onion juice (obtained by peeling and grat-
ing an onion), and three-quarters of a cupful of cold water.
Mix together all the dry ingredients, and then add the
water. Stuff the halibut with this dressing, and sew up
the opening. Have a sheet of tin that will fit loosely
into a large baking-pan. Butter it well, and lay the
fish upon it. Spread soft butter over the fish, and
cover it with a large sheet of buttered paper. After
pouring about a cupful of hot water into the pan, place
it in the oven for an hour, basting the halibut four times
during the cooking with a mixture of a quarter of a
cupful of butter, a table-spoonful of salt, and half a cupful
of hot water. When the hour has passed, remove the
buttered paper, and, after slipping a large fork under
the sheet of tin, lift the fish from the pan on the tin.
Slide it carefully off upon a platter, and pour Hollan-
daise or Bechamel yellow sauce around it. Garnish with
parsley and lemons.
FISH. 183
* Halibut a la Creole.
Of fish, take a slice weighing about four pounds, and
use also a pint of stewed or canned tomatoes, a cupful
of water, a slice of onion, two table-spoonfuls of butter,
three cloves, and one table-spoonful of flour.
Put the tomato, water, cloves, and onion on to boil.
Mix the butter and flour, and stir into the sauce when it
boils. Add a teaspoonful of salt and a quarter of a tea-
spoonful of pepper ; and after cooking for ten minutes,
rub through a strainer into a bowl. Pour, into a deep
plate boiling water to the depth of half an inch, and lay
the fish in it for half a minute, black-skin side down.
Remove it from the water, and the black substance can
easily be scraped off. Wash the halibut in cold water,
and season it well with salt and pepper. Place a tin
sheet in a small, shallow pan, and lay the fish on it.
If you have no sheet, lay the fish on the bottom of the
pan ; but this should be avoided if possible, because the
fish cannot easily be removed whole after it has been
cooked. Pour into the pan about half of the tomato
sauce, and then set in a hot oven. Cook the fish for
three-quarters of an hour, basting three times with the
remainder of the tomato sauce. At serving-time slide
the halibut from the tin sheet upon a hot dish, and pour
over it the sauce remaining in the pan. Serve hot.
* Broiled Halibut.
The slices of halibut should be nearly an inch thick.
After seasoning slightly with salt and pepper, spreading
very lightly with soft butter, and dredging with flour,
broil for twelve minutes. Serve on a hot dish, with maitre
d'hotel butter spread on it. This dressing is made by
beating together four table-spoonfuls of butter, one of
lemon juice, one of chopped green parsley, half a tea-
spoonful of salt, and a quarter of a teaspoonful of pepper.
184 MISS PAKLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
The sauce is capital for any kind of broiled or fried fish
or meat.
Carbonado of Halibut or White Fish.
The materials required are : two pounds of halibut,
two eggs, almost a pint of dried bread-crumbs, four
table-spoonfuls of butter, one teaspoonful of onion juice,
two teaspoonfuls of salt, and one-fourth of a teaspoonful
of pepper.
Skin the halibut, and cut it into pieces about three
inches square and half an inch thick. Put the butter,
salt, pepper, and onion juice in a deep plate, and set the
plate on the back part of the range, to melt the butter.
Beat the eggs in another plate until light, and put a
part of the crumbs in a third plate. Dip the pieces of
fish in melted butter, then in the egg, and finally in the
crumbs. Now lay them in a large dripping-pan that has
been buttered on the bottom. When all have been
properly treated, sprinkle the remainder of the egg and
butter over the carbonades. Cook in a hot oven for
twelve minutes, and serve with Hollandaise, Tartar, or
inaltre d'hotel sauce.
Any fish from which solid slices of flesh can be cut
may be used for a carbonade.
Baked Fillets of Halibut, Cream Sauce.
Have three pounds of fresh halibut cut into thin
slices. Remove the skin from the slices, and then cut
them into narrow strips. Cut a large onion into thin
slices, and spread over the fish. Now sprinkle with the
juice of half a lemon, and season slightly with salt and
pepper. Cover the dish closely, and let it stand for an
hour ; then remove the onion.
Have half a cupful of butter washed free of salt. Put
half of this quantity into a frying-pan, and when it has
become hot, put in enough fish to cover the bottom of
FISH. 185
the pan. Cook for three minutes on one side, and then
turn and cook for as many minutes on the other,
being careful when turning not to break the pieces.
Take up the fish, and place it in a gratin dish or a stone-
china platter, arranging it neatly on the sides of the
dish, and leaving an open space in the centre. When
all the fish has been fried, cover it with a sauce made as
follows :
Rub together in a small saucepan four table-spoonfuls
of butter and three of flour. Add to this mixture a
slice of onion, a slice of carrot, a slight grating of nut-
meg, a bay leaf, a sprig of parsley, and one cupful and a
half of white stock (water in which a fowl has been
boiled will do). Simmer gently for thirty minutes;
then add a cupful of cream, and salt and pepper to suit
the taste. Boil up once, and strain.
Of course, when the sauce is poured over the fish,
some of it will flow into the centre of the dish ; but that
is not an objection. Place the dish of fish and sauce in
the oven for twelve minutes.
Boil a quart of potato balls in clear water for twelve
minutes ; then drain off the water, and season the balls
with salt, pepper, and butter. When the fish is taken
from the oven, pour the balls into the centre of the dish,
and sprinkle a table-spoonful of chopped parsley over
them. Garnish the sides of the dish with sprigs of
parsley. Serve without delay.
Fillets of Halibut a la Poulette.
This is a nice Lenten dish. It requires three pounds
of halibut, half a cupful of butter, two large onions, the
juice of a lemon, three hard-boiled eggs, and small
quantities of flour, salt, and pepper.
After freeing the fish of skin and bones, cut it into
slices about half an inch thick, and cut these into strips
about three inches long and two wide. Sprinkle with
lemon juice, salt, and pepper, and lay a thin slice of
186 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
onion upon each strip. Cover the fish with a large dish,
and put away for half an hour. At the end of that time
melt the butter in a soup-plate, and after removing the
onion from the fish, dip the strips into the butter. Eoll
them up, and pin each piece with a wooden toothpick ;
then dip them into the butter once more, and after
placing them in a tin pan, dredge thickly with flour.
Bake for twenty minutes in a hot oven. Meanwhile cut
the whites of the eggs into rings, and grate the yolks
through a sieve. When the fish is cooked, spread the
rolls upon a hot dish, remove the little skewers, and
pour white sauce into the dish. Sprinkle the grated
yolks over the fish, and use the whites for a garnish.
Halibut au Gratin.
Use a pint of cooked halibut, free of skin and bones, a
cupful and a half of cream or milk, one table-spoonful of
flour, two of butter, one-fourth of a teaspoon ful of
pepper, one teaspoonful and a half of salt, half a tea-
spoonful of onion juice, and eight table-spoonfuls of
grated bread crumbs.
Break the fish into flakes with a fork, and sprinkle
over it half of the pepper and one teaspoonful of the
salt. Mix lightly with the fork. Put the milk or cream
in a small saucepan, and heat it to the boiling-point. Mean-
while beat together the flour and one table-spoonful of
the butter, and stir into the boiling milk. Stir for one
minute ; then add the onion juice and pepper. Take
from the fire, and put about half a spoonful of the sauce
into each of six escalop shells. Now put in a thin layer
of fish and another layer of sauce;
then a second layer of fish and still
another one of sauce. Finally sprinkle
Halibut in au Es- the grated bread crumbs over each
calop Shell. dish> Melt the second table-spoonful
of butter, and sprinkle it over the crumbs. Place the
escalop shells in a large pan, and put into a rather hot
FISH. 187
oven for fifteen minutes. Serve immediately at the end
of that time.
Halibut a la Maltre d'H6tel.
Use two slices of halibut weighing about three pounds,
the juice of one lemon, one table-spoonful of chopped
parsley, half a teaspoonful of pepper, one table-spoonful
of salt, two table-spoonfuls of butter, one of flour, and
one pint of white stock or water.
Lay the slices of halibut in a flat dish, and sprinkle
them on one side with one-half of the salt, pepper,
lemon juice, and parsley. Turn the slices over, and
sprinkle with the remaining seasoning. Let the fish
stand in a cold place for half an hour. At the end of
that time mix the flour and butter in a small saucepan.
Pour on this mixture a pint of boiling water. Put the
saucepan on the fire, and stir the contents until they
boil.
Butter a flat tin sheet and lay it, buttered side up, in
a large dripping-pan. Put the slices of halibut on this
sheet, and then cover them with the thickened water.
Pat the pan in a hot oven, and cook for twenty minutes,
basting three times with the gravy in the pan.
When the fish is done, and the pan has been taken
from the oven, lift the tin sheet from the pan and care-
fully slide the fish into a warm platter. Garnish with
parsley. Serve Hollandaise sauce in a separate dish.
Breaded Turbans of Flounder.
Fillet three flounders. Season the fillets with half a
teaspoonful of pepper and three teaspoonfuls of salt.
Now dip them into four table-spoonfuls of melted butter ;
then roll them up, and fasten with wooden toothpicks.
Have two beaten eggs in a deep plate. Put one turban
at a time on the plate, and cover every part with the egg,
afterward rolling it in bread crumbs. When all are
188 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
breaded, arrange them in the frying-basket, but do not
crowd them. Fry in fat for seven minutes. Drain them,
and after taking out the skewers, arrange the turbans in
a circle on a warm dish. Fill the centre of the circle
with parsley, and serve at once. Serve Tartar or re-
inoulade sauce in a separate dish.
Any kind of delicate fish may be filleted and cooked
in this manner. Two table-spoonfuls of lemon juice and
a table-spoonful of chopped parsley may be mixed with
the melted butter.
Turbans of Flounder with Anchovies.
For twelve turbans use three small flounders, each
weighing about a pound and a half, half a cupful of
butter, three teaspoonfuls of salt, half a teaspoonful oi
pepper, about three table-spoonfuls of flour, besides the
materials mentioned in the rule for anchovy force-
meat in the chapter on " Garnishes."
Fillet the flounders as already directed, and season the
fish with the salt and pepper. Spread the force-meat on
the fillets ; then roll up, and fasten with a wooden tooth-
pick, as illustrated on page 174. Melt the butter in a
deep plate. Roll the turbans in the butter and then in
the flour, and place them in a shallow pan. Bake in a
hot oven for twenty minutes. Arrange in a circle on a
hot dish, and fill the centre with potato balls saute".
Pour anchovy sauce around the fish, and serve very hot.
Turbans of Fish with Oysters.
Use any kind of small fish from which long, thin fillets
can be obtained. Make an oyster force-meat, and pro-
ceed as for turbans of flounder. Serve with a cream sauce
or Bechamel yellow sauce. The centre may be garnished
with quenelles of any kind of fish. A part of the oyster
force-meat may be used for this purpose.
FISH. 189
Baked Fillets of Flounder, in Wine.
Allow for eight persons four pounds of flounders, four
table-spoonfuls of sherry, half a cupful of butter, one
table-spoonful of onion juice, one of lemon juice, a level
table-spoonful of salt, and half a teaspoonful of pepper.
Skin and bone the fish, and cut it into small fillets.
Put the butter and other ingredients into a soup-plate,
and set this plate on the back part of the range where
the butter will melt gradually. As soon as it becomes
melted dip the fillets into the dish, one at a time, being
careful to cover all parts with the mixture. Lay the fish
in a clean, smooth baking-pan, and cook in a hot oven for
ten minutes, basting with what remains of the butter and
seasoning. When the fish is done, slip a broad knife-
blade under each fillet, and transfer it gently to a hot
platter. Pour all the gravy that remains into three gills
of white sauce, and pour this sauce over the fish. Serve
very hot.
White Sauce. To make three gills of sauce, use two
gills of chicken stock, one gill of cream, two table-spoon-
fuls of butter, one generous table-spoonful of flour, one
small slice of onion, a thin slice of carrot, a bay leaf, a
slight grating of nutmeg, a sprig of parsley, a level tea-
spoonful of salt, and one-fourth of a teaspoonful of
pepper.
First mix the butter and flour. Add all the other
ingredients mentioned above except the cream, and then
place the dish over the fire, and stir the mixture until
it begins to boil. Set it back where it will simmer for
twenty minutes ; then add the cream, and let the sauce
boil up once. Strain it, and add the gravy from the fish-
pan.
Fillets of Flounder au Gratin.
Use one large flounder or two small ones j at any
rate, have five pounds before cutting. With a small,
190 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
sharp-pointed vegetable-knife, cut through the skin all
round the fish, lengthwise, first on one side and then on
the other. Now loosen the skin at the head, and draw it
gently from the flesh. You will be obliged to use the
knife occasionally. When one side has been skinned,
turn the fish and skin the other. Next slip the knife
between the flesh and bone, and remove all the flesh in
two pieces. Cut into small pieces, perhaps four inches
long and three wide. Spread a table-spoonful of soft
butter over a gratin dish, and lay these pieces or fillets in
the dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and keep in a
cool place until the time for cooking.
Make a pint of sauce in the following manner: Mix
one table-spoonful of flour and three of butter, and add
to the mixture a slice of onion, a bay leaf, a pint of
chicken stock, and salt and pepper to suit your taste.
Simmer gently for twenty minutes ; then add a table-
spoonful of lemon juice.
Strain the sauce, and pour it over the fish. Have
ready a teacupful of fine dried breadcrumbs. Season
them lightly with salt and pepper, and sprinkle them
over the sauce and fish. Put the dish into a hot oven,
and bake for twenty minutes ; then serve immediately in
the same dish.
Fried Flounder.
Scrape the flounder, and then cut off the head and fins.
Wash quickly in cold water, and then wipe dry. Season
generously with salt, a teaspoonful to two pounds of
fish. Now cover with the beaten egg, and then with fine
bread crumbs, being careful to have every part well coated
with the egg and crumbs. Fry in fat for seven minutes,
and drain on brown paper. Serve on a warm napkin,
with a garnish of fried parsley. Tartar sauce should be
provided in a small fancy dish.
FISH. 191
* Boiled Striped Bass.
Prepare the water for the bass the same as for the red
snapper, omitting, however, the vinegar. Cut the fins
from the fish. See that it is free of scales ; then wash it
quickly in cold water. Lower it into the fish-kettle, and
move the kettle forward where the water will boil. As
soon as it begins to boil, move back where it will just
bubble for twenty minutes, if the fish be under three
pounds, and for twenty-five minutes, if it be over three
pounds. When done, lift it from the water and drain
well. Now slip it on a warm dish, and serve with any
of the following-named sauces : Dutch, Bernaise, remou-
lade, anchovy, or tomato.
Sheep's-head, black bass, lake trout, white-fish, etc., all
may be boiled and served the same as striped bass.
Breaded Fillet of Bass.
Get small bass for this dish. The striped kind is the
best, but black bass is very good. Fish weighing about
a pound and a half will give handsome fillets.
Clean and fillet the fish (see page 172). Season the
fillets generously with salt and lightly with pepper.
Now dip in beaten egg and then in bread crumbs, being
careful that every part is covered with egg and crumb.
Place in the frying-basket, but do not let the pieces
touch. Fry in fat for three minutes and a half. On
taking from the basket, drain on brown paper. Serve
very hot with Tartar sauce.
Black-fish, rock bass, halibut, flounders, white-fish,
etc., may be filleted and prepared in the same manner.
Broiled Smelts.
For twelve large smelts use three table-spoonfuls- of
butter, one of lemon juice, one of salt, half a teaspoonful
of pepper, and some flour. Put the butter, salt, pepper,
\
192 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
and lemon juice in a deep plate, and set on the back part
of the stove where the butter will melt slowly. Have
about three table-spoonfuls of flour in another plate.
Wash and wipe the smelts ; then roll them in the melted
butter and seasoning, and lightly in the flour. Lay them
in a double-broiler. When all are done, cook over clear
coals for seven minutes. Arrange on a warm dish, and
serve with remoulade sauce, the sauce to be in a
separate dish.
Stuffed Smelts.
Clean a dozen and a half large smelts, and season them
with salt. Stuff with oyster force-meat, not filling them
more than two-thirds. Now roll them in melted butter,
and then in fine bread crumbs. Lay them in a shallow
pan, and bake in a hot oven for fifteen minutes, basting
once with soft butter. Serve on a warm dish with
Bernaise sauce.
Stuffed smelts may be breaded and fried, in which case
serve with Tartar sauce.
Turbot.
In some countries this is thought to be the choicest
of flat fish. When not too large, it certainly is very
delicate. It has this advantage over most white fish : it
improves by being kept a day or two after it is killed.
A fish weighing from four to eight pounds is a good size
for boiling, baking, or filleting. Turbots are found in
the market from two pounds up to twenty. When they
weigh more than ten pounds, the flesh generally is tough.
In choosing a turbot, take one with yellowish-white
flesh. The meat of a bluish-white fish will not be so
good. Turbot, like halibut (which is frequently sold for
turbot), has a dark upper skin, while the lower skin is
white. Sometimes the under skin is marred by red
spots. These can be removed by rubbing lemon juice
and salt on them.
FISH. 19o
No matter how this fish is cooked, it always should be
soaked for at least half an hour in salted water before
being prepared for cooking, in order to remove the slime.
The skin becomes thick and gelatinous on cooking, and
is thought by epicures to be a choice morsel ; but it is
rather indigestible food. The fins, too, are gelatinous,
and they are left on the fish when it is boiled.
* Boiled Turbot.
Wash the fish carefully, and let it stand for one hour
in salted cold water, one table-spoonful of salt to each
pint of water. Now rinse the fish in fresh water. With
a sharp knife, cut the black skin in a straight line from
head to tail. This will prevent the white skin from
breaking.
Turbots are so broad that if the particular fish about
to be cooked be a large one, it will not fit into a common
fish-kettle. Few people have a turbot-kettle, and when
there is not one at hand, a deep milk-pan will answer
very well. Put a round, flat pot-cover in the bottom of
the pan, or, better still, have a round piece of tin made
'to fit loosely in the milk-pan.
For a fish weighing six pounds, put into the pan
enough boiling water to cover the turbot, two table-
spoonfuls of salt, and the juice of two lemons. When
the fish is put in, have the black side down. Watch the
kettle until the water begins to boil; then skim the
liquid, and set the kettle back where the water will only
bubble for half an hour. At the end of that time lift
the tin, with the fish on it, out of the water, and drain
well. Have a napkin spread smooth on a broad dish,
and slip the fish on to it, being careful to avoid marring
the shape. Garnish with parsley and sliced lemons, and
serve with lobster, shrimp, Hollandaise, or Bernaise
sauce. When nasturtium leaves and blossoms can be
obtained, they make a pretty garnish for this dish.
18
194 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Turbot au Gratin.
With the cold turbot left from a meal a most appetiz-
ing dish can be made for luncheon or dinner. For a
small dish use one pint of fish, free of skin and bones,
one generous pint of grated bread crumbs, half a pint of
milk, one gill of stock or water, three table-spoonfuls of
butter, one of flour, one scant table-spoonful of salt, one-
third of a teaspoonful of pepper, one table-spoonful of
grated Parmesan cheese, one bay leaf, one small slice of
carrot, a slice of onion about the size of half a dollar,
and a tiny bit of mace.
Mix the flour and two table-spoonfuls of the butter in
a small stew-pan ; and when the mixture is smooth and
creamy, add the onion, carrot, bay leaf, mace, and water.
Put on the fire, and simmer gently for a quarter of an hour.
At the end of that time add the milk and half the salt
and pepper. Let the liquid boil up once ; then strain it.
While the sauce is cooking, prepare the crumbs.
After grating them, put them in the oven in a large
dripping-pan. Watch them carefully, stirring frequently
until they turn a delicate brown ; then take them from
the oven.
Now put the remaining butter on the fire in a frying-
pan, and as soon as it becomes hot, add the crumbs.
Stir over the fire until they become crisp, which will be
in about two minutes. Now add the cheese to the
strained sauce. Put a thin layer of this sauce in the
bottom of a gratin dish, a plated dish or a fire-proof
china dish ; then add a layer of fish, dredged with salt
and pepper ; next put in another layer of sauce, then a
second layer of fish, and conclude by pouring the re-
maining sauce into the dish. Sprinkle the browned
crumbs over the top. Place the dish in a moderately
hot oven for a quarter of an hour. Serve hot.
Turbot may be baked, broiled, fried, or filleted the
same as bass or flounder.
FISH. 195
Codfish Cutlets.
Use one table-spoonful of lemon juice, three of butter,
one of salt, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper, one
teaspoonful of chopped parsley, one large egg, or two
small ones, about a large cupful of dried bread crumbs,
two slices of fish about an inch thick, and cut from the
middle of a large fresh cod.
Cut off the fins, and cut each slice in halves. Wipe
all dry. Put the butter, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and
chopped parsley in a deep plate, and set the plate on the
back part of the range, that the butter may get melted.
Beat the egg with a fork in another deep plate.
When the butter is melted, dip a slice of fish into the
mixture, then into the beaten egg, being careful to cover
every part, and then roll in crumbs. Lay this slice on a
clean plate, and treat the others in the same way -, then
set all away in a cool place until the time for frying.
Cook in the fry ing-basket for four minutes, and serve
with tomato sauce.
Haddock a la Creme.
Use a fish weighing five or six pounds. After cut-
ting off the head, wash the fish and put it into boiling
water enough to cover ; and after adding a table-spoonful
of salt and one of vinegar, cook the fish slowly for
twenty minutes.
In the mean time make the sauce. Put a quart of
milk, a small slice of onion, and a sprig of parsley on to
boil. Rub two large table-spoonfuls of butter to a cream,
and add two table-spoonfuls of flour to it; and after
beating the mixture until perfectly light and creamy,
stir it into the boiling milk, and cook for five minutes.
Season well with salt and pepper, and skim out the
onion and parsley.
When the fish has been cooked for twenty minutes,
lift it gently from the water and scrape the skin from
196 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
one side j then lay it carefully upon a large stone-china
platter, or a large gratin dish, if you have one, and
remove the skin from the other side. Pick out all fche
small bones you can see, and then take out the backbone,
starting at the neck, and working slowly down toward
the tail. This part of the work must be done very care-
fully, in order to preserve the shape of the fish. Drain off
uny water that may have lodged in the dish, and then
dredge the haddock lightly with salt and pepper, and
pour the sauce over it.
Have at hand eight large potatoes, mashed light, and
seasoned with salt and pepper, two table-spoonfuls of
butter, and half a cupful of hot milk. Rub these in-
gredients together through a colander, and heap the
mixture lightly around the edge of the dish on which
the fish lies. Brown slightly in the oven, which will
take from ten to fifteen minutes, and serve at once.
Escaloped Pish.
If provision is to be made for six persons, use a quart
of boiled and flaked fish (any kind of white fish will do),
a quart of milk, three table-spoonfuls of butter, two of
flour, two table-spoonfuls of Parmesan cheese, one tea-
spoonful of onion juice, two level table-spoonfuls of salt,
half a teaspoonful of pepper, and one cupful and a half
of grated bread crumbs.
Put the butter in a frying-pan, and set it on the stove
to get melted. When it becomes melted, add the flour,
and stir the mixture until it is smooth and frothy.
Gradually add the milk, stirring all the while. Continue
the stirring until the mixture boils ; then place it where
it will simply simmer during the next two minutes. At
the end of that time add the cheese, onion juice, half
the pepper, and one teaspoonful of the salt.
Sprinkle the remainder of the salt and pepper on the
flaked fish. Put a layer of the sauce in an escalop dish.
FISH. 197
then a layer of fish, next a second layer of sauce, after-
ward the remainder of the fish, and finally put in a
layer of sauce. Sprinkle the crumbs over the sauce, and
set the dish in a moderately hot oven for twenty
minutes. The crumbs may be made very crisp if an
extra table-spoonful of butter be melted and sprinkled
over them just before the dish is put into the oven.
* Here is a simpler rule : Begin by freeing from skin
and tones a pint and a half of cold baked or boiled fish.
Season it with one-eighth of a teaspoonful of pepper
and a teaspoonful and a half of salt. Next make a sauce
with a pint of milk, a generous table-spoonful of butter,
and one of flour, and a piece of onion about the size of a
quarter of a dollar. Put the milk and onion on to boil.
Rub the butter and flour till a cream is formed, and stir
this into the milk as soon as it begins to boil. Cook
five minutes longer, and season with salt and pepper.
After removing the onion, put alternate layers of the
sauce and fish into an escalop dish, having three of
sauce and two of fish. The last will, of course, be one
of the sauce, and upon it should be sprinkled dry bread-
crumbs, three-fourths of a cupful. Bake for about
twenty minutes in a moderate oven.
*Fish R6chauff.
Free a quantity of cold fish of skin and bones, and for
each pint allow half a pint of egg sauce and a quart of
mashed potato. If there be not enough sauce, add a
sufficient quantity of milk to make up the proper allow-
ance. Put a thin layer of potato in an escalop dish.
Season the fish well with salt and pepper, and lay it
upon the potato. Pour the sauce into the dish, and
cover with the remaining potato. Spread a table-spoon-
ful of melted butter over the potato, and then put the
dish into a hot oven for twenty minutes.
198 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
* Salt Fish in Cream, with Puree of Potatoes.
For the pure*e use six potatoes of medium size, a
generous half-cupful of hot milk, one table-spoonful of
butter, and a teaspoonful of salt.
For the rest of the dish use enough fish to make a
pint and a half (about a pound and a quarter) when it
is flaked, one pint of milk, two table-spoonfuls of but-
ter, one of flour, the yolk of an egg, and one-third of
a teaspoonful of white pepper.
Wash the fish, and put it to soak (in one piece) in
cold water for eight or ten hours. At the end of that
time pour off this water ; then cover with fresh cold
water, and place on the fire. When the water reaches
the boiling-point, draw the stew-pan back where it will
keep hot, without boiling, for one hour. At the end of
that time pour off the water and break the fish into
flakes, freeing it of skin and bones. Put it in a saucepan
with the milk, and cook for twenty minutes without
letting it boil. Now beat the butter and flour together,
and stir into the dish of fish. Cook for ten minutes
longer ; then add the pepper, and some salt if it be
needed ; and also add the yolk of the egg, beaten with
two table-spoonfuls of water. Stir for half a minute,
and then pour into a border of puree of potatoes.
To Make the Puree. Cover the potatoes with boiling
water, and place them on the fire just before putting on
the fish and milk. Cook for half an hour ; then drain off the
water, and mash the potatoes. Add the seasoning to them,
and arrange on a warm dish in the form of a border.
* Salt Fish and Eggs in Cream.
This is a pretty dish for breakfast. It is made of a
pint of salt fish, a pint of milk (cream is, however,
better), half a dozen eggs, two generous table-spoonfuls
of butter, one table-spoonful of flour, and salt and pepper
in quantities to suit one's taste.
FISH. 199
Free the fish of skin and bones ; then wash it care-
fully, and tear it into small pieces. Let it stand over
night in a pint of cold water, and in the morning set the
basin which contains it on the stove in another of hot
water, and let the fish cook for twenty minutes or half
an hour. Meanwhile put the eggs into another basin,
and after covering them with boiling water, cover the
basin and set it where the water will keep hot for ten
minutes without boiling.
During this time put the milk on the stove in a sauce-
pan. Stir the butter and flour together, and stir the
mixture into the milk when it begins to boil. Season
with salt and pepper, and then set the saucepan back for
two minutes where the heat is so slight that the milk
will only bubble.
Turn the fish into the strainer, to drain off all the
water ; then put it into the cream sauce, and cook five
minutes longer. While it is cooking, transfer the eggs
from the basin of hot water to some cold water, and then
break the shells and remove them carefully. Cover the
eggs with a napkin, to keep them warm. Pour the fish
and cream upon a warm platter, and lay the eggs in a
circle on top. If care has been taken to keep them hot
without boiling, they will be soft and digestible. Serve
the dish without delay.
* Salt Fish in Cream.
After tearing a pint of salt fish into bits, cover it with
water, and let it soak over night. In the morning pour
off the water, and add a pint of milk to the fish. Heat
slowly arid keep hot (without boiling) for half an hour.
Rub together one large table-spoonful of butter and one
of flour, and stir in with the fish and milk. Put the
dish where it will simmer for ten minutes. Season, if
necessary, with salt and pepper. It is an improvement
to add two well-beaten eggs, and serve the fish in a
200 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
border of mashed potatoes. Finished in this way, the
dish is a good one for luncheon.
* Fish Toast.
Use six small slices of toast, one pint of cold cooked
fish, freed of skin and bones, and torn into shreds with
two forks, three gills of milk, two table-spoonfuls of but-
ter, the yolks of two eggs, one teaspoonful of flour,
one-fourth of a teaspoonful of white pepper, a generous
teaspoonful of salt, and one teaspoonful of lemon juice.
Put half a pint of milk in the double-boiler and set it
on the fire. Mix half of the remaining milk with the
flour, and stir the mixture into the boiling milk. Cook
for five minutes ; then add the fish, salt, and pepper, and
cook for five minutes longer. Beat the yolks of the
eggs well, and add the rest of the cold milk to them.
Stir this mixture into the dish containing the fish mix-
ture, and take the latter from the fire at once. Now add
the lemon juice, and spread the prepared fish on the
bread, which should be toasted and buttered while the
fish is heating. Serve very hot.
* Baked Salt Mackerel, Cream Sauce.
Wash a salt mackerel thoroughly, and soak it over
night in about three quarts of cold water. In the morn-
ing lay it on its back in a shallow baking-pan, and pour a
pint of milk over it. Bake for twenty minutes in a
moderately hot oven, stirring into the milk, at the end
of a quarter of an hour, a level table-spoonful of flour, a
large table-spoonful of butter, and one-eighth of a tea-
spoonful of pepper, all rubbed together till a smooth
paste is formed. At serving-time, carefully transfer
the fish to a warm platter, and pour the sauce over it.
* Spiced Salmon.
Free of skin and bones any salmon left from a dinner,
and put it into a deep dish or a bowl. Next prepare a
FISH. 201
marinade, allowing for each pint of fish the following-
named ingredients : a gill of vinegar, two table-spoonfuls
of lemon juice, two cloves, a small piece of stick cinna-
mon, a bay leaf, a teaspoonful of salt, and one-eighth of
a teaspoonful of pepper. Put these articles on the stove
in a covered saucepan, and as soon as the mixture begins
to boil, pour it over the salmon. Cover the dish and set
it in a cool place. This gives a nice relish, which will
keep for a week.
Any other rich fish may be treated the same as
salmon.
* Broiled Smoked Salmon.
Even so simple a dish as this is often improperly
prepared. For six persons take a piece of smoked sal-
mon about six inches long and four broad, remembering
that the fish is very rich. Wash and drain, and broil
slowly for twelve minutes. Place on a warm dish, and
spread a table-spoonful of butter on it.
* Broiled Salt Fish.
At first thought it may seem absurd to give a rule for
broiling a bit of salt cod ; nevertheless, few people cook
this fish in the best way. It is a delicious relish if prop-
erly prepared. Use a piece cut from the thick part of
the cod. Wash it well, and let it stand in cold water
for twenty minutes ; then wipe it dry, and broil over
a moderate fire for ten or twelve minutes. Place on a
warm dish, and spread butter over it with a generous
hand, cutting the fish a little here and there, so that the
butter may penetrate all parts of it.
* Dried Sprats.
These little fish are sold for ten cents a bunch. They
make a nice relish for luncheon or supper. Put them in
a bowl, and cover with boiling water. Let them stand
202 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
ten minutes ; then skin them, and wipe dry. Broil over
clear coals for eight minutes. Put them on a warm dish,
spread a little butter on them, and serve.
. .
* Smoked Herring.
Prepare the herring in the same manner as the dried
sprats.
* Halibut Fishballs.
For six persons use two cupfuls of cold boiled halibut,
four or five potatoes of medium size, an egg, two table-
spoonfuls of butter, one teaspoonful of salt, one-third of
a teaspoonful of white pepper.
Chop the fish fine. Put the potatoes into boiling
water, and cook them for half an hour ; then pour off the
water, and mash the potatoes until light and fine. Add
the fish and seasoning, and finally the egg, well beaten.
Form the mixture into small balls; and after putting
these into a fry ing-basket, plunge them into boiling fat.
Cook until brown, say about two minutes.
If, instead of making balls of the mixture, one add
one-fourth of a cupful of cream or milk to it, form it into
flat cakes, and cook these in a frying-pan, with either
pork fat or butter enough to prevent sticking, a very
palatable dish will be the result. It will take longer to
cook these cakes than it does to cook fishballs, but they
will be delicate, and not so much fat will be required as
is needed for the immersion of fishballs.
* Fish Cakes.
To make these cakes one must use eight potatoes of
good size, one cupful and a half of raw salt cod, which
has been shred rather fine (do not soak it), one egg, one
heaping table-spoonful of butter, one-eighth of a tea-
spoonful of pepper, half a gill of milk, one-eighth of a
pound of salt pork, and salt enough to suit your taste as
the work goes on.
FISH. 203
Pare the potatoes, and put them into a stew-pan of
good size ; then rinse the fish, and put it on top of the
potatoes. Cover with boiling water, and cook for half an
hour ; then pour off all the water, and inash both fish
and potatoes until fine and light. Add the seasoning,
butter, milk, and egg. Cut the pork into thin slices, and
putting it into a frying-pan, cook it until brown and
crisp. Form the fish mixture into small, thin cakes,
perhaps two inches and a half in diameter. Eemove the
pork from the frying-pan, and put these cakes into the
fat. When they get brown on one side, turn them, and
brown the other side. When all have been fried, serve
them on a hot platter with the slices of pork for a
garnish.
If you do not like the taste of pork the cakes may be
fried in three table-spoonfuls of butter.
Fish Croquettes.
Free of skin and bones a pint of cold boiled fresh fish,
and tear it into .shreds. Add to it a pint of hot mashed
potato, a table-spoonful of butter, half a cupful of hot
milk, a well-beaten egg, one-third of a teaspoonful of
pepper, a generous teaspoonful of salt, and half a tea-
spoonful of chopped parsley. Mix thoroughly, and set
away to cool. When cold, shape into cylinders, cones,
or balls; then dip in a beaten egg, and roll in fine
bread-crumbs. Just before serving-time place the cro-
quettes in a frying-basket, and plunge into boiling fat.
Cook for two minutes, and serve as soon as they have
been drained.
If the croquettes be wanted for breakfast, all the
labor except frying may be done the previous day.
Fried Frogs' Legs.
Wash the legs in cold water, and let them drain in a
colander ; then season well with salt, pepper, and lemon
juice. For a dozen legs, beat two eggs until they are well
204 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
broken, and season with salt and pepper. Dip the legs
into the beaten eggs and then into dried bread crumbs,
and, placing them in a fry ing-basket, plunge into boiling
fat. Cook for five minutes, and serve very hot. Frogs'
legs are suitable fqr breakfast or luncheon, or for an
entree at dinner. In the latter case they should be
served with Tartar sauce.
Fried Shad Roe.
For six persons use the roe from two fishes. Wash
them, and put them in a stew-pan with one table-spoonful
of salt and enough boiling water to cover them. Cook
for ten minutes, and then put them into a bowl of cold
water for an equal period. On removing them from
the water at the end of that time cut them in slices
about half an inch thick. Sprinkle these slices with
one table-spoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of pep-
per, and the juice of one lemon. Now dip in beaten
egg and then in bread crumbs, and fry in lard for five
minutes.
Shad Roe Baked with Cream Sauce.
Boil and cool the roe in the same manner as for frying.
Put two table-spoonfuls of butter in a frying-pan, and
set the pan on the stove. When the butter becomes hot,
add two level table-spoonfuls of flour. Stir until the
flour becomes brown ; then draw the pan back to a
cooler place, and gradually pour into it one pint of milk,
stirring all the time. Add a teaspoonful of salt and
half a teaspoonful of pepper. Boil up once ; then pour
into a bowl, and set in a warm place.
Butter a tin plate, and place the roe on it. Season
well with salt and pepper. Pour four table-spoonfuls of
the sauce over the roe, and then bake them in a mod-
erately hot oven for three-quarters of an hour, basting
every fifteen minutes with the sauce and dredging lightly
FISH. 205
with salt and pepper. Five minutes before the roe are
done, pour upon the plate any of the sauce that may
remain in the bowl at that time. Serve on a warm
dish.
Shad Roe Baked in Tomato Sauce.
Boil and cool the roe as previously directed. Put
into a stew-pan one cupful of tomato, one cupful of stock
or water, one teaspoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of
pepper, and a bit of onion about as big as a dime. Boil
for ten minutes.
Put two table-spoonfuls of butter into a frying-pan
and on the stove, and as soon as it becomes hot, add one
table-spoonful of flour. Stir until smooth and frothy,
and then turn into the cooking tomato. Cook five
minutes longer, and then rub through a strainer. Now
proceed exactly as with roe baked with cream sauce.
Various kinds of roe may be prepared in the same
way as the shad roe.
Oysters.
Oysters are at their best in cold weather. The breed-
ing season begins about the first of May, and the fish
become soft and milky. It is not until the weather turns
cold that they grow firm and plump again. Canned
oysters are, of course, as good at one time as another,
because they are preserved when at their best.
Oysters are sold in some places wholly by measure,
and in others both by measure and by number. When
sold by measure, they are usually bought with the juice
that was taken from the shells, and frequently water is
added to this, to fill up the measure ; these are called
liquid oysters. Solid oysters have very little juice with
them.
When oysters are sold by the dozen, they are usually
divided into several grades. " Counts " are the largest
206 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
oysters, and are suitable for frying, broiling, stuffing, etc.
They bring the highest price, of course. " Selects " also
are large oysters, coming next to counts. They are called
"culls" in some places. "Straights" are the oysters
taken as they come, large and small. The smallest
oysters are called stewing oysters.
In cooking oysters, few people consider how delicate
they are and how easily spoiled. The seasonings used
should be few and of the most delicate kind ; and no
matter what the mode of preparation be, the cooking
should never be prolonged after the oysters have become
plump and their edges curl. Too much cooking makes
them shrink and grow tough.
In planning for a dish of oysters in almost any form,
nearly all the work may be performed some time pre-
vious to the meal. The cooking should not be done
until everything has been so arranged that the dish may
be sent to the table the moment it is finished. The
foundation of an oyster soup may be made a considerable
time before dinner, and the oysters and liquor added
later. Then with creamed oysters, the cream may be
prepared, the oysters heated to the boiling-point in their
own liquor, drained, and set aside for half an hour, if
need be, without injury, provided they are not kept hot ;
and at serving-time it will only be necessary to add
them to the hot sauce. Oysters may be breaded and put
away, in a cool place, for a long time before they are
fried ; but they should be eaten just as soon as they are
cooked in order to taste them in perfection. It is the
same with escaloped oysters ; they may be prepared con-
siderably in advance of the cooking, yet must be served
immediately after coming from the oven in order t(
obtain the greatest satisfaction from them. It is surpris
ing that people take so much pains in cooking oysters
and then fail of placing them upon the table with the
least possible delay. A last word of caution : avoid
over-cooking.
FISH. 207
To Serve Raw Oysters.
Kaw oysters are served on the half-shell, in oyster
plates, and in a block of ice. Serve each person with
five or six oysters and a quarter of a lemon. Pass thin
slices of buttered brown or graham bread. Be sure that
the butter is spread very thin on the bread.
Little-neck clams take the place of oysters during the
hot weather, and are served in the same manner.
* Stewed Oysters.
Drain all the liquor from a quart of oysters, and,
putting it into a stew-pan, let it heat slowly, being care-
ful that it does not get burned. When it has been
heated to the boiling-point, skim it carefully. Mean-
while heat a quart of milk in a double-boiler ; and when
it begins to boil, add the skimmed liquor, the oysters,
two table-spoonfuls of butter, and salt and pepper to suit
the taste. Let the stew boil up once, and then serve.
Many people think that a few say four table-
spoonfuls of powdered cracker improve the stew. If
any cracker be used, add it when the oysters are put in.
Oysters Saute.
After draining two dozen large oysters, season them
with salt and pepper and roll in fine cracker crumbs.
Put four table-spoonfuls of butter into a cup, and let
the cup stand in a basin of boiling water until the butter
becomes melted, clear on top, with sediment collected
on the bottom of the cup. Pour half of the clear butter
into a frying-pan, and when it gets very hot put in
enough oysters to cover the bottom of the pan. When
they are brown on one side, turn them and brown the
other side. Be careful that they do not get burned.
Serve very hot on crisp toast. Now put the remainder
of the clear butter into the frying-pan, and cook the rest
of the oysters.
208 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
The sediment that is left on the bottom of the cup
may be used with drippings or lard for shortening. Its
presence in butter increases the danger of burning;
therefore it should always be separated from the butter
before the time for frying.
Curried Oysters.
Lay out a solid quart of oysters, half a pint of cream,
two table-spoonfuls of butter, one generous table-spoonful
of flour, one teaspoonful of curry-powder, half a teaspoon-
ful of chopped onion, and some salt and pepper.
Put the oysters into a stew-pan, and heat them to the
boiling-point, being careful that they do not get scorched.
Skim carefully, and turn into a large strainer or colan-
der. When they have been well drained, put them away
in a bowl, or anything else that is convenient, where
they will keep warm without cooking any more. Put
the butter and onion into a frying-pan, and cook slowly
for ten minutes. Mix the flour and curry-powder, and
stir into the butter. Continue the stirring until the
mixture is smooth and frothy ; then draw the frying-pan
to a cooler part of the stove and gradually add half a
pint of the liquor which was drained from the oysters.
When this boils up, add the cream and some salt and
pepper. Boil up once more and strain. Put the oysters
into the sauce, and serve immediately with a plate of
crisp toast.
Fried Oysters.
For six persons provide four dozen large oysters.
Drain them in a colander, and season well with salt and
pepper. Have ready a pint and a half of fine dry bread
crumbs seasoned slightly with salt and pepper. Beat
three eggs in a soup-plate. Put a few of the crumbs on
a large plate, and after rolling the oysters on this plate,
one by one, lay them on a board that has been sprinkled
FISH. 209
lightly with crumbs. When all the oysters have been
thus treated, dip them into the beaten egg, one at a time,
and roll in a quantity of crumbs. Place them on a large
platter or on plates, but never on top of one another.
Let them stand for an hour or two in a cool place.
When the time for frying comes, put a layer of oysters
into the frying-basket, and plunge into boiling fat so hot
that blue smoke rises from the centre. Cook for about
a minute and a half ; then drain on brown paper. Cook
the remainder of the oysters in the same way, and serve
on fried slices of brown bread or on a warm napkin.
The bread is a very nice accompaniment. Oysters pre-
pared in this manner are brown, crisp, plump, and
tender.
If the crumbs be not liked, the oysters may be fried in
table oil. Four table-spoonfuls will be enough for two
dozen oysters. Put it into a small frying-pan, and when
it has become hot, drop in oysters in number sufficient
to cover the bottom of the pan. Brown on one side, and
then turn and brown on the other.
Oysters that are to be fried by this mode may simply
be seasoned with salt and pepper, or they may be sea-
soned, and dredged lightly with flour. They will not be
so attractive as if cooked in the manner first described,
yet will be sweet and tender.
Dressed celery or cabbage salad is exceedingly goocl
with fried oysters.
Oysters a la Poulette.
Put a solid quart of oysters on the stove to boil in
their own liquor. As soon as they begin to boil, skim
carefully, and turn into a strainer ; and when they have
been well drained, set them aside. Put half a pint of
the oyster liquor into a saucepan, and when it begins to
boil, stir into it one heaping teaspoonful of flour mixed
with three table-spoonfuls of cold water. Boil gently
five minutes longer. Put a pint of cream into a double-
210 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
boiler, and when it begins to boil, add the thickened
oyster liquor. Season with salt, pepper, a slight grating
of nutmeg, and a grain of cayenne. Have at hand the
yolks of four eggs, well beaten, and add to them half a
cupful of cold cream. Now add to the cooking mixture
the oysters, a table-spoonful of butter, and finally the
egg mixture. Cook for three minutes, stirring all the
time ; then remove from the fire immediately, and serve
with a border of puff-paste cakes. If you choose, add
a table-spoonful of lemon juice just as the oysters are
taken from the fire.
Oyster Cutlets.
There must be taken for these cutlets one cupful of
fine-chopped cooked chicken, half a pint of oysters, three
eggs, one table-spoonful of flour, one of butter, two of
fine cracker crumbs, one of lemon juice, one teaspoonfui
of salt, and one-eighth of a teaspoonful of pepper.
Soak the crumbs in the oyster liquor. Chop the
oysters very fine, and add them to the soaked crumbs.
Add also the chicken and seasoning. Put the butter into
a frying-pan, and when it becomes melted, add the flour.
Stir until smooth and frothy ; then add the oyster mix-
ture, and stir for three minutes. Put in two eggs, beaten
Veil, and stir for a minute longer. Take from the fire
and spread upon a platter to cool, and when cold, shape
like cutlets. After beating the remaining egg (which
should be a large one), dip the cutlets into it and then
into bread crumbs, and fry in fat until brown. A min-
ute and a half should suffice for the cooking. Serve
with Bechamel or anchovy sauce.
While the mixture is hot it may be spread smoothly
upon a buttered platter and then shaped into cutlets ; or
the cutlets may be moulded in a tin form that is made
for that purpose.
FISH. 211
* Oysters au Gratin.
For six or eight persons use a solid quart of oysters,
one gill of cream or milk, a scant half-pint of oyster
liquor, two table-spoonfuls of flour, two of butter, one
of Parmesan cheese, one cupful of grated bread crumbs,
half a teaspoonful of pepper, one heaping teaspoonful of
salt, and a slight grating of nutmeg.
Heat the oysters to the boiling-point in their own
liquor ; then skim them out, and drain them, saving the
liquor. Put half a pint of this liquor into a stew-pan, and
heat it slowly to the boiling-point. Meanwhile beat the
butter and flour together until smooth and light. Stir
this mixture into the liquor when it begins to boil, and
cook for three minutes more ; then add the cheese, salt,
pepper, nutmeg, and cream. Heat to the boiling-point
once more, and add the oysters.
Now spread the contents of the stew-pan in a gratin
dish or an escalop dish, and sprinkle the crumbs over the
mixture. Place on the upper shelf of an oven having
a moderate heat ; the heat should be greatest at the top
of the dish. Bake for twenty minutes, and serve imme-
diately afterward.
The crumbs will be crisper if an extra table-spoonful
of butter be broken into bits and sprinkled over them
before baking.
* Roasted Oysters.
Put a solid quart of oysters into a stew-pan in their
own liquor. Bub three large table-spoonfuls of butter
and two level table-spoonfuls of flour to a cream ; and
when the oysters have been heated to the boiling-point,
skim them carefully and add the butter and flour. Sea-
son with a table-spoonful of lemon juice, one-tenth of
a teaspoonful of cayenne, a little white pepper, and
a quantity of salt to suit your taste, and then boil
up once. Have six small slices of toast on a warm
212 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
platter, and after pouring the oysters upon them, serve
immediately.
* Escaloped Oysters.
For a dish that holds three pints, generous measure,
use one solid quart of oysters, half a pint of cracker
crumbs, three table-spoonfuls and a half of butter, one
teaspoonful and a half of salt, and one-third of a tea-
spoonful of pepper.
Put one-third of the oysters in the bottom of the dish,
taking them up with a fork, that there may not be too
much liquor, as there would be if a spoon were used.
Sprinkle half a teaspoonful of salt and one-third of
the pepper on these. Now dot with one table-spoonful
of the butter. Spread a generous half-cupful of the
cracker crumbs over this. Now spread the remainder
of the oysters on the cracker crumbs, taking them up,
as before, with the fork. Sprinkle with the rest of
the salt and pepper, and dot with a table-spoonful and a
half of butter. Spread the remainder of the cracker
over these oysters. Now dot with a table-spoonful of
butter, and sprinkle with the oyster liquor. Bake in a
hot oven for half an hour.
If the flavor be liked, a slight grating of nutmeg and
a gill of wine may be added to this dish.
* Here is another receipt in which bread crumbs are
used instead of cracker : Take one solid quart of oysters,
drained as free as possible from liquid, three pints of
grated bread crumbs, a teaspoonful and a half of salt,
one-third of a teaspoonful of pepper, and three generous
table-spoonfuls of butter.
Grate the bread and measure it lightly. Spread it in
a large dripping-pan, and put into a moderate oven to
dry. Keep it in the oven for about twenty minutes,
stirring frequently. It should be only slightly browned
FISH. 213
in that time. Let the crumbs cool, and then prepare
and cook the oysters the same as with cracker crumbs,
save that none of the oyster liquor should be used.
* Broiled Oysters.
Get the largest oysters. Season them with salt and
pepper. Dip them one by one into melted butter ; then
roll them in flour. Lay them on an oyster-broiler that
has been rubbed over with butter. It is best to use a
double-broiler made of fine wire, with the bars very
close together. Cook the oysters over clear coals until
they turn a delicate brown. Serve on slices of thin
toast.
These oysters may be rolled in fine cracker crumbs
instead of the flour.
Oysters that have been breaded, the same as for
frying, are nice broiled.
* Spindled Oysters.
Use three dozen large oysters, three ounces of smoked
bacon, six slices of toast. Six or eight long, slender
steel skewers also will be needed.
Cut the bacon into three dozen small, thin squares.
String the bacon and the oysters on skewers, alternating
with the fish and meat. Be careful to run the skewer
only through the hard part of the oyster. Kest the
ends of these skewers on the sides of a narrow baking-
pan, so that the oysters shall hang down, but not touch
the bottom of the pan. Have a little space between
each skewer, so that the heat shall reach all parts at
once. Place the pan in a very hot oven for five min-
utes. On taking it from the oven, place a skewer,
with its contents, on each slice of toast. Pour over
the toast the juices which have run into the pan. Serve
at once.
214 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
* Griddled Oysters.
Have the griddle heated the same as for griddle-cakes.
Have the oysters wiped dry. Now spread them on a
clean towel, and place on a large plate. Have on a dish
as many slices of buttered toast as there are persons to
serve. Have a table-spoonful of butter for every dozen
oysters. Put this in a small saucer, and place it beside
the oysters. Now drop a piece of butter about the size
of a large pea on the hot griddle, and immediately drop
an oyster on this butter. Continue this work rapidly
until all the oysters are on the griddle. Now come back
to the first one. Drop a bit of butter near it ; then slip
a knife under the oyster, and lift it from the griddle
with the brown crust that has formed under it. Turn
it over on the fresh bit of butter, and continue in
this way until all have been turned. Now, beginning
with the first oyster, take off all and place them on the
toast.
The entire work must be done rapidly, or the oysters
will be cooked too much. Never try the shorter way of
buttering the entire griddle at once ; if you do you will
have burned butter, which will destroy the true flavor of
the oysters.
* Oysters on Toast.
For six people use fifty good-sized oysters, three table-
spoonfuls of butter, one teaspoonful of lemon juice, one-
eighth of a teaspoonful of pepper, six slices of toast,
ftnd salt to suit the taste.
Put the oysters in a frying-pan and on the stove, and
vhen they get heated to the boiling-point, add the sea-
joning. Boil up, and then pour them on the slices of
toast, which should be arranged on a warm platter.
Serve at once. This is the simplest way to prepare
oysters. They can be cooked at the table in a chafing-
dish.
FISH. 215
Stuffed Oysters.
For two dozen large oysters make a force-meat with
the following-named ingredients : the breast of an un-
cooked fowl, chopped, pounded, and then rubbed through
a puree sieve, one-fourth of a cupful of cream or milk,
one-eighth of a cupful of stale bread crumbs free of
crust, the white of one egg, one table-spoonful of butter,
half a teaspoonf ul of salt, a tiny bit of white pepper, and
a slight grating of nutmeg.
Put the bread and cream in a small saucepan, and cook
until a smooth paste is formed (it will take ten minutes
on the back of the range, where it should be put, and
where it will hardly bubble). Take this paste from
the fire, and add the seasoning, chicken, and the white
of the egg, well beaten. Mix all well, and set away to
cool.
Dry the oysters on a soft towel, and season them well
with salt and pepper. Now roll them in fine bread
crumbs, and lay them on a large dish. Divide the force-
meat into twelve parts, and spread evenly on twelve
oysters. Lay the other twelve oysters on the first dozen,
pressing gently with the blade of the knife to make them
stick.
Put into a deep plate the yolk of the egg left from the
force-meat and one whole egg, and beat well with a fork.
Season with salt. Dip the stuffed oysters in this egg,
and then roll them in bread crumbs, being careful to
have every part covered with the egg and crumbs.
When all are done, place them in a frying-basket, being
careful not to crowd them, and cook until they are a rich
brown, in fat at the temperature of about 400. It will
take about one minute and a half to fry them. Serve
with Madeira sauce.
The stuffed and breaded oysters may be kept in a cool
place for several hours before frying.
216 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Oysters a la Duxelles.
Use three dozen oysters of medium size, four table-
spoonfuls of chopped mushrooms, the yolks of two eggs,
two generous table-spoonfuls of butter, two level table-
spoonfuls of flour, one-eighth of a teaspoonful of cay-
enne, half a teaspoonful of onion juice, one teaspoonful
of lemon juice, salt to suit the taste, and four table-
spoonfuls of cold water.
Heat the oysters to the boiling-point in their own
liquor. Skim them, and then turn them into a strainer
that has been placed over a bowl. Let the liquor stand
for a few minutes ; then pour off one pint of it, being
careful not to pour in any sand. Put the butter in a
saucepan and on the fire, and when it becomes hot add
the mushrooms to it. Cook for two minutes, stirring all
the while. Now add the flour, and stir until frothy.
Draw the saucepan back, and gradually add the oyster
liquor, stirring steadily ; then push forward, and add
the salt, pepper, and onion juice. Boil for three min-
utes ; then add the oysters. Cook for two minutes, and
stir m the yolks of the eggs, which have been beaten
thoroughly with the cold water. Take from the fire at
once, and add the lemon juice. Serve immediately.
These oysters may be served on thin slices of toasted
bread, or with a border of puff-paste cakes, or on Boston
crackers that have been split, dipped in cold water, then
buttered on the inside, and placed on a pan and in a hot
oven for six or seven minutes.
Baked Oysters a la Duxelles.
For six persons use one solid quart of oysters, a cup-
ful and a half of chicken or veal stock, one teaspoonful
of fine-minced onion, a cupful of fine-chopped mush-
rooms, three table-spoonfuls of flour, six of butter, a gen-
erous pint of grated bread crumbs, the yolks of three
eggs, two table-spoonfuls of lemon juice, one-fifth of a
FISH. 217
teaspoon ful of cayenne, one quarter of a teaspoonful of
white pepper, and about three teaspoonfuls of salt.
Put the oysters and stock on the fire in a stew-pan.
The instant they begin to boil, take them from the fire ;
skim them, and then turn into a colander that has been
placed over a bowl. Pour off one pint of the strained
liquor, being careful not to get any sand in it. Now put
five spoonfuls of the butter in a stew-pan and on the fire.
When the butter is melted, add the onion and mush-
rooms. Cook for five minutes, stirring all the while,
and being careful not to brown the mixture. Now add
the flour, and stir until the mixture is frothy. Draw the
saucepan back to a cooler part of the stove, and grad-
ually add the pint of strained liquor. Stir until it boils,
and then simmer for three minutes. Add the yolks of
the eggs, well beaten, the oysters, and the seasonings,
and take the pan from the fire. Turn the mixture into
an escalop dish. Cover with the grated crumbs, and dot
these with the remaining table-spoonful of butter. Bake
in a moderately hot oven for twenty minutes.
This dish is suitable for an entree or for a supper
dish.
Oysters a la Villeroi.
For six persons use two dozen large oysters, half a
pint of chicken or veal stock, two large table-spoonfuls
of butter, two of flour, three eggs, one table-spoonful of
lemon juice, one-third of a teaspoonful of pepper, and
some salt and dried bread crumbs.
Put the oysters in a stew-pan with the chicken stock,
and place on the fire. As soon as they boil, take them
from the fire and skim them. Now turn them into a
colander which is placed over a bowl, to save the liquor.
Mix the butter and flour together in a saucepan. Add
a cupful and a half of the oyster liquor, and place the
mixture on the fire. Stir all the time until it boils ; then
set it back, and let it simmer for three minutes.
218 MISS PABLO A'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Beat the yolks of two eggs well, and add to them two
table-spoonfuls of the cool oyster liquor. Stir this into
the sauce, and cook for one minute, being careful to stir
all the while and not to let it boil. Take from the fire,
and add the lemon juice ; also season with salt and pep-
per, and then set away to cool. Beat well one whole
egg and the white of another. Add half a teaspoonful
of salt, and beat a little longer. Now season the drained
oysters with salt and pepper. Dip them one by one in
the cooled sauce, being careful to cover every part with
it. As each oyster comes from the sauce, roll it lightly
in the bread crumbs. When all have been treated in
this way, dip them in the beaten egg and then roll again
in the bread crumbs. Fry in fat for a minute and a
half. Arrange on a warm napkin, and garnish with
quartered lemons and parsley. Serve Bechamel or to-
mato sauce with them, if they are served for an entree,
but if they are for a supper dish there should be no
sauce.
When these oysters are being " sauced " and breaded,
two may be fastened together with the sauce, if you
prefer them that way.
Oyster Kabobs.
Use the same materials as for oysters a la Villeroi,
but with the addition of four table- spoonfuls of fine-
chopped mushrooms, half a teaspoonful of minced pars-
ley, and one teaspoonful of onion juice. When the butter
and flour are mixed for the sauce, add these new ingredi-
ents with the oyster liquor.
When the oysters are covered with the sauce, string
five or six on a steel or silver skewer, and then roll in
crumbs. Next cover with egg, and again with crumbs.
Fry, and serve on slices of toast, with a garnish of
parsley.
FISH. 219
* Oysters Cooked in a Chafing-dish.
This way of cooking oysters is popular with gentle-
men. The combinations may be varied to suit different
tastes. Here are a few simple methods of preparing
the dish :
Put into the chafing-dish one solid pint of oysters, two
table-spoonfuls of butter, one scant teaspoonful of salt,
and a little cayenne. Light the lamp, and cook the oys-
ters, stirring often, until they curl on the edges. Serve
at once on slices of buttered toast.
Another way is to add one table-spoonful of lemon
juice and the yolks of two well-beaten eggs to the oys-
ters as soon as the edges begin to curl. Stir for half a
minute and serve on toast.
Still another way is to add a gill of cream or milk to
the oysters as soon as they begin to curl. Stir until they
boil once more.
* Roast Clams.
When possible, get the clams ten hours or even a day
before they are to be cooked. Wash them in an "ample
quantity of clear water ; then just cover them with fresh
water, and for each peck of clams, sprinkle in one cup-
ful of corn meal. This will make them plump and ten-
der. Bear in mind that a peck will make only about
a quart when shelled. When it is time to cook the clams,
be sure that the oven is very hot. Einse the clams, and
drain them in a colander for a few minutes ; then spread
them in an old dripping-pan, and put the pan into a hot
oven. As soon as the shells begin to open, the clams will
be found to be cooked ; this will be in from five to eight
minutes. Have at hand a deep dish, well warmed, and
drop the clams into it as soon as they have been removed
from the shells. Spread sauce over them, and serve with
thin slices of buttered brown bread.
220 MISS PABLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
To make the sauce, put three table-spoonfuls of butter
into a warm bowl and beat it to a cream ; then stir into
it one table-spoonful of lemon juice, one teaspoonful of
salt, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of white pepper, and
very little cayenne.
*Here is another receipt: Scrub the shells with a
brush, and wash them in several waters j then drain well.
Spread in a large dripping-pan, and put the pan in a very
hot oven. As soon as the shells open say in ten or
twelve minutes the clams should be served either in
the whole shell or half the shell. Quarters of lemon,
butter, salt, and pepper, and toasted brown bread should
be served with them.
* Stewed Clams.
Use about a quart of shelled clams, one table-spoonful
of flour, two table-spoonfuls of butter, half a pint of
milk, about one teaspoonful of salt, and one-fourth of a
teaspoonful of pepper. Put the milk on the stove in a
double-boiler. Put the clams into a colander, and pour
a quart of cold water over them. This washes them suf-
ficiently. Do not let them drain, but put them into a
stew-pan immediately. Add the milk as soon as it be-
gins to boil. Beat the flour and butter together until
creamy ; and when the clams begin to boil, put the
creamy mixture into the stew-pan. Add the seasoning,
and let the clams simmer for two minutes. Lay some
toasted bread or crackers on the bottom of a deep dish,
and pour the stew upon them.
Deviled Scallops.
Use for this dish a quart of scallops, half a cupful of
butter, one teaspoonful of made mustard, one teaspoon-
ful of salt, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of cayenne, one
FISH. 221
cupful of white stock (chicken or veal), and a cupful of
cracker crumbs.
Put the scallops on the stove in a saucepan, and heat
them just to the boiling-point in their own liquor ; then
drain them, saving the liquor, and chop them rather fine.
Reserve a spoonful of the butter, and, putting the re-
mainder into a warm bowl, beat it to a cream ; then add
the seasoning, beating it in thoroughly. Now add the
stock, hot. Stir the chopped scallops and their liquor
into this sauce, and let them stand for half an hour. At
the end of that time put them into an escalop dish or in
shells. Sprinkle with crumbs, dot with the table-spoon-
ful of butter, and bake in a moderate oven for twenty
minutes. Serve immediately.
Scallops Fried in Batter.
Make a batter of a pint of flour, two eggs, one table-
spoonful of salad oil (or a table-spoonful of butter, if you
have no oil), one teaspoonful of salt, and nearly half a
pint of milk. Beat the eggs until light, and, after add-
ing the milk to them, pour the mixture upon the flour.
Beat vigorously for two or three minutes ; then add the
salt and oil. Drain a quart of scallops, and season with
salt and pepper. Drop them into the batter, and then
drop spoonfuls of scallops and batter into boiling fat.
Cook for three minutes. Drain, and serve at once.
* Fried Scallops.
Drain two dozen scallops carefully, and after season-
ing them with salt and pepper, roll them lightly in fine
bread crumbs. Beat two eggs in a soup-plate, with a
spoon or fork, and after dipping the scallops in the egg,
roll them in a quantity of crumbs and lay them on a large
platter. Be careful that they do not touch each other.
When all have been breaded, place in the frying-basket
as many as can be accommodated on the bottom, and
222 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
plunge into boiling fat. Cook for two minutes, and serve
with toast and cabbage or celery salad. Tartar sauce
also is a good accompaniment.
Care must be taken that the. fish are thoroughly sea-
soned with salt previous to the breading, and that the fat
is so hot that blue smoke rises from the centre.
Soft-shell Crabs.
If the following directions be followed carefully, it
will not be a difficult task to clean soft-shell crabs. The
back of the crab is of greenish color, and feels to the
touch somewhat like a piece of thin, stiff rubber. At
each end it tapers to a very sharp point. Now, having
the crab in its natural position, take one of these points
between the thumb and forefinger of the left hand, press-
ing the back at the same time with the second finger,
and bend the shell back about half-way, keeping the crab
on the plate all the while. There will then be exposed
a spongy substance shaped like a scallop shell. Scrape,
and, if necessary, cut, this sponge entirely away, and
then repeat the operation at the other point of the back.
Next turn the crab over, and when it lies on its back
there will be seen a semi-circular piece of soft shell, at
once noticeable because of its dark color. This is com-
monly called the "apron," or "flap." It finishes in a
point. Take this point between the finger and thumb,
and raise the apron, pulling or cutting it off of the crab.
Some of the spongy substance already described will be
found here, and should be removed. Wash in cold water,
and wipe gently with a soft towel. The crab will then
be ready for its seasoning, preparatory to cooking.
Fried Soft-shell Crabs.
After seasoning the crabs with salt and pepper, dip
in beaten egg and afterward in dry bread crumbs. Fry
in hot fat until they acquire a rich brown color, say
FISH. 228
for about three minutes, and serve at once with Tartar
sauce.
Baked Crabs.
After cleaning the crabs and seasoning them with salt
and pepper, dip them in melted butter and sprinkle
thickly with dry bread crumbs. Put them into a drip-
ping-pan, and set them into an intensely hot oven for five
minutes. Serve immediately with mustard cream sauce.
Broiled Soft-shell Crabs.
Clean the crabs, and season with salt and pepper.
For eight, melt half a cupful of butter in a deep plate.
Add two table-spoonfuls of lemon juice and one-fourth
of a teaspoonful of cayenne. Roll the crabs in this
liquid and then in dry flour. Place them in a double-
broiler, and cook over hot coals for eight minutes. Serve
with Dutch sauce.
Deviled Crabs.
Use one pint of crab meat (a dozen good-sized crabs
will supply this quantity), a generous half -pint of white
stock, four table-spoonfuls of butter, one scant table-
spoonful of flour, one teaspoonful of mustard, one-fourth
of a teaspoonful of cayenne, two level teaspoonfuls of
salt, one table-spoonful of lemon juice, and a pint and a
half of grated stale bread crumbs. Pick the crab meat
from the shells. Wash and wipe the shells. Put the
stock in a small saucepan. Mix the flour, mustard, and
two table-spoonfuls of the butter. Stir this mixture into
the boiling stock. Boil for two minutes, and on taking
from the fire, add the crab meat and seasonings. Mix well,
and then put the mixture into the crab shells. Sprinkle
the bread crumbs over these, and then dot with the two
remaining table- spoonfuls of butter. Arrange the shells
in a large baking-pan, and cook in a rather hot oven until
the crumbs get browned. The pan must have a grate
224 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
under it, so that the heat shall not be great at the bottom.
The crumbs should become brown in ten or twelve min-
utes. Cover the bottom of a large dish with parsley.
Arrange the crabs on this, and serve at once.
Lobster, prawn, and shrimp may be prepared in the
same manner.
Canned crab meat may be used for this dish.
* Curry of Lobster.
Cut into pieces about two inches square the meat of a
lobster weighing about three pounds, and after seasoning
with salt and one-fifth of a teaspoonful of cayenne, set it
away in a cold place. Put three table-spoonfuls of butter
into a frying-pan, and when it has become hot, add two
table-spoonfuls of flour and a small teaspoonful of curry
powder. Stir the mixture until it is brown ; then grad-
ually add a cupful and a half of stock, and season with
salt and pepper. Add the lobster, and cook six minutes
longer. Place small slices of crisp toast upon a warm
dish, and pour the curry upon them. Garnish with
triangles of toast and bits of parsley.
If the flavor of onion be liked, fry a small onion in
the butter before adding the flour and curry-powder;
but in this case strain the sauce before the lobster is put
with it.
* Fricassee of Lobster.
Here is a good mode of preparing a lobster weighing
two and a half or three pounds. Besides the fish there
will be needed a pint of white stock or water, two table-
spoonfuls of butter, two of flour, one of lemon juice, a
teaspoonful of chopped onion, a tiny bit of mace, a sprig
of parsley, and salt and pepper to suit the taste.
Remove the meat from the shell of the lobster, and cut
it into small cubes. Put the torn-alley, or green liver, with
it ; and after seasoning with salt and pepper, put all into
a deep saucepan, and set aside. Put the onion, mace,
FISH. 225
parsley, and butter into a frying-pan, and cook slowly for
five minutes j then add the flour, and stir constantly
until smooth and frothy. Draw the pan back, and grad-
ually add the stock. Boil gently for three minutes j and
after adding the lemon juice and some salt and pepper,
strain the liquid upon the lobster. Cook the dish for
eight minutes, and serve with boiled rice or dry toast.
When it is inconvenient to use stock, milk, or half
cream and half water, may be substituted. In this case
the lemon juice must not be added until the last moment,
because it wouldf curdle the sauce if boiled with it.
Lobster Newburg.
If provision is to be made for six or eight persons, use
the meat of a lobster weighing about four pounds, or that
of two small lobsters, four table-spoonfuls of butter, two
of brandy, two of sherry, two teaspoonfuls of salt, one-
fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper, half a pint of cream,
the yolks of four eggs, and a slight grating of nutmeg.
Cut the meat of the lobster into small, delicate slices.
Put the butter on the stove in a frying-pan, and when it
becomes hot, put in the lobster. Cook slowly for five
minutes ; then add the salt, pepper, sherry, brandy, and
nutmeg, and simmer five minutes longer. Meanwhile
beat the yolks of the eggs well, and add the cream to
them. Pour the liquid over the cooking mixture, and stir
constantly for one minute and a half. Take from the
fire immediately at the end of that time, and serve in a
warm dish.
Lobster Newburg may be served as a fish course in a
dinner or luncheon. A garnish of triangular bits of puff
paste may be added, or the lobster may be served on
toast. No mode of cooking lobster gives a more delicate
or elegant dish. Special care must be taken to stir the
mixture constantly after the cream and beaten eggs are
poured over the lobster until the frying-pan is taken
from the fire.
16
226 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Lobster Cutlets.
For one dozen cutlets use one pint of lobster meat
chopped rather fine, half a pint of cream or chicken stock,
a generous table-spoonful of flour, three table-spoonfuls
of butter, one of lemon juice, one-fourth of a teaspoonful
of white pepper, one-sixth of a teaspoonful of cayenne,
one level table-spoonful of salt, four eggs, some crumbs
for breading, and the tips of twelve of the small claws.
Mix the salt and pepper with the chopped lobster.
Put the cream or stock on to boil. Mix the flour and
butter, and stir into the boiling cream. Cook for one
minute, stirring all the while. Now add the lobster.
Stir well, and cook for three minutes. Next add two of
the eggs, well beaten. Stir quickly, and take from the
fire instantly. Stir in the lemon juice, and spread the
mixture on a platter to cool. When it is cold, sprinkle
a board with fine bread crumbs, and put a soup-plate full
of crumbs on one corner of the board. Beat two eggs in
a second soup-plate. Butter a cutlet-mould, and sprinkle
it generously with fine crumbs. Pack it full of the pre-
pared lobster. Turn the cutlet out on the board, and
line the mould again with crumbs, proceeding as before.
When all the cutlets have been formed, cover them
with the beaten egg and crumbs. Now stick a small
claw into the small end of each cutlet. Fry for about a
minute and a half. Drain on brown paper, and arrange
in a circle on a warm napkin, putting a teaspoonful of
Tartar sauce in the centre of each cutlet. Or they may
be arranged on a warm dish, and anchovy sauce be
poured around them.
Shrimps Baked in Bell Peppers.
Use for this dish one dozen green bell peppers, one
quart of picked shrimps, one teacupful of grated bread
crumbs, two table-spoonfuls of butter, one teaspoonful
of mixed mustard, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper,
FISH. 227
one-eighth of a teaspoonful of celery seed, a slight grat-
ing of nutmeg, one egg, and some salt, unless the fish
themselves be salty.
Cut the stem ends from the peppers, and then cut out
the seeds and veins, the " hot " parts. Soak the
cleaned peppers in cold water for half an hour.
Beat the butter to a cream, and then beat into it the
seasonings and the egg. Next add the crumbs. Mix
these ingredients well, and add them to the shrimp.
Drain .the peppers at the end of the half-hour, and
stuff them with the prepared shrimp. Arrange them in
a pan with the open side up. Cook in a hot oven for
twenty minutes.
This dish may be served as an entree or as a fish
course in a dinner or luncheon. Crabs may be prepared
in the same manner as shrimp.
Escaloped Shrimps.
If there be half a dozen persons in the family, use a
quart of shelled shrimps, a pint of cream, two table-
spoonfuls of butter, one table-spoonful of flour, one-fifth
of a teaspoonful of cayenne, one pint of grated bread
crumbs, and salt and pepper to suit the taste.
Rinse the shrimps in cold water, and sprinkle them
with salt and pepper, using about a generous teaspoonful
of salt and a fourth as much pepper. Put the cream on
the stove in the double-boiler. Rub the flour and butter
together until creamy ; and when the pint of cream be-
gins to boil, stir this mixture into it. Add the cayenne,
some salt, and the shrimps, and taste the mixture to
satisfy yourself that there is seasoning enough. Turn
into one large escalop dish or several small shells.
There will be fish and sauce enough to fill a dozen of
the common-sized plated or china shells. Cover with
the bread crumbs, place in a pan, and set in a hot oven.
It will take about a quarter of an hour to cook them.
228 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
The pan should be raised from the bottom of the oven,
so that the top of the dish shall be subjected to greater
heat than the bottom ; the object being to brown the
crumbs without letting the sauce get so hot as to bubble.
When it is possible to brown the dish under the grate or
in a gas-broiler, it is better to do that than to put the
dish into the oven, if the shrimps are to be cooked in
the shell. Great or long-continued heat at the bottom is
apt to make the dish less creamy, and to mar its appear-
ance by causing the sauce to boil over at the edge. This
is true of all escaloped dishes.
Terrapin.
One of the most popular dishes at fashionable dinners
and suppers is terrapin stew. Gentlemen usually are
especially fond of it. In some parts of the country only
the rich can indulge in it ; but as the fish are abundant
in many sections at some seasons, it is well that more
should be known about them.
Terrapin are found from Ehode Island to the Gulf of
Mexico. They vary considerably in size and quality in
different localities. In the fall and winter the finest
cost from twenty-five to fifty dollars a dozen in the
Northern markets ; at times, however, they may be had
for about one-fourth of that sum. In the South they are
comparatively cheap, and are usually larger than those
found in the Northern markets. In winter terrapin
often are kept in pens for weeks or months. The flesh
is not so good after such captivity. Rough, hard spots
will be found upon the under shells of terrapin that
have been penned. The female is the more desirable,
being larger and tenderer.
There are two modes of killing terrapin. In the
North, if the fish be small, the common way is to plunge
them into boiling water, like lobsters. In the South the
heads are cut off and the fish put in cold water for about
FISH. 229
half an hour, in order to draw out the blood. After boil-
ing the terrapin, the work is finished in much the same
way everywhere. The time of boiling varies with the
age of the fish. If they be very young they may be
cooked in half an hour, but when old they require about
two hours' cooking to make them tender. Here is a
good rule for cooking and cleaning:
If the large Southern terrapin be used, let the fish
lie in cold water for half an hour; then drop it into
boiling water, and cook for ten minutes. Pour off the
water, and after covering the terrapin with fresh cold
water for a minute, take it up and with a towel rub
the nails and black skin from the legs. Wash care-
fully, and place in a stew-pan with boiling water enough
to cover. Cook until the flesh is tender, which will be
until the joints of the legs can be broken with a slight
pressure. The shell also will separate easily.
Take the terrapin from the water and let it cool a
little. Place it on its back, with the head away from
you. Loosen and remove the under shell. The liver,
gall-bladder, and sand-bag will be found near the head ;
the gall-bladder attached to the left side of the liver.
Take out this bladder, as you would from a chicken ; also
take out the sand-bag. Now cut off the head and throw
it away. All that remains is to be used.
Take out the eggs, and remove a slight film that sur-
rounds them ; then drop them into cold water. Out all
the meat very fine; the intestines finer than any other
part. Save the water that collects in the shells. The
terrapin will now be ready for use in a stew or in other
ways.
v ' , :
Terrapin White Stew.
For six persons use two large terrapins, three table-
spoonfuls of butter, one pint of cream, two gills of
sherry or Madeira, one gill of water, the yolks of six
hard-boiled eggs, half a lemon, two level teaspoonfuls of
230 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
salt, one-tenth of a teaspoonful each of cayenne, white
pepper, ground mace, and allspice.
Put the fine-cut terrapin in a stew-pan with the water,
butter, the juices that have collected in the shells, and
the salt, pepper, and spice. Simmer for fifteen minutes.
Mash the yolks of the eggs very fine, and gradually mix
the cream with them. Add this mixture and the sherry,
terrapin, eggs, and the lemon, cut in thin slices, to the
stew. Stir until the stew has become thoroughly heated,
but do not let it boil. Serve at once.
Small silver-plated saucepans that hold about a gill
and a half are used for serving terrapin stew. One kind
is shaped like a terrapin; the other is round, with a
straight handle and tight-fitting cover. When terrapin
is served in these miniature stew-pans, it" is, of course,
sure to be hot, a great consideration as regards this
dish.
Terrapin Brown Stew.
Use two large terrapins, a generous half-cupful of
butter, one pint of the water in which the terrapins were
boiled, two heaping table-spoonfuls of flour, half a pint
of wine, two teaspoonfuls of salt, one-eighth of a tea-
spoonful each of cayenne, white pepper, ground mace,
and allspice, half a lemon, sliced thin.
Put the terrapin water and meat of the terrapins on to
boil. Put the butter in a saucepan, and heat it until it
begins to turn brown; then add the flour, and stir the
mixture until it becomes dark brown. Take it from the
fire, and when it has cooled a little, pour on it gradually
the water from the terrapins. Stir the liquid over the
fire until perfectly smooth; then pour it over the ter-
rapins. Add the salt and pepper, and simmer for ten
minutes. Now add the spice, lemon, and wine. Let the
stew get very hot, without boiling; then serve without
delay.
FISH. 231
Terrapin au Gratin.
Take two terrapins, half a cupful of butter, two table-
spoonfuls of flour, three eggs, two teaspoonfuls of salt,
half a pint of the water in which the terrapins were
cooked, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of white pepper, one-
tenth of a teaspoonful each of cayenne, mace, and all-
spice, one cupful of grated bread crumbs.
Put the butter on the stove in a stew-pan, and when it
becomes hot, add the flour. Stir the mixture until it is
smooth and of a light brown color ; then add the water
and the terrapin and seasoning. Simmer for a quarter
of an hour.
Beat the eggs well, and add a table-spoonful of cold
water to them. Draw the stew-pan back to a cool place,
and stir the eggs into its contents. Have the upper
shells of the terrapins carefully cleaned, and pour the
mixture into them. Sprinkle with bread crumbs, and
place in a hot oven to brown. The crumbs should
acquire a rich color in about ten minutes.
232 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING
MEAT.
WERE it possible to teach every housekeeper how to
boil, roast, and broil meat properly, one might be satis-
fied that a most successful life-work had been accom-
plished. In ninety out of a hundred households, grades
of meat, from the choicest to the coarsest pieces, are
rained every day in the week. About half the house-
keepers are conscious of this, and it frets them from day
to day, but not enough to rouse them to take steps toward
changing the condition of things. The other half know
no better, and go on from year to year giving their fami-
lies meat cooked in such a manner that it is neither
nutritious nor digestible. Most wives and mothers are
anxious to do that which is best for their families. If
they could be brought to see the waste of material and
what is more important the impairment of health, and
consequent loss of happiness, which improperly cooked
food causes, they would make constant efforts to bring
about a better state of things. A little thought and study
would show where the fault lies, and also what the rem-
edy is. A few general principles cover the whole subject
of boiling, roasting, and broiling. Once understanding
these, a housekeeper can 3/pply them to the cooking of
all kinds of meat.
There are three things to keep in mind when cooking
a piece of meat. It should be so cooked that it will be
juicy, well-flavored, and as tender as possible. Now,
when albumen and fibrine are exposed to a temperature
much higher than the boiling-point, they become hard
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT. 233
and indigestible, as, for example, if we put an egg into
boiling water and continue the boiling for four or five
minutes, we shall find that the white has become hard,
unyielding, and indigestible j but if we put the egg into
boiling water, and let it stand in a warm place for ten
or more minutes, we shall find that the white is soft
and creamy, and therefore digestible. If we should let
the egg stand in water just below the boiling-point for
an hour or more, we should find that the white would
yield under a slight pressure, and still be soft and
digestible.
The white of the egg, being pure albumen, hardens
when exposed to a temperature above the boiling-point,
but remains soft when kept just below this temperature.
Meat is largely made up of albumen and fibrine. Heat,
when as great as that of boiling water, hardens and
shrinks fibrine ; but if the heat be less than boiling, and
be continued with moisture for a long time, it will soften
the toughest piece of meat.
Now, understanding these principles, there need be
no mistake in cooking meat : First, heat, when greater
than the boiling-point in water, hardens and shrinks
meat ; but when meat is kept at the boiling-point for
a long time, it is made tender, provided always that
there is plenty of moisture. Second, meat, when to be
roasted or boiled, must be exposed for the first fifteen
or twenty minutes to a greater heat than the boiling-
point, that the surface may become hardened and a crust
be formed to keep in the juices. Third, the heat
must not be lower than the boiling-point while the meat
is cooking, that temperature being necessary for the
development of the proper flavor.
From this we see that the meat must first be subjected
to a high temperature to close the pores on the surface,
and as soon as this is accomplished the temperature must
be lowered to the boiling-point (212), and kept at that
degree until the cooking is done.
234 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
BOILING.
For all meats except ham, corned beef, and salt tongue,
the water should be boiling when the meat is put in, and
when the water begins to boil again (it will be cooled
somewhat when the meat is put in), skim it, and keep it
at the boiling-point for fifteen or twenty minutes. At
the end of that time draw the kettle back where there is
only enough heat to keep the water at the boiling-point.
If the water bubbles a little, it is about right for cooking
meat. A leg of mutton weighing ten or twelve pounds
will be cooked moderately rare in two hours. A turkey
of about the same weight will require cooking for three
hours and a half, unless it happens to be very tough,
when it will require an hour longer to make it tender.
A piece of corned beef will take five hours to cook, no
matter how small the piece may be. If it should weigh
more than eight pounds, give it an extra hour. It will
be improved by letting it partially cool in the water in
which it was boiled. This is true of all boiled meats
that are to be used cold. Ham and smoked tongue
should be soaked in cold water for twelve hours, and
should then be boiled from five to six hours. Fowls
take from two to four hours to cook.
If these directions be followed, every piece of boiled
meat that comes to the table will be found tender and
juicy. It will cut smooth ; whereas meat that has been
boiled rapidly will break into long shreds when you at-
tempt to cut it, and will be found hard and flavorless.
We are all too well acquainted with this kind of boiled
and roasted meats. It is time that such waste of good
materials should cease.
ROASTING.
There are three modes of roasting, before the fire, in
a tin-kitchen ; under a sheet of flame, in a gas-stove ; or
VAKIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT. 235
in the oven of an ordinary stove or range. The last-
named mode is inferior to either of the others ; still, as
the oven is always available, while the first two modes
may not be, the greater part of the roasting of meat is
done in a close oven. Some ovens are so arranged that
the side next the fire can be opened, thus exposing the
meat to the clear coals ; others are so constructed that
there is a constant circulation of fresh air through them,
giving one of the elements which we get by roasting
with an open fire or with gas.
General Rules.
No matter how the roasting is done, a few things must
always be borne in mind. The heat should be great at
first, so that the surface of the meat shall be hardened,
to retain the juices ; but it should afterward be de-
Beef in Baking-pan.
creased, so that the meat shall cook more slowly and
evenly. The meat should be raised at least two inches
from the bottom of the baking-pan. There are racks
made expressly for keeping it at the proper height.
Wipe the meat with a damp towel, and then dredge it
lightly with salt, pepper, and flour. After sprinkling a
quantity of salt and flour on the bottom of the pan, put
the meat into the oven. Watch carefully, and when the
236 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
dry flour in the pan turns a dark brown, put in just
enough water to cover the bottom of the pan. After the
meat has become browned it should be basted every
quarter of an hour with the gravy in the pan and then
with salt and flour. Always use considerable gravy, and
dredge only lightly with salt and flour. The water in
the pan should be renewed frequently. Let the water
cook away in the last half-hour, so that there shall be
only fat and sediment in the bottom of the pan when
the meat is done. When it is done, lay it on a warm
platter.
After lifting the rack from the pan, pour off the fat,
and scrape the sediment from the sides and bottom of
the pan. Place on the stove in the same pan, adding a
cupful of hot water ; and when it has boiled up once,
stir in a thickening consisting of a teaspoonful of flour
and three table-spoonfuls of water. Pour in only a little
of this thickening at a time, for it is impossible to sta^e
exactly how much will be required for thickening the
gravy. Let the gravy boil up once ; then season with
salt and pepper, and strain into a hot dish.
Basting the meat faithfully makes it much juicier and
better flavored than when it is basted only occasionally.
Many cooks do not believe in basting at all, and others
simply moisten the meat with hot water. The result of
such treatment is not perfectly satisfactory.
Time of Cooking.
The time of cooking depends as much upon the shape
of the piece of meat as upon the weight.
Of beef, a rib or loin roast weighing about eight
pounds will require an hour's cooking if it be wished
very rare, and an hour and a half, if you wish it to be a
dark red all through. A roast cut from the round or the
rump of beef will take half an hour longer than that
cut from the loin or ribs.
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT. 237
A leg of mutton weighing ten or twelve pounds will
require an hour and a half ; a loin or rack, an hour and
a quarter ; a saddle, ten or fifteen minutes longer. Allow
ten minutes for every additional pound over eight or
ten.
Lamb must be cooked more than mutton. A leg
weighing six or eight pounds should be cooked for an
hour and a half. If the loin chops be left on, allow ten
minutes longer. The fore-quarter should be roasted for
an hour and twenty minutes.
Veal and pork must be thoroughly cooked. A loin of
veal should be roasted for two hours and three-quarters,
and a loin of pork, three hours. A leg or shoulder of
pork, which is sometimes roasted, requires five hours'
slow cooking. Many persons like a slight flavor of sage
with roast pork. In that case sift a teaspoonful of the
powdered herb over a piece of meat weighing six pounds,
when it is prepared for the oven.
BROILING.
This is one of the simplest forms of cookery, yet sel-
dom is it well done. A steak or chop, properly broiled,
should have a thin, well-browned crust. Beyond this
crust the meat should be red and juicy, hardly a shade
rarer at the centre than near the surface. The common
mode of cooking a steak is to keep it over the coals
until one side is rather well done ; then to turn it and
treat the other side in the same manner. The steak,
when cut into, will, if thick, be found well done about
one-third through on each side and almost raw in the
centre.
Clear Coals Needed for Broiling,
To broil properly there must be a bed of clear coals.
The meat must be placed in a double-broiler, and be
held near the clear coals for about one minute, then be
238 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
turned, and cooked on the other side. Continue this
until the meat is well seared on both sides. It will take
about four minutes 7 cooking. Now lift the broiler a few
inches away from the great heat. Keep turning the
broiler constantly until the meat is cooked.
Time of Cooking Meats.
A beefsteak cut an inch thick will be cooked rare in
ten minutes. A mutton-chop cut three-fourths of an
inch thick will cook in eight minutes.
A chop or steak will be much richer flavored if it be
sprinkled with salt, pepper, and flour before cooking.
Always serve a steak or chop as soon as it is cooked.
Never put it in the oven or any other warm place to
melt the butter. The dish on which the broiled meat is
placed should be warm. The butter should be spread
over the hot meat, and not be melted in the dish. The
practice of melting butter either before or after it is put
on the steak, except as the heat of the meat melts it,
cannot be too strongly condemned.
Veal and pork must be broiled slowly and for a long
time. There should not be a trace of pink in the fibres
when the meat is done. The chops should not be cut
more than half an inch thick. The,y will be well done
with twelve minutes' cooking.
A chicken weighing three pounds will require slow
broiling for half an hour. It is a good plan to broil
chickens over a bright fire until they are a rich brown on
both sides, and then to put them in a shallow pan and
into a moderate oven for twenty minutes. Care must be
taken not to scorch the skin.
FRYING. *
Since many people fry much of their food, informa-
tion as to the best method of frying seems desirable.
The first thing to be considered is the fat. If expense
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT. 239
did not stand in the way, olive oil would be the best
liquid to use. Any pure, clear fat that is free of strong
odor will answer. Many folk use mutton and ham fat,
and say that they do not find the flavor of the meat in
the articles fried ; but others would discover the taste at
once and be disappointed.
But the housekeeper will select the fat she will use
according to her taste and means ; and attention may as
well be turned now to the conditions which will insure
satisfactory and comparatively wholesome fried food. In
the first place, the fat must be perfectly clarified. Even
the purest and sweetest butter must go through this pro-
cess before being used for frying. Oil and lard, when
pure, already are clarified. When the fat to be clarified
is that which has been skimmed from gravies, soups, or
the water in which corned beef has been boiled, it will
contain water and other impurities. While there is
water in fat the latter cannot be heated to a temperature
suitable for frying purposes ; and if there be other for-
eign substances present, such as particles of meat, gravy
flour, or starch, they will burn at as high a temperature
as 345, blackening the fat and making it unfit for frying
articles of food.
Processes of Clarifying.
As soon as the fat is skimmed it should be clarified,
as the water and other objectionable particles contained
in it will cause it to become rancid if it stands a long
time. Put it on the stove, in a frying-pan, and heat it
slowly. When it becomes melted, set it where it will
simply bubble, and keep it there (being careful not to
let it burn) until there is no motion and all the sediment
has fallen to the bottom of the pan. When this stage is
reached the fat is clarified.
Sometimes fat that has been used several times for
frying, and has not been strained, will become dark and
240 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
unfit for use. This may be put into a kettle with about
six times as much hot water, boiled for twenty minutes,
turned into a large pan, and set in a cold place. When
the contents of the pan become cold, the fat will be found
in the form of a solid cake on the surface of the water.
It must be removed, and clarified in the manner already
described.
Then there is another kind of fat which is used a great
deal, the pieces taken from beef, chicken, veal, etc.
These should be cut fine, placed in a frying-pan, and
cooked slowly until all the oily particles are extracted.
Strain the liquid, and it will be ready for use.
To clarify butter, put it in a stew-pan and set it on
the back part of the range, where it will heat slowly.
When a clear, oily substance is found on top, and a
cloudy sediment at the bottom of the pan, lift the pan
gently and pour off the clear substance, which will be
the clarified butter.
How to Use Fat.
Having the fat in the proper condition for use, the
next question is, how to use it. Articles of food are
fried in fat that has been heated to a temperature vary-
iog from 345 to 400 Fahrenheit. Most mixtures com-
posed in part of flour, sugar, milk, or eggs like fritter
batters, doughnuts, etc. may be cooked at 350 ; where-
as such articles as oysters, white-bait, croquettes, etc.,
require a heat of at least 400.
Put the fat into a deep kettle (that called a Scotch
kettle being best), and heat it slowly. When the time
for frying the food is near at hand, set the kettle on the
hottest part of the range, and watch to see the blue
smoke rise from the centre of the surface of the liquid.
The smoke indicates the temperature to be about 350.
Drop a piece of stale bread into the fat ; and if one
minute be required to brown it, the fat may be used
at once for frying muffins, doughnuts, fritters, breaded
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT. 241
chops, and, indeed, nearly all articles that require three
or four minutes' cooking.
Time of Cooking Various Articles.
Potatoes cooked a la parisienne, and French fried and
thin fried potatoes need ten minutes' cooking. The fat
must have a temperature of about 370 when they
are put into it, because the potatoes should stand in ice
water for some time before they are cooked. Moisture
will cling to them; and this, with their chilliness,
reduces the fat at least 20 as soon as the frying
begins, making it then 350. At this heat the pota-
toes may be cooked brown and crisp in ten minutes. As
already stated, oysters require a heat of 400. Drop a
piece of stale bread into the fat ; and if the temperature
be right, the bread will become brown in half a minute.
Oysters and white-bait should be cooked brown and crisp
in one minute ; longer cooking will make them rather
tough and dry. A little lower temperature say 380
will do for croquettes, which should be fried about
two minutes. If the temperature be too low, croquettes
will burst open during the cooking; particularly rice
and potato croquettes.
The Prying-basket.
An invention that is growing fast in favor is the
fry ing-basket. This is made of fine wire. After the
articles to be fried have been put into it, it should be
lowered into the fat; gently, because the particles of
moisture which cling to the food are instantly converted
into steam, and this would expand beneath the surface
and force some of the fat from the kettle if the basket
were lowered quickly. The operation may be performed
safely by hanging the basket on a long spoon or fork,
and then letting it settle gently in the fat. Do not
crowd into the basket the articles that are to be fried.
242 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
When the food has been cooked as long as seems neces-
sary, lift the basket with the spoon or fork, and after
allowing the fat to drip from it, place it on a plate.
The Way to Lower the Frying-basket.
Remove the cooked articles, and lay them on brown paper
that has been spread on a warm pan. If properly cooked,
they will hardly stain the paper.
How to Keep Fat.
When the frying has been finished, take the fat from
the fire and let it cool slightly. Next place a piece of
cheese cloth in a colander or strainer, and after setting
this over a jar or pail, strain the fat through the cloth.
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT. 243
This straining never should be omitted ; for, with good
care, the same fat may be used several times, unless
doughnuts have been cooked in it.
What is Meant by "Hot" Fat.
It is a pity that the inexperienced cannot be told in
a word just what is meant by " hot " fat. The word
" boiling " is misleading ; many people would wait, if
that were used, to see the liquid in motion, as water is
when hot. Now, when fat contains no foreign sub-
stances, and the temperature does not rise above 400,
there is no motion at all. One must always wait until
the smoke rises from the centre of the fat before
beginning to do any frying ; and then, after applying
the bread test (see page 240), there can be no difficulty
in determining the proper degrees of heat for the various
articles to be fried.
BRAISING.
This mode of cooking is particularly adapted to pieces
of meat that are lacking in flavor or are tough. Braising
is a combination of stewing and baking. In the days
when ovens were not common the cooking was done by
placing the braising-pan on a warm plate and heaping
coals on the cover. This is the manner in which it is
still done in all small establishments in France. Brais-
ing in the oven is much easier, and the result is the
same. A deep pan, with a close-fitting cover, will
answer for this purpose ; but both pan and cover must
be made without solder.
It is usual, in braising, to use vegetables and herbs for
seasoning the meat and gravy; but if these flavors be not
liked they may be omitted.
*To Braise Five Pounds of Meat.
Spread in the braising-pan one-quarter of a pound of
salt pork, cut iji slices. Over this spread one gill each
244 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
of chopped onion, carrot, turnip, and celery. Lay the
meat on this bed, and dredge well with salt, pepper, and
flour. Cover, and put in a moderately hot oven for half
an hour. At the end of that time add one pint and a
half of stock or water. Baste the meat with some of
this liquid, and dredge with salt, pepper, and flour. Cook
for four hours and a half, basting every fifteen minutes.
At the end of two hours add another pint of stock or
water; also mix half a cupful of cold water with two
table-spoonfuls of corn-starch, and stir this mixture into
the gravy. Cook the meat for the last half-hour without
a cover, as it should be a delicate brown. When done,
place it on a warm dish. Taste the gravy, to see if more
salt or pepper is required. Strain the gravy, and pour a
part of it over the meat. Send the remainder to the
table in a separate dish.
These directions cover the method of braising all kinds
of meat. The seasoning may be changed to suit indi-
vidual or family taste. Veal and liver are improved by
iihe addition of lemon juice to the gravy.
Dry meats are better for being larded on one side. If
one object to pork, four table-spoonfuls of butter or
drippings may be substituted for it.
If the flavor of herbs be liked, a bouquet of sweet
herbs may be added to the gravy the last hour of
cooking.
The time of cooking is the same for large or small
pieces of meat. The success of a braised dish depends
upon slow cooking. If the gravy be allowed to bubble,
the meat will not be cooked to perfection. It is a good
plan to have a grate or iron ring under the braising-pan.
* Beef Stew.
For this" stew use two pounds of the tough parts of
cold roast beef or beefsteak, about two ounces of the fat
meat, six potatoes, one onion, two slices each of turnip
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT. 245
and carrot, two table-spoonfuls of flour, about three tea
spoonfuls of salt, a level teaspoonful of pepper, and one
quart of boiling water.
Cut the fat into bits, and put it in a frying-pan and on
the fire. Cook slowly until there is only about two
table-spoonfuls of liquid fat. Now take the fibrous
pieces of fat from the pan, and add to the liquid fat the
onion, carrot, and turnip, all cut fine. Cook slowly for
ten minutes; then add the flour, stirring until it is
brown. Gradually add the water, stirring all the while,
and simmer for five minutes.
Cut the beef into small cubes, and put it into a large
stew-pan. Pour the contents of the frying-pan over the
meat. Add the salt and pepper. Place where the stew
will simmer for two hours. At the end of that time add
the six potatoes, pared and sliced. Draw the saucepan
forward where the contents will cook a little more
rapidly. Stir frequently. Taste to see if the stew
requires more salt and pepper. At the end of fifteen
minutes add some dumplings. Cover the stew-pan, and
cook for exactly ten minutes, counting from the time
the cover is placed on the pan. Take up the dumplings ;
then turn the stew out on a warm platter. Garnish with
the dumplings and bits of parsley.
Two pounds of the round of beef may be substituted
for the cold roast beef.
*Pot Roast.
A tough piece of meat can be made very savory and
tender by this mode of cooking. With a piece weighing
between six and seven pounds use the following-named
ingredients : three heaping teaspoonfuls of salt, half a
teaspoonful of pepper, two cloves, three table-spoonfuls
of flour, and one quart of water.
Wipe the meat with a damp cloth, and put it into an
iron pot. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put over the
246 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
fire and brown slowly, turning frequently. It will take
about half an hour for this cooking. When the meat
has been browned sufficiently, put half a pint of boiling
water into the pot, and cover closely. Set the pot where
its contents will simmer for four hours. As the water
steams away, add a little more boiling water, about
half a pint at a time. At the end of the four hours mix
the flour with half a pint of cold water. Take up the
meat, and skim the fat from the gravy in the pot. Turn
the flour and water into the gravy, and, placing the pot
in a hot place, stir the gravy until it boils. Cook for
five minutes. After satisfying yourself that the gravy
is seasoned to your taste, pour a small quantity over the
meat and serve the remainder in a dish.
Either boiled rice or potatoes should accompany the
roast, besides any other vegetables you choose.
* Savory Beef.
For this dish use four pounds of the round of beef,
one table-spoonful of sugar, three table-spoonfuls of
flour, two of butter, one table-spoonful and a half of salt,
half a teaspoonful of pepper, one-third of a teaspoonful
of cloves, one teaspoonful of cinnamon, one gill of vine-
gar, half an onion, one slice of carrot, two bay leaves,
and one quart of water.
Wipe the meat, and rub into it the salt, pepper, sugar,
and spice. Cut the onion into bits, and put half of it
and one bay leaf into the bottom of an earthen dish.
Next place the meat in the dish, and sprinkle the re-
mainder of the vegetables over it. Pour the vinegar
over the meat, and after laying the second bay leaf on
top, cover the dish closely and put it away in a cool
place. It should stand for forty-eight hours. In cold
weather it is a good plan to extend the time to three or
four days.
When ready to cook the meat, take it from the dish
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT. 247
and wipe it with a dry cloth. Put two table-spoonfuls
of butter in an iron pot, and place over the fire. When
it becomes hot, put in the meat. Cook until brown on
one side, and then turn and brown on the other ; after
which move the pot back where its contents will cook
slowly.
Mix the flour with one gill of cold water, and stir it
into a quart of boiling water, minus a gill. Let the mix-
ture boil for ten minutes ; then pour it over the beef.
Cover the pot closely, and set it where its contents will
simmer for five hours. The gravy must never more than
bubble. At the end of the five hours taste the gravy, to
ascertain whether there is enough seasoning. Serve the
meat on a warm dish with a little of the gravy poured
over it, and send the rest to the table in a separate dish.
This meat is nice either hot or cold.
* Rolled Flank of Beef, Cold.
Use three or four pounds of the thinnest part of the
flank. With a sharp knife remove the thin, dry skin
which will be found on one side of the flank. Wipe the
meat, and spread it on a board. If one part be very
much thicker than another, cut a thin slice from the
thick part and lay it on the thin. Sprinkle one table-
spoonful of salt and one teaspoonful of pepper over the
meat.
Make a dressing with one pint of cracker crumbs, a
generous half-pint of cold water, three table-spoonfuls
of butter, one teaspoonful of salt, one-third of a tea-
spoonful of pepper, half a teaspoonful of powdered
thyme, half a teaspoonful of summer savory, and one
egg. Mix all the ingredients except the egg, and let
them stand for ten minutes. Now add the egg, well
beaten. Spread this dressing on the meat. Now roll
the meat firmly, and tie rather loosely with twine. Pin
it carefully in a piece of cloth, and after placing it in a
248 MISS PAKLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
stew-pan and covering it with boiling water, simmer it
for five hours. At the end of that time take it from the
fire, but let it stand in the hot water for half an hour.
On taking it from the water, remove the cloth, but do
not take off the strings. Place on a flat dish, putting
upon it a pan containing two bricks. Let the meat cool
under this pressure, and when it is cold, cut it in thin
slices.
The water in which the flank was boiled may be used
as the foundation for a tomato or vegetable soup.
* Rolled Flank of Beef, Hot.
Prepare and simmer the flank as directed for a cold
flank. When it has been cooking for four hours, put
in a stew-pan three table-spoonfuls of drippings or but-
ter, four table-spoonfuls of chopped onion, two each
of chopped carrot, turnip, and celery, and one sprig of
parsley. Cook slowly for half an hour. At the end of
that time add three table-spoonfuls of flour, and stir over
a hotter part of the fire until the mixture begins to brown.
Gradually add one generous pint of the water in which
the flank is cooking. Add, also, one teaspoonful of salt
and a little pepper. . Simmer for twenty minutes. Strain,
and skim off any fat there may be on the sauce.
Remove the cloth and string, and place the meat on a
warm dish. Pour the sauce over it, and serve.
This dish may be garnished with little mounds of
cooked turnip, carrot, potato, or any other vegetable that
is in season; or the rolled flank may be served with
tomato sauce.
* Hamburg Steaks.
Have the butcher chop two pounds of the round of
beef very fine. Season it with half a teaspoonful of
pepper, two teaspoonfuls of salt, and one of onion juice,
and after shaping into thin cakes, place in a broiler that
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT. 249
has been buttered slightly, and broil over a clear fire for
eight minutes. Serve on a hot dish.
Or, put four slices of fat salt pork into a frying-pan,
and when they have become crisp and brown, remove
them, and put the steaks into the fat. Fry for eight
minutes, and when they are cooked put them on a warm
platter. Into the fat remaining in the pan put a table-
spoonful of flour, and stir until brown ; then gradually
add a cupful of water, and after seasoning with salt and
pepper, boil for three minutes. Pour this gravy around
the steaks, and serve immediately.
* Savory Beef Collops.
Use one table-spoonful of flour, one of butter, one tea-
spoonful of chopped onion, one of chopped parsley, one
of salt, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper, and one
pound of lean uncooked beef, chopped rather fine, it
may be cut from the round, flank, or shoulder, and the
butcher probably will be willing to chop it for you.
Mix the meat, salt, pepper, flour, and chopped parsley.
Put the butter and onion in a frying-pan, and cook until
the onion turns a delicate brown ; then add the meat and
seasoning. Cook for five minutes, stirring all the while
with a fork, and separating the bits of meat during the
stirring. Serve very hot. This dish is nice for break-
fast, luncheon, or supper.
* Fricandelles.
For this dish there will be required one pound of fine-
chopped raw beef (that from the round is best), ono cup-
ful of dry bread crumbs and half a cupful of fresh ones,
half a cupful of meat stock or milk, a teaspoonful of
onion juice, a heaping teaspoonful of salt, a table-spoonful
of butter, one-eighth of a teaspoonful of cayenne, and
one-eighth of a pound of fat salt pork.
Soak the fresh bread in the stock or milk foi two
250 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
hours ; then mash it fine, and add it, together with the
seasoning, to the chopped beef. Melt the butter, and
add that also. Form the mixture into eight small cakes,
and roll these in the dried crumbs.
Cut the salt pork into thin slices, and fry until crisp ;
then remove it, and put the fricandelles into the boiling
fat. Brown quickly on both sides, and serve immediately
on a hot dish, using the slices of pork for garnishing.
Cold roast beef will answer for fricandelles, but it is not
so nice as raw meat.
* Shaved Frozen Beef.
This affords a pleasant change in winter. It is a dish
that can be served only in freezing weather.
Get a slice of round steak, cut thin. Roll it up tight,
and tie it in this position. Pin a thin napkin or piece
of cloth over this roll, and hang up where the meat will
freeze solid. When ready to cook the meat, shave off
thin slices, and season them with salt and pepper. Put
some butter on the fire in the fpying-pan, and when it
gets hot put in the shaved beef. Cook for four minutes,
stirring all the time with a fork. Turn into a hot dish,
and serve at once.
For one pound of meat use a large table-spoonful of
butter, a teaspoonful of salt, and one-fifth of a teaspoon-
ful of pepper. This is a good dish for breakfast, tea, or
luncheon.
* Beef Sausages.
Use three pounds of raw round of beef, one pound of
beef suet, one pint of cold water, a table-spoonful and a
half of salt, one-fifth of a teaspoonful of cayenne, half
a teaspoonful of white pepper, and one generous tea-
spoonful of sage.
Chop the beef and suet very fine. Add the seasoning
and the water, and mix thoroughly. Make into small
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT. 251
cakes, and dredge these with flour. Fry for six minutes,
and serve very hot.
* Macaroni-and-Meat Pie.
A quarter of a pound of macaroni will be needed for
this dish, as well as a quart of any kind of cold meat, a
table-spoonful of flour, two of butter, a cupful of bread
crumbs, and salt and pepper for seasoning to suit the
taste.
Boil the macaroni rapidly for twenty minutes in two
quarts of water. Eub the butter and flour together, and
gradually add to this paste one generous pint of the
water in which the macaroni was boiled. Season well
with salt and pepper. Put a layer of the macaroni into an
escalop dish, and season well. Cover with a part of the
sauce made of the butter, flour, and water, and then add
a layer of meat, well seasoned. Continue putting in
these alternate layers macaroni, sauce, meat, and sauce
until all the materials have been used. Cover the
last layer with the bread crumbs, and bake slowly for
half an hour. For the quantities of materials named,
the amount of seasoning required is about three tea-
spoonfuls of salt and half a teaspoonful of pepper.
.
* Beefsteak Pie.
The materials used are as follows : a quart of pieces
of cold steak, a gill of milk, a pint of water, half a dozen
potatoes, a slice of onion, two table-spoonfuls of butter,
one table-spoonful of flour, and salt and pepper in quan-
tities to suit the taste.
Peel the potatoes, and put them on to cook for half an
hour in boiling water, enough to cover. While they are
boiling, cut the meat into inch cubes. Put the butter
and onion into a frying-pan, and cook until the onion
turns a straw color ; then add the flour, and stir it until
it gets brown. Gradually add the water, and stir until
252 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
it boils. Season with salt and pepper. Season the meat,
also, and put it into the stew-pan. Simmer for ten min-
utes, and then turn into a deep escalop dish, leaving at
least an inch of space at the top for the potatoes. When
the potatoes have cooked for half an hour, pour all the
water away from them, and mash them until fine and
light. Heat the gill of milk, and add it to the potato ;
and add also enough salt and pepper to give the mixture
a seasoning to your acceptance. Spread the potato in
the escalop dish, and cook in a hot oven for a quarter of
an hour. In that time the potato should turn a delicate
brown. Serve as soon as taken from the oven.
Any kind of cold roast meat or fish may be treated in
the same way as beefsteak.
* Shepherd's Pie.
Cut up enough cold roast beef to make a quart of
small, thin slices. Season the meat with salt and
pepper, and after putting it into a deep earthen dish,
pour over it a sauce made as follows :
Put two table-spoonfuls of butter into a frying-pan, and
when it has become hot, add two scant table-spoonfuls
of flour. Stir until this is dark brown, and then add a
pint of water. Season with salt and pepper, and boil
for three minutes.
Pare, boil, and mash eight good-sized potatoes ; then
add to them a cupful of boiling milk, a table-spoonful of
butter, and salt and pepper to suit the taste. Spread
this preparation over the meat and sauce, beginning at
the sides of the dish and working toward the centre.
Bake for thirty minutes.
Other meats besides roast beef may be used in a shep-
herd's pie.
*Beef Pastie.
Use for this savory luncheon dish two pounds of the
round or flank of beef, enough raw potatoes to make
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT. 253
when pared two quarts of small cubes ; three teaspoon-
f'uls and a half of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, two
table-spoonfuls of chopped onion, one generous pint of
water, three-fourths of a cupful of milk, one generous
pint of unsifted flour, two level teaspoonfuls of baking-
powder, and one table-spoonful of butter.
Cut the meat into cubes, and put it, together with the
potatoes, onion, two table-spoonfuls of flour, the pepper,
and two teaspoonfuls and a half of salt, into a large
earthen dish that will hold a little more than three
quarts. Mix thoroughly, and then add the water. Cover
the dish with a large plate, or anything else that will
prevent the escape of steam, and set it in a very moderate
oven for one hour. At the end of that time mix the
remaining flour, the baking-powder, and a scant tea-
spoonful of salt, and rub the mixture through a sieve.
RUD the butter into the mixture with the hands ; then
add the milk, and mix quickly with a spoon. Sprinkle
the moulding-board with flour, and roll the dough on it
until it is the size of the dish in which the mixture is
baking. Remove the dish from the oven, and after tak-
ing off the cover, cover the dish with the paste. Return
to the oven, and cook for a quarter of an hour ; then put
the dish-cover over the paste, and cook fifteen minutes
longer. Serve the pastie in the dish in which it is pre-
pared. There will be enough for six or eight persons.
It is well to pin a napkin around the dish.
*Timbale of Cold Meat.
For six persons, use one pint and a half of cold meat,
free of fat and gristle and chopped fine, one level table-
spoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, half a tea-
spoonful of onion juice, one teaspoonful of chopped
parsley, one cupful of stock or milk, two eggs, two table-
spoonfuls of butter, and half a cupful of grated bread
crumbs.
254 MISS PAKLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Mix the seasoning and bread crumbs with the meat.
Heat the stock, and nielt the butter in it ; then add the
stock and the two eggs, well beaten, to the meat. Mix
thoroughly, and put into a well-buttered mould or bowl.
Place this in a pan of warm water, and cover with a
piece of buttered paper. Cook for an hour in a moderate
oven ; and after turning out on a warm dish, pour brown
sauce around it.
Brown Sauce. Heat three table-spoonfuls of butter
in a frying-pan, and when it begins to turn brown, add
two table-spoonfuls of flour. Stir the mixture until it
becomes dark brown ; then draw the pan back to a cooler
place, and gradually pour into it one cupful and a half
of stock. If it be inconvenient to use stock, take instead
the same quantity of milk. Stir the sauce until it boils ;
then let it simmer for three minutes. Season with half
a teaspoonful of salt, one-eighth of a teaspoonful of
pepper, and one table-spoonful of tomato catsup.
* Simple Curry of Beef.
Free the meat of skin, fat, and bone, and, cutting it
into rather small pieces, season it with salt and pepper.
For a quart of meat allow a sauce made as follows, in-
creasing the quantities of the ingredients in the proper
proportion if there be more than a quart :
Put three table-spoonfuls of butter into a frying-pan
with half an onion, cut fine. Cook slowly for eight
minutes ; then add two table-spoonfuls of flour and one
teaspoonful of curry-powder. Stir until perfectly smooth
and brown. If you have it, add a pint of stock ; if not,
add that quantity of water. Stir until it boils, and sea-
son with salt and pepper.
Strain this sauce upon the meat, and cook from twelve
to fifteen minutes. Pour into the centre of a border of
plain boiled rice.
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT. 255
* Fricassee of Cold Roast Beef.
The materials required are a quart of cold roast beef,
cut in thin slices and almost free of fat, three gills of
stock, or the water in which the bones of the beef have
been boiled, three table-spoonfuls of butter, three scant
table-spoonfuls of flour, two generous teaspoonfuls of
salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, one table-spoonful of
chopped onion, and half a cupful of strained tomato.
Put the butter and onion in a large frying-pan, and
cook slowly for ten minutes ; then draw the pan forward
and add the flour, stirring all the while, and until the
mixture becomes dark brown. Gradually add the stock.
Stir for one minute ; then let the sauce simmer for five
minutes.
Sprinkle the meat with the salt and pepper, and put
it in a stew-pan. Add the strained tomato, and then
strain the sauce over the meat. Cover the saucepan, and
cook for five or six minutes. Serve at once. It will not
spoil the dish to omit the onion.
* Savory Beef Collops.
Use a quart of cold roast beef, chopped very fine ; two
table-spoonfuls of flour, four of butter, one teaspoonful
of chopped onion, half a teaspoonful of chopped parsley,
two teaspoonfuls of salt, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of
pepper, and half a pint of stock made of the bones and
hard bits of the roast beef.
Put the butter on the stove in a frying-pan, and when
it gets hot, add the onion and parsley. Cook the onion
until it turns a light brown; then add the flour, and stir
the liquid until it becomes smooth. Next add the stock,
and cook for two minutes ; then add the meat, salt, and
pepper, and stir the mixture thoroughly. Cover the pan,
and set it back where its contents will cook slowly for
twenty minutes. Turn out on a hot dish, and garnish
with small slices of toast or a few bits of parsley.
256 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Cold steak or raw beef, chopped fine, may be used for
collops. When, however, uncooked beef is taken, the
cooking should be continued only five minutes after the
meat is put with the sauce.
* Hashed Beef on Toast.
Chop pieces of cold roast beef rather fine, and season
well with salt and pepper. To each pint of meat add a
level table-spoonful of flour. Stir well, and add a small
teacupful of soup stock or water. Put the mixture into
a small stew-pan, and after covering, simmer gently for
twenty minutes. Meanwhile toast six slices of bread
nicely, and at the end of the twenty minutes spread the
beef upon them. Serve immediately on a hot dish.
If water be used instead of soup stock, add a table-
spoonful of butter just before spreading the beef on the
toast. Any kind of cold meat may be served in this
manner.
* Frizzled Beef.
With a very sharp knife, cut about one-third of a
pound of dried beef into slices as thin as shavings.
Beat together six eggs and a quarter of a cupful of milk,
and season slightly with salt and pepper. Put two table-
spoonfuls of butter into a frying-pan, and when it has
become melted, put in the shaved beef. Stir over a hot
fire until the meat begins to curl; then draw the pan
back where there is less heat, and add the mixture of
eggs and milk. Stir until the egg begins to thicken;
then pour into a warm dish, and serve at once.
* * -f r- r
* Creamed Beef.
Shave half a pound of dried beef into thin slices. Put
three table-spoonfuls of butter into a frying-pan, and as
soon as it is melted, add the meat. Stir until the slices
begin to curl ; then add a cupful of milk, and when the
milk boils, stir in a teaspoonful of flour, mixed smooth
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT. 257
with, three table-spoonfuls of milk. Season with pepper.
Boil up once, and serve.
* Braised Shoulder of Veal.
When ordering eight pounds of the shoulder, direct the
butcher to remote the bones, but to send them with the
veal. There will also be needed a quarter of a pound
of salt pork, a pint of cracker crumbs, three table-spoon-
fuls of butter, six table-spoonfuls of flour, a teaspoonful
of chopped onion, half a teaspoonful of thyme, half a
teaspoonful of summer savory, some cold water, salt,
and pepper, and three leaves of celery, if they may be
obtained.
Put the bones into a stew-pan containing three pints
of cold water, and cook gently for an hour. Cut the pork
into thin slices, and fry it slowly in a large frying-pan
during the same period. Mix the butter, herbs, a tea-
spoonful of pepper, an even table-spoonful of salt, a
cupful of cold water, and the pint of cracker crumbs.
Spread the veal on a board, and, after sprinkling it lightly
with pepper and generously with salt, spread over it the
dressing which has just been made. Koll up the meat
and tie it with soft twine, being careful not to draw the
twine very tight. Dredge the roll with flour, covering
it thickly. Eemove the pork from the frying-pan, and
set the pan where the fat which it contains will become
very hot. Lay the veal in the fat, and brown it on
all sides ; then transfer it to a deep tin or granite-ware
pan.
Cook the spoonful of chopped onion for one minute in
the fat remaining in the frying-pan ; then add whatever
quantity of flour may have been left from the six spoon-
fuls provided for dredging the meat, and stir it until it
turns brown. Gradually add the water in which the
bones were simmered. Stir the mixture until it boils
up ; then season to your taste with salt and pepper, and
17
258 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
pour it over the roll of veal. If there be any celery leaves,
add them now. Cover the pan, place it in a moderate
oven, and cook the meat for three hours, basting fre-
quently. At serving-time place the veal on a warm dish,
and, after removing the strings, strain the gravy over it.
Loin of Veal a la Jardiniere.
This is an elegant dish, well worth the pains needed for
its preparation. The articles required for making it are
a loin of veal weighing about seven pounds, two ounces of
salt pork, one pint each of turnips, carrots, and potatoes,
cut into cubes, a pint of green peas, a small cauliflower,
an onion, a bay leaf, a stalk of celery, a table-spoonful of
lemon juice, two table-spoonfuls of corn-starch, four of
butter, one of flour, and some salt and pepper for season-
ing purposes.
With a sharp knife remove the backbone from the
meat. This will separate the tenderloin and kidneys
from the rest of the meat. Put them back ; and after
seasoning the meat well with salt and pepper, roll it up
and fasten it with skewers. Butter two large sheets of
fool's-cap paper, and cover the meat with them, tying
them on with twine ; then put the loin in a cool place
until the time for cooking comes.
Next break up the bone taken from the meat. Cut the
pork into thin slices, and, putting it into a frying-pan,
cook it slowly for ten minutes ; then add the onion, cut
fine, and cook it until it has acquired a light brown color.
Add the flour, and stir until it becomes dark brown.
Gradually add three pints of cold water. Put the bones
and herbs into a stew-pan, and pour the contents of the
frying-pan over them. Cook gently for an hour.
Mix the corn-starch with half a cupful of cold water,
and stir it into the boiling mixture in the stew-pan.
Season well with salt and pepper, and add the lemon
juice. Put the loin of veal into a deep, narrow pan, and
strain over it half of the liquor from the stew-pan. Place
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT. 259
f
the meat in a very moderate oven, and cook for three
hours, basting every fifteen minutes with the gravy in
the pan. When the meat has been cooking for an hour
and a half, strain over it the gravy remaining in the
stew-pan. At serving-time remove the sheets of paper
from the loin, and withdraw the skewers. Place the
meat on a warm dish, and pour four table-spoonfuls of
gravy over it. Arrange the vegetables in little groups
around the meat ; serve the gravy in a separate dish.
If you do not like pork, use, instead, three table-
spoonfuls of butter or oil when frying the onion for
the gravy. Each vegetable should be cooked separately,
and in boiling water in plenty. Cook the turnips and
carrots for half an hour ; the cauliflower, broken into
flowerets, twenty minutes ; the peas, from twenty to
fifty minutes, being guided by their age ; the potatoes,
if cut into half-inch cubes, twelve minutes. Except in
the case of the potatoes (which must be drained dry, and
have only some salt added), pour almost all the water
away from each vegetable, and add to each half a tea-
spoonful of sugar, half a teaspoonful of salt, and one
teaspoonful of butter. Boil rapidly for a minute, shak-
ing all the while, and then set back where they will keep
hot until serving-time.
Not much more trouble is required for preparing this
dish than for preparing the ordinary roast of veal, and
the change is a pleasing one. These full directions make
the process appear harder than it really is.
* Brown Fricassee of Veal.
Cut two pounds of veal into thin slices, and dredge
with salt, pepper, and flour. Cut a quarter of a pound
of salt pork into thin slices, and fry until crisp and
brown, being careful not to burn. When the pork is
done, take it up, and put the veal into the fat remaining
in the pan. Fry the meat until it is well browned; then
260 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
remove it from the pan, and put three table-spoonfuls of
flour into the fat. Cook it until it has become rich
brown, and gradually stir in a pint and a half of cold
water. Season with salt and pepper, and after the sauce
has boiled up once, put the veal into it, and simmer for
a quarter of an hour.
This is a nice dish for luncheon, when served in a
border of rice, hominy, mashed potatoes, or hot small
cream-of-tartar biscuit.
* Blanquette of Veal.
Use three pounds of veal (taken from the shoulder or
neck), two table-spoonfuls of chopped onion, four of but-
ter, three of flour, a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, a
quart of water, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper,
and a level table-spoonful of salt.
Cut the veal into pieces about two inches square, and
roll these in the flour. Put the butter into a frying-pan,
and as soon as it becomes hot, put in the veal. Cook the
meat until it is a delicate brown on both sides ; then re-
move it to a deep stew-pan. Put the onion into the but-
ter remaining in the frying-pan, and stir for two minutes ;
then add the flour in which the meat was rolled, and stir
until it turns brown. Gradually pour in the cold water,
and when the gravy begins to boil, pour it over the veal.
Add the salt and pepper, and then cover the stew-pan
and set it where its contents will only simmer during
the next two hours. At the end of that time add the
parsley, and taste the blanquette, to be sure that there
is enough seasoning. Serve with Turkish rice, plain
rice, or, indeed, with any vegetable.
*Veal Pillau.
This is a savory and economical mode of preparing
veal, three pounds cut from the neck and shoulder being
used. The other materials needed are a cupful of rice,
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT. 261
three table-spoonfuls of butter or a quarter of a pound of
salt pork, an onion, three large teaspoonfuls of salt, half
a teaspoonf ul of pepper, half a cupful of strained tomato,
and four cupfuls of boiling water.
Cut the veal into small pieces, and season well with
salt. Chop the onion fine, and put it into a stew-pan
with the butter. Stir until the onion turns a light straw-
color ; then add the veal, and stir until that is browned
a little, being careful not to burn the onion. Add the
tomato and a cupful of the water, and simmer gently for
an hour and a half. Now add the other three cupfuls of
boiling water, the salt, pepper, and the rice, after washing
the latter carefully in three waters. Heat the mixture
to the boiling-point ; then cover closely, and set back
where it will cook slowly for an hour. The rice will ab-
sorb almost all the liquid and be tender, yet every grain
should be distinct. Turn the pillau out upon a platter,
and garnish with parsley.
* Curry of Veal.
First cut four pounds of veal into pieces about three
inches square. Cut a quarter of a pound of fat salt pork
into thin slices, and fry slowly in the soup-kettle. Add
a large onion, cut fine, and as soon as it begins to turn a
light straw-color, add the veal. Cover the kettle, and
set it back where the dish will cook slowly for an hour.
Give a stirring frequently, and at the end of the hour
add a cupful of stewed tomato and a pint and a half of
boiling water. Stir well, and place the kettle where the
dish will cook slowly for another hour ; then add a table-
spoonful of curry-powder, mixed with one-third of a cup-
ful of cold water. Season well with salt and pepper.
Simmer half an hour longer, and serve on a flat dish,
with a border of boiled rice.
Mutton, beef, and lamb may be prepared in the same
manner.
262 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
* Minced Veal on Toast.
The bits of veal left from a dinner may be utilized the
next morning. Chop them fine, and to each pint put a
table-spoonful of flour, a teaspoonful of salt, and one-
eighth of a teaspoonful of pepper. After mixing well,
add half a cupful of stock or water. Simmer for fifteen
minutes ; then, after stirring in a table-spoonful of but-
ter, spread the hash on slices of toast. Serve very hot.
Thin slices of lemon laid around the toast increase its
attractiveness considerably.
Terrapin Veal.
-
The list of materials is long, yet the dish is worth it :
two pounds of veal cut from the leg, six hard-boiled
eggs, half a pint of cream, half a pint of stock or water,
two large table-spoonfuls of butter, one large table-
spoonful of flour, half a table-spoonful of chopped onion,
a table-spoonful of mushroom ketchup, a piece of cinna-
mon about half an inch long, a teaspoonful of lemon
juice, a clove, a slight grating of nutmeg, a teaspoonful
of salt, and one-eighth of a teaspoonful of pepper.
Put the onion and butter into a stew-pan, to cook
slowly for five minutes. Meanwhile cut the veal into
small cubes, and at the end of five minutes put it with
the butter and onion, and draw the pan forward to a hot
part of the range. Stir until the meat begins to brown ;
then add the flour, and stir a moment longer, being care-
ful not to burn. Draw the pan back, and gradually pour
in the stock, stirring all the while. Now put in all the
seasoning except the lemon juice, having the whole spice
tied up in a bit of muslin. When the dish boils, cover
it closely and set back where it will only simmer for two
hours. At the end of that time remove the whole spice,
and add the cream and boiled eggs, the latter chopped
rather fine. Satisfy yourself by tasting that there is
VARIOUS MODES OF. COOKING MEAT. 263
seasoning enough. Heat the dish to the boiling-point,
and after adding the lemon juice, serve very hot. If
you choose you may add two table-spoonfuls of Madeira
with the juice.
This dish may be made with cold veal, the mode of
cooking being the same. Sometimes only two eggs are
used, a few table-spoonfuls of chopped mushrooms being
substituted for the other four.
Jellied Veal.
Use a knuckle of veal weighing about four pounds,
three hard-boiled eggs, the juice of one lemon, two table-
spoonfuls of minced onion, two of minced carrot, one of
parsley, a bit of mace, a piece of cinnamon about an inch
long, half a dozen cloves, two sprigs of thyme, a level
teaspoonful of pepper, two table-spoonfuls of salt, and
three pints of water.
Have the knuckle of veal broken into several pieces.
Wash it, and put it in a stew-pan with the water. Tie
up all the seasonings, except the salt, pepper, and lemon,
in a piece of muslin, and put them in the stew-pan with
the veal. Place the stew-pan on the fire, and when the
contents begin to boil, skim carefully. Cook slowly for
four hours, and then take up the meat and free it from
the bones. Let it cool, and then cut it into small pieces.
Put the meat in a clean stew-pan, and strain over it the
water in which it was boiled. Now add the salt, pepper,
and lemon juice, and simmer for half an hour.
Slice the hard-boiled eggs, and arrange some of them
in a circle on the bottom of a charlotte mould. Now put
in a layer of the stewed veal and then a layer of egg,
and continue in this way until all the materials are used.
Set away in a cold place for three or four hours.
At serving-time dip the mould into warm water for a
few moments, and then loosen the contents by slipping
a knife between the jellied meat and the mould. Turn
264 MISS PAKLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
out on a flat dish, and garnish with parsley or water-
cresses.
* Veal Loaf.
Use for this dish five pounds of veal, cut from the leg,
one cupful of cracker crumbs, powdered fine, one cupful
and a half of stock, three eggs, three-quarters of a pound
of fat salt pork, one-quarter of a cupful of dried bread
crumbs, one table-spoonful of fine chopped onion; one
scant teaspoonful of thyme, half a teaspoonful of sweet
marjoram, half a teaspoonful of summer savory, three
generous teaspoonfuls of salt, one teaspoonful of white
pepper, and two table-spoonfuls of butter.
Chop the veal and pork exceedingly fine. Add to the
chopped mixture the crackers, seasoning, two of the eggs,
well beaten, and one cupful of the stock. Mix well with
the hands. Next, butter the bottom of a flat cake-pan.
Form the mixture into a loaf about three inches and a
half high and five wide, and place this in the buttered
pan. Beat the third egg well, and spread it on the loaf
with a brush or a piece of cotton cloth. Now sprinkle the
meat with the fine bread crumbs. Put it into a rather
hot oven, and cook for three hours, basting frequently
with the remaining half-cupful of stock, in which the
two table-spoonfuls of butter should be melted. Serve
with the veal loaf a sauce made as follows :
Put two table-spoonfuls of butter on the stove in a
small frying-pan, and when it becomes hot, stir in two
level table-spoonfuls of flour. Stir until smooth and
brown ; then draw the pan back, and gradually add one
large cupful of stock or milk. Boil for three minutes,
stirring all the while ; then set the sauce back where it
will keep hot.
Pour the gravy which is in the pan into that which
has just been made. Season with salt and pepper, and
pour around the meat, or serve it in a separate dish.
Veal loaf may be served cold for luncheon or supper.
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT. 265
Leg of Lamb a la Jardiniere.
Use a leg weighing about seven or eight pounds. Put
it into as small a kettle as will contain it, and cover
with boiling water (two quarts should be enough). Put
into a muslin bag an onion, half a small carrot, half a
small turnip, two cloves, four allspice, and, if you have
them, four leaves of celery. Tie the bag and put it into
the kettle with the meat. Mix four table-spoonfuls of
flour with one cupful of cold water, and stir this thicken-
ing into the hot water in the kettle. Add four tea-
spoonfuls of salt and one of pepper- Cover, and heat to
the boiling-point ; then skim carefully, and set the kettle
back where the water will just bubble for four hours.
Place the meat on a large warm dish, and pour some of
the gravy around it. Arrange, in little groups about the
leg, carrots, turnips, and peas, cooked a la jardiniere, and
serve at once.
The gravy left from the dish will be a good foundation
for a thick vegetable soup.
Broiled Breast of Lamb.
Use a breast of lamb weighing about three pounds,
two table-spoonfuls of butter, two of flour, one table-
spoonful of chopped onion, one table-spoonful of salt,
half a teaspoonful of pepper, two cloves, a bay leaf, a
sprig of parsley, a table-spoonful of lemon juice, and a
generous pint of water.
Bone the meat, and lay it flat in a stew-pan, putting
the bones on top of the meat. Put the butter and onions
in a frying-pan, and cook slowly for ten minutes ; then
add the flour, and stir until smooth and frothy. Gradu-
ally add the water and afterward the seasoning. After
simmering for ten minutes, pour over the meat in the
stew-pan. Cover, and simmer for an hour and a half j
then take up the meat and put it on a flat dish. Place
on top of it another flat dish or a tin sheet on which
266 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
rests a brick or some other weight. Set away in a cool
place. In the morning remove the weight, and after
trimming the edges of the meat, broil over a hot fire for
ten minutes. Season with butter, salt, and pepper.
A nice sauce to go with the lamb may be easily made.
As soon as the meat is put away to get pressed, strain
the liquor in which it was simmered. When it gets cold,
skim off the fat. In the morning put the sauce on the
stove in a saucepan, and when it gets hot, add a tea-
spoonful of walnut or tomato ketchup.
Broiled breast of lamb is a good dish for luncheon or
supper as well as for breakfast. A breast of mutton may
be cooked in the same way.
* Fricassee of Lamb, with Baked Dumplings.
Cut up enough cold lamb to make a quart of dice each
about an inch square, and after seasoning the meat with
salt and pepper, put it into a rather shallow dish, and
pour over it a sauce made as follows :
Put a table-spoonful of butter into a frying-pan, and
when it becomes hot add a table-spoonful of flour. Cook
until brown, and then add a scant pint of water. When
the sauce boils up, season it with salt and pepper, and
pour over the meat.
Set the dish containing the meat and sauce into the
oven, and make some dumplings in the following
manner :
Mix together in a sieve, and then rub through it, a pint
of unsifted flour, half a teaspoonful of salt, one teaspoon-
ful of sugar, and one teaspoonful and a half of baking-
powder. Rub into the mixture half a table-spoonful
of butter, and then wet it with a small cupful of milk.
Roll out the dough, and cut it into very small biscuit.
Remove the meat from the oven, and place the biscuit
or dumplings upon it ; then return to the oven, and bake
for twelve or fifteen minutes. Serve the fricassee imme-
diately in the dish in which it was cooked.
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT. 267
* Lamb Warmed in Curry Sauce.
After freeing a quantity of cold lamb of skin, fat, and
bone, cut it into thin slices, and season with salt and
pepper; then make a sauce according to the following
rule, in which the quantities stated are sufficient for a
quart of meat :
Put into a frying-pan three table-spoonfuls of butter
and half a small onion, cut fine, and cook slowly for
eight minutes ; then add two table-spoonfuls of flour
and one teaspoonful of curry-powder, and stir until per-
fectly smooth ; gradually add a pint of stock, and stir
the sauce until it boils ; season with salt and pepper, and
cook for three minutes.
When the sauce is finished, strain it upon the meat,
and cook both together for twelve or fifteen minutes.
Serve in a border of boiled rice.
* Ragout of Cold Lamb.
Free a quantity of cold roast lamb of fat and bone,
and cut it into delicate slices. For one quart of the pre-
pared meat use three table-spoonfuls of butter, one of
chopped onion, half a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, a
quart of water, two table-spoonfuls of flour, half a cup-
ful of stewed tomato, three hard-boiled eggs, and some
salt and pepper.
Put the bones and water into a saucepan, and let them
simmer for an hour; then add the onion, tomato, and
parsley, and simmer half an hour longer. Strain the
mixture ; there should be about a pint and a half of the
liquid. Put the butter into a frying-pan, and when it
gets hot, add the flour. Stir the mixture until the flour
turns dark brown ; then gradually add the strained liquor,
and season with pepper and salt. Season the meat also,
and stir it into the sauce. Add the hard-boiled eggs,
chopped rather fine. Simmer for five minutes, and serve
very hot. Any kind of meat may be used for a ragout. .
268 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
* Boiled Leg of Mutton.
Put into a kettle and cover with boiling water a leg of
mutton weighing about twelve pounds. Add a cupful of
well-washed rice. When the water boils, skim it care-
fully. Let it boil rapidly for fifteen minutes ; then set
the kettle back where it will only simmer for two hours.
The meat will then be red in the centre, and blood will
follow the knife. If you prefer to have the mutton
better done, cook fifteen minutes longer. The use of rice
makes it whiter and tenderer. Serve with caper sauce.
The water in the kettle may be used the next day for
a soup.
Stuffed and Rolled Shoulder of Mutton.
This is a nice dish for a small family. Buy a shouldei
of mutton weighing from three to four pounds, and have
the butcher remove the bones, which should be saved.
Wipe the meat carefully, and dredge it generously with
salt and pepper, using about a table-spoonful of salt and
half a teaspoonful of pepper. Make a dressing by soak-
ing one cupful and a half of stale bread in one-third of
a cupful of cold water, and adding a table-spoonful of
butter, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of chopped onion,
one-eighth of a teaspoonful of pepper, one- fourth of a
teaspoonful of summer savory, one-fourth of a teaspoon-
ful of thyme, and one well-beaten egg. After spreading
the meat with this dressing, roll it up. Fasten with
skewers, and place it on the rack in a meat-pan. Put the
bones which were taken from the meat and half a pint
of water in the bottom of the pan. Cook in a hot
oven for an hour and a quarter, basting half a dozen
times with the water in the pan, and salt, pepper, and
flour. If the water cook away, add more from time to
time.
When the meat is done, place it on a hot platter.
Skim the fat from the gravy in the pan, and add water
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT. 269
enough to make half a pint of gravy. Thicken with one
teaspoonful of flour, mixed with half a cupful of cold
water. Boil for a minute, and then ascertain whether
any more seasoning is needed. Have the meat hot when
it goes to the table.
* Stuffed Fillet of Mutton.
Remove the bone from the remainder of a roast leg of
mutton. Season the meat well with salt and pepper, and
place it on a tin plate or sheet in a baking-pan. Cut an
onion in halves, and rub it over the meat. Pare, boil,
and mash ten good-sized potatoes, and season with a
table-spoonful of butter, a scant table -spoonful of salt,
half a teaspoonful of pepper, and half a cupful of hot
milk. Fill with potato the space left vacant by the re-
moval of the bone, and heap the remainder of the potato
upon the meat. Pour around the mutton a sauce made
as follows :
Put three table-spoonfuls of butter into a frying-pan,
and when it is hot, add two large table-spoonfuls of flour.
Stir the sauce until it becomes dark brown ; then add,
very slowly, a pint of stock made with the bones from
the mutton, and season with salt and pepper. Boil for
two minutes. This sauce will be thin, but it will thicken
as it is cooked.
When the sauce has been poured around the meat,
place the baking-pan in a moderately hot oven. Cook
the meat for an hour, basting it, and the potato too,
every fifteen minutes with the sauce. At the end of
the hour beat two eggs rather light, and spread over the
meat and potato. Ten minutes later remove the pan
from the oven. Place the meat on a warm platter, and
pour the sauce around it. Garnish with parsley, and
serve very hot.
Veal or lamb may be served in the same manner.
270 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
* Broiled Breast of Mutton.
For a family of six or seven, get two breasts of mut-
ton. Cut out the backbones, which may be used in
making stock, and season the meat well with salt and
pepper, and dredge it lightly with flour. Broil over a
clear fire for fifteen minutes, and serve on a warm dish
with Soubise sauce.
* Ragout of Mutton.
For six persons use three pounds of the shoulder of
mutton, a carrot, a turnip, two table-spoonfuls of chopped
onion, one quart of potatoes, measured after being pared,
and cut into half-inch cubes, three table-spoonfuls of
flour, three of butter, three pints of boiling water, and
enough salt and pepper to season the dish well.
Cut most of the fat from the meat, and then cut the
meat into small pieces. Season, and roll in flour. After
putting the butter into a frying-pan, put in also all the
vegetables, except the potatoes, cut fine. Cook slowly
for five minutes, and then add the meat. Stir the con-
tents of the pan over a hot fire until they acquire a
golden-brown color ; then turn into a large stew-pan, and
pour the boiling water over them, reserving a little, how-
ever, with which to wash off any part of the mixture
which may cling to the frying-pan. Cook gently for an
hour and a half. At the end of that time season well
with salt and pepper, and add the potatoes. With half
an hour's further cooking the dish will be finished.
* Irish Stew.
For this stew use two pounds of the shoulder of mut-
ton, a pint and a half of peeled and sliced onion, three
pints of pared and sliced potatoes, one table-spoonful of
flour, three generous teaspoonfuls of salt, one teaspoon-
ful of pepper, one quart of boiling water, and one table-
spoonful of minced parsley.
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT. 271
Cut all the fat from the mutton, and put about two
ounces of it in a stew-pan and on the fire. Be careful
not to put in any of the thin skin that covers the fat, as
this would give the stew a strong flavor. Cook the fat
slowly, until there is about four table-spoonfuls of the
liquid fat. Remove all the solid matter, and add the
onions to the liquid fat. Cover, and cook slowly for one
hour, stirring often. At the end of that time add the
flour and the lean mutton, cut into cubes. Stir over a
hot part of the fire until the mixture becomes slightly
browned. Now add the salt, pepper, and water. Set
the stew back where it will simmer for one hour and a
half; then add the potatoes and minced parsley, and
simmer for three-quarters of an hour longer. Taste, to
see if there be salt and pepper enough.
* Brunswick Stew.
This dish is a good medium for the use of the remains
of a roast of mutton ; about two pounds of meat, aside
from the bones, being required. The other articles
needed are a pint of Lima beans, or any kind of
shelled beans will do; one quart of pared and sliced
potatoes ; half a pint each of turnips and carrots, cut into
dice ; one pint of tomatoes, cut fine ; one parsnip, cut
fine ; two quarts of fine-shred cabbage, two quarts of
water, two table-spoonfuls of flour, two of butter, two
of salt, and a level teaspoonful of pepper. All of the
vegetables should be uncooked. When corn is in season
a pint and a half, cut from the cob, may be used.
Free the meat from bones and fat, and cut it into dice.
Put the bones into a stew-pan with some water, and cook
gently for two hours. Mix the flour with half a cup-
ful of cold water taken from the two quarts, and stir the
mixture into the water in the saucepan. Add the salt and
pepper, and cook twenty minutes longer. Meanwhile
arrange the vegetables and meat in layers in a large
272 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
stew-pan, and strain the broth over them. Put the butter
on the top, and cover the stew-pan closely. Place on the
fire, and cook gently for two hours. Serve very hot.
*Escaloped Mutton*
Free a quantity of cold mutton from skin, bone, and
fat, and chop it rather coarse. To one pint of the
meat add a quarter of a teaspoonful of pepper and
one teaspoonful of salt. A gravy is next to be made
by this rule : Put a table-spoonful of butter into a
small frying-pan, and when it is hot, add a generous
teaspoonful of flour ; stir until the mixture has become
browned, and then gradually add a cupful of soup
stock or cold water ; let the gravy boil three minutes,
and season it with salt and pepper. Put alternate
layers of gravy and mutton into an escalop dish, having
three of gravy and two of meat. Cover lightly with
grated bread crumbs, and cook in the oven for twenty
minutes.
The dish may be prepared the day before, and kept in
a cold place until morning. Other meats than mutton
may be used.
Deviled Mutton.
From the rare mutton left from a dinner, cut slices an
inch thick, and score them very lightly. Mix a teaspoon-
ful of mustard, two of olive-oil, one of vinegar, half a
teaspoonful of pepper, and one-tenth of a teaspoonful of
cayenne, and spread this mixture in the incisions in the
mutton. Broil the slices for five minutes over a very
hot fire. Place on a hot dish, spread a little butter over
them, and serve immediately.
The quantity of seasoning given above is enough for
two large slices. If a strong flavor be liked, the amount
of seasoning should be doubled.
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT. 273
* Fried Bacon.
Cut the bacon as thin as the blade of a knife, or have
the butcher do it for you. Six or seven slices probably
will be sufficient. Keep it perfectly cold until you are
ready to fry it. Heat the frying-pan to a high tempera-
ture before putting the bacon into it. Cook the meat
until it curls a little, which will be in about two or three
minutes. It should be served at once.
* Fried Bacon, Southern Fashion.
Cut the bacon in slices about one-fourth of an inch
thick. Place in a bowl, and pour boiling water over it.
Let it stand for five minutes ; then spread it in a frying-
pan, and sprinkle Indian meal lightly over the meat.
Fry over a rather hot fire until crisp and brown, and be
particular to serve on a warm dish.
* Fried Liver and Bacon.
Simple as this dish is, it is seldom properly cooked.
The bacon should be kept cold until it is to be cut. For
the cutting, an exceedingly keen knife is required, as
the slices should be as thin as shavings. If you are not
to fry them immediately, put them in a cool place.
Have the liver sent from the market in one piece, and
cut it yourself into slices about a quarter of an inch
thick. If it be calf liver, simply wash it in cold water ;
but if it be beef liver, it will require more attention. It
must in that case be allowed to stand twenty minutes or
more in cold water ; this must then be poured off, and
the liver covered with boiling water ; five minutes later
the meat must be drained in a colander, and it should
then be seasoned with salt and pepper.
Put the slices of bacon into a hot frying-pan, and turn
them constantly until they are crisp ; then take them up,
and keep hot. Move the frying-pan to a part of the
V*
274 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
stove where the heat will not be so great as during the
cooking of the bacon, and, dropping the sliced liver into
the bacon fat, cook eight minutes, turning frequently.
Arrange the liver in the centre of a platter, and garnish
with the bacon.
By following these directions you will have the bacon
crisp and curled, and the liver tender. Slow cooking
spoils bacon, and rapid cooking hardens and ruins liver.
Blanquette of Calf's Liver.
After washing two pounds of calf's liver, put it into
a stew-pan with two quarts of boiling water, and simmer
for three hours. At the end of that time take it up and
cool it ; and when it is cold, cut it into little cubes, and
season with salt and pepper. Put three table-spoonfuls
of butter into a frying-pan with one large slice of onion,
and cook slowly for three minutes ; then add three table-
spoonfuls of flour, and stir until the mixture is smooth
and frothy, but not until it gets brown. Draw the pan
back, and gradually add a scant pint of white stock ;
then remove the onion, and, drawing the pan to a hot
part of the stove, stir the mixture until it boils. Season
to your taste with salt and pepper. Put the liver into
the pan, and after cooking for eight minutes, add half a
cupful of milk. When the blanquette boils up, remove
it from the fire; and after adding a table-spoonful of
lemon juice, serve without delay.
* Calf's Liver with Cream Sauce.
Use for six persons two pounds of liver, five table-
spoonfuls of butter, three gills of milk, three teaspoon-
fuls of flour, a sprig of parsley, a slice of onion, and salt
and pepper for seasoning.
Cut the liver into small, thin slices, and cover it with
cold water. Let it stand for ten minutes ; then drain it.
Put the butter into a frying-pan, and when it begins to
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT. 275
4
bubble, put in the liver, seasoned with salt and pepper.
Cook rather slowly for six minutes, and brown slightly
on both sides. Now take up the liver, and put it where
it will keep warm. Put the onion and parsley into the
butter remaining in the pan, and cook for one minute ;
then add the flour, and stir until the liquid begins to
froth. Draw the pan back, and gradually add the cold
milk. Cook for one minute, stirring all the while ; then
put in the liver, and cook slowly for five minutes longer.
This dish will answer for breakfast, luncheon, or tea.
* Liver in Cream Sauce.
Cut a pound and a half of calf's liver into pieces about
an inch square, and wash and cover with cold water.
Add a teaspoonful of lemon juice and a whole clove, and
simmer gently for an hour ; then pour off the water, and
add half a pint of milk or cream. Mix a heaping tea-
spoonful of flour with a table-spoonful of butter, and put
into the stew-pan as soon as the milk begins to boil.
Taste, to be sure that the dish is properly seasoned.
Boil for two minutes longer, and serve on crisp toast.
* Liver Hash.
Cut cold braised or stewed liver into pieces about the
size of Lima beans. A gravy is next in order. For a
pint of meat cook together a table-spoonful of butter and
a teaspoonful of flour until brown, and then add a scant
cupful of cold water, and a seasoning of salt and pepper ;
and for each pint of meat beyond the first, increase pro-
portionally the quantities of ingredients for the gravy.
As soon as this sauce boils up, put the liver into it.
Simmer gently for twenty minutes, and then add a tea-
spoonful of lemon juice. Serve very hot.
* Lamb's Liver Saute".
Cut the liver in slices about one-third of an inch thick.
Let it stand in cold water for ten minutes ; then drain
276 MISS PAKLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
it, and season with salt and pepper. For each pound of
meat put two table-spoonfuls of butter and two of flour
into a frying-pan, and stir until smooth and frothy ; then
put in the liver, and cook gently for six minutes, brown-
ing on both sides. Gradually add a cupful of hot water
and a teaspoonful of lemon juice. Stir the liquid until
it boils up; then, after satisfying yourself that it is
seasoned to your taste, let it simmer for two minutes.
Serve very hot.
For a change, a table-spoonful of chopped pickles or
capers may be added. This addition is best, however,
when the dish is to be served at luncheon or supper,
because breakfast dishes should be simple.
* Broiled Ham.
Cut slices of ham very thin. Put them in the double-
broiler, and cook over clear coals for five minutes. The
broiler must be turned constantly, as the fat dropping
from the ham blazes up. Serve the meat very hot.
* Crumbed Kidneys.
After removing the skin from two pairs of sheep ? s
kidneys, cut the meat into round slices about one-third
of an inch thick, and let these stand for half an hour
in a bowl of cold water ; then drain them, and season
well with salt and slightly with pepper. Dip the slices
into melted butter, and then into fine bread crumbs, and,
placing them in an oyster broiler or any common broiler,
cook them over clear coals for seven minutes. Place the
meat on slices of toast, putting a bit of maitre d'hotel
butter on each piece. Serve immediately.
Make the maitre d'hote! butter by stirring together
two table-spoonfuls of butter, a teaspoonful of lemon
juice, half a teaspoonful of minced parsley, and one-
fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper.
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT. 277
Kidneys a la Tartar.
Wash the kidneys, and pull off the thin skin. Cut
each kidney almost through without actually dividing
it. Let them soak in salted water for half an hour.
Now run a small skewer through each one, to keep it
open. Wipe dryj
then season with
salt and pepper.
Now dip in melted
butter, and roll in
fine bread crumbs.
-r, , . . , Skewered Kidneys.
Place in the
double-broiler, and cook over clear coals for six minutes.
Place them on a warm dish, the inside up, and after
drawing out the skewers, put a little Tartar sauce in the
centre of each kidney. Garnish with a few sprigs of
parsley.
* Kidneys Saute.
For six sheep or lamb kidneys, use three table-spoon-
fuls of butter, one of flour, one teaspoonful of salt, one-
fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper, one table-spoonful of
lemon juice, one teaspoonful of chopped parsley, half a
cupful of mushrooms cut into cubes, and half a cupful
of stock or water.
Eemove the skin from the kidneys. Cut them in thin
round slices, and let them soak in salted water for half
an hour. Now drain and wipe them. Put the butter
into a small frying-pan, and when it gets hot add the
kidneys and mushrooms. Stir for one minute, and then
add the flour. Stir one minute longer; then add the
stock or water, and cook slowly for three minutes. Add
the other ingredients, and boil up once. Serve on slices
of toast.
* Baked Hash.
Use a cupful of any kind of cold meat, chopped rather
coarse, a cupful of cold cooked rice, a generous cupful
278 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
of milk, an egg, two table-spoonfuls of butter, one tea-
spoonful of salt, and one-eighth of a teaspoonful of
pepper.
Put the milk on the fire in a frying-pan, and when it
has become hot, add all the other ingredients except the
egg. Stir for one minute; then remove from the fire,
and add the egg, well beaten. Turn into an escalop dish,
and bake in a moderate oven for twenty minutes. Serve
in the same dish.
* Baked Hash.
Chop enough of the well-done parts of cold roast beef
to make two cupfuls. Add to the meat a cupful of cold
mashed potatoes, two table-spoonfuls of butter, half a
cupful of water, and two table-spoonfuls of bread crumbs,
and season well with salt and pepper. Bake in a shallow
dish for half an hour. Any kind of meat may be used
for baked hash. It should be chopped rather coarse.
* Corned Beef Hash.
The materials required are : a quart of the trimmings
of a piece of cold corned beef, a quart of cold boiled
potatoes, a large table-spoonful of butter, a cupful of
stock, or, if you have none, half a cupful of hot water ;
salt and pepper to suit the taste. Season the meat and
potatoes while you are chopping them rather fine ; then
mix them together rather lightly, and add the stock.
Put half the butter into a large frying-pan, and when it
has melted, put in the hash, spreading it evenly, and
laying the remainder of the butter on top in bits. Cover
the pan closely, and place it where the hash will cook
slowly for half an hour. There should be a thick, brown
crust on the bottom. Care must be taken to avoid burn-
ing. Having warmed a large platter, fold the hash, and
turn it out upon the dish as you would an omelet. Gar-
nish with triangles of toasted bread.
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT. 279
Other meats may be used instead of corned beef, yet
that is the best. The slow process of heating the hash
gives it a flavor that cannot be obtained by hurried cook-
ing. If more convenient, the hash may be prepared for
the frying-pan a day in advance of the cooking.
When more crust is desired, a table-spoonful of butter
may be melted in a second frying-pan ; and after the hash
has been browned, turn it into this pan, and brown it on
the other side.
* Tongue Hash.
Chop rather coarse the roots and trimmings of a tongue,
and to each pint of the chopped meat add a pint of cold
potatoes, chopped fine. Season well with salt and pepper,
and add half a cupful of water. Put a table-spoonful of
butter into the frying-pan, and when it has been melted,
turn the hash into the pan, spreading it evenly. Cover,
and place where it will brown for half an hour without
jurning ; then turn out upon a hot platter, and serve at
once. It should have a rich brown crust.
* Turkey Hash.
Cut a quart of cold turkey into dice, and season with
salt and pepper. Put two table-spoonfuls of butter into
a small frying-pan, and when it is hot, but not brown,
add a table-spoonful of flour. Stir until the mixture is
smooth and frothy, and gradually add a pint of cold
milk ; then let it boil up once, and after seasoning with
salt and pepper, add the seasoned turkey. Cook for
eight minutes. Have eight slices of dry toast on a
platter, and after spreading the hash upon them, serve
immediately.
Any kind of light meat, like chicken, game, or veal,
may be prepared and served in the same way.
280 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
* Vegetable Hash.
The hashes that may be prepared from the remains
of a boiled dinner are by some folk thought to be even
more palatable than the dinner itself. Here is a receipt
for a hash made from vegetables : Chop rather coarse the
cabbage, turnips, parsnips, and about half of a small
carrot. Use with each quart of the mixed vegetables
one large table-spoonful of butter or beef drippings.
Season with salt and pepper, and add one-third of a cup-
ful of water or milk. Put the mixture into a frying-pan,
and after covering it, cook it slowly for half an hour,
stirring occasionally. Serve very hot.
This is a good dish for breakfast, luncheon, dinner, or
supper. Potatoes may be chopped and heated with the
other vegetables. Use the cold beets left from a boiled
dinner, either as a pickle or in a salad.
* Meat-and-Potato Hash.
Take enough of the trimmings of cold corned beef to
make three cupfuls when chopped rather fine. Use also
the same quantity of cold boiled potatoes, chopped ratner
coarse. Sprinkle both ingredients with salt and pepper ;
half a teaspoonful of pepper will be enough, and the
amount of salt will depend upon the saltness of the beef.
Add also one teaspoonful of grated onion.
After mixing the materials lightly with a fork, add
one-quarter of a cupful of milk. Put one table-spoonful
of butter into a frying-pan, and when it has become
melted, put in the hash. Spread it lightly on the bottom
of the pan, and after covering it closely, set it where it
will heat slowly and cook for half an hour or more.
There should be a rich brown crust on the bottom of
the hash when done. Slip a knife under it to ascertain
this fact. At serving-time fold the hash like an omelet,
and turn out on a warm platter. Garnish with triangu-
lar pieces of dry toast.
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT. 281
Force-meat Cakes.
Any kind of cold meat may be used. Enough to make
a pint should be chopped fine. In addition there will be
required half a pint of milk, a table-spoonful of salt,
half a teaspoonful of pepper, two table-spoonfuls of
butter, an egg, a pint of dried bread crumbs, half a pint
of stale bread, free of crust, and some fat for frying
purposes.
Put the milk and stale bread into a saucepan, and cook
slowly for ten minutes. After removing the mixture
from the stove, mash it very fine with the back of a
spoon ; then add the butter, meat, and seasoning. Shape
the mixture into small, flat cakes ; and after beating the
egg on a plate, dip the cakes into it and then into the
dried crumbs. Put a kettle of fat on the stove, and put
the cakes into a wire fry ing-basket. When smoke begins
to rise from the centre of the liquid, lower the basket
into the kettle. The cakes will cook in two minutes.
Drain them on brown paper, and serve hot.
* Baked Sausages.
After pricking the sausages, put them into a basin and
cover with boiling water. Boil for ten minutes ; then
remove from the hot water, and put into cold water for
two minutes. Roll in beaten egg and then in fine, dry
bread crumbs, and, laying them in a shallow pan, bake
in a hot oven for fifteen minutes. An egg and a pint
of crumbs will answer for a pound of sausages. Serve
on a hot dish, with a garnish of triangles of crisp toast.
Baked sausages are more delicate than fried ones. If
the meat be not in cases, omit the boiling, and proceed
with the breading and baking.
* Baked Rice and Sausages.
For six persons use a small teacupful of rice, eight
sausages, two quarts of boiling water, one table-spoonful
of salt, and a little pepper, if you choose.
282 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Wash the rice in three waters, and then put it into a
large stew-pan with the boiling water. Boil, with the
cover off the pan, for twenty-five minutes, adding the
salt at the end of the first fifteen. When the rice is
cooked, drain it in a colander. Sprinkle lightly with
pepper, using about one-third of a teaspoonf ul, and then
spread in a rather shallow dish. Cut the sausages in
slices about one-third of an inch thick, and lay them on
the rice. Bake in a rather hot oven for twenty minutes,
and serve at once in the dish in which the cooking is
done.
If the sausage meat be in cakes or slices it may be
cut in small pieces and used the same as if it were in
cases. Cold cooked sausages may be used.
* Turkish Pilaf.
For this dish there will be required three pints of any
kind of cold meat, one quart of stock (which can be made
of the bones and bits of gristle taken from the cold meat),
two table-spoonfuls of flour, six of butter, an onion, a
cupful of strained tomato, a cupful of rice, and salt and
pepper for seasoning.
Wash the rice in three waters, and let it stand in cold
water for an hour. Put a cupful and a half of canned
tomato into a small stew-pan with half an onion, and
cook for twenty minutes ; then rub through a strainer.
There should be a generous cupful of the strained tomato.
Add to it a cupful and a half of stock, a teaspoonf ul of
salt, and a teaspoonful of pepper, and return to the stew-
pan ; and when it boils up, add the rice, strained free of
water. Put the mixture into a double-b&iler, and cook
for an hour; then add three table-spoonfuls of butter,
and cook for twenty minutes longer.
Meanwhile cut the meat into small slices, and season
with salt and pepper. Put three table-spoonfuls of but-
ter into the frying-pan; and when it is melted, put in
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT. 283
half an onion, cut into thin slices. Cook slowly until
the onion turns a light brown ; then add two table-spoon-
fuls of flour, and stir until the butter and flour are a
dark brown. Add two cupfuls and a half of stock, and
boil gently for five minutes. Season with salt and
pepper, and strain upon the meat. Cook the dish for
twelve minutes; then pour into the centre of a warm
platter, and heap the rice around it. Serve at once.
* Mt.-Desert Stew.
Put into a stew-pan a can of tomatoes, a table-spoonful
of cracker crumbs, a teaspoonful of salt, one-eighth of a
teaspoonful of pepper, and a piece of onion the size of
a quarter of a dollar, and simmer for twenty minutes ;
then add a table-spoonful of butter and three or four
well-beaten eggs. Cook a minute longer, stirring all the
while, and serve immediately.
This is a nice stew to serve with plain boiled macaroni,
boiled rice, or toast.
* Ham Cakes.
There will be required for these cakes four potatoes
of medium size, one cupful of fine-chopped ham (the dry
bits that cling to the bones will answer), three table-
spoonfuls of butter, and one-fourth of a teaspoonful of
pepper. Peel and boil the potatoes ; and when they are
cooked, mash them until fine and light. Add the ham,
pepper, and one table-spoonful of the butter. Mix well,
and shape into thin cakes about an inch and a half in
diameter. Put *the remaining butter on the stove in a
frying-pan, and as soon as it gets hot, put the cakes into
the pan. Brown on both sides, and serve on a warm
dish.
Deviled Ham.
Use for this dish half a pound of raw ham, cut in thin
slices, one table-spoonful of dry mustard, one of vinegar,
284 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
two of melted butter, a quarter of a teaspoonful of cay-
enne, and a slight dredging of flour.
Mix all the ingredients except the ham and flour, and
spread the mixture on both sides of the slices of meat
(there should be two thin slices). Sprinkle the ham
with flour, and broil it over clear coals for seven or eight
minutes. Serve immediately on a warm dish.
Here is another receipt: The materials used are a
pound of cold boiled ham, cut in thin slices, three tea-
spoonfuls of dry mustard, half a teaspoonful of salt,
one-quarter of a teaspoonful of cayenne, three table-
spoonfuls of milk, three table-spoonfuls of melted butter
and half a cupful of powdered and sifted bread crumbs.
Mix the mustard, cayenne, salt, and milk, and spread
a thin layer of this paste over one side of each slice of
ham. Roll up the slices in a rather loose manner, and
fasten them with small skewers ; or, if you have no
skewers, use wooden toothpicks. When all the slices
have been rolled up and fastened, roll them in melted
butter and then in bread crumbs. Put into a baking-pan,
and cook in a very hot oven for eight minutes. Remove
the skewers, and serve the meat on thin strips of toast.
Deviled ham prepared by either of these rules is very
nice for breakfast, luncheon, or tea. Following the sec-
ond mode gives the more delicate dish, but gentlemen
are fond of ham cooked by the first receipt.
Deviled Boiled Ham.
This is a savory dish for luncheon or tea. Cut two
slices of cold boiled ham about one-third of an inch thick,
and sprinkle very lightly with cayenne. Mix a table-
spoonful of dry mustard, one of water, and one of lemon
juice. Broil the ham over a hot fire for six minutes;
then place it on a hot dish, and spread the mustard over
it. Serve hot.
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT. 285
*Pork Chops.
Have the chops cut thin. Put them in a stew-pan, and
cover with boiling water. Simmer for half an hour;
then remove from the water, and dredge lightly with
salt, pepper, and flour. Broil over a clear fire for ten
minutes. Prepared in this way, the pork will be well
cooked and tender.
* Broiled Pigs' Feet.
When pigs' feet are wanted for a breakfast dish they
must be boiled the previous day. One foot is enough
for each person.
Scrape the feet, and wash them thoroughly ; then tie
up each one in a separate piece of cheese cloth, and put
all into a stew-pan, with two table-spoonfuls of salt to
eight feet, and boiling water enough to cover them. Let
the water boil up once ; then set the pan back where the
feet will simmer for six hours. At the end of that time
take the pan from the fire, and set it where its contents
will become cool. When cold, remove the feet to a
platter and drain them, but do not take off the cloth.
In the morning remove the cloth and split the feet.
Dredge with salt, pepper, and flour, and broil over clear
coals for ten minutes. Place on a warm platter, and
season with salt, pepper, and butter.
* Fried Pigs' Feet.
Cook and cool the feet, as for broiling. Split them,
and season well with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Dip
in beaten egg and then in bread crumbs, and fry in boil-
ing fat for five minutes. Take up and drain, and serve
at once on a hot dish.
If eight feet be used, the ingredients needed with
them will be two eggs, one pint of crumbs, one table-
spoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, and two
table-spoonfuls of lemon juice.
286 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
* Broiled Tripe.
Use the thick part of the tripe. If it has been in
pickle, wash it in cold water and put it into a stew-pan
with enough milk and water in equal parts to cover
it. Simmer gently for half an hour; then drain the
tripe, and season with salt and pepper. For each pound
melt three table-spoonfuls of butter on a plate ; and after
dipping the tripe in the butter and dredging it thickly
with flour, broil it over a hot fire for six minutes. Serve
very hot.
If the tripe has not been in pickle, cover it with hot
water, and simmer it for only ten minutes before season-
ing it and dipping it in butter.
Roast Ham, Stuffed.
Wash a large ham, and soak it for forty-eight hours in
water enough to cover it. In the morning place it on a
tin sheet in a large dripping-pan. Cover the entire ham
with a dough made of two quarts of flour and a generous
pint and a half of water, and bake slowly for five hours.
Make a dressing by soaking a quart of pieces of stale
bread in a generous pint of milk, seasoning it with salt
and pepper, and mixing it thoroughly with two eggs.
Take the ham from the oven, and remove the paste and
skin ; then score the top deeply, and fill the slits with
dressing. Spread over the ham such part of the dressing
as remains. Keturn the meat to the oven, and bake it
slowly for another hour. It will be delicious, hot or
cold, and especially nice, when hot, if served with cham-
pagne sauce or currant jelly sauce.
Roast Ham.
Wash a ham very carefully, and soak it for twenty-four
hours in two gallons of water and one pint of vinegar.
If it be put in soak in the morning, it will be ready for
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT. 287
baking the next morning. When sufficiently soaked,
wipe it carefully. Now make a dough with two quarts
of flour and a generous pint of water. Roll this into a
sheet large enough to cover the ham ; fold the ham in
this, and place it on a meat-rack in the dripping-pan.
Bake in a moderate oven for six hours.
On taking from the oven, remove the paste and skin
the ham. Sprinkle the top of the ham with fine crumbs,
and return to the oven for half an hour.
TD
Roast Pig.
The pig should be about three weeks old. The butcher
draws and scrapes it. The cook must clean it in the
following manner : Cover the point of a wooden skewer
with a piece of soft cloth, and work the skewer into the
ears to clean out all the wax. Clean the dirt from the
nostrils in the same manner. Clean the lips, gums, and
tongue by scraping with a sharp knife and then wiping
with a soft cloth. Take out the eyes. Now clean the
vent near the tail by pushing a skewer, wound with cloth,
through the vent from the inside. Wash the pig in cold
water, being careful to get the throat free of blood.
Wipe dry, and rub a table-spoonful of salt on the inside
of the pig.
Mix together three pints of grated bread crumbs, three
teaspoonfuls of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, one
table-spoonful of powdered sage, three table-spoonfuls of
butter, and one of minced onion. Fill the body of the pig
with this, and sew up. Press the fore feet forward and
the hind feet backward, and skewer them into position.
Butter two sheets of paper, and pin them over the ears.
Dredge the pig with salt, rub it over with soft butter,
and dredge with flour. Place in a dripping-pan and on
a rack, and cook in a moderately hot oven for three
hours and a half, basting every fifteen minutes with
butter or salad oil and a light sprinkling of salt and
288 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
flour. Water must never be used, as it is important that
the surface of the meat should be crisp. Remove the
paper from the ears the last half-hour.
The pig may be served whole, or in four pieces. If
whole, force the mouth open and put a small block of
wood between the teeth before the pig is placed in the
oven. At serving-time remove the block, and insert in
its place a small ear of corn or a small lemon. Serve
plenty of apple sauce with this dish.
HOW TO PREPARE POULTRY AND
GAME.
To draw poultry or birds, first cut the skin on the
back of the neck. Now turn the skin over on the breast,
and cut off the neck close to the body. Take out the
crop, being careful not to leave any of the lining, which
is often a thin membrane that is hardly perceptible, es-
pecially when the bird has an empty crop. Most of the
undrawn poultry is kept without food for twelve or more
hours before killing. When this is the case the lining
of the sack, which is called the craw or crop, becomes
thin and soft. Special care is required to find and
remove it.
When the lining of the crop has been removed, put
the forefinger into the throat, and break the ligaments
that hold the internal organs to the breastbone. Now
cut the bird open at the vent, beginning under one of
the legs, and cutting in a slanting direction toward the
vent; stop there. Work the hand slowly around, not
through, the organs until the top of the breastbone is
reached. Now gently draw all the organs out at once.
It may be that the lights and a piece of the windpipe
will be left in. The lights will be found imbedded in
the ribs ; they are a soft, spongy pink substance. Look
into the throat for the windpipe. In the tail there will
be found a hard yellow substance, named the oil bag ;
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT. 289
cut it out. Cut off the legs, being sure to cut in the
joints.
Now singe the bird by holding it over a blazing news-
paper. The paper should be held over the open fire or
over a coal-hod. Wash the bird quickly in cold water.
If it is to be stuffed, fill the crop first, and put the re-
mainder of the stuffing into the body. Draw the skin at
the neck onto the back, and fasten it to the backbone with
a skewer. Turn the tips of the wings under the back,
and fasten them in that position with a long skewer.
Xow pass a small skewer through the lower part of the
legs, and then through the tail. Tie firmly with a long
piece of twine. Turn the bird on its breast, and then
bring the twine up round the skewers that hold the
wings and the neck. Twist round two or three times,
and tie.
Now season the bird with salt and pepper. If it is to
be roasted, rub the breast and legs thickly with soft
butter, and dredge thickly with flour. Follow the gen-
eral directions for boiling or roasting.
* Boiled Turkey.
Singe, draw, and wash a turkey weighing about nine
or ten pounds, and stuff with a dressing made by chop-
ping a quart of small oysters, rather coarse, and adding
to them a quart of grated bread crumbs, two level table-
spoonfuls of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, a grain
of cayenne, a quarter of a cupful of butter, and two eggs,
beaten slightly. Fill the breast of the bird with some
of this dressing, and put the remainder into the body.
Sew up, and truss.
Dip a large piece of cotton cloth into cold water, and
after wringing it well, dredge it thickly with flour. Pin
the turkey in this cloth, and plunge it into boiling
water. Boil rapidly for fifteen minutes, and then set
back where it will just simmer for three hours. Serve
with oyster sauce.
19
290 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
* Roast Turkey.
Have a turkey weighing ten or twelve pounds. Singe,
draw, and wash it. Separate the skin from the flesh, as
directed for truffled turkey. Put between the skin and
flesh a thin layer of dressing described below, and put
the remainder into the crop and body. Truss the tur-
key, and proceed as for turkey stuffed with chestnuts.
Serve with giblet sauce.
Dressing. Put into a bowl one quart of grated stale
bread and one cupful of milk or water. Cover the mix-
ture, and let it stand one hour ; then add one teaspoon-
ful of chopped parsley, half a teaspoon ful of powdered
thyme, half a teaspoonful of summer savory, half a tea-
spoonful of pepper, a level table-spoonful of salt, one
teaspoonful of onion, chopped fine, four table-spoonfuls
of butter, and two well-beaten eggs. Mix all well, and
then proceed to stuff the turkey. If the onion be ob-
jectionable, omit it. .
Truffled Turkey.
For a turkey weighing ten pounds, use one can of
truffles, next to the smallest size, one can of mushrooms,
one table-spoonful of chopped parsley, half a teaspoonful
of powdered thyme, one table-spoonful of chopped onion,
a generous half -cupful of butter, and some salt, pepper,
and flour.
Singe, draw, wash, and wipe the turkey.
Chop the truffles and mushrooms very fine, and add
the herbs to them. Put two table-spoonfuls of butter in
the frying-pan, with the chopped onion. Stir over the fire
until the onion turns a pale straw-color. Now add the
mushrooms and truffles ; also one-fourth of a teaspoonful
of pepper, and a generous teaspoonful of salt. Cook for
five minutes, stirring all the time. Take from the fire,
and cool.
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT. 291
Now lift the skin from the flesh on the breast of the
turkey by gently working the hand under the skin, being
careful not to break it. Begin the work at the neck.
Spread a thin layer of the mushroom and truffle mixture
over the flesh, and then draw the skin back smooth. Put
the remainder of the mixture into the crop and body of
the bird. Now truss, and then season with salt and
pepper. Coat the back lightly and the breast thickly
with soft butter, and dredge thickly with flour. Roast
the same as directed for turkey stuffed with chestnuts.
It will take about two hours and a half. Serve hot with
financiere sauce.
This is an expensive dish, owing to the high price of
truffles.
Roast Turkey with Chestnut Stuffing.
Singe, draw, and wash a turkey weighing eight or ten
pounds. Rub it, both inside and out, with one table-
spoonful of salt. Stuff it with one of the three chestnut
stuffings. Now truss it. Kub the back lightly and the
breast and legs thickly with soft butter, and dredge
thickly with flour. Place the turkey on its back on the
rack in the dripping-pan. Pour one cupful of boiling
water into the pan, and then place the turkey in a hot
oven. Watch, to see that the turkey does not get
scorched; and turn the pan, that the turkey may get
brown on all sides. When it has been in the oven
twenty-five minutes, begin to baste with the water in
the pan and with salt, pepper, and flour. Baste every
fifteen minutes until it is done. Be careful that the
water in the pan does not boil dry. In the last fifteen
minutes baste the breast with two table-spoonfuls of
melted butter and a light dredging of flour. Serve with
chestnut sauce.
Chestnut Stuffing. Shell and blanch fifty chestnuts,
and boil for half an hour in water enough to coyer them.
292 MISS PAKLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Drain off the water, and add to the nuts three table-
spoonfuls of butter, a level table-spoonful of salt, and
half a teaspooriful of pepper. Mix all these ingredients,
and stuff the turkey with them. The chestnuts will
be whole, dry, sweet, and tender when cooked in this
manner.
Here is another rule : Follow the foregoing receipt,
only pulverize the chestnuts, and then add the sea-
soning.
Still another rule, for a richer stuffing than those
already described, may be given. Shell and blanch fifty
chestnuts, and boil for half an hour. They may be used
whole or pulverized. In either case add to them one pint
of cooked meat veal, mutton, or poultry chopped
fine, one table-spoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of
pepper, one teaspoonful of chopped parsley, half a tea-
spoonful of powdered thyme, and three table-spoonfuls of
butter. Mix all these ingredients, and stuff the turkey.
Braised Turkey.
Make a stuffing as for truffled turkey. With this,
stuff the crop and body of a plump young turkey weigh-
ing about eight pounds. Truss it. Now cut truffles
into small squares, and trim one end of them to a point.
Put the pointed end into a larding-needle, and draw them
in this way into the breast of the turkey. Put two rows
on each side of the breast and one row in each leg.
Spread thin slices of salt pork over the breast and legs.
Cover the turkey with a strong sheet of buttered paper.
Fasten on the paper by passing a string around the
bird.
Spread in a braising-pan, large enough to hold the
turkey, one-quarter of a pound of sliced salt pork, one
gill each of chopped celery, turnip, carrot, and onion ;
Lay the turkey on this pork, breast up. Cover the pan,
I
I
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT. 293
and place in a moderate oven. At the end of half an
hour add one quart of hot chicken stock. Baste the
turkey with this stock every fifteen minutes, and season
well at the same time with salt and pepper. Cook in
all for three hours. The last half-hour remove the cover
of the braising-pan ; also the paper and pork from the
breast of the turkey. Let the meat brown slightly.
When the turkey is done, lift it from the braising-pan,
untruss it, and put it on a large platter. Fasten paper
ornaments on the ends of the " drumsticks." Into these
Braised Turkey.
stick two small skewers, on which to fasten two button
mushrooms. Garnish the dish with groups of chicken
quenelles, cocks'-combs, and truffles, directions for the
use of which are given in the chapter on "Garnishes.''
Serve mushroom brown sauce in a separate dish.
The stock in which the turkey was cooked will answer
for sauces.
Boiled Capon.
The capon should be cleaned and trussed as directed
for poultry and game. Stuff the crop and body with
three cupfuls of boiled rice, which has been mixed with
a table-spoonful each of salt and butter, half a teaspoon-
ful of pepper, and two well-beaten eggs. Truss the
capon, and put it in as small a stew-pan as will hold it.
294 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Cover with boiling water, and cook for two hours and a
half. Garnish with rice balls, and serve w,ith Bechamel
thick yellow sauce, or mushroom white sauce.
Capon a la Jardiniere.
Omit the rice, and cook the capon as already directed.
When it is dished, surround it with a jardiniere garnish.
Pour a gill of poulette sauce over the capon, and send a
boat of the sauce to the table.
Roast Capon.
Clean the capon, and fill the body and crop with
stuffing made as follows : Mix lightly together three
cupf uls of grated stale bread, baker's is best, three
table-spoonfuls of butter, broken into bits, two teaspoon-
fuls of salt, half a teaspoonful of powdered thyme, one
teaspoonful of minced parsley, and half a cupful of mush-
rooms, chopped fine.
Truss the capon. Season with salt and pepper, and
rub the breast and legs thickly with butter, the rest of
the bird lightly. Dredge thickly with flour. Koast a
bird weighing seven or eight pounds two hours and a
quarter. Follow the directions given for roasting turkey
with chestnut stuffing.
A capon may be prepared by any of the rules given
for turkey.
Roast Chickens.
Make a stuffing the same as for capon. The chopped
mushrooms may be omitted. Prepare and roast the
chickens the same as the capon, allowing an hour and a
half for a pair of chickens each weighing between four
and five pounds.
GAME.
At some seasons most kinds of game are as cheap as
beef and mutton; and as game is healthful and easily
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT. 295
digested, the housekeeper should supply her table with it
frequently. Some people have nonsensical ideas in regard
to game ; having eaten it when it has become " high,"
and has not been washed before cooking, and when it
has been heated only slightly, they imagine that there
is no other right way of serving it ; and so they either
do without it at all, or eat it without an appetite, and
solely because they think it is fashionable to have a
taste for such food.
Now game, like all other meat, should be kept long
enough to get properly ripened, and no longer. In cool
weather venison may be hung for three weeks in a cold,
dry place. Birds rarely should be hung longer than one
week. When to be hung many days, they should be
drawn, but not plucked. Pieces of charcoal placed in
the bodies will tend to preserve them.
After it has been hung, venison is "improved" that
is, seasoned by keeping it for several days in a mari-
nade, which not only gives it a spicy flavor, but makes
it tender. As a substitute for washing birds, where there
is objection to washing, draw and wipe them carefully.
Venison should only be wiped.
In cooking game use common sense, and do as you are
accustomed to do with beef and mutton. There can be
no doubt that these meats have a better flavor and are
more digestible when rare than when well done, but
there are hosts of people who cannot eat any kind of
meat when rare, and must have their game well done,
if they have it at all. They cannot derive the same
pleasure as those who cook it in the most approved way,
yet it may be better to have game well cooked than to
go entirely without it.
Simplicity is perfection in the art of all cooking, and
especially in cooking game, to which nothing should be
added, either in the preparation or serving, that will dis-
guise in the least the natural flavor of the meat.
No one who can command a bright, hot fire, and be
296 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
assured that the company will be in their places at the
appointed hour, need fear to undertake the cooking of a
game dinner. A few things are always to be borne in
mind, namely, to serve it hot ; to have the sauces so
carefully chosen and made that the distinctive flavors of
the game shall be brought out, and not impaired in the
slightest degree; and to have the accompanying vege-
tables appropriate, delicate, and few.
Nearly all small birds are served with their heads on.
There is a difference in taste among epicures as to the
drawing of birds. Many folk do not enjoy them if
drawn, whereas others cannot eat them if undrawn. It
seems as if in time the custom of eating entrails a
relic of barbarism and serving the birds without first
removing their heads would become obsolete.
Game, on account of their almost constant activity, are
not usually so fat as domestic animals and fowls ; there-
fore more care must be taken to protect the fat and
juices, and venison, quail, grouse, and partridges are
nearly always enriched by larding or by placing slices of
fat pork or bacon over them. The fat and juices of a
joint of venison are also sometimes kept in by a thick
layer of flour paste. Ducks are so rich as to require no
sauce, though orange and olive sauces often are served
with them.
Kabbits, squirrels, grouse, and venison are among the
commonest and cheapest kinds of game ; and as there is
but little waste in cooking them, they will average as
low in cost as mutton and beef. Ducks always are expen-
sive, whatever the price, because there is but little avail-
able meat. When it comes to choice ducks, only the
rich can afford to buy them.
Roast Leg of Venison.
Use a leg of venison weighing about ten pounds, half
a cupful of butter, half a pound of larding pork, some
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT. 297
salt, pepper, and flour, and half a pint of port or claret,
if liked.
Wipe the meat carefully, and then draw off the dry
skin. Lard the lean side of the leg. Have the butter
soft, and rub half of it over the meat ; then dredge with
salt, pepper, and flour, being generous with the flour.
Lay the meat on the rack in the dripping-pan, and sprinkle
the bottom of the pan with flour. Place in a very hot
oven, and watch carefully until the flour in the pan
browns. This will be in about five minutes. Now add
enough boiling water to cover the bottom of the pan,
and close the oven door. In fifteen minutes begin to
baste the venison with the gravy in the pan, and with
salt, pepper, and flour. Do this every fifteen minutes
until the meat is cooked enough.
The water in the pan must be renewed often. The
last basting should, be with soft butter and flour. If the
meat be wished very rare, an hour and a quarter's cook-
ing will suffice, but for most tastes an hour and a half
will be none too much. Serve very hot with currant
jelly sauce or a gravy made from the drippings in the
pan. Many people baste the venison with port or claret
instead of the gravy in the pan.
The oven must be very hot the first half-hour, and
after that the heat must be reduced a little.
If the leg of venison is to be roasted before the fire,
treat it in the same manner, except that it will require
twenty minutes longer to cook.
Saddle of Venison, Larded and Roasted.
Cut the flanks from a saddle of venison, and wipe the
meat with a damp towel, being careful to remove all the
hairs. Lard it. Dredge generously with salt and lightly
with pepper; also rub soft butter over the top of the
saddle, and dredge thickly with flour. Roast and serve
the same as a leg. A. thick saddle weighing eight pounds
298 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Larded Saddle of Venison.
|
will require an hour and a quarter's cooking, if it be
wished very rare ; cooking for an hour and a half will
leave it moderately rare.
* Venison Steaks.
Have the steaks cut three-quarters of an inch thick.
Season them with salt and pepper, and dip them in melted
butter and in flour. Broil over a bright, hot fire for six
minutes, turning constantly. Serve immediately with
maitre d'hotel butter spread over them. If for luncheon
or dinner, provide thin fried potatoes or potato balls
and cauliflower or French peas as accompaniments.
Here is another mode of cooking venison steaks : Have
them cut half an inch thick. Season them with salt and
pepper, and for two small slices of steak put two table-
spoonfuls of butter, three of stock, one of currant jelly,
one teaspoonful of lemon juice, and a slight seasoning
of salt and pepper into a chafing-dish. Light the lamp,
and as soon as the mixture begins to boil, put in the
steaks. Cook for six minutes, turning frequently. This
cooking is, of course, to be done at the table.
Slices of cold venison are nice if warmed in a chafing-
dish and served with the gravy or sauce left from a pre-
vious meal. Cold roast venison may be warmed and
served with a brown sauce or curry sauce, or as hash on
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT. 299
toast. Still another way of serving is to cut it into
thick slices, make incisions in these slices and fill them
with a thin coating of mixed mustard and olive oil, dip
the slices into melted butter and dredge lightly with
flour, broil for five minutes over a hot fire, and serve
with butter on a hot dish.
Venison Steak Cooked in the Chafing-dish.
This is one of the most appetizing modes of preparing
venison. Being cooked on the table, it is transferred
without loss of heat or flavor to the plate of the guest
from the dish in wljich it was cooked. Slices of rare
venison, cut from a cold roast, are particularly nice
cooked in this manner.
Use a pound and a half of venison, cut in small slices
not thicker than half an inch. Put in the chafing-dish
two table-spoonfuls of butter, one teaspoonful of salt,
one of lemon juice, one-tenth of a teaspoonful of cayenne,
and one table-spoonful of currant jelly. Now light the
lamp, and stir the mixture until it is hot ; then add the
slices of venison, and cook for five minutes. If rare
roast venison be used, four minutes will be enough time
to cook it. Sometimes three table-spoonfuls of port or
claret are added to the meat during the last two minutes
of cooking.
* Hashed Venison.
Season well with salt and pepper a pint and a half
of coarse-chopped venison. Put two table-spoonfuls of
butter into a frying-pan, and when it becomes hot, add a
table-spoonful of chopped onion. Cook the onion until
it becomes brown; then add a large table-spoonful of
flour, and stir until the sauce is smooth and frothy.
Draw the pan back to a cooler part of the range, and
gradually add a cupful and a half of stock. Season well
with salt and pepper ; and after straining, turn it into
300 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
the pan containing the chopped venison. Cook slowly
for ten minutes, and serve very hot on slices of buttered
toast.
Ragout of Venison.
Use three pounds of cold roast venison, one quart of
water, one bay leaf, one sprig of parsley, two whole
cloves, one clove of garlic, two level teaspoonfuls of salt,
one-eighth of a teaspoonful of cayenne, a slight grating
of nutmeg, three table-spoonfuls of butter, three of flour,
one-quarter of a pound of fresh mushrooms, and eight
rounds of bread fried in clarified butter.
Free the venison of skin, fat, and bone ; then cut it
into cubes about an inch square. fet the meat in a cool
place. Put the bones and gristle into a stew-pan, with
the water, spice, herbs, and garlic. Place on the fire,
and boil until there is but one pint of the liquid left.
Strain and cool this.
Put the butter on the fire in a small frying-pan, and
when it becomes hot, add the flour, and stir until it
turns dark brown. Gradually add the strained stock to
this mixture. Boil for ten minutes ; then add the veni-
son, salt, and pepper, and simmer for ten minutes. At
the end of that time add the mushrooms and lemon juice,
and cook six minutes longer.
Arrange the meat in a pyramid on a warm dish, and
garnish the base with the fried bread. Serve very hot.
Venison Cutlets.
Cut the cutlets from either the ribs or a loin of veni-
son, having them about an inch thick. Wipe carefully,
and season with salt and pepper. Now dip them in melted
butter, and dredge thickly with flour. Broil over a clear
fire for ten minutes, turning constantly. Arrange on a
hot dish, and season with salt, pepper, and butter.
Serve currant jelly with them ; or currant jelly sauce or
port sauce may be poured around them.
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT. 301
Fillets of Venison.
Have two pounds of venison steak cut into strips
about four inches long, three wide, and half an inch
thick. Put them in a bowl for twelve hours with one
gill of vinegar, half a gill of olive oil, one table-spoonful
each of chopped onion and carrot, half a teaspoonful of
pepper, a generous teaspoonful of salt, two bay leaves,
and a sprig of parsley. Stir the mixture several times,
that all parts of the venison may be well seasoned with
the marinade.
When ready to cook the fillets, free them of the mar-
inade, and dredge lightly with flour. Set them in a cool
place for ten minutes, while making the sauce. Next
put two table-spoonfuls of butter in a stew-pan and on
the fire. When it becomes hot, add two table-spoonfuls
of flour, and stir until the flour gets browned. Gradually
add a cupful of stock. Boil for one minute ; then add
the marinade in which the fillets were soaked. Now
add one- tenth of a teaspoonful of cayenne as well as
you can measure it . and some more salt, if necessary.
Set back, and simmer while the fillets are being broiled.
Put the fillets in a double-broiler, and cook them over a
hot, clear fire for six minutes. Arrange them on a warm
dish, and strain the sauce over them. Serve at once.
Roast Ducks.
Tastes vary greatly in regard to the time and mode of
roasting ducks. Domestic ducks are rarely cooked less
than half an hour. Wild ducks are cooked from ten
minutes to half an hour. Ten minutes will hardly heat
the duck through, and half an hour will give only a mod-
erately rare bird. A duck is spoiled if overcooked ; but
for the majority of tastes, from twenty to thirty minutes
will give satisfactory results.
Draw the duck, and wash quickly in cold water. Put
two table-spoonfuls of chopped onion and one cupful
302 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
of chopped celery the green stalks will do into the
body of each bird. Now truss, and then dredge with
salt, pepper, and flour. Roast before a very hot fire or
in a hot oven. Have a little water in the tin-kitchen or
in the bottom of the pan, if the birds be roasted in the
oven. Baste every ten minutes with this and with salt,
pepper, and flour. Serve very hot with olive, brown,
or orange sauce. Or the ducks may be served without
sauce, dressed celery or lettuce being provided instead.
Do not serve the stuffing of onion and celery, as this is
put in only to flavor the bird.
Roast Ptarmigan.
Pluck and draw the birds. Wash quickly in cold
water, and wipe dry. Into the body of each put one
onion, cut into four parts. Now truss the birds. Dredge
with salt and pepper; then rub the breast and legs
thickly with soft butter, and put a light layer on the
sides and back. Dredge thickly with flour. Place on
their backs in a shallow pan, and cook for twenty min-
utes in a hot oven, if liked rare, 'or for thirty, if liked
rather well done. Serve with bread sauce and fried
crumbs.
Grouse, quail, and partridges are roasted in the same
manner. Partridges are cooked for forty minutes, and
quail for only ten.
Roast Partridge.
For six persons cook two partridges. Pluck and draw
them, and wash them very
quickly in cold water. Halve
an onion, and put a piece
into the body of each bird.
Truss the partridges, and
lard the breasts. Dredge
with salt, and rub soft butter
over the legs and breast; then dredge the entire birds
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT. 303
thickly with flour. Place in a pan, breasts up, and set
in a very hot oven. Eoast for forty minutes, basting
three times with butter, water, or stock, salt, pepper,
and flour. Use half a dozen table-spoonfuls of hot water
and three of butter, in basting. Serve the birds hot,
with bread sauce.
-
Roast Woodcock on Toast.
Pick, singe, and draw the birds ; then skin the heads,
and remove the eyes. Cut off the feet or not, as suits
your fancy. Fasten the legs against the sides of the
birds by turning the heads backward on one side, and
using the long bills as skew-
ers, as illustrated. Lard
the breasts with very fine
strips of salt pork. Dredge
lightly with salt and pepper,
and after rubbing thickly
with soft butter, dredge
with flour. Lay the birds 1
on their backs in a flat pan, Woodcock Beady for Roasting,
and cook for fifteen minutes in a very hot oven. Serve
immediately on toast made of stale bread, cut into slices
large enough to hold a single bird, and nicely browned.
When the birds are drawn, save the liver, blood, and
lungs, and after chopping very fine, season with salt,
pepper, and butter, two table-spoonfuls of butter for
each bird. Spread this mixture upon the toast, and
place the latter in the oven for the last four minutes
that the woodcocks are cooking. After the birds have
been disposed on the toast, garnish with water-cresses
and quarters of lemons.
The dish should be eaten without delay, or it will
deteriorate.
These birds frequently are cooked undrawn, only the
crop being removed.
304 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Broiled Grouse.
Split the birds down the back. Lay a folded towel on
the breast, and strike hard with the vegetable-masher.
This will flatten the breastbone. Now wipe clean, and
then dredge with plenty of salt and a little pepper.
Rub soft butter over the bird, and dredge thickly with
flour. Broil over a clear fire for fifteen minutes. Serve
on a hot dish, with salt, pepper, and butter.
In the time given, the meat will be cooked rare ; if
liked better done, broil for twenty minutes.
Ptarmigan may be broiled in the same way.
.
Broiled Partridge.
Prepare and serve the same as grouse, save that par-
tridge, being white meat, should be broiled for twenty-
five minutes.
Small Birds in Crumbs.
For a dozen reed birds, allow a pint of coarse crumbs,
half a cupful of fine bread crumbs, seven table-spoonfuls
of butter, one teaspoonful of chopped parsley, and salt
and pepper.
Draw and wipe the birds, and draw the skin from the
heads and necks. Cut off the feet, and press the legs
into the bodies. Fasten the heads under the wings by
pressing the bills into the bodies. When all the birds
have been trussed, season them with salt and pepper,
and roll them in three table-spoonfuls of melted butter,
and then in the fine bread crumbs and chopped parsley.
Place them on their backs on a tin plate or in a tin pan,
and set them in a hot oven for five minutes. Have the
coarse crumbs crisp and brown, and spread them upon
a hot dish. Lay the birds upon this bed of crumbs,
and pour over them the gravy from the pan in which
they were roasted. Garnish with parsley, and serve
immediately.
VARIOUS MODES OF COOKING MEAT. 305
To Prepare the Crumbs. Cut a loaf of stale bread in
two from the side, and grate on a coarse grater until the
top and the bottom crusts have been reached (they can be
dried and rolled for breading). Put the crumbs into a
large dripping-pan, and place them in a moderate oven
until they become dry. Be careful that they do not get
very brown. Put four table-spoonfuls of butter into a
large frying-pan, and when it is very hot, add the crumbs.
Stir over a hot fire until they are golden brown and very
crisp. The crumbs may be prepared at any time during
the day, but they must be made very hot at serving-
time.
Barded and Roasted Snipe.
Eemove the crop, skin the head, take out the eyes, and
draw the bird or not, as your taste dictates. Season with
salt. Draw the head down to the feet. Wrap the bird
in a thin slice of clear salt pork. Bun a skewer through
Barded Snipe.
the bird to keep the pork (bard), head, and feet in posi-
tion. Bun from three to six birds on each skewer. Bub
soft butter over the parts that are not covered with the
pork, and dredge the whole bird with flour.
Put as many small slices of toast on the bottom of a
shallow cake-pan as there are snipe. Best the ends of
the skewers on the edges of the pan. Place in a very
hot oven, and cook foff ten minutes. On taking the pan
from the oven, slip one snipe on each slice of toast.
Serve immediately.
Any small birds may be prepared in this manner.
306 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Jugged Rabbit.
American wild rabbits are almost equal in flavor to
the English hare, and may be prepared in the same
manner. For six persons take two rabbits, an onion,
two bay leaves, three cloves, half a dozen allspice, one
table-spoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, one
table-spoonful of lemon juice, four table-spoonfuls of
sherry, half a cupful of butter, four table-spoonfuls of
flour, three cupfuls of water, one table-spoonful of mush-
room ketchup. If port be preferred to sherry, use a gill.
The dish will be good even if no wine be used.
Have the rabbits skinned by .the butcher. Draw them,
and wash carefully ; then cut into handsome pieces, and
roll these in flour. Put the butter into a frying-pan, and
when it gets hot, put in the meat. Brown well on both
sides, being careful not to burn. When the meat has
been well browned, put it into a stew-pan, and put into
the frying-pan such flour as remained after the meat was
rolled in it. Stir until the mixture gets smooth ; then
add the water, and cook for ten minutes. Pour this
liquid over the meat in the stew-pan. Add the spice,
salt, pepper, and the onion, uncut. Cover closely, and
simmer for an hour and a half; then add the wine,
lemon juice, and ketchup. Arrange the rabbit on a warm
platter, and strain the sauce over it. Serve with a dish
of boiled rice.
ENTRIES.
307
ENTRIES.
Fillet of Beef.
WITH a sharp knife, remove the tough membrane from
the upper side of a tenderloin. This is done in the same
manner as skinning a fish. Fold the thin end under,
and skewer it into position ; then lard it. Season with
pepper and salt. Now rub soft butter over it, and dredge
thickly with flour. Place in a dripping-pan, larded side
Larded Fillet of Beef.
up, and roast in a hot oven for twenty-five minutes, if
desired very rare, or for thirty, if moderately rare. It
will not require any basting. Serve with any of the
following-named sauces poured around it : mushroom,
Spanish, Chateaubriand, or financiere.
Should only a small fillet be required, have it cut from
the thickest part of the tenderloin. Cook it the same
time and in the same manner as if it were a whole
tenderloin.
When the entire tenderloin is used, it should be carved
in the centre ; but when only a few pounds are used, the
- 308 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Larded Fillet of Beef.
carving is done from the end. Sometimes the smaller
piece in the above illustration is cut from the fillet and
sliced and then replaced, before the dish is sent to the
table.
Fillet of Beef a la Bearnaise.
For eight persons allow about three pounds of the
tenderloin of beef. Out it in slices about three-quarters
of an inch thick. Sprinkle these slices with salt, pepper,
and flour, and broil over a bright fire for seven minutes.
Place on a warm dish, and pour hot Bearnaise sauce
around the meat. Serve at once.
Fillet Steaks with Olives.
Cut six steaks from the thickest part of the fillet.
They should be about three-quarters of an inch thick.
Now cut each slice into two triangular pieces. Sprinkle
a table-spoonful of lemon juice over them, and brush them
over with olive oil or melted butter. Put them in a cold
place for an hour or more.
Stone the olives, and simmer in clear stock for half an
hour. Have a brown sauce ready. Ten minutes before
serving-time, put the steaks to broil over a clear fire.
Cook them for six minutes. Arrange in a circle, with
the points overlapping, on a warm dish j fill the centre
ENTREES. 309
with the olives. Pour the brown sauce around 'the meat,
and serve very hot.
With the six slices of steak, use three gills of brown
sauce and two dozen olives.
Fillet Steaks a la Chateaubriand.
Have the steaks cut from the best part of the tender-
loin and about an inch and a quarter thick. Rub them
with a slice of onion, season with salt and pepper, and
brush melted butter or olive oil over them. Broil over
clear coals for ten minutes. Arrange them on a hot dish,
and pour Chateaubriand sauce over them. Garnish with
potato balls saute.
For ten persons use five or six slices of tenderloin, one
pint of sauce, and a pint and a half of potato balls.
Grenadins of Fillet of Beef.
Cut five slices, each about one-third of an inch thick,
from the thickest part of a tenderloin of beef. Trim
them into a regular shape. Lard them on one side with
fine lardoons, which should be not much thicker than a
match. Place them with as much
regularity as possible. Season the
grenadins with salt and pepper, roll
them in melted butter, and lay them
in a dripping-pan with the larded A Larded Grenadin .
side up. Cook in a hot oven for
eight minutes. Take the pan from the oven, and pour
off the fat.
Have two table-spoonfuls of Madeira and three of
glaze heated together. Baste the grenadins with this,
and return to the oven for two minutes. Arrange them
on a hot dish, and pour mushroom or any rich brown
sauce around them.
v
The matter of larding is very simple, and yet many
persons fail in this because they do not understand the
310
MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
few principles necessary for the work. In the first place,
the pork must be of the right kind. It should always be
firm and free from lean. The dry-salted is best when it
can be obtained. The surface of the rind of the pork
should be level, or nearly so. When it curves it is im-
possible to cut even slices from it.
Measure to see how long you want the lardoons (the
little strips of pork). Now cut the piece of pork this
length. With a sharp knife cut off the rind, and then
cut slices thick or thin, as you may desire your lar-
Method of Larding Meat.
.
doons large or small. The slices must be cut parallel
with the rind and only to the line in the pork which
shows that a newer and softer layer of fat had formed
beyond it. This part of the pork will not n erve for
lardoons, as the fibres are too loose and will break when
the lardoon is drawn through the meat. Cut the slices
of pork into strips that are of equal breadth on all four
sides, so that the ends form a square. Great care must
be taken that these strips are cut even, because if
uneven there will be difficulty in drawing them through
ENTRIES. 311
the meat. Put these lardoons into a bowl with plenty
of ice and a little water. This will harden them.
Put a lardoon into the needle. Run this into the
article to be larded. It should go about one-third of an
inch under the surface of the flesh, and the point should
come out about three-fourths of an inch from the place
where it went in.
When the needle is nearly through, hold the end of the
lardoon with one hand to prevent its being drawn farther
into the meat. About one-third of the lardoon must be
exposed at each end, as shown in the illustration.
Sweetbreads, grenadins, and fillets of game or fowl
require lardoons about the size of a large match. Fillets
of beef and fricandeaux of veal should have lardoons
four times as large. Lardoons for small birds should
be twice as large as for sweetbreads ; and for grouse, par-
tridge, ptarmigan, etc., about three times as large as for
sweetbreads.
If these directions be followed carefully, one will find
no difficulty in larding.
Paupiettes of Fillet of Beef, with Olives.
There will be required for this dish one pound and a
half of the tenderloin of beef, cut from the thickest part,
the materials named in the rule for dark chicken force-
meat, two dozen stuffed olives, a pint and a half of con-
somme", four table-spoonfuls of butter,
one table-spoonful of arrowroot, a table-
spoonful of salt, and half a teaspoonful
of pepper.
Cut the tenderloin in very thin slices. Paupiette of
There should be seven slices. Cut each
slice in two, lengthwise. Spread these strips on a board,
and season them with salt and pepper. Spread a thin
layer of the force-meat on each strip of meat ; then roll
this up and tie it. Put the butter into a flat stew-pan,
312 MISS PAKLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
and place it on the fire. When it is hot, put in the
paupiettes, and cook them until brown on all sides.
They must be watched carefully, arid turned often.
When they are all browned, pour over them one pint of
consomme. Cover closely, and set back where they will
simmer for one hour. At the end of this time mix the
arrowroot with one gill of cold consomme, and stir it
into the gravy in which the paupiettes are cooking.
Simmer half an hour longer.
Put the olives into a small saucepan with the remain-
ing gill of consomme, and simmer for half an hour. Now
take up the paupiettes, cut the strings, and remove them.
Arrange the paupiettes in the centre of a dish, and gar-
nish with the olives. Strain the sauce over the meat, and
serve. This dish will be sufficient for a party of twelve.
Paupiettes of Fillet of Beef, with Mushrooms.
Prepare and cook the meat as for paupiettes with
olives. Add one pound of fresh mushrooms ten minutes
before serving. If the mushrooms be large, cut them.
If it be inconvenient to obtain fresh mushrooms, use
the canned ; but in that case cook them five minutes.
* Beefsteak, with Fried Spanish Onions.
For this dish there will be required a steak cut an
inch thick, and weighing about two pounds and a half,
three table-spoonfuls of butter, one teaspoonful and a
half of salt, one-fifth of a teaspoonful of pepper (unless
there be objection to the use of any whatever), one table-
spoonful of flour, two good-sized Spanish onions, and
some fat, for the purpose of frying.
Put a kettle of fat on to heat. Pare the onions, and
slice them as thin as possible. Place them in a fryirig-
basket, ready for cooking. Dredge the steak with the
pepper, one teaspoonful of the salt, and all the flour ;
then broil it over a clear fire for ten minutes, turning
ENTRIES. 313
constantly. During the first four minutes keep the steak
as near the coals as possible, but for the remaining time
hold the broiler at a little distance from the coals. By
this mode of broiling, the steak will be left juicy and
will be cooked evenly, being nearly as rare just below
the surface as in the centre.
As soon as the meat is taken from the fire, put the
basket of sliced onions into the boiling fat, and cook for
three minutes. In that time the onions ought to turn
a rich brown color; they also should be crisp. Place
the steak on a warm dish, and spread the butter over it.
Drain the onions, and arrange them around the steak.
Serve at once.
The onions may be served on a separate dish instead
of round the steak. They are also suitable to serve
with any kind of roasted or broiled meat.
* Marrow-bones.
Beef marrow, when well cooked, is considered by some
people as a great delicacy. Have the bones cut either
two or four inches long. Make a stiff dough with flour
Marrow-bones and Tenderloin Steak.
and water. Wash and wipe the bones. Eoll the dough
on the board until it is about one-fourth of an inch thick.
Cut out pieces about two inches square to cover the ends
of the marrow-bones. Pin the bones in a piece of cloth,
and after laying them in a stew-pan, cover with boiling
314 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
water and boil for one hour. Now take them up, and
remove the cloth and paste. If the marrow is to be
served in the long bones, they must have small fringed
napkins pinned around them. They are passed with
little squares of buttered toast. There must be a small
spoon, having a long handle, with which to take put the
marrow.
Another way is to have the bones cut about two inches
long, and when the marrow is done, put a bone in the
centre of a small slice of buttered toast. Serve each
guest with one of these.
"Still another way is to cook the marrow in the long
bones and then spread it on hot toast.
No matter what mode of cooking is followed, the dish
must be served very hot. It is usual to season the
marrow with cayenne. This dish may be served at
luncheon or supper.
The butcher will cut the bones any length you wish.
Marrow-bones are frequently served on broiled steak,
particularly tenderloin.
* Stewed Ox Tails, with Turnips.
For six persons use three ox tails, 1;hree table-spoonfuls
of chopped onion, two of chopped carrot, two of chopped
celery, four of butter, four of flour, one pint of water,
one pint and a half of stock, one quart of turnips, cut
into small cubes, one teaspoonful of sugar, and salt and
pepper in quantities to suit your taste.
Cut the tails at the joints, and wash them carefully.
Cover them with cold water, and let them soak for an
hour. At the end of that time put them into a stew-pan
with enough boiling water to cover them, and boil for
ten minutes. Drain off all the water, and after putting
into the pan a pint of fresh boiling water and a pint of
the stock, set the pan where its contents will simmer.
Put three table-spoonfuls of butter and all the chopped
ENTRIES. 315
vegetables into a small frying-pan, and cook slowly for
ten minutes ; then set the pan where the vegetables will
cook rapidly for two minutes. Stir constantly all the
while. Draw the vegetables to one side of the pan, and
press out the butter ; then put them with the ox tails.
Stir the flour into the butter remaining in the pan, and
continue stirring until the flour becomes dark brown.
Add this mixture to the contents of the stew-pan, and
stir well. Add a level table-spoonful of salt and half a
teaspoonful of pepper; then cover closely, and simmer
for three hours.
When the ox tails have been cooking for two hours,
put the quart of turnips into a stew-pan with two quarts
of boiling water, and cook for thirty minutes. At the
end of that time drain off all the water, and add to the
turnips one teaspoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of sugar,
one table-spoonful of butter, and half a pint of stock.
Set the pan where the contents will boil rapidly until all
the liquid has been absorbed by the turnips. Shake the
stew-pan frequently during the cooking, and finally set
it back where the contents will keep hot until serving-
time.
Now skim off any fat which may have accumulated on
the surface of the liquid or gravy in which the ox tails
are cooking. Taste the gravy, to be sure that it is prop-
erly seasoned ; then transfer the ox tails to the centre of
a warm platter, and strain the gravy over them. Heap
the turnip around the meat.
This is not a handsome dish, but it is delicious.
Carrots or other vegetables may be used instead of tur-
nips as a garnish.
Ox Palates.
These are not used much in cookery, except by pro-
fessionals who understand their value as the foundation
of many nice entrees. Not being in great demand, they
are cheap. The bony, hard palate, which forms the
316 MISS PAELOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
roof of the mouth, is the most desirable part ; the soft,
hanging palate is not generally used in the little entrees
included in the following receipts. The palates must be
cleaned and boiled before they are used in any form.
Three will be enough for an entree for eight persons.
Put the palates into a large pan with three or four
quarts of water, and soak for three or four hours.
Change the water three times. Now wash the palates
thoroughly in two or three waters. Put them into a
stew-pan with cold water enough to cover, and heat
them to the boiling-point. Boil for ten minutes ; then
pour off the water, and cover with cold water. Scrape
off the skin, and wash again. Now put the palates into
the stew-pan with enough boiling water to cover them,
and boil gently for five hours. At the end of four hours
put into the pan an onion, a carrot, two cloves, a bay
leaf, one table-spoonful of salt, one of vinegar, and half a
teaspoonful of pepper.
When the palates are done, drain them, and spread
them in a large flat pan. Place a tin sheet or pan on top
of them, and on this put a weight, two bricks will do.
Set the palates in a cold place until it is time to prepare
them for an entre'e.
Breaded Ox Palates.
Cut some pressed palates into pieces about four inches
long and three broad. Put these into a bowl, and pour
over them a marinade made in the following manner:
Mix in a cup two table-spoonfuls of lemon juice, two of
oil, one of salt, and half a teaspoonful of pepper. Let
the meat stand in this seasoning for two or three hours,
stirring it occasionally, that all parts may come in con-
tact with the liquid. Now dip the meat in beaten eggs,
and then roll them in bread crumbs. Place in a frying-
basket, and cook in fat for two minutes. Drain on brown
paper, and serve on a hot dish with tomato sauce.
ENTRIES. 317
Broiled Palates.
Cut the pressed palates into strips about five inches
long and four wide. Season well with salt and pepper,
and with a little lemon juice, if you choose. Dip in
melted butter and then roll in bread crumbs, and broil
over clear coals until the meat turns a delicate brown
color. It will take, about six minutes' cooking. Serve
with mushroom, tomato, Bechamel, Hollandaise, or some
other sauce.
Curry of Ox Palates.
For six or eight persons use three pressed palates,
three table-spoonfuls of butter, three of flour, one level
table-spoonful of curry-powder, one teaspoonful of salt,
one-fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper, one table-spoonful
of chopped onion, and two cupfuls of stock.
Cut the palates into small squares or triangles, and
place them in a stew-pan. Put the onion and butter in
a frying-pan, and cook until the onion is slightly
browned; then add the flour and curry-powder. Stir
and cook until the mixture becomes smooth and frothy ;
then draw the frying-pan to a cooler part of the range,
and gradually add the stock, stirring all the while.
When all the stock has been added, move the pan
forward to the hot part of the range. Add the salt
and pepper, and cook for five minutes, stirring fre-
quently. Now strain this sauce over the palates, and
let them cook for five minutes. At the end of that time
add one gill of stock or water, and boil up once. Serve
very hot.
Plain boiled rice should be served with this dish.
Ox Palates a la Poulette.
Cut the pressed palates into small squares. Season
well with salt and pepper, and cover with stock or milk.
Cook for twenty minutes ; then drain them. Arrange in
a warm dish, and pour poulette sauce over them.
318 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Ox Palates, with Mushrooms.
For this dish use one can of mushrooms, two palates,
one cupful of stock, three table-spoonfuls of butter, two
of flour, one teaspoonful of salt, and one-fourth of a tea-
spoonful of pepper.
Cut the palates in small squares, and put them into a
stew-pan with the mushrooms. Put. the butter in a fry-
ing-pan, and place this on the fire ; and when it becomes
hot, add the flour. Stir until the flour gets brown ; then
add the stock and the water from the mushroom can.
Cook for five minutes, stirring frequently. After adding
the salt and pepper, pour the sauce over the mush-
rooms and palates, and cook for five minutes longer.
Ox palates may be warmed in stock, seasoned with
salt and pepper, and served with any kind of sauce.
The sauce should have a decided flavor, as the palates
have so little.
Fricandeau of Veal.
For a fricandeau weighing four pounds use one-fourth
of a pound of larding pork, two table-spoonfuls each of
minced carrot, turnip, onion, and celery, one table-
spoonful of lemon juice, half a teaspoonful of white
pepper, three teaspoonfuls of salt, one pint and a half of
white stock, one generous table-spoonful of corn-starch,
flour for dredging, and one gill of glaze.
Wet a board and the vegetable-masher in cold water.
Place the fricandeau on the board, and skewer the fat
around it. Beat it gently with the vegetable-masher
until it is only about three inches thick. Beat it a
little harder near the edges than in the centre, as there
should be a little slope from the centre toward the
edges. Now lard the meat on the beaten side.
Cut the remainder of the pork into thin slices, and
arrange them on the bottom of a deep baking-pan.
Sprinkle the chopped vegetables on the pork. Now lay
ENTRIES. 319
the fricandeau, larded side up, on the bed of pork
and vegetables, and season well with salt and pepper.
Butter a sheet of foolscap generously on both sides.
Lay this over the fricaudeau. Place the pan in a mod-
erate oven, and cook slowly for half an hour. Watch
carefully, to prevent the vegetables from burning. At
the end of the
half -hour add
half a pint of the
hot stock, basting
the meat with it ;
but do not remove
the buttered pa-
per. Dredge with Fricandeau of Veal, Larded,
salt, pepper, and
flour. Cook for two hours and a half longer, basting
every fifteen minutes with the gravy in the pan, and with
salt, pepper, and flour. As the gravy cooks away, add
more stock. Let the fricandeau cook for the last fifteen
minutes without the buttered paper on. Just before
taking it from the oven, brush the gill of melted glaze
over it. Close the oven door, and let it cook two min-
utes longer. On taking it from the oven place on a
smooth bed of minced spinach.
Put on the range the pan in which the fricandeau was
cooked. Mix the corn-starch with half a cupful of cold
water, and stir into the gravy. Boil for three minutes ;
then add the lemon juice, and more salt and pepper, if
any be needed. Strain, and serve with the fricandeau.
Should there be any fat floating on the gravy, skim it
off.
Success in making this dish depends upon slow cook-
ing. If the oven be so hot that the gravy boils in the
pan, the piece of meat will be spoiled.
There should be a pint of gravy when it is finished.
Should there be less, add boiling water enough to make
a pint.
320
MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Veal Cutlets a la Francaise.
Either half a dozen rib chops or two slices from a leg
of veal will be needed. If chops be used, have them
freed from the
backbone and
have the ribs cut
short ; if slices
from the leg be
taken, have them
half an inch
thick, and cut
each into four
Veal Cutlet before Trimming. pieces. The other
necessaries a r e
half a dozen button onions or a table-spoonful of chopped
onion, half a can of mushrooms, three table-spoonfuls of
strained tomato, a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, three
table-spoonfuls of salad oil, a table-spoonful of brandy, a
scant half-pint of water, a generous teaspoonful of salt,
and one-eighth of a teaspoonful of pepper.
Season the meat with salt and pepper. Put the oil
into a large frying-pan, and when it has become hot, put
in the onions, if button
onions are to be used.
Cook for five minutes,
stirring all the while;
then put in the cutlets,
and cook until brown on
both sides. Pour off the
oil, and gradually sub-
stitute the half-pint of
water. Put in also the tomato, mushrooms, parsley, and
brandy; and after covering the frying-pan closely, let
the cutlets simmer for half an hour. Serve very hot.
If chopped onion be used, put it into the pan with the
meat, and not previously, as with button onions.
Veal Cutlet after Trimming.
ENTREES. 321
Veal Chops.
For ten chops there will be required ten rib bones
from a piece of mutton, two pounds of veal, cut from the
leg, three eggs, one cupful of cracker crumbs, two of
stock, five table-spoonfuls of butter, two teaspoonfuls of
salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, one-fourth of a tea-
spoonful of powdered sage, of summer savory, of sweet
marjoram, and of thyme, two table-spoonfuls of cold
water, and a heaping table-spoonful of flour.
Chop the meat very fine, and add to it half of the
cracker crumbs, all the herbs, the pepper, about three-
fourths of the salt, half a cupful of the stock, two of the
eggs, well beaten, and three table-spoonfuls of the butter.
Mix all these ingredients thoroughly ; and after dividing
the mixture into ten parts, put one of the rib bones with
each part, and shape like mutton chops. Beat the third
egg well, and add the water to it. After dipping the
chops in the egg, roll them gently in the remaining
cracker crumbs. Place the breaded chops in a baking-
pan, and take the next step in the work.
Put the remaining two table-spoonfuls of butter into a
stew-pan, and when it becomes so hot that it begins to
turn brown, add the flour, and stir the mixture until it
turns dark brown. Now add the remainder of the stock,
stirring all the while. Boil for three minutes, and then
add the salt.
Put the pan of chops into a hot oven, and cook for
half an hour. At the end of the first ten minutes baste
with the gravy ; and baste every five minutes afterward,
four times in all.
When the chops are done, arrange them on a warm
dish. Scrape all the gravy from the pan in which they
were baked, and put it with the sauce. Let the sauce
boil up once, and pour it around the chops.
The dish may be much improved by the addition of
three table-spoonfuls of mushrooms to the sauce. If
21
322 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
used, they should be added after the last basting; thus
receiving five minutes' cooking.
* Crumbed Lamb Cutlets.
Have three slices, about half an inch thick, cut from a
leg of lamb. Mix well in a cup two table-spoonfuls of
lemon juice, half a teaspoonful of onion juice, half a tea-
spoonful of salt, one-eighth of a teaspoonful of pepper,
and two table-spoonfuls of salad oil, and rub the mix-
ture over the slices of lamb. Cover the dish in which
the meat lies, and put it away for an hour or more.
When ready to cook the cutlets, spread them lightly
with melted butter, and dip them in fine bread crumbs.
Cook in a double-broiler over a moderate fire for eight
minutes. Serve hot, with asparagus sauce or any deli-
cate sauce. They are delectable even without any
accompaniment.
Lamb Chops in Paper Cases.
Fold and cut thick sheets of white paper so that when
opened they will be heart-shaped. Each sheet should
be about nine inches long and five and a half wide. Dip
all in olive-oil or
melted butter, being
careful that every
part is well oiled.
Set them aside until
the chops are ready.
Have the chops
Chop in Paper Case. cut from the ribs.
The rib bone must
be scraped clean. Season the chops with salt and pepper,
and then dip them in melted butter. Now place them
on one side of the papers, having the bones turned
toward the centre. Fold the papers carefully, turning
in the edges. Place in the broiler, and cook over a
ENTRIES.
323
moderate fire for eight minutes, if the chops be about
three-quarters of an inch thick. Serve on a hot dish in
the papers in which they were broiled.
The secret of broiling in paper is to have every part
of the paper well oiled. While cooking, the broiler
must be turned constantly. If these directions be
followed carefully, the paper will turn only a delicate
brown.
Mutton Cutlets a la Maintenon.
For six cutlets use the following-named materials :
four table-spoonfuls of chopped mushrooms, one of
chopped onion, one generous table-spoonful of butter,
one of flour, three of stock, one teaspoonful of minced
parsley, one of salt, one-fifth of a teaspoonfui of pepper,
and three gills of Spanish sauce.
Cook the butter and onion together for five minutes ;
then add the mushrooms and seasoning, and cook five
minutes longer. Now add the flour, and stir wel} ; then
add the stock, and cook three minutes longer. Let this
mixture cool.
Have the cutlets cut from the ribs, and cut one inch and
a half thick. Trim the rib bones as for French chops.
With a sharp knife, split
the chops in two without
Cutlet before Trimming.
Cutlet after Trimming.
separating them at the bone. Spread the cooked mixture
inside, and then press lightly together again. Broil for
eight minutes over clear coals. Arrange on a warm dish,
and pour the Spanish sauce around them. Serve very
hot.
324 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
* Breslau of Cold Meat.
For eight persons use one pint of lean cooked meat,
chopped fine, a pint and a half of grated stale bread, a
pint of stock or milk, three eggs, a table-spoonful of salt,
half a teaspoonful of pepper, three teaspoonfuls of but-
ter, one of flour, two of minced onion, and one each of
minced carrot and minced parsley.
Mix the salt, pepper, and parsley with the chopped
meat. Put the butter, onion, and carrot into a small
stew-pan, and cook slowly for half an hour. Now add
the flour, and stir until the mixture is frothy. Gradually
add the stock or milk, and stir until it boils. Rub this
liquid through a strainer and on the bread. Let this
stand until cold; then add the meat and well-beaten
eggs to the soaked bread.
Butter eight small dariole moulds ; or custard cups will
do if the moulds are not at hand. Put the mixture into
them. Now place the moulds in a pan of warm water,
having the water come within half an inch of the top
of the moulds. Cover with buttered paper, and cook
in a moderate oven for half an hour. At serving-time
turn out on a warm dish, and pour a good sauce around
them. The sauce should be white or yellow for light
meats, and brown for dark meats.
This dish is suitable for luncheon, dinner, or supper.
Braised Tongue a la Jardiniere.
After washing a fresh beef tongue, run through the
roots and end of it a trussing-needle threaded with strong
twine, and draw tightly enough to make the ends of the
tongue meet. Tie the twine firmly. Cover the meat
with boiling water, and boil gently for two hours ; then
remove it from the kettle and skin it.
Put six table-spoonfuls of butter into the braisiug-pan,
and when it has become hot, put in half a small carrot,
ENTRIES. 825
half a small turnip, and an onion, all cut fine. Cook for
five minutes, stirring all the while; then remove the
vegetables.
Koll the tongue in dry flour, and put it into the brais-
ing-pan with the butter in which the vegetables were
fried. Brown one side ; then turn the tongue and brown
the other side. Add the cooked vegetables and a quart
of the water in which the meat was boiled. Cover the
pan, and cook slowly in the oven for two hours, basting
every fifteen minutes.
Mix a table-spoonful of corn-starch with half a cupful
of cold water, and stir into the gravy in the braising-pan.
There should be a pint and a half of this gravy ; and if
there be less, add some of the water in which the tongue
was boiled. Season with salt, pepper, and the juice of
half a lemon, and cook fifteen minutes longer. Take up
the tongue, and cut and remove the string with which
it was fastened. Strain the gravy over the meat, and
put groups of stewed carrots, stewed turnips, French
peas, and potato balls around it. Serve immediately,
with extra dishes of the vegetables named.
This work may seem very complex ; yet it is not diffi-
cult, and the dish is so tempting and palatable that it
repays one for taking a good deal of trouble.
* Brown Fricassee of Sheep's Tongues.
The day before the fricassee is to be served, wash the
tongues carefully, and, putting them into a stew-pan con-
taining boiling water enough to cover them, simmer
them for two hours. At the end of that time set them
away to cool ; and when they are cool, take them from
the water, rid them of their roots, and cut them in two
lengthwise. Put them in a cool place until morning.
If provision is to be made for six persons, use half a
dozen tongues. In the morning season them with salt and
pepper. Put upon a plate two generous table-spoonfuls
326 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
of flour, and roll the tongues in it. Put three table-spoon-
fuls of butter into a frying-pan, and when it gets hot,
put in the tongues and a teaspoonful of chopped onion.
Cook until the meat gets browned on all sides. Add
what flour remains on the plate, and stir until the Horn-
is smooth ; then slowly add a pint of stock, stirring all
the while. Season with salt and pepper; then add a
teaspoonful of lemon juice, and send the dish to the
table. This fricassee is nice for luncheon, especially if
a dish of boiled rice accompany it. Tongues cost only a
few cents apiece.
* Braised Lambs' Tongues.
Put six lambs' tongues into a stew-pan, and, after
covering with boiling water, simmer gently for two hours.
Take them up at the end of that time, and, throwing
them into cold water, skin them. Put three table-spoon-
fuls of butter into a frying-pan, and when it gets hot,
add two table-spoonfuls of flour. Stir the mixture until
~A, becomes dark brown ; then add a pint and a half of
the water in which the meat was boiled. Boil up once,
and season with salt and pepper and a table-spoonful
of lemon juice. Put the tongues into a deep pan, and
pour the sauce over them. Add a bay leaf, a clove, a
stalk of celery, half a small onion, and a sprig of pars-
ley. Cover the pan, and put it into a very moderate
oven. Cook slowly for one hour. At serving-time
arrange the tongues at the base of a casserole of pota-
toes. Strain the sauce and pour it over them, and serve
immediately.
J
Breaded Calves' Brains.
Let the brains of two calves stand in cold water for
half an hour; then remove the thin membrane that
covers them, and see that they are perfectly white and
free of blood-filled veins. Divide each calf's brains into
ENTRIES. 327
six parts, thus obtaining twelve parts in all, and tie up
each part in a small piece of thin muslin. Drop all into
a pan of boiling water, just enough to cover them,
and boil gently for half an hour. At the end of that
time take them up; and after changing the hot water
for cold water, put them back into the pan. When they
have been cooled, remove them from the muslin, and
season well with salt and pepper. Beat an egg, and
season it with salt and pepper. Dip the brains into it,
and roll them in fine bread crumbs. When all have been
breaded, put them into the fry ing-basket, and set them
into a kettle of boiling fat. Cook for two minutes, and
serve with either ravigote or cream sauce.
Escaloped Calves' Brains.
Two sets of brains will be required, besides a pint of
grated bread crumbs, half a pint of milk, an egg, a
table-spoonful of butter, half a teaspoonful of flour, half
a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, half a teaspoonful of
onion juice, one teaspoonful of salt, a grain of pepper,
and a table-spoonful of vinegar.
After soaking the brains in warm water for two hours,
free them from the skin and large fibres, and wash them
in cold water. Tie them loosely in a piece of thin
muslin, and, putting them into a saucepan, pour in
enough boiling water to cover them. Add the spoonful
of vinegar, and then boil gently for half an hour. At
the end of that time take them from the boiling water,
and plunge into cold water; and when they get cold,
drain them, and cut them into small pieces.
Put the butter into a small frying-pan, and when it
gets hot, and before it turns brown, add the flour. Stir
until smooth and frothy ; then gradually add the milk.
When this mixture boils up, add the chopped parsley,
onion juice, and half the pepper and salt. Sprinkle the
remainder of the seasoning on the brains. Beat the egg
328 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
till light, and mix it with the brains. Put a thin layer
of crumbs on the bottom of an escalop dish, then spread
a layer of brains (using half the entire quantity), next
add half the sauce, and finally add a thin layer of crumbs.
Now put in second layers of brains and sauce, and finish
by using the remainder of the crumbs. Bake in a moder-
ate oven for twenty minutes. It makes the dish richer,
but less delicate, to cut a generous table-spoonful of but-
ter into bits, and strew these upon the top layer of
crumbs.
Sweetbreads with Brown Sauce.
For two pairs of sweetbreads the following-named
materials will be required : one pint of clear brown
stock, two level table-spoonfuls of corn-starch, three
table-spoonfuls of butter, a clove, salt and pepper for
seasoning, and a piece of carrot, of onion, and of celery,
each about an inch square (bear in mind that these are
not expected to be cubes, but simply pieces about an
inch square).
Clean the sweetbreads, and soak them in a pan of
water for an hour or more ; then put them in a stew-pan,
with boiling water enough to cover, and cook for twenty
minutes. At the end of that time take them up, and
put them in cold water for two minutes. On removing
them from the cold water, rub a table-spoonful of butter
over them, and dredge with salt and pepper. Cook in a
hot oven for twenty minutes, basting with brown sauce
every five minutes.
Brown Sauce. To make the sauce, put into a stew-pan
the stock, vegetables, and clove already mentioned, and
heat the mixture to the boiling-point. Mix the corn-
starch with five table-spoonfuls of water, and stir into
the mixture in the stew-pan. Cook for a quarter of an
hour ; then add two table-spoonfuls of butter, one tea-
spoonful of salt, and one-eighth of a teaspoonful of
pepper. Simmer for five minutes longer, and strain.
ENTRIES. 829
Use about a gill and a half of this sauce in basting
the sweetbreads, and when the dish is served, pour the
remaining sauce around the meat.
If the stock was seasoned with vegetables and spice
before it was used for the sauce, these seasonings may
be omitted in making the sauce.
Braised Sweetbreads.
After cleaning the sweetbreads, drop them into a sauce-
pan containing boiling water enough to cover them, and
boil for ten minutes. Take them from the water, lay
them in a shallow dish, and season with salt and pepper.
Make a sauce as follows, the quantities being sufficient
for half a dozen sweetbreads :
Dissolve a teaspoonful of beef extract in a cupful of
warm water. Put a table-spoonful and a half of butter
into a small frying-pan with one teaspoonful of chopped
onion, a bit of parsley, half a teaspoonful of chopped
carrot, and a bay leaf. Cook slowly for five minutes ;
then add one heaping teaspoonful of flour, and stir until
brown. Draw the frying-pan back to a cooler part of
the stove, and gradually add the dissolved beef extract.
Season with salt and pepper, and simmer for three
minutes.
Strain this sauce over the sweetbreads, and cook them
slowly in the oven for an hour, basting frequently with
the sauce in the pan. At serving-time place the sweet-
breads on a warm platter, and pour a clear brown sauce
around them.
Spindled Sweetbreads.
Clean two heart sweetbreads, and cover them with
boiling water. Add a table-spoonful of lemon juice, a
teaspoonful of salt, a slice of onion, ten pepper-corns,
and a piece of stick cinnamon about an inch long. Place
on the fire, and cook for twenty minutes. At the end of
330 MISS PAKLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
that time take the sweetbreads from the hot water, and
drop them into a bowl of cold water. When they become
cold, wipe them dry, and cut into pieces about an inch
and a half square and half an inch thick.
Cut fat bacon in slices as thin as a wafer, and divide
these slices into squares. Season the sweetbreads with
salt and pepper ; then roll them in melted butter, and
also roll lightly in flour.
String the bacon and sweet-
breads on small skewers,
Sptadled Sweetbreads. alternating with squares of
each kind of meat. Rest the
ends of the skewers on a narrow cake-pan, and place in
a hot oven for eight minutes. Serve each skewerful on
a slice of toast.
Another way is to let the butter and flour cool on the
squares of sweetbread ; then dip the meat in beaten egg,
and roll in fine crumbs. String them as before, and
after laying them in the frying-basket, cook in fat for
a minute and a half. Serve on toast, as before.
Turkey, chicken, and goose livers are very nice cooked
in this manner. They should not be boiled first.
Fried Chicken and Cauliflower.
Use two chickens, each weighing about three pounds,
one large head of cauliflower, one pint of milk, half a
pint of cream, one quarter of a pound of clear salt pork,
and some flour, salt, and pepper.
Singe, wipe, and draw the chickens ; then cut them in
handsome joints, season them generously with salt and
pepper, and roll them in flour. Cut the pork in thin
slices, and fry it slowly in a large frying-pan. On tak-
ing up the pork, lay the pieces of chicken in the pan, and
fry them slowly for half an hour, being careful to avoid
burning. Turn the pieces when they begin to brown on
one side.
ENTREES. 331
The head of cauliflower should stand in salted cold
water for an hour before the time for beginning to cook
this dish. Just before putting the chicken on to fry,
put the cauliflower in a kettle with two quarts of boiling
water, and simmer gently for half an hour. When the
cauliflower has been cooking for twenty minutes, add a
generous table-spoonful of salt.
As soon as the chicken is put on to fry, put the pint
of milk on the fire in a double-boiler. Mix the cream
with two table-spoonfuls of flour, and when the milk
begins to boil, stir this mixture into it. Cook for ten
minutes, stirring occasionally ; then add a heaping tea-
spoonful of salt and one-fourth of a teaspoonful of white
pepper.
When the cauliflower is done, take it up and drain it ;
then place in the centre of a large dish. Pour half of
the white sauce over it. Now arrange the chicken at the
base of the cauliflower. Pour all the fat from the pan,
and put the remaining white sauce into the pan. Put
on the stove, and stir well from the bottom ; and when
the sauce boils up, pour it over the chicken. Serve at
once.
Cooking the chicken sauce in the pan where the
chicken was fried gives it more flavor, but also colors it ;
therefore it would not do to cook the sauce for the cauli-
flower in that pan.
* Chicken Stew with Dumplings.
The ingredients are: two young fowls, weighing about
eight pounds, two quarts and a pint of boiling water,
four table-spoonfuls of butter, six of flour, one large
onion, six thin slices of carrot, six of turnip, salt and
pepper for seasoning.
After cleaning the fowls and cutting them into pieces
suitable for serving, wash these and put them into a
large stew-pan. Add the water, and set the dish on to
332 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
boil. Cut the vegetables very fine, and put them, with
the butter, into a small frying-pan. Cook slowly for ten
minutes, being careful that they do not burn. When
they have acquired a light straw-color, draw them to the
side of the pan, and press out all the butter with a spoon,
and then put them into the stew-pan with the chicken.
Into the butter remaining in the pan stir the dry flour,
and cook until the mixture is smooth and frothy ; then
stir it into the stew, and add salt and pepper. Let the
dish simmer gently for about two hours, after which
draw it forward where it will boil rapidly, and put in
some dumplings. These should be made as follows
while the stew is simmering:
Mix thoroughly in, and rub through, a sieve, a pint of
flour, a teaspoonful of sugar, half a teaspoonful of salt,
and two level teaspoonfuls of baking-powder. Make a
soft dough of this mixture by stirring into it a small
cupful of milk, and then stir the dough into a smooth
ball. Put it on a board sprinkled lightly with flour, and
after rolling down to the thickness of about half an inch,
cut into small round cakes.
Stir the stew, and put in the dumplings. Cover tightly,
and cook exactly ten minutes from the time the cover is
placed over the pan. When the allotted time has passed,
take up the dumplings immediately. Arrange the chicken
and gravy in the centre of a large platter, and garnish
with a circle of dumplings. Sprigs of parsley also may
be used if you have any on hand.
* Stewed Chicken.
Use a fowl about a year old and weighing about five
pounds. After singeing it and wiping it, cut it into
handsome joints. Wash carefully, and dredge well with
salt, pepper, and flour. Cut into bits a piece of chicken
fat about the size of an egg, and cook it in a frying-pan
until there are about four table-spoonfuls of liquid fat ;
ENTRIES. 333
then remove any remaining solid particles from the
frying-pan, and put in the pieces of chicken. Cook until
they are brown on both sides, and then put them into a
stew-pan.
When all the meat has been browned, cut an onion
fine, and cook it slowly for five minutes in the fat re-
maining in the frying-pan. Add three table-spoonfuls of
flour, and stir until brown; then add three pints of
water, and stir until it boils. Next add half a cupful
of stewed tomato, and enough salt and pepper to season
highly. Strain this liquor over the chicken.
Put the heart, liver, and gizzard into the stew-pan, and
after putting on the cover, set the stew-pan in a hot
place on the stove. When the stew begins to boil, skim
it, and set the stew-pan back where its contents will
simply simmer for two hours. The dish should never
be allowed to boil hard.
* Chicken Stew with Norfolk Dumplings.
For six persons use a pair of fowls weighing seven or
eight pounds. Singe and draw them; then cut them
into handsome joints. Dredge generously with salt and
pepper, and then roll in flour. Spread in a dripping-pan,
and then put in a hot oven for half an hour.
Put three pints of boiling water into a large stew-pan.
Mix five table-spoonfuls of flour with one cupful of cold
water, and stir into the boiling water. Now add half a
teaspoonful of pepper and one table-spoonful of salt.
Let the liquid simmer until the chicken is taken from
the oven ; and when the chicken is taken out, turn it into
the stew-pan containing this gravy. Cover, and simmer
gently for two hours and a half. At the end of that
time taste the dish, to see if it needs any more salt and
pepper. Add, at any rate, one teaspoonful of minced
parsley. Stir the stew well, and after adding the dump-
lings, cook for eight minutes. Serve the chicken,
dumplings, and gravy together on a large meat-dish.
884 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Norfolk Dumplings. Use one pint of flour, one gill
of milk, two eggs, one table-spoonful of melted butter,
one teaspoonful of salt, and one of baking-powder.
Mix the salt and baking-powder with the flour, and
rub all through a sieve. Beat the eggs yolks and
whites separately until very light, and add the milk
to them. Pour the mixture upon the flour. Add the
butter, and beat well. Drop the batter into the chicken
stew by table-spoonfuls. Cover the pot closely, and
cook for eight minutes.
These dumplings will not be light and spongy, like
those made with soda and cream-of-tartar, but will be
tender and savory.
Chicken Pie.
For a dish holding three quarts use two chickens
weighing about eight pounds, half the quantity of paste
given in the rule for chopped puff paste, three pints of
chicken stock, four table-spoonfuls of butter, four of
flour, two slices of carrot, half a large onion, a bay leaf,
a sprig of parsley, a bit of mace, and salt and pepper to
suit the taste, perhaps half a teaspoonful of pepper
and three teaspoonfuls of salt.
After cleaning and halving the chickens, put them
into a kettle, cover them with boiling water, and place
them where they will simmer until tender. If they be
a year old they will need to be cooked for an hour and a
half. Let them cool in the water; then free them o: p
skin, and cut into pieces suitable for serving. Put
these pieces into the pie-dish, sprinkling each layer
with salt and pepper, about half the pepper and two
teaspoonfuls of salt being used.
Now put the butter into a saucepan, and beat it until
soft. Add the flour, and beat until the mixture is light
and creamy. Next add the vegetables, spice, and herbs,
besides three pints of the water in which the chickens
were boiled. Heat slowly to the boiling-point, and set
ENTRIES. 335
back where the mixture will simmer for fifteen minutes.
Add the remaining pepper, and a teaspoonful of salt;
then strain the sauce over the meat. Eoll out the paste,
having it a little larger than the top of the dish. Cut it
with a knife in the centre, that steam may escape, and
place it over the chicken, turning the edge into the dish.
Bake in a moderate oven for an hour and a quarter, and
serve hot.
It gives the pie a rather more festive appearance if
the paste trimmings be rolled thin, cut in ornamental
shapes, and disposed on the cover of the pie before
baking.
Chicken Pie to be Served Cold. .
Use two chickens weighing together eight or nine
pounds, two table-spoonfuls of salt, one teaspoonful of
pepper, two bay leaves, two cloves, one slice of onion,
two blades of celery, two quarts of water, one-fourth of
a package of gelatine, six hard-boiled eggs, half a cupful
of butter, and half a cupful of flour ; and for the paste,
follow the rule for chopped puff paste.
Draw, singe, and wash the chickens ; then cut them
into small joints, taking out the backbones and putting
them aside. Eemove the bones from the breasts ; also
the drumsticks. Put these with the backbones.
Season the pieces of chicken with :aif the salt and
pepper. Melt the butter in a deep plate. Eoll the
chicken in this, and then in the flour. As fast as the
chicken is coated with the butter and flour, lay it in a
dripping-pan. Put the pan into a hot oven, and cook for
fifteen minutes ; then take the meat from the pa/n, and
lay it in a dish to cool.
Now put the pan on top of the stove, and if there be
any of the flour and butter left in the plates, scrape it
into the pan. Add one cupful of cold water; and
after stirring the mixture, cook it for five minutes, stir-
ring all the while, Add half a teaspoonful of salt
336 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
and one-fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper. Turn into
a bowl, and cool.
Cut the liver into small pieces. Slice the hard-boiled
eggs, and mix with the liver.
Butter the sides of an earthenware pie-dish that will
hold about three quarts. Roll a piece of paste into a
strip long and broad enough to line the sides of the dish.
Put this in position, and then put a layer of chicken in
the bottom of the dish. On this put a layer of the
sliced eggs. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Continue
putting in alternate layers of chicken and egg until all
the materials have been used. Over this filling pour
the gravy that was made in the dripping-pan. Eoll out
a cove,r of the chopped puff paste. Make a small hole in
the centre of the cover, and then place the paste over
the dish. Press together the edges of the top and side
crusts. Place the pie in a moderate oven, and bake for
one hour and a half. At the end of that time, on taking
it from the oven, place a tunnel in the opening of the
crust, and pour in some stock, made with the chicken
oones and other ingredients. Eeturn the pie to the
oven, and cook for half an hour longer. At the end of
that time take it from the oven and set it away to cool.
The seasoning may be varied to suit one's taste. In-
stead of the hard-boiled eggs, two pounds of sausage
meat may "be used. In this case the pie will require an
extra hour's baking.
Cold chicken pie is suitable for luncheons, picnics, or
suppers.
To Make the Stock. Put the neck and bones of the
chicken into a stew-pan with three pints of water. Add
the onion, spice, and herbs. Pour boiling water on the
chicken feet. Let them stand for a few minutes ; then
take them out, and rub off the skin. Wash them, and
put them into the stew-pan with the other ingredients.
Place the stew-pan on the fire, and cook its contents for
an hour and a half, boiling rather fast. Skim off the
ENTRIES. 337
fat. Add the salt and pepper and the gelatine, which
should previously have been soaked in half a pint of
cold water for an hour and a half. Strain this stock
before pouring it into the pie.
* Chicken-and-Rice Pie.
There will be required for this dish one fowl weighing
about five pounds, one cupful and a half of rice, half a
cupful of butter, two eggs, half a pint of milk, one slice
of onion, one of carrot, two cloves, and some salt and
pepper.
Clean the fowl, and cut it into joints ; then put it into
a stew-pan with three pints of boiling water and the
vegetables and spice. Simmer until tender. Unless the
fowl be old, the meat should become tender in an hour
and a half ; but it may require three hours' cooking.
When the chicken is cooked, add half a teaspoonf ul
of pepper and three teaspoonfuls of salt, and set aside
until the time for putting with the rice. Wash the rice,
and put it on to cook in three quarts of boiling water.
When it has been cooking for ten minutes, add two level
table-spoonfuls of salt. Cook ten minutes longer, and
then turn into a colander and drain well. After drain-
ing, add to it the butter, milk, one teaspoonful of salt,
and the eggs, well beaten.
Put into an earthen baking-dish a layer of the chicken,
and then a thin layer of the rice mixture ; another layer
of chicken, and finally the remainder of the rice. Pour
over the rice one pint of the water in which the chicken
was cooked. Place in a moderately hot oven, and bake
for half an hour. Serve the pie in the dish in which
it is cooked.
* Walled Chicken.
This dish is made of one large fowl or two rather
small ones, eight potatoes of medium size, two eggs, four
table-spoonfuls of butter, half a cupful of hot milk, three
338 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
cupf uls of chicken stock, the water in which the fowl
was boiled, one table-spoonful of chopped onion, one
sprig of parsley, one slice of carrot, a bay leaf, two gen-
erous table-spoonfuls of flour, and salt and pepper to suit
the taste.
It is best to boil the fowl the day before it is to be
used. After cleaning it, put it in a stew-pan, breast
side down, and cover with boiling water. When the
water begins to boil, skim it, and set the kettle back
where the chicken will simply simmer until tender,
from two hours and a half to three hours ; then put the
fowl away to cool in the water in which it was boiled.
When it gets cold, free it of skin and bones, and cut it
into pieces of a size suitable for serving. Season with
salt and pepper.
Pare the potatoes, and, fifty minutes before serving-
time, put them into a stew-pan with enough boiling
water to cover them. When they have been cooking for
fifteen minutes, the chicken should be prepared in the
following manner : Put the three table-spoonfuls of but-
ter into a frying-pan with the vegetables and herbs, and
cook slowly for five minutes; then add the flour, and
stir until smooth and frothy, but not long enough to
permit it to get browned. Gradually add the cold
chicken stock, stirring all the while. When the liquid
boils up, add one-eighth of a teaspoonful of pepper and
a teaspoonful of salt, and simmer for five minutes. Put
the seasoned chicken into a stew-pan, and strain this
sauce over it. Cover, and simmer for ten minutes ; then
set back where it will keep hot until serving-time.
When the potatoes have been cooked for half an hour,
pour off all the water. Put the milk on the stove in a
small basin. Mash the potatoes until smooth and light ;
then add the milk, one table-spoonful of the butter, and
a teaspoonful and a half of salt. Beat the whites of the
eggs to a froth, and stir this into the mixture. Heat a
stone-china platter to a high temperature, and arrange
ENTRIES. 339
the mashed potato as a border around the centre of the
dish. Beat together the yolks of the eggs and two
table-spoonfuls of water, and spread the mixture over the
potato. Put into the oven for ten minutes, and at the
end of that time pour the chicken into the centre of
the border, and garnish with bits of parsley.
Any kind of cold meat, poultry, game, or fish may be
served in this manner.
* Blanquette of Chicken and Macaroni.
For this dish use cold boiled fowl left from a dinner.
Free the meat of skin, bone, and fat, and after cutting it
into small strips, season it well with salt and pepper, and
put aside for a while. There should be about a quart of
meat. Break a quarter of a pound of macaroni into
pieces about three inches long, and cover with two quarts
of boiling water. Boil rapidly, but with the saucepan
uncovered, for twenty minutes ; then pour off the water,
and add the chicken and one quart of the water in which
the fowl was boiled.
Mix two table-spoonfuls of flour with half a cupful of
cold milk, and when the mixture in the saucepan begins
to boil, stir the new mixture into it. Season with one
teaspoonful of onion juice, one teaspoonful of mushroom
ketchup, and some salt and pepper. Cook for five min-
utes ; then add two table-spoonfuls of butter, and cook
three minutes longer. Add one teaspoonful of lemon
juice. Serve very hot.
* Brown Fricassee of Chicken.
After singeing, drawing, and washing two large chick-
ens, cut them into handsome joints. Season with salt
and pepper, and roll the pieces in flour. Cut half a
pound of fat salt pork into thin slices, and fry slowly,
so as to extract all the fat. Remove the pork, and lay in
the boiling fat enough chicken to cover the bottom of the
340 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
pan. Brown on one side, and turn and brown on the
other.
When all the meat has been fried, put three table-
spoonfuls of flour into the fat remaining in the pan, and
stir until brown ; then gradually add a quart of cold
water. When the water boils, season with salt and
pepper. Add the fried chicken, and after covering
closely, simmer for half an hour.
* White Fricassee of Chicken.
Free a cooked fowl of skin, bones, and fat, and cut it
into small pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Put
three table-spoonfuls of butter into the frying-pan, and
when it has become hot, add two table-spoonfuls of flour.
Stir until smooth and frothy ; then gradually add a pint
of the water in which the fowl was boiled, and season
with salt and pepper. When this gravy boils up, add
the cut meat, and simmer for ten minutes; then add
half a cupful of cream or milk, and allow the fricassee
to boil up once. Serve on a hot dish, with a garnish of
toast.
Terrapin Chicken.
For this dish use one quart of cold cooked chicken,
cut in very small pieces, the cooked liver of one or two
chickens, three hard-boiled eggs, the yolks of two un-
cooked eggs, one cupful of chicken stock, one cupful of
cream, a slight grating of nutmeg, one-third of a tea-
spoonful of pepper, one level table-spoonful of salt, four
table-spoonfuls of sherry, three table-spoonfuls of butter,
two of flour, and one teaspoonf ul of lemon juice.
Chop the chicken liver and hard-boiled eggs rather
coarse. Add the chopped mixture to the chicken, and
sprinkle the salt, pepper, and nutmeg over all these in-
gredients. Now put the butter in a frying-pan, and set
the pan ou the stove. Add the flour to the melted
butter, and Stir the mixture until it becomes smooth and
ENTRIES. 341
frothy ; then draw the pan back to some place where
there is less heat, and gradually add the stock. Put it
again on the hot part of the stove, and stir the contents
for three minutes ; then add the cream, after reserving
four table-spoonfuls. Stir for one minute, and then put
the chicken mixture into the pan, and simmer for ten
minutes.
During this period beat well the yolks of the uncooked
eggs, and put the cold cream with them. Taste the
chicken mixture, as it may require a little more salt.
Pour the beaten yolks and the cream into the frying-pan,
and stir for one minute. On removing the pan from the
fire at the end of that time, add the sherry and lemon
juice, and serve at once.
Chicken a la Duxelles.
There will be needed for eight persons, two chickens,
each weighing from three and a half to four pounds, one
pint and a half of chicken stock, four table-spoonfuls of
butter, three level table-spoonfuls of flour, three table-
spoonfuls of chopped mushrooms, one teaspoonful of
chopped parsley, one teaspoonful of onion juice, one
table-spoonful of lemon juice, two table-spoonfuls of salt,
one teaspoonful of pepper, and a pint of bread crumbs.
Cut the chicken into handsome pieces, as for frying.
Sprinkle half the salt and half the pepper over the meat ;
then put it away in a cool place until the sauce is ready.
Beat the flour and butter together in a stew-pan until **
smooth and light. Hoat the stock, and gradually add it
to the mixture. Set 'the pan on the fire, and add to the
sauce all the other ingredients except the lemon juice
and crumbs. Cook ge^ly for ten minutes ; then remove
the pan from the fire, and add the lemon juice to the
sauce. Cover the pieces of chicken with this sauce, and
let them stand until the sauce is cool ; then roll them in
the crumbs. Butter lightly the bottom of a flat pan, arid
342 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
lay the meat in the pan, being careful that the pieces do
not touch each other. Place in a hot oven, and cook for
twenty minutes. Serve with Bechamel or mushroom
white sauce.
The chicken may be cut up and covered with the
sauce and bread crumbs several hours before it is cooked.
This dish is particularly good for a part of a dinner or
luncheon for company.
Jellied Chicken.
If a three-pint mould is to be filled one must use a
chicken or fowl weighing about two and a half or three
pounds after being drawn, one-third of a box of gelatine,
a slice of onion, a slice of carrot, a bay leaf, a clove,
some hot and cold water, and salt and pepper in quanti-
ties to be determined by one's own taste.
Wash the fowl, and put it into a deep stew-pan with
boiling water enough to cover it. Heat the water until
it boils again ; then ski in carefully, and set the pan
where the water will only bubble until the meat becomes
tender. It is impossible to state just the length of time
required for the cooking, because so much depends upon
the age of the fowl ; it may be an hour and a half or it
may be three hours. When the fowl gets tender, remove
it from the water, and put it away to cool ; also set the
water away. It may take several hours for both to
become cold.
Meanwhile soak the gelatine in a gill of cold water for
two hours. When the chicken liquor has become cool
and has been skimmed, put a pint and a half into a
saucepan with the clove, bay leaf, carrot, and onion, and
simmer for ten minutes ; then add a grain of cayenne, a
level teaspoonful of salt, and the soaked gelatine. After
straining this liquor through a napkin, pour a thin layer
into a mould, and set away to harden.
Free the cold fowl of skin, fat, and bones, and cut it
into thin strips. Season well with salt and pepper, and
ENTREES. 343
lay it lightly in the mould when the jelly becomes hard.
Pour the liquid jelly over the meat, and again set the
mould away. At serving-time dip it into warm water,
and turn out on a flat dish.
Jellied chicken may be made of the remains of cold
roast chicken or turkey, or boiled fowl or turkey. When
there is no stock on hand, the bones of the cold chicken
should be covered with water, and simmered for several
hours to obtain a supply.
* Chicken a la Marengo.
Singe and cut up two chickens. Put a quarter of a
pound of sliced fat salt pork into a frying-pan, and fry
until crisp and brown ; then remove it, and put in the
pieces of chicken, first rolling them in flour. Fry brown
on all sides ; then transfer to a deep stew-pan.
Put two table-spoonfuls of chopped onion into the
frying-pan, and when it has become browned, add two
table-spoonfuls of butter and four heaping table-spoon-
fuls of -flour. When the sauce gets brown, add a quart
of chicken stock or any other good stock, and simmer for
five minutes. Season with salt and pepper ; and after
adding a cupful of strained tomato, and satisfying your-
self that there is seasoning enough, strain the sauce
upon the chicken. Cover, and simmer for twenty min-
utes ; then add a can of mushrooms, and cook ten min-
utes longer.
This dish must be highly seasoned, and at least an
eighth of a teaspoonful of cayenne should be used.
Here is another receipt : Use two chickens, each weigh-
ing between three and four pounds, one can of mush-
rooms, half a cupful of clarified butter, six eggs, one
dozen stoned olives, eight small triangles of toast, a
pint and a half of clear beef stock, one gill of stewed
and strained tomato, three table-spoonfuls of flour, three
344 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
teaspoonfuls of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, one
bay leaf, one sprig of parsley, two table-spoonfuls each
of minced onion, carrot, and celery, and two cloves.
Put two level table-spoonfuls of butter and the minced
vegetables into a small stew-pan. Place on the fire, and
cook slowly for ten minutes; then draw forward, and
stir until the vegetables are slightly browned. Add half
the flour, and stir until it is brown. Draw back to a
cooler place, and gradually add half the stock. Stir
until it boils up ; then add the herbs and cloves. Set
the pan back where its contents will cook slowly for forty
minutes.
Have the chickens drawn, singed, wiped, and then cut
in joints, as for a stew. Season with half the pepper
and two teaspoonfuls of the salt.
Put the remainder of the butter on the fire in a large
frying-pan, and when it becomes hot, put in the chicken.
Fry slowly for twenty -five minutes ; then take up. Now
pour about two table-spoonfuls of the fat remaining in
the pan into a small frying-pan, and set aside. Put the
remaining half of the flour in the pan from which the
chicken was taken, and stir until a smooth and frothy
mixture is formed. Draw the pan back, and add the
rest of the stock. Cook for three minutes, and then add
to the sauce in the stew-pan.
Put the chicken, olives, mushrooms, and strained to-
mato into a large stew-pan. Strain the sauce upon
them, and place on the fire. Simmer gently for fifteen
minutes.
While the chicken is cooking in the sauce, fry the
eggs in the butter that was poured into the small frying-
pan. They are not to be fried in the ordinary shape.
Break the eggs, one at a time, into a small cup. Let the
butter get hot in the pan. Now, with the left hand, tip
the pan forward so that all the butter shall flow to one
spot. Drop the egg into it ; and as soon as it hardens
a little on one side, turn it, and cook on the other side.
ENTRIES. 345
This should give an oblong shape. Take up the egg as
soon as it is slightly browned. Cook all in the same
manner.
Take up the chicken, and arrange it in a pyramid on
a large dish. Garnish with the olives and mushrooms.
Arrange the toast and fried eggs at the base. Pour the
sauce over all, and serve. The olives and eggs may be
omitted if one does not care for them.
Chicken Cutlets.
For a dozen and a half cutlets use a generous pint of
cooked chicken, chopped rather coarse, a cupful of cream,
three table-spoonfuls of butter, one of flour, one of salt,
four level table-spoonfuls of fine-chopped mushrooms,
four eggs, one pint of sifted crumbs, half a teaspoonftu
of pepper, half a teaspoonful of onion juice, one table-
spoonful of lemon juice, and one teaspoonful of chopped
parsley.
Mix the chicken with the satt, pepper, parsley, onion
juice, lemon juice, and chopped mushrooms. Put the
cream on the stove in a large frying-pan. Beat the flour
and butter together until smooth and light, and when the
cream begins to boil, stir this mixture into it. Stir con-
stantly until the sauce boils again ; then add the seasoned
chicken, and cook for three minutes. Beat two of the
eggs until light, and stir them into the boiling ingre-
dients. Take the frying-pan from the fire immediately,
and after pouring the contents into a flat dish, put them
away to cool. It is well to set the dish in the open air
in frosty weather, or to place it, when cool, on ice in the
refrigerator for an hour or more; for the colder the
mixture becomes, the more easily may the cutlets be
formed.
Butter a cutlet mould thoroughly, and sprinkle some
crumbs into it. Pack with chicken, and then give the
mould a tap on the table, to make the cutlet drop out.
846 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Again sprinkle the mould with crumbs, and pack as be-
fore. The mould is buttered only once, but is sprinkled
with crumbs each time a new cutlet is formed.
When all the chicken has been used, beat the two re-
maining eggs in a deep plate, and put some of the crumbs
in another plate.
Drop the cutlets in
the eggs first, and in
the crumbs after-
ward. At serving-
Cutlet and Cutlet-mould. ,. ,,
time put them into
a frying-basket, being careful not to crowd them, and
cook in boiling fat for two minutes. Drain well, and
serve with white mushroom or Bechamel sauce.
If you do not possess a cutlet mould, it costs only
twenty-five cents, use a knife to shape the chicken
mixture like cutlets.
Turkey Cutlets with Chestnut Pur6e.
Make turkey cutlets the same as chicken cutlets.
Heap a chestnut puree in the centre of a warm dish,
and arrange the cutlets in a circle around it. Garnish
with a few sprigs of parsley. Serve hot with Bechamel
sauce in a separate dish.
For twelve people use the full rules for the sauce
and puree and twice the rule for the cutlets.
Legs of Chicken a la Jardiniere.
For this dish there will be required the legs of four
chickens, those from which fillets were taken for su-
preme of chicken, eight dessert-spoonfuls of either
chicken or liver force-meat, three pints of white stock,
two table-spoonfuls each of chopped onion, carrot, turnip,
and celery, a bit of mace, one teaspoonful of salt, one-
fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper, one sprig of parsley,
four table-spoonfuls of butter, three of flour, eight paper
ENTRIES. 347
ruffles, and three pints of turnip, carrot, and peas pre-
pared a la jardiniere. Directions for making the ruffles
are given in the chapter on " Garnishes. "
Bone the legs, being careful not to cut through the
flesh. Now spread a dessert-spoonful of force-meat be-
tween the flesh where the bones were taken out, and in
that part of the leg from which the drumstick was removed
insert a small wing-bone. Sew the flesh together. When
all are done, lay them flat in a stew-pan, and pour over
them the stock, which should be boiling. Add the vege-
tables and seasoning. Place the pan on the fire, and after
covering it, let its contents simmer for one hour. At the
end of that time take them from the stew-pan, and ar-
range them in a large flat pan, having them lie perfectly
flat, and being careful that they do not touch each other.
Place another pan on top of them, and put some heavy
weights in the upper pan (two bricks will answer). Set
away in a cool place for two or three hours.
Strain the stock in which the legs were boiled, and
skim off all the fat. Measure a generous pint of this
liquid, and put it aside for the sauce. Now put the
butter on the fire in a frying-pan. When it gets hot,
add the flour, and stir until the latter becomes browned
slightly. Draw the pan back, and gradually add the
strained stock. Stir until the mixture boils, and then
simmer for four minutes, stirring several times. Taste,
to see if it requires more salt and pepper. Strain into a
stew-pan, and put away until the chicken legs are cold.
Remove the weights from the legs after two or three
hours have passed. Draw out the threads and trim the
legs. Add a gill of stock to the sauce in the stew-
pan. Put in the chicken legs, and simmer for fifteen
minutes.
Heap the vegetables a la jardiniere in the centre of a
warm platter, and arrange the chicken legs around them.
Slip the paper ruffles over the ends of the drumsticks.
Pour the sauce around the legs, and serve at once.
348 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Chicken Legs a la Villeroi.
Prepare the chicken legs as for a dish a la jardiniere,
but do not make the sauce until after the chicken has
been pressed. Now make the sauce as before, but omit
the extra gill of stock. Add to the sauce one table-
spoonful of lemon juice and the yolks of two eggs beaten
with two table-spoonfuls of cream. Take from the fire
immediately, and put in the chicken legs. Coat every
part with sauce, and let the chicken cool.
Now beat two eggs in a soup-plate ; also have at hand
a large plate of fine bread crumbs.
Take the legs, one by one, in the left hand, holding
them by the drumstick, and, with a knife, spread the
sauce evenly over them. Sprinkle with crumbs, and
then cover them with beaten egg, pouring the egg over
them with a table-spoon. Now roll in crumbs, cover-
ing every part. Have the board sprinkled with crumbs,
and let the breaded chicken rest on this
until it is finished. Put a few pieces at a
time in the frying-basket, and cook in hot
fat for two minutes. Arrange on a warm
napkin in the centre of the dish. Garnish
with a circle of sliced tomatoes. Put a gen-
erous teaspoonful of Mayonnaise or Tartar
sauce in the centre of each slice of tomato.
Stuffed Chicken g end to the table a gmall dish of the game
Leg with Paper .
Ruffle. kind of sauce as that used on the tomatoes.
How to Fillet Poultry and Game.
Cut the skin of the breast of a chicken or bird, and
draw it back so as to leave the breast bare. Remove
the crop. With a small, sharp knife, cut down through
the centre of the breast, following the dotted line shown
in the illustration, round the wish-bone and wing-bone,
and also round on the side. Slip the fingers between
the flesh and the breastbone, and press the flesh away
ENTRIES.
349
from the bone. One-half of the breast will be detached,
giving a smooth fillet-shaped piece of meat. There are
Chicken. Should be Cut on Dotted Lines.
two fillets in this piece, the large and the minion.
The minion fillet is on the under side, and may easily be
separated from the larger one. Slip the point of the
knife under the thin skin that covers the fillets, and
draw it off as if you were skinning a fish. In the
Chicken with Two Fillets Removed.
minion fillet there will be found a sinew, which should
be removed. Wet the wooden vegetable-masher, and
pound the fillets ; also curve them
a little. The minion fillets may be
pounded gently until of the size of
large fillets. Two of them may then
be put together and lightly pounded
again, to keep them in place. In this way every
A Fillet.
350 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
chicken or bird may be made to yield three large fillets.
When the fillets are properly trimmed and curved, they
will have the shape shown by the last cut on page 349.
Supreme of Chicken Farce.
For eight or nine people use the fillets of three good-
sized chickens, one can of mushrooms, one large chicken
liver, the meat from the second joints of the legs of
one chicken, one table-spoonful of stale bread, one
gill of cream, one table-spoonful of sherry, the white
of one egg, two table-spoonfuls of butter, one pint
of consomme, salt, pepper, and a slight grating of
nutmeg.
After filleting the chickens, separate the minion, or
under, fillets from the large ones. Wet a board with
cold water, and lay the fillets on it. Dip the wooden
vegetable-masher into cold water. Now pat the small
fillets gently until they are spread into about the same
shape and size as the large fillets. Split the large fillets.
Cover, and put away in a cold place until the force-meat
is ready.
Boil the chicken livers for twenty minutes. Free the
two second joints of the chicken legs from skin and
bone. Chop and pound the meat to a paste ; add the
cooked livers, and pound a little longer. Eub this mix-
ture through a puree sieve. Now put the bread and
cream into a small saucepan, and cook slowly for ten
minutes. Add the butter to this, and take from the fire.
Mix well, and then add the chicken meat and liver, also
the well-beaten white of the egg, the nutmeg, one gen-
erous teaspoonful of salt, and a grain of white pepper.
Mix all until perfectly smooth.
Spread a thin layer of the force-meat between each
large fillet and on three of the small fillets. Place the
other three small fillets over those that are covered with
force-meat, and press them together. They will now be
ENTRIES. 351
about the same size and shape as the large fillets. Lay
the fillets in a large frying-pan, having them slightly
curved and the smooth side up. Cover them with but-
tered paper. Add the consomme, three table-spoonfuls
of butter, and three table-spoonfuls of sherry, and heat
to the boiling-point. Set back where they will simmer
for an hour. Drain, and then simmer the can of mush-
rooms in one pint of supreme sauce for ten minutes.
Heap the mushrooms in the centre of a flat dish, and
arrange the fillets around them. Pour the sauce over
them, and serve very hot.
Supreme of Chicken a la Parisienne.
Use the fillets of four chickens, one small can of
truffles, one can of mushrooms, eight thin slices of red
tongue, the white of one egg, one pint of consomme, half
a cupful of clarified butter, one gill of glaze, one table-
spoonful of salt, one pint of supreme sauce, one pint and
a half of chicken-liver force-meat.
Fillet the chickens, and separate the minion fillets from
the large ones. Curve them all the same way. Pour
three table-spoonfuls of the clarified butter into a frying-
pan, and let it cool in the pan. Now arrange the large
fillets in the buttered pan, having the smooth side up
and curving them all the same way. Sprinkle with salt.
Cover the bottom of a smaller pan with clarified butter,
and when the butter has cooled, arrange the small fillets
in this pan, and sprinkle with salt. Cut two or three
truffles in thin slices, and with small fancy-cutters stamp
out stars and various shapes. Beat the white of the egg
until well broken but not light. Brush a little of it on
each of the large fillets. Now decorate with the fancy
shapes of truffles. When all are done, brush lightly with
the white of the egg. Let this dry, and then cover with
a sheet of buttered paper. Set away in a cool place until
time for cooking. Treat the small fillets in the same way,
352 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
using, however, red tongue instead of truffles. Now
make the liver force-meat (see chapter on " Garnishes "),
and put it into a small, plain border-mould which has been
well buttered. Put this away until time for cooking.
Cut seven slices of tongue into the shape of fillets. Put
these away also. Make the supreme sauce. Open the
mushrooms. Chop the remainder of the truffles rather
fine. Half an hour before serving-time put the mould of
force-meat into a deep pan with hot water enough to
reach two-thirds the height of the mould. Cover with
buttered paper, and place in a moderate oven. When it
has been in the oven for ten minutes, open the door.
Have three or four table-spoonfuls of butter melted ;
take the papers from the fillets, and then baste with the
melted butter. Eeplace the papers, and put the frying-
pans into the oven with the force-meat. Cook twenty
minutes, keeping the oven door open all the time.
While these are cooking, put the pieces of tongue into a
small stew-pan, with half the glaze and half a gill of
consomme, and cook for ten minutes. Put the mush-
rooms into another stew-pan with the remainder of the
consomme", and simmer for ten minutes. Reserve one
gill of the supreme sauce, and put the chopped truffles
into the remainder. Strain the consomme from the
mushrooms, saving it for sauces, and put the mushrooms
with the sauce. Drain the butter from the fillets. Re-
move the papers, and put half of the gill of reserved
sauce over each pan of fillets. Cook this on top of the
stove for four minutes, being careful not to let it get so
hot that the sauce will boil. While this is cooking, turn
the border of force-meat on a large flat dish. Pour the
consomme from the pieces of tongue, and add the re-
mainder of the glaze to them. Arrange the large fillets
and the tongue alternately around this border. Pour
the sauce and mushrooms into the centre of the border,
and then arrange the minion fillets on the top. Serve at
once.
ENTREES. 353
TIMBALES.
Timbales are made in many ways. When prepared
for entrees they can be made wholly of meat or fish ; or
they may be a combination of meat and some form of
macaroni ; or, again, of pastry and some rich ragout of
meat or fish. The most popular are those made with
force-meat and a rich ragout, or a combination of force-
meat, macaroni, and a ragout.
In sweet dishes the timbale may be a crust of pastry,
or a fancy cake filled with fruit or cream.
Eules will be given for the best timbales for entrees.
As force-meat will enter largely into these preparations,
the directions for making force-meat, in the chapter on
" Garnishes," should be read carefully.
Timbales are made in very small moulds, holding from
half a gill to a gill ; or in one large mould. Where time
is of great value, the large mould is the best to use. It
makes a very effective dish when handsomely decorated.
A charlotte-russe mould may be used for these large
timbales.
Timbales made wholly or in part with force-meat may
be decorated at the sides and bottom with truffles or red
tongue. Cut the truffles or tongue in very thin slices,
and then, with small fancy cutters, stamp out various
shapes. Butter the moulds, and decorate the bottom and
sides with the bits of truffle or tongue. Cover the sides
and bottom with force-meat, being careful not to disturb
the decorations.
When one large mould is used instead of several small
ones, three times the quantity of filling must be used for
the same amount of force-meat.
Chicken Timbales.
Great care is required in the preparation of this dish,
which has become popular as an entree in company
23
354 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
dinners and luncheons. With the quantity of materials
that will be given below, one quart mould or a dozen
small dariole moulds may be filled, enough for twelve
persons. The work may be divided into three parts.
To Make the Force-meat. Use the uncooked breasts
of four chickens, one pint of cream, half a pint of stale
bread, free of crust, six table-spoonfuls of butter, one
blade of mace, one table-spoonful of salt, one-eighth of
a teaspoonful of white pepper, and the whites of four
eggs.
Chop the chicken breasts fine, and pound the meat to
a paste ; then rub it through a puree sieve. There
should be a pint of the sifted meat. Put the bread,
cream, and mace in a stew-pan, and cook gently for twenty
minutes ; then remove the mace, and, with a spoon, mash
the bread and cream to a smooth paste. Add the butter,
salt, pepper, and meat to this paste, and finally add the
whites of the eggs, beaten to a stiff froth. Beat the
mixture until all the ingredients are well blended; then
set away to cool.
To Make the Filling. Use three gills of cream, a pint
of cooked chicken, cut into small cubes, four table-spoon-
fuls of chopped mushrooms, one of flour, a heaping tea-
spoonful of salt, one-eighth of a teaspoonful of pepper,
and one table-spoonful of chopped truffles.
Reserve half a cupful of the cream, and put the re-
mainder on to boil. Mix the flour to a smooth paste
with the half-cupful of cold cream, and stir the mixture
into the boiling cream. Boil for one minute ; then add
the chicken and other ingredients, and cook for three
minutes longer. Take from the fire ; and if the flavor
of onion be liked, add a few drops of onion juice at this
point.
Completion of the Work. Butter the mould or moulds
lightly, and after dotting the bottom and sides with bits
of truffles, line them with force-meat, being careful to
have every part well covered. The sides, near the rim,
"
ENTRIES. 355
will require as thick a covering as any part of the mould.
Now almost fill each mould with the chicken preparation,
and cover with the force-meat, being careful to put on
only a little at a time, and always to work from the
outer edge until the centre is reached. Be careful, also,
to have the surface of the contents of the mould flat,
because if it be at all rounded the contents will be uii-
Chicken Timbales.
stable when turned out on a dish. Place the moulds in
a deep pan, and pour enough warm water into the pan to
come almost to the rims o.f the moulds. Cover the tops
of the moulds with buttered paper, and set the pan in
a very moderate oven for twenty-five minutes. Every-
thing depends upon the slow cooking. At serving-time
turn the timbales out on a warm dish, and pour Bechamel
cream sauce or Bechamel yellow sauce around them ; or
serve on a napkin.
Sweetbread Timbales.
Make the white chicken force-meat (see chapter on
"Garnishes"). Make a filling with one large sweet-
bread or a pair of small ones, there should be a half-
pint when it is cut into dice, three table-spoonfuls of
chopped mushrooms, a scant half-pint of cream, one
table-spoonful of flour, one teaspoonful of butter, half a
teaspoon ful of salt, one-eighth of a teaspoonful of white
pepper, and one-fourth of a teaspoonful of onion juice.
356 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Clean the sweetbreads, and then boil them in slightly
salted water, for twenty minutes. Take them from the
boiling water, and put them into a bowl of cold water for
ten minutes. When they are perfectly cold, cut them
into dice. Add the chopped mushrooms to them. Mix
foiir table-spoonfuls of the cream with the flour. Put
the balance of the cream into a small saucepan on the
stove. When the cream boils, add the flour, pouring in
slowly and stirring from the bottom all the time. When
this boils, add the sweetbreads, mushrooms, and sea-
soning. Simmer for five minutes; then add the butter,
and take from the fire. Decorate six moulds with
truffles, and then line with the force-meat, the same as
directed for chicken timbales. Nearly fill the moulds
with the sweetbread preparation. Cover with force-
meat, and cook as directed for chicken timbales. Serve
with supreme or Bechamel sauce.
This may be made in one large mould ; in which
case use a pint-and-a-half charlotte mould. Use the
same amount of force-meat, but three times as much
filling.
Timbale a la Financtere.
Make four times the rule of chicken force-meat (white
meat is best, but the dark will do). Make half a pint of
the force-meat into quenelles, shaping them in teaspoons.
Poach these, and put them aside for the ragout. Now
make a financiere ragout. Butter a charlotte mould that
will hold about a quart ; line the bottom and sides with
the force-meat, having it about an inch thick. Fill this
with the ragout, leaving a space about an inch deep at
the top. Cover with the remainder of the force-meat,
having it perfectly smooth and level on top. Cover the
surface with buttered paper. Put the mould into a deep
pan, with boiling water coming to within an inch of the
top. Put into the oven, and cook with the door open for
ENTRIES. 357
three-quarters of an hour. At serving-time turn on to
a warm dish, and gently raise the mould. Pour finan-
ciere sauce round it, and serve at once.
Spaghetti Timbales.
Use the same materials as for chicken tim bales, also
three ounces of spaghetti. Have the force-meat and fill-
ing ready. Put two quarts of boiling water and one
table-spoonful of salt into a fish-kettle if you have one ;
if not, put half the amount of water and salt into a large
milk-pan. Lay the spaghetti in this, being careful not
to break it. Boil gently for ten minutes. Pour off the
water, and cover with cold water. Spread a clean towel
Spaghetti Timbales.
on a board placed upon the table. Lift the spaghetti
carefully, and spread it at full length on the towel.
Butter twelve dariole moulds, and line them with the
spaghetti. Begin in the centre of the bottom, and wind
the spaghetti around spirally until the top of the mould
is reached. This must be done loosely because the spa-
ghetti will expand in cooking. Cover this with the force-
meat, and proceed exactly as for chicken timbales.
Serve with Bechamel yellow sauce.
Macaroni Timbales.
Cook and treat three ounces of macaroni the same as
the spaghetti, except that it must boil fifteen minutes.
358 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Measure the height of the moulds, and cut the macaroni
in lengths to fit the moulds. Butter the moulds, and
line the sides with the strips of macaroni. Line this
with the force-meat, and proceed exactly the same as
for the chicken timbales. Serve with Bechamel or
supreme sauce.
Honeycomb Timbale.
For this use the rule for the force-meat for chicken
timbales, and three times the rule for the filling; also
four ounces of macaroni. Cook the macaroni the same
as for macaroni timbales, and cut it into three-quarter-
inch lengths. Butter a two-quart charlotte mould very
generously. Cover the bottom of the mould with the
macaroni, placing the short pieces on end. Treat the
sides in the same manner, having the pieces of macaroni
at right angles with those on the bottom of the mould.
Cover the macaroni with a thin coating of force-meat,
and then add the filling. Now cover with the remainder
of the force-meat, and treat the same as chicken tim-
bales. Serve with mushroom white sauce.
*
Chicken-Liver Timbale.
Make the rule for chicken-liver force-meat, and add
to it one gill of Bechamel sauce. Mix thoroughly, and
then add one pint of the breast of cooked chicken, cut
into dice. Butter a three-pint charlotte mould, and put
the mixture into it. It will not quite fill it. Cover
with buttered paper, and place in a pan of boiling water.
Cook slowly for one hour. Turn upon a flat dish, and
pour Allemand sauce around it.
Veal Timbales.
Veal may be used for timbales in the same manner
as chicken, but it must be cooked three times as long.
ENTRIES. 359
Game Timbales.
Partridge, grouse, quail, pigeons, etc., are prepared in
timbales the same as chicken.
Salmon Timbales.
For a quart mould, or twelve of the smallest-sized
dariole moulds, use a pound and a half of salmon, free
of skin and bones ; one pint of cream, half a pint of
stale bread, three-quarters of a cupful of butter, half a
cupful of mushrooms, three teaspoonfuls of salt, half a
teaspoonful of pepper, a slight grating of nutmeg, and
four eggs.
Cook the bread and cream together for ten minutes.
Pound the salmon and mushrooms to a paste, and then
rub through the puree sieve. Add the seasoning. When
the mixture of bread and cream is cold, add this and
the butter to the fish, and pound all together until
thoroughly blended. Add the eggs, well beaten. Put
this mixture into a well-buttered charlotte mould ; cover
with buttered paper, and cook for three-quarters of an
hour. Serve with a lobster or anchovy sauce.
Other Fish Timbales.
Use any kind of delicate white fish for the force-meat,
and make a filling with lobster, shrimp, or oysters. The
rule for chicken timbale can be followed in making
these fish timbales. Of course, one may change the
seasoning to suit one's taste in any of these dishes.
Swedish Timbales.
For the shells use half a pint of flour, one generous
gill of milk, two eggs, half a teaspoonful of salt, half a
teaspoonful of sugar, and one table-spoonful of salad oil.
Beat the eggs until light, and then add the milk to
860 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
them. Pour this mixture on to the flour, and beat to a
smooth batter. Add the other ingredients, and beat two
minutes longer. Put the timbale iron in a kettle of
hot fat for about ten minutes. Take the bowl of batter
in the left hand, and hold it near the kettle of fat ; with
the right hand lift the iron from the fat, and dip it into
the batter, coating the iron about an inch deep with the
Process of Making Swedish Timbales.
batter, and holding it as illustrated. Return the iron to
the fat, and cook the batter until it is a delicate brown.
It will take about one minute. Lift the iron from the
fat, and turn it over to drain all the grease from the
timbale. Have a pan lined with brown paper, and -drop
the timbale into this. Continue this process until all the
batter has been cooked.
These timbale shells will be found delicate, crisp cups.
After making a few it will be an easy matter to get the
shapes perfect.
ENTKEES. 861
Arrange the shells on a dish, and put into each a heap-
ing table-spoonful of any kind of meat or fish cut
into dice and heated in a delicate sauce. Any of the
ragouts given in the book may be served in these
shells. They make a nice dessert if arranged on a dish,
and one heaping table-spoonful of any kind of hot
stewed and seasoned fruit be put into each one. The
quantity of materials given will make about eighteen
shells.
Macaroni Timbale a la Milanaise.
For a quart mould there will be required half the
rule of the chopped puff paste, one quarter of a pound of
macaroni, a cupful and a half of cooked chicken, half a
cupful of chopped mushrooms, a pint of Bechamel yellow
sauce, and some salt and pepper.
Make the paste, and chill it thoroughly. Now cut two
pieces of white paper to line the mould, one to fit
round the sides and the other on the bottom. Butter
these papers. Now butter a quart charlotte mould, and
line it with about two-thirds of the paste. Place the
buttered paper over the paste, and fill the mould with
flour. Now roll the remainder of the paste to the shape
of the top of the mould, but a little larger. Place this
on top of the mould, and press the edges against the
paste lining. Bake in a moderate oven for one hour.
When done, take from the mould. Loosen, and lift off
the cover. Turn the flour out of the case. Remove
the paper, and fill the case with the macaroni prepa-
ration, which should be cooked while the pastry is
baking.
Macaroni a la Milanaise is prepared in this way : Break
the macaroni into small pieces, and put it into a stew-pan
with three pints of boiling water and a teaspoonful of
salt. Boil rapidly, with the cover off the pan, for half
an hour. Now drain off the water, and add the chicken,
cut into cubes, the mushrooms, one teaspoonful of salt,
362 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
half a teaspoonful of pepper, and the hot sauce. Place
the saucepan in another containing boiling water, and
stir over the fire until hot. It will take about four
minutes if the sauce and macaroni be hot. Pour this
mixture into the case, and after putting on the cover,
serve at once.
Any kind of nice ragout may be used to fill these
cases, the timbale taking the name of the filling.
Liver-Force-meat Border, Garnished with
Poultry Scallops.
Make the chicken-liver force-meat. Butter a pint-and-
a-half border mould, plain or fluted, and pack the
force-meat into it. Set in a cool place until an hour
before the time for serving.
Force-meat Border with Poultry Scallops.
Cut the breast of a cold roast chicken or turkey into
thin round slices about the size of a silver dollar. There
should be a pint and a half of this meat. Add to this
half a pint of mushrooms, cut in slices. Season with a
generous teaspoonful of salt and one-fourth of a tea-
spoonful of pepper. Place in a cool room until time for
heating.
One hour before serving-time place the mould of force-
meat in a deep pan, and pour warm water into the pan un-
til it comes within half an inch of the top of the mould.
Cover the mould with buttered paper. Place the pan on
top of the stove, and heat the water to the boiling-point.
ENTREES. 363
Draw the pan back immediately where the water will
keep nearly at the boiling-point j but it must not bubble.
When the force-meat has been cooking forty minutes,
put the poultry and mushrooms into the double-boiler
with half a gill of chicken stock. Set it on the stove,
and at the end of fifteen minutes add one pint of Becha-
mel yellow sauce. Stir for five minutes, and then take
from the fire.
Turn the force-meat border on a warm platter. Fill
the centre with the poultry scallops and sauce. Serve
very hot.
Any kind of force-meat may be used for a border, and
the filling may be of a rich or simple ragout of poultry,
sweetbreads, or game. Force-meat borders of fish may
be filled with any kind of delicate fish warmed in Becha-
mel, cream, or poulette sauce.
Galantine of Fowl.
Select a fowl weighing about five pounds. See that
every part of the skin is whole. Singe, but do not draw
the fowl ; wipe it with a damp towel. Cut off the head,
the tips of the wings, and the feet. Place the fowl on a
board, breast down. With a small, sharp boning-knife,
cut in a straight line through to the bone the whole
length of the fowl. Now work the knife between the
flesh and bone, beginning at the neck. Be careful not
to cut through the skin. When the bones of the second
joint of the wings have been freed from flesh, disjoint
and remove them. Take out the bones from the first
joints. It does not matter in a galantine if the skin be
broken in the second joint. Continue the work until all
the flesh has been freed from the bones. Take out the
skeleton ; spread the skin and flesh on the board, and
remove the gross fat that will be found near the crop
and near the vent at the other end. Draw the flesh of
the legs and the wings inside. Cut all the tough tendons
364 MISS PAKLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
from the drumstick. Cut most of the meat from the
legs, being careful not to take the skin too. Spread this
on the parts of the fowl where there is little meat. Take
the minion fillets from the breast, and lay them on the
part from which the crop was removed. Dredge the
fowl with two level table-spoonfuls of salt and one tea-
spoonful of pepper. Spread on this the force-meat
described below, being careful so to dispose of the force-
meat that when the fowl is served all parts will be
equally thick.
To Make the force-meat. Chop very fine the raw,
lean flesh of a fowl weighing about four pounds. Add
to this one-fourth of a pound of finely chopped fat salt
pork, half a cupful of fine cracker crumbs, two-thirds of
a cupful of rich stock, one table-spoonful and a half of
salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, half a teaspoonful
each of summer savory and sweet marjoram, one-fourth
of a teaspoonful each of thyme and sage, the herbs
should be powdered, one table-spoonful of onion juice,
half a can of mushrooms, and a small can of truffles, cut
rather coarse. The truffles may be omitted.
Galantine of Fowl.
Mix all these ingredients thoroughly. When the force-
meat has been spread, sew up the fowl, keeping it about
the same thickness its entire length. Place it on a
strong piece of cloth ; pin the cloth firmly about it, and
tie it at both ends and in three or four other places, as
shown in the cut. Put the bones of both fowls in a fish-
kettle or ham-boiler, and lay the galantine on these. Place
on the fire. Add boiling water enough to cover the galan-
ENTREES. 365
tine. Let it boil up ; then skim it, and draw the kettle
back where the water will only simmer. Add one small
carrot, one onion, two stalks of celery, half a blade of
mace, a stick of cinnamon, six cloves, a table-spoonful
of pepper-corns, and a level table-spoonful of salt. Cover
the kettle, and let the mixture simmer for three hours.
Take the kettle from the fire, and let the galantine stand
in the liquor for one hour. At the end of that time take
up the galantine. Take off the cloth, and wipe the meat
to free it of fat and moisture. Pin the galantine in
a clean cloth, place a pan and two bricks on top of it,
and let it stand in a cool place for several hours.
When the galantine is to be served, remove the cloth,
and place the galantine in the oven for three minutes.
Wipe it, and then brush it with glaze. Place it on a long
dish, and garnish with aspic jelly and parsley or white
celery leaves.
A turkey can be prepared in the same way. Thin
slices of cold boiled red tongue are frequently spread
over the boned fowl with the force-meat. The water in
which the galantine and bones are cooked will answer
for the aspic jelly. If a set of calf's feet be boiled with
the other things, no gelatine will be required for the
jelly.
Fillet of Partridge.
Fillet the partridges, and prepare the fillets the same
as those cut from chickens.
Fillet of Cooked Partridges.
Use three cold roasted partridges, three table-spoon-
fuls each of chopped carrot, turnip, celery, six table-
spoonfuls of chopped onion, three of flour, six of butter,
one table-spoonful of lemon juice, one clove, a small
piece of mace, one can of mushrooms, one gill of claret,
one quart of water, and some salt and pepper.
366 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Remove the fillets from the partridge. Free the
second joints of the legs of skin and bone, and place
them on the dish with the fillets. Cut all the tender
bits of meat from the birds, and place them beside the
second joints. Put the fillets and other portions of
clear meat in a cold place until it is time to heat them.
Break up the bones of the three birds, and put them
in a stew-pan with the water and any tough pieces of
meat, such as the drumsticks and wings. Cover, and
simmer gently for two hours. At the end of that time
strain off the liquor and set it away to cool. When cold,
skim off the fat. Now put the butter and chopped vege-
tables in a stew-pan, and cook slowly for half an hour.
At the end of that time draw forward to a hotter part of
the stove, and stir until the vegetables get browned
slightly. Now add the flour, and stir until it turns a
dark brown ; then draw to a cooler place, and gradually
add one pint of the liquor in which the bones were
boiled. Now add the spice, a grain of cayenne, one-
fourth of a teaspoonful of white pepper, and a level
teaspoonful of salt. Simmer for half an hour, and then
skim off the fat that will rise to the top. Add the
mushrooms and all the partridge meat except the fillets,
first seasoning the meat with salt and pepper. Cook
gently for ten minutes; then add the lemon juice and
half the claret, and cook two minutes longer.
As soon as the mushrooms and meat have been put on
to heat in the sauce, put the fillets into a stew-pan with
one teaspoonful of salt, a little pepper, half a cupful of
the stock from the bones, and half the claret. Cook gently
for ten minutes. Now heap the mushrooms and the
meat in the centre of a warm dish. Arrange the fillets
around this mound. Pour the sauce in which the fillets
were warmed into the other sauce. Stir well, and pour
over the mixture in the centre of the dish. A circle of
stoned olives makes a pretty garnish for this dish.
Serve very hot.
ENTRIES. 367
Fillets of Partridge a la Jardiniere.
Fillet three partridges, and separate the minion fillets
from the large ones. Season the fillets with salt and
pepper, and then dip them in a mixture consisting of
one table-spoonful of chopped parsley, one table-spoonful
of lemon juice, and half a cupful of melted butter. Let
the butter cool on them. Now dip them in two beaten
eggs and then in bread crumbs. Be sure that they are
well covered with the egg and crumbs. Fry them in
boiling fat. The large fillets will cook in six minutes,
and the small ones in four. Drain them on brown paper.
Have a dish of vegetables prepared a la jardiniere and
arranged in the centre of a large dish. Kest the fillets
against the mound of vegetables, and pour Bechamel
cream sauce around the base. Serve very hot.
Fillets of Grouse.
Fillets of grouse may be prepared the same as fillets
of partridge.
All the small birds may be filleted in the same way,
but the time of cooking is only two-thirds as long as for
the large ones.
Pigeon Cutlets.
For eight cutlets use four pigeons, one large egg, half
a pint of Dutch sauce, a heaping teaspoonful of salt, a
little pepper, and bread crumbs. Take the fillets from
the pigeons, and season them with the salt and pepper.
Have the egg beaten in a plate. Put one of the small
wing-bones in the small end of each fillet. Have the
sauce cold, and cover each fillet with it. Now roll the
fillets lightly in the crumbs ; then cover them with
beaten egg, and roll again in crumbs. Place in the
frying-basket, and cook in fat for five minutes. Drain,
and arrange in a circle on a warm dish. Fill the centre
368 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
of the dish with cone-shaped sweet-potato croquettes.
Serve remoulade or Tartar sauce iu a separate dish. Or
the legs aud body of the pigeons may be made into a
ragout, and be poured into the centre of the dteh. No
other sauce will be required. Serve a dish of some deli-
cate vegetable with the cutlets.
Another way of preparing pigeon cutlets is to use cold
meat, and make exactly the same as chicken cutlets.
Salmi of Duck.
Use two cold roast ducks, a can of mushrooms, eigh-
teen stoned olives, one pint of Spanish sauce, half a pint
of clear stock, one gill of sherry, a table-spoonful of
lemon juice, a teaspoonful of salt, a little cayenne, and
twelve pieces of bread of triangular shape fried in
butter.
Cut the duck into handsome joints, and place it in a
stew-pan. Sprinkle it with the salt and pepper. Pour
the stock over it, and let it heat slowly to the boiling-
point. Add the olives and mushrooms, and boil for five
minutes. Now add the Spanish sauce, and cook until it
boils. When the sauce boils, add the sherry and lemon
juice, and cook one minute longer. Arrange the duck in
a mound on a warm dish. Place the mushrooms and
olives at the base, and finish with a border of the fried
bread. Pour the sauce over the duck, and serve very
hot.
This is a rich dish. The quantity given is enough for
ten or twelve persons.
Pattie Cases.
Make the rule for puff paste or chopped puff paste.
When it has been thoroughly chilled, place it on the
board and roll it down evenly until about an inch thick.
ENTRIES. 369
Dip a pattie-cutter which will measure about three and
a half inches in diameter into a plate of flour ; shake off
all the loose flour, and then cut out a round of the paste.
Dip the cutter into the flour each time before cutting
the paste. When all are done, dip a cutter two inches
in diameter into a cup of boiling water, and then press
it about two-thirds through the paste, in the centre.
Put the patties into a flat baking-pan, having them at
least an inch apart, and a little distance from the sides
of the pan. Put the pan into a hot oven, and bake for
Pattie Cases.
ten minutes ; now lessen the heat, and cook for twenty-
five minutes longer. Take from the oven, and with a
teaspoon lift off the covers, in the centres of the patties,
and scoop out the uncooked paste that will be found
beneath them, being careful not to break the shells.
The cases are now ready to be filled with a hot prepara-
tion of fish or meat. If they are not to be used at once,
put them away in a cool, dry place, and heat them at
serving-time. Pattie-cutters may be plain or fluted,
round or oval.
Large Vol-au-vent Case.
Use one of the rules for puff paste. When the paste
is thoroughly chilled, roll it down to the thickness of
an inch and a half. With a sharp knife trim off the
edges, giving the paste a slightly oval shape. It will
now measure about nine inches in diameter. Trace a
circle on this about two inches and a half from the edge.
370 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Dip a case-knife into a cup of boiling water, and, follow-
ing, the circle, cut about two-thirds through the paste.
Place the vol-au-vent in a large flat pan, being careful
not to let the paste touch the sides of the pan. Bake
for one hour. Have the oven very hot for the first ten
minutes, and then reduce the heat. When done, take
off the cover and scoop out the uncooked paste.
Large cutters come for vol-au-vents. If you have a
set, use them the same as the pattie-cutters.
Vol-au-vent Baked in a Mould.
Have a mould of the size you require. Cut some
plain stiff white paper, of the size and shape of the
sides and bottom of the m^uld, and butter them. Butter
the mould. Roll puff paste about one-fourth of an inch
thick, and line the mould with it. Lay the papers on
this. Now fill the mould with flour, and cover with
white paper. Boll a piece of paste to fit the top, having
it half an inch thick. Prick it with a fork. Cover the
mould with this, pressing the edges .of the cover and
the lining of the mould together. Bake in a moder-
ate oven for one hour. When done, lift off the cover,
turn out the flour, and remove the papers. The case is
now ready to fill with any preparation of fish, meat, or
fruit. The flour may be sifted and used for bread. A
two-quart charlotte mould may be used for the large vol-
au-vent, and the small timbale moulds for the small vol-
au-vents. This is the most economical mode of baking
a vol-au-vent.
Various Kinds of Vol-au-vents and Patties.
A vol-au-vent or pattie case may be filled with any
kind of delicate meat or fish heated in any one of the
following-named sauces : white, Bechamel, poulette,
clear brown, or mushroom. The meat must be free of
fat, skin, and bones. It should be cut into cubes when
ENTRIES. 371
cold. Season a pint and a half with one teaspoonful of
salt, and one-third of a teaspoonful of white pepper.
Heat this in one pint of sauce.
Fish is always improved by the addition of one tea-
spoonful of lemon juice, which should be put in after
the hot mixture is taken from the fire.
Oysters should be heated to the boiling-point in their
own liquor. They should then be drained, and added
to a hot sauce.
Royal Vol-au-vent.
To fill a large vol-au-vent case use a pint of cooked
chicken and half a pint of cooked sweetbreads, cut into
cubes, half a pint of mushrooms, cut in small pieces, a
generous half -pint of white stock, half a pint of cream,
one small slice of carrot, one slice of onion, a bit of
mace, three table-spoonfuls of butter, one of flour, one
teaspoonful and a half of salt, one-third of a teaspoonful
of pepper, and one teaspoonful of lemon juice.
Mix the flour and butter in a small saucepan. Add
half the salt, pepper, vegetables, and stock. Place the
saucepan on the fire, and stir its contents until the sauce
begins to boil ; then set back where it will only simmer
for fifteen minutes. When that time has passed, strain
the sauce into another saucepan. Add the mushrooms,
and simmer for five minutes. Season the chicken and
sweetbread with the remainder of the salt and pepper.
When the mushrooms have been cooking in the sauce
for five minutes, add the cream, chicken, and sweetbread.
Boil up once ; then take it from the fire, and add the
lemon juice. Put the mixture into a large vol-au-vent
case. This filling will answer also for small patties.
Parisian Vol-au-vents.
Line and cover a dozen small dariole moulds as di-
rected for vol-au-vent cases baked in moulds. Bake
372 MISS PAKLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
them in a moderately hot oven for twenty-five minutes.
Take off the covers, and remove the flour and paper.
Fill with a mixture prepared as follows :
Clean a sweetbread and the brains of a calf, and boil
for twenty minutes ; then plunge them into ice-water,
and when they are cold, cut them into very small dice,
and season lightly with salt and pepper. Next put a
cupful of cream on to boil. Mix a level table-spoonful
of flour with a quarter of a cupful of cold cream, and stir
into the boiling cream. Boil up once, and season with
salt and pepper. Add the sweetbread and brains, and
cook the dish for eight minutes.
After filling the vol-au-vents with this mixture, put
the covers in place, and serve at once. Chicken and
mushrooms may be substituted for the sweetbread and
brains.
Vol-au-vent of Turkey.
For a large vol-au-vent use a generous pint and a half
of cooked turkey, cut into cubes, one pint of cream, one
table-spoonful of flour, one teaspoonful and a half of
salt, half a teaspoonful of white pepper, and one tea-
spoonful of lemon juice. Season the turkey with the
pepper and one teaspoonful of the salt. Mix the flour
with four table-spoonfuls of the cream. Put the rest of
the cream on the fire in a stew-pan, and when it boils,
stir in the mixed flour and cream. Cook for one minute,
stirring all the while. Now add the salt and onion juice,
and lastly the turkey. Simmer for five minutes, and fill
the vol-au-vent.
Italian Vol-au-vent.
Use a quarter of a pound of macaroni, six chicken livers,
half a pound of fresh mushrooms or one can of mush-
I'ooins, one pint of stock, one table-spoonful of Parmesan
cheese, four table-spoonfuls of butter, three of flour, two
of strained tomato,, two table-spoonfuls of chopped onion,
ENTRIES. 373
one teaspoonful of chopped parsley, two teaspoonfuls of
salt, and half a teaspoonful of pepper.
Break the macaroni into small pieces, and put it in a
stew-pan with two quarts of water and a table-spoonful
of salt. Boil it for half an hour.
Cut the chicken livers into cubes, and boil them for
half an hour in water enough to cover them.
Put the butter, onion, and parsley into a stew-pan, and
cook slowly for ten minutes. Draw the stew-pan to a
hotter part of the fire after that time has passed, and
add the flour. Stir until frothy, and then add the stock.
Stir the mixture until it boils ; then draw back, and let
it simmer five minutes. Strain the sauce into another
stew-pan, and add the salt, pepper, mushrooms, and
chicken livers.
Drain the macaroni free of water, and add to it the
strained tomato and the cheese. When the livers and
mushrooms have been cooking in the sauce for ten min-
utes, put in the macaroni. Turn this mixture into a
large vol-au-vent case, and serve at once.
Imperial Vol-au-vent.
For this vol-au-vent there will be required the rule
for puff paste, the greater part of three chickens, a bottle
of cock's-combs, truffles, and mushrooms, a pint and a
half of supreme sauce, the rule for chicken quenelles,
the white of an egg, one pint of clear stock, and some
salt and pepper.
Make the puff paste, and chill it. When thoroughly
chilled, roll it down to about one inch in thickness, being
careful to get all parts of equal thickness. Lay an oval
border mould on this, and with a sharp knife cut the
paste in the form of the mould; cut out the centre of
this paste, leaving a border about an inch and a half
wide. Place this rim of paste where it will keep cold
while the bottom is being rolled and cut. Koll the
374 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
piece of paste that was cut from the centre to the thick-
ness of a quarter of an inch. Lay the border mould on
this, and cut out a piece the size and shape of the mould.
Brush this over with the white of an egg which has been
beaten with one table-spoonful of cold water. Put the
ring of paste on this, and press slightly. Place on a large
dripping-pan, and
bake for three-quar-
ters of an hour.
Have the oven very
hot for the first ten
minutes ; then re-
duce the heat for
Imperial Vol-au-vent Case. the remainder of the
time. This vol-au-
vent may be baked at the time it is to be served ; or it
may be baked the day before, and be heated in the oven
just before being filled.
To Prepare the Filling. Fillet the chickens. Use one-
half of the fillets for the force-meat, and prepare the other
half as for supreme of chicken, decorating them with
truffles. Lay them in a buttered saucepan, and cover
with buttered paper ; and put them into the refrigerator
until it is time to poach them.
Make the quenelles, but shape them in teaspoons.
Make one quenelle round, for the top of the dish. Lay
them in a buttered pan, and decorate with truffles ; cover
with buttered paper, and put into the refrigerator. Put
the chicken legs into a stew-pan with boiling water
enough to cover them, and let them simmer until tender.
If the chickens are not more than a year old, they will
probably be done in one hour. Let them cool in the
water ; when cold, take them from the liquor and free
them of skin, fat, and bones. Cut the meat into pieces
the size of a quarter of a dollar. There should be a
generous pint and a half of meat. Season it with two
level teaspoonfuls of salt and one-fourth of a teaspoonful
ENTRIES. 375
of white pepper. Put this in a cool place until the time
for putting the dish together.
Half an hour before serving-time, put the cock's-
combs in a stew-pan with enough chicken stock to cover
them, and cook fifteen or twenty minutes. Put the
chicken fillets in a moderate oven, and cook for twenty
minutes. Cover the quenelles with boiling chicken stock,
and set on a part of the stove where they will keep at the
boiling-point for twenty minutes. Heat the vol-au-vent
in the oven with the door open; it will take about
twenty minutes. Put the chicken which was cut up
into a stew-pan with one pint of the supreme sauce, and
Imperial Vol-au-vent
cook for fifteen minutes. Heat the remaining half-pint
of sauce. Put the mushrooms into a small stew-pan with
one table-spoonful of butter, half a teaspoon ful of salt,
two table-spoonfuls of stock, and two table-spoonfuls of
the sauce. Simmer for five minutes.
Take the vol-au-vent from the oven, place it on a
flat dish, and fill it with the chicken and supreme sauce.
Drain the fillets, quenelles, cock's-eombs, and mush-
rooms. Dip them into the hot sauce, and arrange them
on the top of the vol-au-vent, as shown in the illustra-
tion. This is a very elaborate dish, but it has this ad-
vantage, it may be prepared the day before it is to be
served.
376 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Rissoles.
These may be made of any kind of cooked meat or
fish, the more delicate the better. The crust should
always be of puff paste. The trimmings left from mak-
ing pies, patties, or vol-au-vents may be used.
Chicken Rissoles.
For twelve rissoles use half a pint of cooked chicken,
cut into dice, two table- spoonfuls of chopped mushrooms,
two table-spoonfuls of butter, one table-spoonful of flour,
one gill of milk, three drops of onion juice, a level tea-
Spoonful of salt, a little pepper, two eggs, one-fourth of
the rule for puff paste, or the trimmings of puff paste.
Prepare and chill the paste. Season the chicken and
mushroom with the salt, pepper, and onion juice. Put
the milk on to boil. Mix the butter and flour together,
and stir into the boiling milk. Boil for half a minute,
stirring all the while. Add the chicken and mushroom ;
cook for one minute, and then turn into a dish and set
away to cool.
When the preparation of chicken is cool, roll the paste
as thin as possible, and cut it out with a four-inch fluted
pattie-cutter. Put a generous teaspoonful of the cold
chicken in the centre of each round of paste ; wet the
edges with the white of one egg beaten with a table-
spoonful of cold water;
fold the paste over, and
press the edges together.
Have the white of one
Rissoles, before and after Folding. and the y lks f tw
beaten with one table-
spoonful of milk; cover the rissoles with this. When
all are coated with the egg, put them into the frying-
basket, and cook in hot fat for four minutes Drain,
and serve at once.
ENTRIES. 377
This dish is served as an entre'e. All kinds of rissoles
are made in the same manner. When oysters are used
they must be scalded in their own liquor, and be well
drained before they are cut up. The seasoning of the
preparations may be changed to suit various tastes.
Anchovy Patties.
Make the anchovy force-meat, and add to it four table-
spoonfuls of any white sauce. Keep cool until the time
for making the patties. Make half the rule for puff
paste, and let the paste become thoroughly chilled.
When it is firm, cut off about two-thirds of it. Roll this
fco about one-eighth of an inch in thickness. Cut out
with a large pattie-cutter as many rounds as possible
(there should be about a dozen). Place these rounds on
a tin sheet, and put them into the refrigerator. Now
put the trimmings and the cold paste together, and roll
out and cut as before. Should the trimmings have be-
come very soft, chill them before rolling. Put a tea-
spoonful of the anchovy force-meat in the centre of each
one. Wet the rims with cold water. Now cover with
the rounds of paste that were cut out first. Have a sec-
ond pattie-cutter half an inch smaller in diameter than
the first. Press its blunt edge on the centre of the pattie
and around the filling of anchovy. This will fasten the
two sheets together near the force-meat. Bake in a
rather quick oven for eighteen or twenty minutes.
These patties are served in a dinner or luncheon as
an entre'e.
CROQUETTES.
Croquettes may be made in any form that suits one's
taste. The most common are the cylinder, cone, pear,
and ball shapes. These may be formed by the hands.
A hinged mould comes for forming cones. The cylinder
and ball shapes are the best, because a very soft
378 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
PQ
ENTRIES. 379
be shaped into this form, while the cone and pear
shapes require a firmer mixture. The croquette prepara-
tion should be thoroughly chilled; if not, it will be a
difficult matter to form the croquettes. There must be
plenty of fine dried crumbs, a large smooth board, a
beaten egg in a deep plate, a table-spoon and case-knife,
or, better still, a palette-knife.
Sprinkle the board lightly with the crumbs. Shape
the croquettes in the hand, and then roll them on the
board, handling them carefully. When all are shaped,
spread a thick layer of crumbs on one end of the board.
Put a croquette in the plate of beaten egg, and with a
spoon pour the egg over every part. Slip the knife
under the croquette, and lift it to the bed of crumbs.
Koll it in the crumbs until every part is coated ; then
lift it with the hand, and bring the ends down on the
board with a light tap. This will give a regular, smooth
shape to the ends.
When all the croquettes are breaded, they may be
fried at once ; or they may be put in a cool place and
kept there twelve hours or longer. When ready to fry,
Croquettes ready for Serving.
put some into the basket, being careful not to crowd
them. Fry in smoking hot fat for a minute and a half.
Drain them on brown paper, arrange on a folded napkin,
and serve very hot. A sauce is frequently served with
them.
380 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
If a mould be used to form the croquettes, butter it
generously, sprinkle with dried crumbs, and pack it
solid with the croquette mixture. Now draw out the
wire that holds the two pieces of the mould together,
take out the croquette, fasten the mould again, and
proceed as before. The mould is to be buttered only
once, but it must be lined with crumbs each time a
croquette is formed.
If the mould makes a larger croquette than you wish,
only partially fill it. Remember that the mixture must
always be packed solid, or the shape will not be good.
When croquettes are formed in a pear shape, they should
be arranged on a dish with the large end down, and a bit
of parsley stuck in the stem end of each one.
Sweetbread Croquettes.
For a dozen croquettes use one pint of sweetbreads that
have been boiled for twenty minutes, and then cooled, and
chopped rather fine. It will take two or three pairs of
sweetbreads for this ; or, if weighed after being cleaned,
about one pound and a quarter. With the sweetbreads
use half a pint of cream or milk, four table-spoonfuls of
mushrooms, chopped fine, two table -spoonfuls of butter,
one table-spoonful of flour, one of lemon juice, a level
table-spoonful of salt, one-third of a teaspoonful of white
pepper, a slight grating of nutmeg, half a teaspoonful of
minced parsley, and two eggs. Some crumbs and two
extra eggs will be required for breading the croquettes.
Add the seasoning and the chopped mushrooms to the
chopped sweetbreads. Put the cream into a frying-pan,
and place on the stove where it will heat slowly. Beat
the flour and butter together, and add the mixture to the
cream when the latter boils. Stir until smooth; then
add the sweetbread mixture. Stir well, and simmer for
three minutes. Now add the two eggs, well beaten.
Stir quickly into the boiling mixture, and take from the
ENTRIES. 381
fire immediately. Pour this on a platter, and put away
in a cool place. It should stand for two or three hours.
When cool and firm, shape into croquettes ; then bread
and fry. Serve with mushroom white sauce or Becha-
mel yellow sauce.
Chicken and Mushroom Croquettes.
For eighteen croquettes use one pint of cooked chicken,
chopped rather fine, half a pint of mushrooms, chopped
fine, three gills of cream, four table-spoonfuls of butter,
two level table-spoonfuls of flour, three teaspoonfuls of
salt, half a teaspoonful of white pepper, one table-
spoonful of lemon juice, one teaspoonful of onion juice,
three eggs, and crumbs and two extra eggs for breading.
Make these the same as the sweetbread croquettes.
Serve with mushroom white sauce.
* Mutton Croquettes.
Chop rather fine enough mutton to make a solid pint,
and season with a level table-spoonful of salt, half a tea-
spoonful of pepper, and one table-spoonful of lemon
juice. Put a cupful of milk or cream into the frying-
pan, and while it is heating, beat together, until light
and creamy, one table-spoonful of flour and three of
butter. Stir this mixture into the boiling milk. Add
the seasoned mutton, and stir the dish until it boils ;
then let it boil for three minutes, and after adding two
well-beaten eggs, and stirring well, remove from the
fire immediately, and turn out upon a platter to cool.
Sprinkle a board slightly with crumbs, and when the
mixture has become cool, take a dessert-spoonful in the
hand and give it a cylindrical shape ; then roll lightly
upon the crumbed board. Shape all the mixture in this
manner.
Beat two eggs in a soup-plate until they are thor-
oughly broken, but not so long as to make them light.
382 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Spread part of the board thickly with crumbs. Dip the
croquettes, one by one, into the beaten eggs, and then
roll in the crumbs, being careful that every part is
covered. When all have been treated in this way, put a
few at a time into the frying-basket, and plunge into
boiling fat. Cook until they are a rich brown. The fat
should be so hot that two minutes will suffice ; if it be
not hot enough when the croquettes are put in, they will
crack open.
If croquettes be desired for breakfast, they may be
shaped the previous day, and kept in the ice-chest until
the time for frying. Any kind of meat may be used in
place of mutton ; and if one like the flavor of onion, a
teaspoonful of the juice may be used at the outset, with
the other seasoning.
* Meat-and-Hominy Croquettes.
Put half a cupful of milk into a frying-pan, and heat
to the boiling-point ; then stir into it a cupful of boiled
hominy, a cupful of fine-chopped meat, a teaspoonful of
salt, an eighth of a teaspoonful of pepper, and two table-
spoonfuls of butter. Stir well, and when the mixture
begins to boil, add one well-beaten egg. Cook a minute
longer, and then spread upon a platter to cool. When
cold, shape into little cylinders about three inches long,
and after rolling these in beaten egg and then in bread
crumbs, fry in fat until brown, say two minutes.
All the work except the frying may be done a day in
advance.
Chestnut Croquettes.
Use fifty Spanish chestnuts, two gills of cream, three
table-spoonfuls of butter, one-fourth of a teaspoonful
of salt, four eggs, and some sifted bread crumbs for
breading the croquette's.
Shell and blanch the chestnuts. Put them in a stew-
pan with enough boiling water to cover them, and boil
ENTRIES. 883
for thirty minutes. Drain off all the water, and pound
the chestnuts in the mortar. When they are very fine,
add one table-spoonful of the butter, and continue pound-
ing until it is well mixed with the chestnuts. Now add
the remainder of the butter and the salt, and pound for
ten minutes longer. Add the cream, a little at a time.
When all the cream has been worked into the chest-
nuts, rub the mixture through a puree sieve. Beat three
eggs till light, and then beat them into the strained in-
gredients. Put the mixture into the double-boiler, and
cook for about eight minutes, stirring all the while. It'
should be smooth and thick at the end of this time, if
the water in the outer boiler has been boiling rapidly all
the while. Spread it on a large platter, and set away to
cool. When the mixture is cold, butter the hands
slightly, and shape the mixture into cylinders, cones, or
balls. Bread these with the fourth egg and the fine
crumbs. Fry for one minute and a half. Arrange on a
warm napkin, and serve at once.
These are nice with roast turkey or any kind of roasted
or broiled poultry. If served by themselves, as an
entree, pour Bechamel cream sauce or supreme sauce
around them.
* Sweet-Potato Croquettes.
For eight croquettes use enough boiled sweet potatoes
to make a pint when mashed, half a cupful of hot milk,
two generous table-spoonfuls of butter, one teaspoonful
of salt, two eggs, and some crumbs for breading.
When the potatoes have been mashed smooth and
light, beat into them the hot milk and then the salt and
butter. Next beat one egg until light, and beat this
into the mixture, which should now be shaped into
croquettes. Beat the second egg in a soup-plate. Cover
the croquettes with this egg, and roll them in the bread
crumbs. Fry in fat till they turn a rich brown. Serve
at once.
384 MISS PAKLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
These are nice to serve with game.
If the croquettes be preferred flavored and sweetened,
add to the mixture two table-spoonfuls of sugar, a slight
grating of nutmeg, and one table-spoonful of lemon
juice. The simpler mode is, however, the better, if they
are to be an accompaniment of meat or game. When
served with a sauce, as an entree, the flavoring and
sweetening should be used.
* Rice Croquettes a la Parmesan.
For eighteen croquettes use half a cupful of raw rice,
three gills of stock, one cupful of strained tomato, three
table-spoonfuls of butter, four table-spoonfuls of grated
Parmesan cheese, one teaspoonful of salt, one-tenth of a
teaspoonful of cayenne, one teaspoonful of onion juice,
four eggs, and crumbs for breading.
Wash the rice, and, putting it in a stew-pan with the
stock, boil it for ten minutes. Now add the strained
tomato, the onion juice, salt, and cayenne, and cook for
twenty minutes longer.
When the rice has been cooking for half an hour,
try a few grains, and if they be tender, add the cheese
and two of the eggs, well beaten. Stir for one min-
ute, and take from the fire immediately. Spread on a
platter, and set away to cool. When cold, shape, and
then bread with the remaining two eggs and the crumbs.
Fry for one minute and a half. Arrange on a warm
napkin, and serve very hot.
Baked Croquettes.
The materials are : a pint of fine-chopped cooked meat,
any kind will do, one cupful of milk, three table-
spoonfuls of butter, one of flour, one level table-spoonful
of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, three eggs, one tea-
spoonful of chopped parsley, and one cupful of dried,
pounded, and sifted bread crumbs.
ENTREES. 385
First beat the three eggs. Mix the seasoning with the
chopped meat. Put the milk on the stove in a frying-
pan. Mix the flour and butter, and stir the mixture into
the milk when it begins to boil. Now add the seasoned
meat, and cook for two minutes, being careful to prevent
it from burning. At the end of the two minutes add
half the beaten eggs. Stir rapidly for five seconds,
and take from the fire instantly. Spread on a flat dish,
and set away to cool. When the mixture becomes cool,
set it on ice, to harden; at the same time cover the
remainder of the beaten egg, and put it in a cool place.
All this should be done one or two hours before the
meal is to be served, that the mixture may have time to
get cold and firm.
When the hour for cooking the croquettes comes, form
the mixture into balls or cylinders, using about a table-
spoonful for each. Sprinkle a board lightly with crumbs,
and roll the croquettes into perfect shapes on it. Next
pour the beaten egg into a soup-plate. Lay the cro-
quettes in the plate, one at a time, and with a spoon
dip up some of the egg mixture and pour it over each
croquette. Lift the croquette by slipping a knife under
it, and place it on a thick bed of crumbs. Roll it lightly
until every part is covered with crumbs; then roll it to a
clean part of the board. When all are finished, make the
sauce, the receipt for which is given on the next page.
Butter the bottom of a shallow cake-pan. Put a thin
layer of the sauce in the bottom ; then lay the croquettes
in the pan, being careful that they do not touch each
other. Baste them with the sauce, and then put the pan
into a very hot oven. Cook until brown, say for ten
minutes. At the end of the first five minutes baste
again with the sauce. Serve on a hot dish, with the
remaining sauce poured around them.
If the croquettes are for breakfast, all the work
except the baking may be done the day before. These
croquettes may be put into a frying-basket instead of
25
386 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
a pan, and kept in boiling fat for a minute and a half,
when they will be found to be perfectly brown and much
more creamy than when baked. But people who do not
relish fried food, or cannot digest it easily, may find
baked croquettes very palatable.
Brown Sauce for Croquettes. Put two table-spoonfuls
of butter into a frying-pan with one slice of onion, one
of carrot, one clove, and a bay leaf. Cook all together
until the butter begins to turn brown ; then add one
table-spoonful of dry flour, and stir until it turns dark
brown. Now draw the pan back, and gradually add one
generous cupful of stock. Add also a level teaspoonful of
salt and one-fifth of a teaspoonful of pepper. Cook for
five minutes j then strain, and it will be ready for use.
Aspic de Foie Gras,
This should be made in a small round or oval border
mould, although any mould will do. For one of the
smallest jars of foie gras, use half the rule for aspic
jelly, one truffle, and the white of one hard-boiled egg.
Place the mould in a pan, and surround it with ice and
a little water. Pour the liquid jelly into the mould to
the depth of half an inch. Let this stand until it
hardens ; then decorate it with the white of the egg and
the truffle, which have been cut in thin slices and
stamped out with fancy vegetable cutters. Moisten
these with a little liquid jelly, and let them stand about
ten minutes, so that the jelly may harden and hold them
in place. Next gently pour in another layer of jelly,
about one-fourth of an inch thick ; let this harden.
Scrape all the fat from the foie gras, and dip it for
half a minute into hot water. Wipe it dry, and cut
it in slices and then in pieces about an inch square.
Spread a layer of these over the congealed jelly ; cover
this with liquid jelly, and wait until the jelly begins to
harden before adding the second layer of foie gras.
ENTRIES. 387
When the second (and last) layer of foie gras has been
added, pour over it enough jelly merely to moisten it.
When this is firm, cover with the remainder of the
liquid jelly. Set away in a cool place for three hours,
or longer. At serving-time put the mould into tepid
water for about five to eight seconds. Loosen the jelly
at the top, and see if it will come away from the sides.
Turn on a large flat dish. If a border mould has been
used, heap Tartar green sauce in the centre. Garnish
the border of the dish with stuffed olives, This is an
elegant dish for luncheon or supper.
Aspic of Chicken.
Use half the rule for the aspic jelly, a pint and a half
of tender cooked chicken, free of fat, skin, and bone,
and cut into dice, three slices of the red part of a carrot,
cooked, and three of cooked beet, the white of one hard-
boiled egg, one teaspoonful of salt, and one-third of a
teaspoonful of pepper.
Prepare the mould as for foie gras, but decorate it
with the carrot, beet, and white of the egg. When the
layer of jelly, which completely covers the vegetables, is
hard, season the chicken with the salt and pepper, and
arrange it on top of the jelly, being careful to leave a
space of about one-third of an inch between the sides of
the mould and the meat. With a spoon sprinkle about
a gill of the liquid jelly over the meat, and let it stand
about half an hour to harden. At the end of that time
pour the remainder of the jelly into the space between
the sides of the mould and the meat. Let this stand
several hours.
At serving-time turn on a flat dish, the same as the
aspic de foie gras. Fill the centre with a pint and a half
of crisp celery, finely shaved, and mixed with three gills of
mayonnaise. Be careful not to let a drop fall upon the
aspic. Garnish the border with delicate sprays of white
388 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
celery leaves. Lay a star or leaf of red beet on each
spray. This decoration gives the needed bit of color ;
but care must be taken that the whole arrangement is
so light and delicate that it gives an appearance of light-
ness rather than weight to the dish.
Aspic of turkey, grouse, or duck may be prepared in
the same manner as chicken.
Aspic of Sweetbreads.
Boil three large heart sweetbreads in one quart of con-
somme for half an hour. Cool and wipe them. Then
proceed exactly as for aspic de foie gras. At serving-
time fill the centre of the dish with the celery and may-
onnaise, as for chicken. Garnish the dish with stoned
olives.
Aspic of Lobster.
Prepare this dish in the same manner as aspic of
chicken, but use dice cut from the pink meat of the
lobster, instead of the vegetables, and the white of an
egg for the decorations. Garnish the border of the dish
with the delicate heart leaves of lettuce. Place two
or three leaves together, and put a dessert-spoonful of
mayonnaise in each group of leaves.
Aspic of Shrimp.
Shrimp may be prepared and served in aspic in the
same way as lobster.
* Batter for Fruit Fritters.
Use one cupful of flour, half a cupful of milk, two
eggs, one table-spoonful of sugar, one table-spoonful of
melted butter, half a teaspoonful of salt, and the yellow
rind of one-fourth of a lemon, grated.
Mix the dry ingredients together. Beat the eggs light,
and add the milk to them. Pour this on the dry mix-
ture, beat well, and add the melted butter. When con-
ENTRIES. 389
venient, oil is much better than butter in a batter,
because it mingles freely with every part of the mixture.
Butter congeals slightly unless the mixture is warm,
which is not desirable. This batter is very good with
only one egg.
* Apple Fritters.
Pare and core six large apples. Cut these in round
slices about one-third of an inch thick, and lay them in
a bowl. Sprinkle over these three table-spoonfuls of
sugar, one fourth of a grated nutmeg, and the juice of a
lemon. Let them stand for half an hour or more. Four
table-spoonfuls of wine may be substituted for the lemon
juice, if desired.
Make the fruit-fritter batter. Dip the slices of apple
into it, coating each slice thoroughly. Lift the slices of
apple from the batter by passing a fork or skewer
through the hole, drop them into the hot fat, and cook
for three minutes. As soon as the fritters are done,
take them from the fat and drain them on brown paper.
Arrange them in a circle on a flat dish, sift powdered
sugar over them, and serve very hot.
* Banana Fritters.
Pare six bananas. Cut each one in two, and split each
half. Put the pieces of banana into a bowl with two
table-spoonfuls of sugar and three table-spoonfuls of
orange juice or wine, and let this preparation stand for
an hour. Make a batter, and cook the same as apple
fritters.
* Orange Fritters.
Pare the oranges, and with a sharp knife cut them
in slices about half an inch thick. Take out the seeds,
dip the slices in batter, and fry. Drain, arrange on a
warm dish, sprinkle with sugar, and serve hot.
390 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
* Peach Fritters.
Peel the peaches, and cut them in quarters. Dip them
in batter, and fry. Serve hot, with sugar sprinkled over
them.
Apricot fritters are made in the same way.
*Pear Fritters.
Treat ripe pears the same as apples. 'They may be
cut in quarters or slices.
* Grape Fritters.
Have the grapes in clusters of five or more, and dip
them in batter. Fry for one minute and a half. Drain
them, and serve, sprinkled with sugar.
* Pineapple Fritters.
Pare and slice the pineapple, and cut the slices into
small pieces. Treat the same as apple fritters.
Custard Fritters.
For the custard use one pint of milk, one gill of sugar,
three table-spoonfuls of corn-starch, one table-spoonful
of butter, half a teaspoonful of salt, two eggs, the grated
yellow rind of one lemon, one-eighth of a small nutmeg,
grated, and two table-spoonfuls of gelatine.
Soak the gelatine for two hours in four table-spoonfuls
of the milk. Mix the corn-starch with half a cupful of
the milk. Put the remainder of the milk, the grated
lemon rind and nutmeg, on the fire in the double-boiler.
When the milk is hot, add the sugar. Beat the eggs
well, and add them to the mixed corn-starch and milk.
Add the salt to this mixture, and stir into the boiling
milk. Cook six minutes, stirring all the time. Now
add the soaked gelatine and the butter. Take from the
fire. Butter a shallow cake-pan, and pour the hot mix-
ENTRIES. 391
ture iiito it. It should be nearly an inch deep when
spread in the pan. Place the pan where the mixture
will get icy cold. When it is time to fry the fritters,
beat two eggs in a soup-plate, and add to them one table-
spoonful of sugar, the grated yellow rind of a lemon,
and a slight grating of nutmeg. Cut the custard, which
will now be firm and smooth, into two-inch squares;
cover them with the egg mixture, and roll in fine bread
crumbs. When all are breaded, give them a second
coating of egg and crumbs. Cover the bottom of the
fry ing-basket with the fritters, being careful that they
shall not touch each other. Fry in fat so hot that a
blue smoke will rise from the centre. Cook for two
minutes. Drain on brown paper, arrange on a napkin,
sprinkle with sugar, and serve hot.
Royal Fritters.
Use one scant pint of sifted flour, half a pint of water,
one gill of butter, half a gill of sugar, the grated rind
and juice of one orange, and five eggs.
Put the water, butter, orange juice and rind on the
ire, in a large saucepan. Heat the mixture slowly to the
boiling-point. When it boils, add the sugar and then the
flour, turning in all the flour at once. Beat well with
the wooden vegetable-masher, keeping the saucepan on
the fire all the while. At the end of three minutes the
paste will be cooked enough. Turn it into a bowl, and
set away to cool.
When cold, beat in the eggs, one by one, using the
hand instead of a spoon. It will .take about twenty
minutes to beat the mixture light. Put a small quantity
of the batter into a little pattie-pan, and place in a hot
oven for fifteen minutes. If it rises to three or four
times its original size, it is beaten enough ; but if not,
use a spoon, and beat the mixture for ten minutes longer.
Scrape the paste from the sides of the dish, and gather
392 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
it all in the centre of the bowl. Cover with a damp
towel, and place in the refrigerator until it is time to
cook it. Then drop it by dessert-spoonfuls into hot fat,
and cook ten minutes. The fritters will puff up and
crack open.
Or the paste may be rolled into small balls and fried
in the same manner. This will give a round and more
regular shape than dropping from the spoon. Drain the
fritters, arrange them on a fringed napkin, and sprinkle
sugar over them.
Sometimes a clear wine or orange sauce, or a sabayon
sauce, is served with these fritters.
* Corn Fritters.
These are the necessary materials : half a can of
sweet corn, a cupful of flour, half a teaspoonful of sugar
one heaping teaspoonful of salt, one fourth of a teaspoon-
ful of pepper, one table-spoonful of salad oil, an egg
and half a cupful of milk.
Beat the egg light, and add the milk to it. Pour the
mixture upon the flour, and beat well ; then add the salt,
pepper, sugar, and oil. Mix thoroughly, and add the
corn. Drop the mixture, by table-spoonfuls, into boiling
lard, and cook about three minutes. Drain on brown
paper, and serve very hot.
Noukles a la Viennoise.
For the noukle paste there will be required half a pint
of consomme", half a cupful of butter, one scant pint of
flour, half a cupful of grated Parmesan cheese, one-eighth
of a teaspoonful of cayenne, and three eggs.
Put the consomme and butter on the fire in a large
stew-pan. When the mixture boils, stir in the flour and
cayenne, and cook for about three minutes, beating all
the while. Add the cheese ; take from the fire, and beat
two minutes longer; turn into a bowl, and put P way to
ENTRIES. 393
cool. When the paste is cool, beat the eggs, one at a
time, into it. Beat vigorously for ten minutes. Shape
the paste like quenelles, using about a teaspoonful for
each one, and lay these on a buttered plate. When all
are done, put a pint and a half of consomme into a stew-
pan, and when it boils, drop the noukles into it. Boil
for twelve minutes, and drain.
Put three table-spoonfuls of butter into a small sauce-
pan, and when it is hot, add three table-spoonfuls of
flour. Stir until smooth and frothy ; then gradually add
the stock in which the noukles were boiled. Boil this
for five minutes, stirring frequently. Taste, to see if it
needs salt and pepper ; if it does, add it now. Arrange
the noukles in an escalop dish, and pour the sauce over
them. Sprinkle two table-spoonfuls of Parmesan cheese
over the top. Put in a moderately hot oven, and bake
twenty minutes. Serve very hot.
The noukles may be baked instead of being poached
in consomme. When done, place them in an escalop
dish, and cover them with any good sauce, Bechamel,
white, mushroom, cream, and bisque sauce are all suit-
able. Sprinkle with cheese or not, as you please, and
bake twenty-five minutes.
Devils.
Devils are wet and dry. The dry devil is the more
popular. These dishes are usually served at gentlemen's
suppers. They must be cooked quickly, and served very
hot. All kinds of poultry and game may be prepared in
this manner, but for the dry devil there is nothing quite
equal to the underdone leg of a tender turkey. The
paste described in the rule will give a moderately hot
dish. If liked very hot, use more mustard and cay-
enne, or, if preferred mild, use less of these condiments.
Melted butter may be substituted for the oil where there
is objection to the use of oil.
394 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
* Deviled Turkey Dry.
For the legs of a roast turkey use two table-spoonfuls
of dry mustard, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of cayenne,
one heaping teaspoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of
white pepper, three table-spoonfuls of olive oil, three
table-spoonfuls of soft butter, and a generous dredging
of flour.
Mix the mustard, pepper, salt, and oil together. Make
deep incisions in the turkey legs, cutting in a slanting
direction ; spread a thin layer of the paste in each inci-
sion. When all the paste has been used, rub the soft
butter over the legs, and then dredge thickly with flour.
Broil for ten minutes over clear coals. Serve on a hot
dish at once. Chickens may be deviled in the same
manner. Sometimes both turkey and chickens' wings
are deviled in this manner ; but there is not enough meat
on them to make them a success in a dry devil.
Deviled Duck Wet.
Use a pint and a half of cold roast duck, free of
skin, bone, and fat, and cut into handsome pieces, the
boiled liver of one duck, one table-spoonful of dry mus-
tard, one-tenth of a teaspoonful of cayenne, one generous
teaspoonful of salt, two table-spoonfuls of lemon juice,
one generous table-spoonful of oil or butter, a slight
grating of nutmeg, half a gill of water, one gill of
Madeira.
Mash the liver to a paste in a saucepan. Add the salt,
pepper, mustard, and lemon juice to this. Mix well, and
gradually add the water. Then add the Madeira and
the duck. Grate the nutmeg over this. Place the sauce-
pan on the fire, and stir until the contents are hot, which
will be in about six minutes. Add the butter, and stir
a moment longer ; then turn into a hot dish, and serve
instantly. Serve a plate of hot buttered toast with it.
ENTRIES. 395
To get this dish in perfection it should be cooked on the
table in a chafing-dish. In this case prepare the devil
in the chafing-dish instead of in the saucepan. Light
the lamp after all the guests are seated, and the dish
will be done to a turn by the time the toast has been
passed. Whether the dish is cooked on the stove or in
the chafing-dish, the heat must be moderate ; intense
heat would spoil it.
Broiled Cepes.
Open the can, and pour off the oil. It is rarely sweet,
and therefore is good only for soap-grease. Take out
the cepes, and drop them into a bowl of hot water for a
moment, to remove the oil. Now wipe them with a soft
towel. Season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with
lemon juice. Now dip them in melted butter, and then
dredge with flour. Broil for six minutes over a hot fire.
Place each cepe on a round slice of toast. Put a small
bit of butter in the centre of each, and serve at once.
Stewed Cepes.
Free the cepes of oil, as when broiling them. Now
cut them into cubes. For a pint can of cepes use three
table-spoonfuls of butter, one of flour, one of lemon juice,
one teaspoonful of salt, one of onion juice, a little
pepper, and half a pint of stock.
Put the butter in a small stew-pan and on the fire.
When it becomes hot, add the cepes, and stir for three
minutes. Now add the flour, and stir until it is browned.
Add the stock, stirring all the time. When this mix-
ture boils, add the seasonings, and set back where it will
simmer for five minutes.
This dish may be served as an entree, when the cepes
should be arranged on toast ; or it may be used as a
garnish of broiled meat or fish.
396 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Olives Stuffed with Chicken.
Make a force-meat the same as for chicken quenelles.
Stone two dozen queen olives. Cover them with cold
water, and let them heat slowly to the boiling-point.
Now pour off the water, and cover the olives with cold
water. After they have stood for two minutes drain
them well. Fill them with the force-meat. Place in a
small saucepan, and cover with boiling soup stock, con-
somme", if you have it. Simmer for twenty minutes.
They may be served cold, as a relish, or hot or cold, as a
garnish.
Olives Stuffed with Anchovy.
Make the rule for anchovy force-meat, and proceed as
for olives stuffed with chicken.
Canapes.
Canapes are served at dinners,
luncheons, suppers, and garden par-
ties. They may be served with
olives, making a most delicate ap-
petizer. They are usually made of
some kind of preserved fish and
thin strips of fried bread. They
should be prepared, arranged, and
served in the daintiest manner.
Anchovy Canapds.
For twelve canapes use one bottle of anchovies pre-
served in oil, one table-spoonful of cold butter, four
table-spoonfuls of clarified butter, twelve strips of stale
bread cut three inches long, one and a half wide, and
about one-fourth of an inch thick, one table-spoonful of
lemon juice, one-third of a teaspoonful of cayenne, and
two hard-boiled eggs.
ENTRIES. 397
Free the anchovies of bones. Put four of them into
the mortar with one table-spoonful of butter, the lemon
juice, and the cayenne, and pound until a smooth paste
is formed.
Fry the bread in the clarified butter until it is of a
golden brown color, and when it is cool, spread it with
the anchovy paste.
Cut the remainder of the anchovies into small fillets.
Put two fillets on each canape, having them near the
edge of the strip of bread. Chop the whites and yolks
of the hard-boiled eggs separately and very fine. Fill
the space between the fillets with little mounds of egg,
alternating with whites and yolks. Arrange the canapes
in the centre of a flat dish, and garnish with a circle of
olives.
Smoked Salmon Canapes.
Make an anchovy paste the same as for anchovy
canapes. Fry and cool the bread, and spread with the
paste. Put a thin shaving of smoked salmon on each
canape.
Sardine Canapes.
These are made the same as anchovy canapes, save
that a table-spoonful of lemon juice is poured over the
fillets before they are placed on the fried bread.
Caviare Canapes.
For ten canapes there will be required ten strips of
fried bread, ten heaping teaspoonf uls of Kussian caviare,
two table-spoonfuls of lemon juice, and half a salt-spoon-
ful of cayenne.
Put the caviare in a soup-plate, and break it up with a
fork. Now add the pepper and lemon juice, mixing all
well. Put in a cold place until serving-time.
Fry the strips of bread in clarified butter, and drain
and cool them. Spread the caviare on these at serving-
time.
398 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
These canapes may be served at the beginning of a
dinner or after the soup or fish. They are also served
at gentlemen's suppers. In this case, frequently, the
caviare, lemon, cayenne, and fried bread are placed
before the host, who breaks up the caviare and adds the
seasoning to . it, then spreading a little on each strip of
bread. This is done only at small suppers and when
the host understands how to do the work quickly and
gracefully.
* Scotch Woodcock.
To provide a quantity sufficient for six persons there
will be required five hard-boiled eggs, one table-spoonful
of anchovy paste, a grain of cayenne, half a teaspoon-
ful of salt, two table-spoonfuls of butter, one table
spoonful of flour, one cupful of milk, and six smaL
slices of bread.
Chop the eggs rather fine. Put the milk on to boil.
Beat the flour and butter to a cream, in a small sauce-
pan ; and when the milk begins to boil, pour it over the
mixture of flour and butter. Put the saucepan on the
stove, and stir the contents until they begin to boil ; then
add the other ingredients, and simmer for three minutes.
During the cooking toast the bread, and lay it on a hot
dish. Pour the hot mixture upon it, and serve without
delay.
* Anchovy Toast.
First open a jar of anchovy paste. Cut each of half a
dozen slices of light, stale bread into three parts. Put
half a cupful of butter into a pan of hot water, and let
it stand and melt until sediment falls to the bottom of
the cup ; then pour the clear butter into a small frying-
pan, and let it heat slowly to the boiling-point. Put the
pieces of bread into this butter, and brown them slightly
on both sides. Spread the paste on the toast, and serve
immediately.
CHEESE DISHES. 399
CHEESE DISHES.
* Cheese au Gratin.
FOR this dish there should be used as many little
dishes in which eggs are baked as there are persons to
be provided for. If it be inconvenient to use egg-dishes,
take any small fancy dishes. The materials required
for six persons are: four eggs, one cupful of grated
cheese, half a teaspoonful of salt, a grain of cayenne,
two level table-spoonfuls of butter, six tea-spoonfuls
of fine bread crumbs, and half a cupful of milk.
First butter the little dishes. Beat the whites of the
eggs to a stiff froth, and add the yolks and seasoning to
them. When these ingredients are well mixed, add the
cheese and then the milk. Pour the mixture into the
little dishes, and sprinkle bread crumbs lightly upon
the contents of each dish. Bake for eight minutes in a
moderate oven.
These are suitable for a course in a dinner, or for a
dish at luncheon or supper.
Small Cheese Souffles.
This is the list of ingredients needed : three eggs, one
cupful of soft mild cheese, grated, half a teaspoonful
of salt, one-tenth of a teaspoonful of cayenne, two level
table-spoonfuls of butter, one heaping table-spoonful of
flour, and half a cupful of milk.
Put the butter on the stove in a small frying-pan, and
when it gets melted, add the flour. Stir the mixture
400 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
until it is smooth and frothy, but do not let it get
browned. Gradually add the milk, and boil for one
minute; then add the seasoning and cheese and the
yolks of the eggs, beaten well. Pour into a bowl, and
set away to cool. When cold, add the whites of the
eggs, beaten to a stiff froth, and turn the mixture into
six buttered paper cases, small coverless boxes made
of stiff paper. Place in a shallow pan, and bake in a
moderate oven for about twelve minutes.
* Cheese Fondue.
When carefully made, this is a most satisfactory dish
for a cheese course in a dinner. It is also good for
luncheon or supper. The ingredients are : a quarter of a
pound of cheese, six eggs, three table-spoonfuls of butter,
a level teaspoonful of salt, one-eighth of a teaspoonful
of white pepper, and four slices of fried or toasted
oread.
After grating the cheese, beat the eggs till they are
light, and add to them the butter, cheese, and seasoning.
Turn the mixture into a bright saucepan, and, setting
this into another containing boiling water, stir until the
cheese is melted and the mixture is smooth and creamy.
Cut the bread into eight parts, and lay it upon a hot
dish. Pour the fondue over it, and serve immediately.
* Swiss Ramequin.
For six persons use eight small slices of stale bread,
an egg, a cupful of milk, half a pound of mild soft
cheese, half a teaspoonful of salt, a grain of cayenne,
and two generous table-spoonfuls of butter.
Beat the egg well, and add three-fourths of the milk
to it. Dip the bread in this mixture, and let it stand on
a plate long enough to absorb all the milk and egg.
Butter a gratin dish or a platter with one table-spoonful
of the butter, and lay the bread upon it. Set the dish
CHEESE DISHES. 401
where it will keep cool until the time for placing it in
the oven.
Cut the cheese into bits, and put it in a small sauce-
pan with the salt, pepper, and remainder of the milk
and butter. Set this pan into another containing boiling
water, and place the large pan on the stove. Stir the
contents of the small basin occasionally until all are
melted.
Meanwhile put the dish of soaked bread into the oven.
As soon as the cheese becomes melted, take the bread
from the oven, and spread the hot mixture upon it.
Return to the oven, and cook for five minutes longer.
Serve the ramequin the moment it conies from the oven.
It is suitable for a luncheon or supper dish, as well as
for a course in a dinner.
* Toasted Cheese.
Use half a dozen slices of bread, half a pound of
American soft cheese, half a teaspoonful of salt, one-
fourth of a cupful of milk, three table-spoonfuls of
butter, and one-tenth of a teaspoonf ul of cayenne.
Cut the cheese in thin slices, -and put it into a sauce-
pan with the salt, pepper, milk, and one table-spoonful
of the butter. Place this saucepan in another contain-
ing boiling water, and cook its contents for about six
minutes, stirring frequently.
While this mixture is cooking, toast the bread and
butter it. Spread the hot mixture upon the toast, and
place on a hot dish. Heat a small shovel until it is
red, and hold it over the dish, to brown the cheese
slightly. Serve immediately.
If one have a salamander, that of course should be
used instead of a shovel ; or if there be a gas stove in
the house, place the dish under the broiler, and brown
the cheese in that way.
Toasted cheese is a suitable dish for dinner, luncheon,
or supper.
402 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
* Roasted Cheese.
This is excellent for the cheese course in a dinner, and
is also a good dish for either luncheon or supper. It is
made of half a dozen slices of bread, a quarter of a pound
of cheese, two table-spoonfuls of butter, the yolks of
two eggs, one teaspoonful of dry mustard, one-fifth of a
teaspoonful of cayenne, and half a teaspoonful of salt.
Break the cheese into bits. Put it into a niortar with
the other ingredients (except the bread), and pound all to
a smooth paste. Toast the bread, and after spreading
it with this mixture, lay it in a pan and put into a hot
oven for four minutes. Serve at once.
Cheese Puffs.
These are made of two table-spoonfuls of butter, four
of flour, four of grated cheese, one cupful of water, half
a teaspoonful of salt, one-fifth of a teaspoonful of cay-
enne, and two eggs.
Put the butter and water on the stove in a saucepan.
Mix the flour, cheese, salt, and pepper, and stir the mix-
ture into the boiling liquid in the saucepan. Cook for
three minutes, beating all the while ; then remove from
the fire, and set away to cool. When the mixture be-
comes cold, add the eggs, unbeaten, and only one at a
time. Beat the batter very thoroughly for about a
quarter of an hour.
Butter a baking-pan lightly, and drop the mixture
into it, using a heaping teaspoonful for each puff. Leave
considerable space between them, as they will increase
to about three times their original size. Bake in a mod-
erate oven for about twenty minutes. Serve hot.
These puffs are especially nice for the cheese course
in a dinner. Frequently a plain white sauce or a brown
sauce is served with them.
CHEESE DISHES. 403
Cheese Straws.
Use three heaping table-spoonfuls of sifted flour, three
of Parmesan cheese, one of butter, half a saltspoonful
of salt, the same quantity of white pepper, one-fourth of
a saltspoonful of cayenne, a slight grating of nutmeg,
the yolk of an egg, and one table-spoonful of milk.
Mix the dry ingredients, and add the milk, the yolk,
and the butter, softened. Mix well with a spoon ; and
when the mass is smooth, divide it into two parts, and
roll these very thin. Cut into narrow strips about three
inches long, and bake in a very slow oven for fifteen
minutes.
These are designed for serving, hot or cold, as a cheese
course, or with lettuce in the salad course. They may
be served in bunches of six or eight, each bunch being
tied with a narrow ribbon, or may be* piled on a plate in
log-cabin style.
* Golden Buck.
This is one kind of rare-bit ; and though not so popu-
lar as the familiar Welsh rare-bit, it makes a pleasing
change for those who are fond of such dishes.
Beat one egg in a small saucepan. Add to it^ five
ounces of soft domestic cheese, broken in small bits, one
level table-spoonful of butter, one-third of a teaspoonful
of salt, a grain of cayenne, a level teaspoonful of mus-
tard, and five table-spoonfuls of milk. Toast five slices
of bread, and keep them warm. Put the saucepan con-
taining the cheese mixture into another of boiling water,
and stir until the cheese is almost creamy. Set the sauce-
pan where it will keep warm, yet where its contents will
not cook any more.
Poach, 1 or "drop," ten eggs in boiling salted water.
Spread the cheese mixture on the toast, and arrange on a
warm dish. Put two poached eggs on each slice of toast.
Serve at once.
1 See page 408 for an explanation of poaching.
404 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
* Yorkshire Rare-bit.
Make the cheese preparation the same as for golden
buck. Spread it on four or five slices of toast. Lay a
slice of broiled bacon on top of each slice of toast, and
serve very hot.
Beer or ale may be substituted for the milk. In that
case use half a cupful. The cheese preparation makes
a good Welsh rare-bit.
* Cottage Cheese.
Put four quarts of sweet milk into a pan, and let it
stand in a warm place long enough to become sour. Care
must be exercised to prevent it from becoming too sour.
Just as soon as it gets thick it will be ready for use. In
summer this may be at the end of twenty-four hours ;
in winter, at the end of two or three days. Place the
pan of sour milk over a kettle of boiling water, and heat
;t almost to the boiling-point. When the pan has been
over the water about six minutes, take a large spoon and
turn the milk over by spoonfuls, getting the hot part on
top. When the whey has become so hot that it cannot
be touched with a finger, turn the entire mass into a
colander, and let it drain off. When it is free of whey,
add a teaspoonful of salt and a table-spoonful of butter,
and press the mixture into a dish of handsome shape, or
mould it into balls about the size of hens' eggs.
It improves the cheese to put in four or five table-
spoonfuls of cream with the drained curd, at the time
tl\e butter and salt are added.
* Deviled Biscuit.
Mix a table-spoonful of Parmesan cheese, one of dry
mustard, one of olive oil, half a teaspoonful of salt, one-
fifth of a teaspoonful of cayenne, and two table-spoon-
fuls of milk, Spread the mixture lightly upon half a
CHEESE DISHES. 405
dozen soda-biscuit, and toast over a hot fire. Serve
immediately.
If objection be made to the use of oil, substitute a
table-spoonful of melted butter. Only a delicate flavor
is given to the biscuit by the ingredients named ; and if
a strong taste be desired, double the quantity of mate
rials for the mixture.
Cheese Fingers.
There will be required for these fingers some trim-
mings of puff paste, one cupful of grated stale cheese,
one-fourth of a teaspoonful of cayenne, half a teaspoon-
ful of salt, and one egg.
Beat the egg well. Eoll the paste very thin, and cut
it into strips about four inches long and less than half
an inch wide. Mix the salt and pepper with the cheese.
Strew the strips of paste with this mixture. Double
the paste lengthwise. Pinch the edges, and bake in a
quick oven for twelve minutes. Wash over with the
beaten egg, and sprinkle with cheese. Return to the
oven for about two minutes just long enough to melt
the cheese.
These are served hot as a cheese course in a dinner ;
or they may be served with the salad.
406 MISS PAKLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
DISHES OF EGGS.
THROUGHOUT the spring and summer eggs form a
large part of the fare at breakfast and luncheon ; and
unless they be served in a variety of ways, one may get
tired of them. The most healthful modes of preparing
them are, of course, those by which they are not sub-
jected to a temperature higher than that at which water
boils. If they be covered with cold water, and this be
heated to the boiling-point without being allowed to boil,
the eggs will be tender and digestible, the white yield-
ing to pressure like thick cream if taken between the
fingers. The result will be the same when the eggs are
covered with boiling water and set where the water will
keep hot for ten minutes without boiling.
Another good mode of cooking is to use an egg-boiler.
Put the eggs into it, and after filling the remaining space
with boiling water, let them stand for three minutes;
then pour off the first water, and fill again with boiling
water, and in seven minutes the eggs will be cooked as
nicely as by either of the first two methods.
The white of an egg is pure albumen ; and as all albu-
men is hardened by a temperature above the boiling-
point, we get by the common mode of boiling an egg
three or four minutes a substance which is in part very
indigestible.
Dropped, poached, and baked eggs all are good, and so
are omelets. Baked eggs are sometimes called shirred
eggs, or eggs sur le plat. Dishes are made expressly for
cooking eggs in this way, ranging from little ones that
will contain only one egg to those in which a dozen can
be cooked.
DISHES OF EGGS. 407
A great variety of flavors can be given to baked eggs.
After heating the dish, put into it half a teaspoon ful of
butter for each egg that is to be
cooked. Carefully break the eggs
into the dish, and place in a rather
cool oven until the white becomes
" set." Serve in the same dish. Two
drops of onion juice and a quarter Egg-baker
of a teaspoonful of chopped parsley
will change the flavor of the egg. Or, half a teaspoonful
of chopped boiled ham may be sprinkled in the dish
before the eggs are put in. Again, it gives a nice change
to grate a little cheese into the dish before doing the
cooking.
* Boiled Eggs.
One ought never to boil eggs. When they are boiled
for three minutes they are called " soft boiled," but the
fact is that they are not actually soft boiled. A part of
the white has been made hard and indigestible, and the
rest of the white and the whole yolk have hardly been
made hot. An egg properly cooked is not boiled ; it is
simply coddled.
This is the way to cook eggs : Put six into a vessel
that will hold two quarts. Fill this vessel with boiling
water, and, after covering closely, let it stand in a warm
place for ten minutes, the hearth is a good place. By
this mode the eggs will be cooked equally well in every
part, and the white will be soft and digestible. If one
desires them better done, let them stand in the hot water
ten, or even twenty, minutes longer ; but do not place
them on the range. Serve folded in a napkin.
* Poached Eggs.
For six persons use ten eggs, two table-spoonfuls of
butter, two level teaspoonfuls of salt, half a cupful of
milk, and one-eighth of a teaspoonful of pepper.
408 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Beat the eggs well, and add to them the salt, pep-
per, and milk. Put the butter in a bright saucepan, and
place on the stove. When it becomes melted, pour
the egg mixture into the saucepan, and set the pan in
another containing boiling water. Stir the egg mixture
until a thick, creamy mass is formed ; then take from
the fire immediately, and serve in a warm dish without
delay.
Poached eggs can be enjoyed in perfection only when
the whole mass is smooth and creamy. It is necessary
that there should be a constant stirring during the
cooking, and that the egg mixture should be turned
out of the saucepan the instant it is done. About
eight minutes will be needed for cooking a dish for six
persons,
* Dropped or Poached Eggs.
In New England eggs cooked in the manner described
below are called dropped ; outside of New England they
are called poached. The eggs must be fresh and cold.
Put a quart of water, one teaspoonful of salt, and one of
vinegar in a -fry ing-pan. Place in the pan as many
muffin rings as there are eggs to be cooked, and set the
pan where the water will bubble at one side of the pan.
Break the eggs carefully, and drop them into the rings.
Should the yolk of an egg break or seem soft, do not use
the egg. Cook until the white is set ; then gently pour off
the water. Remove the rings, and lift the eggs with an
egg-slice or a cake-turner. Place them on slices of
buttered toast, and serve at once.
It is an easy matter to drop eggs if one have a patent
poacher.
Egg Timbales.
For six persons use half a dozen eggs, three gills of
milk, one teaspoonful of salt, one-eighth of a teaspoonful
DISHES OF EGGS. 409
of pepper, one teaspoonful of chopped parsley, and one-
fourth of a teaspoonful of onion juice.
Break the eggs into a bowl, and beat them well with a
fork; then add the seasoning, and beat for a minute
longer. Now add the milk, and stir well. Butter eight
timbale moulds of medium size, and pour the mixture
into them. Put the moulds in a deep pan, and pour in
enough hot water to come almost to the top of the
moulds. Place in a moderate oven, and cook until firm
in the centre, say for about twenty minutes ; then turn
out on a warm dish, and pour a cream or tomato sauce
around them.
This is a nice dish for breakfast, luncheon, or tea.
* Griddled Eggs.
Heat the griddle almost as much as for griddle-cakes.
Butter it lightly, and place upon it as many eggs as you
desire to cook. When they become slightly browned,
turn them with a cake-turner. They will get sufficiently
cooked in about a minute and a half.
This is a delicate way of frying eggs. If the griddle
be a very smooth one, the buttering may be omitted.
Lyonnaise Eggs.
If half a dozen eggs are to be cooked, use also two
table-spoonfuls of butter, one of flour, one of chopped
onion, three gills of milk, half a teaspoonful of salt, one-
eighth of a teaspoonful of pepper, and half a cupful of
grated bread crumbs.
Cook the butter and onion slowly for ten minutes ;
then add the flour, and cook until the mixture becomes
smooth and frothy, stirring all the while. Gradually
add the milk, and cook for three minutes, stirring during
the first minute. Add the salt and pepper. Pour the
sauce into a deep plate that has been heated for the pur-
410 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
pose. Carefully break the eggs into this plate, and cover
them with the bread crumbs. Place in a moderately hot
oven, and cook for four minutes. Serve the eggs in the
dish in which they are cooked.
If a strong flavor of onion be disagreeable, the sauce
may be strained when it is poured upon the heated plate ;
the bits of onion being thus kept back.
Escaloped Eggs.
Put half a dozen eggs into a saucepan of boiling water,
and keep the pan for half an hour where it will be hot,
yet not where the water will boil. At the end of the
prescribed time lay the eggs in cold water for five min-
utes, and then remove their shells. Cut the whites into
thin slices, and rub the yolks through a coarse sieve.
Mix both parts lightly, and after putting the mixture
into an escalop dish, pour over it a sauce made as
follows :
Put two table-spoonfuls of butter into a frying-pan,
and when it has been melted, add a heaping table-spoon-
ful of flour. Stir until the mixture is smooth and frothy ;
then gradually add a pint of cold milk. Boil up once,
and season with salt and pepper.
After pouring this sauce over the eggs, spread a large
cupful of grated bread crumbs on top of the dish, and
cook for fifteen minutes in a hot oven.
If care be taken to prevent the eggs from boiling at
any time during the thirty minutes the dish will be
delicate and digestible.
* Curried Eggs.
Beside half a dozen hard-boiled eggs, take a cupful of
stock, half a cupful of cream or milk, one teaspoon ful of
chopped onion, three table -spoonfuls of butter, one table-
spoonful of flour, one teaspoonful of curry-powder, and
salt and pepper to suit the taste.
DISHES OF EGGS. 411
After cooking the onion and butter in a small frying-
pan for three minutes, put in the flour and curry-powder.
Stir the liquid until it becomes smooth ; then add the
stock and milk and some seasoning, and cook for ten
minutes. Quarter the eggs, and place them in a deep
saucepan. Strain the sauce over them ; and after sim-
mering for three minutes, serve very hot with toast.
The teaspoonful of curry-powder gives a delicate flavor.
More may be used if one choose.
Cook six eggs for twenty minutes, as directed for boil-
ing. While the eggs are boiling, prepare the sauce.
Rub the bottom of a small frying-pan with a slice of
onion. Put one gill of stock into the pan, and place it
on the fire. Mix one teaspoonful of corn-starch and one-
fourth of a teaspoonful of curry-powder with one gill of
milk. Stir this into the boiling stock. Add one-third
of a teaspoonful of salt and a little pepper. Simmer for
5ve minutes ; then add a teaspoonful of butter.
When the eggs are cooked, drop them into cold water
for a minute. Remove the shells, and cut the eggs in
quarters. Arrange them in a warm dish, and pour the
sauce over them.
This curry is more delicate than the first.
* Baked Eggs.
For six people use eight eggs, one cupful of milk, one
generous table-spoonful of butter, one teaspoonful of
flour, half a teaspoonful of salt, one-fourth of a teaspoon-
ful of pepper, and one teaspoonful of chopped parsley.
Put the butter on the stove in a small frying-pan, and
when it becomes melted, put in the flour. Stir the mix-
ture until it is smooth and frothy ; then draw the pan
back, and gradually add the cold milk. Next add the
seasoning ; and after letting the sauce boil up once, pour
it into one of those deep plates which are made expressly
412 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
for baking eggs ; or if you do not possess one, use a
deep earthen pie-plate.
Break the eggs carefully, and drop them into the sauce.
Sprinkle the chopped parsley over the eggs and sauce.
Place the dish in a moderate oven, and cook until the
whites become set, perhaps for five minutes. Serve
the eggs immediately in the dish in which they are
cooked.
If the parsley be not liked, it may be omitted ; and if
cheese be liked, a table-spoonful of Parmesan cheese,
instead of the parsley, may be sprinkled over the eggs.
After buttering the bottom of an egg-dish or a soup-
plate, break the eggs into the plate, being careful not
to break the yolks. After sprinkling them lightly with
salt and pepper, put bits of butter over them, and cover
with milk or cream, using one-fourth of a teaspoonfui
of butter and one table-spoonful of milk or cream for
each egg. Put the dish into a moderate oven, and cook
until the whites of the eggs begin to set, say about
six minutes. Serve at once, in the dish in which the
baking is done.
* Swiss Eggs.
To make this dish, one must take half a dozen eggs, a
quarter of a pound of cheese, one-third of a cupful of
cream, two table-spoonfuls of butter, a teaspoonfui of
mustard, half a teaspoonfui of salt, and one-tenth of a
teaspoonfui of cayenne.
Cut the cheese into thin shavings. Butter an egg-dish
or a gratin-dish (if you have neither, use a small stone-
china platter), and spread the cheese in it. Upon the
cheese distribute in small portions the remainder of the
butter. Mix the salt, cayenne, mustard, and cream, and
pour half of the mixture over the cheese. Break the eggs
DISHES OF EGGS. 413
into the dish, and after pouring over them the remaining
liquid, place in an oven, and cook for eight minutes.
* Spanish Eggs.
For this dish there will be required six eggs, one large
raw tomato, one generous table-spoonful of butter, one
level teaspoonful of salt, one-fourth of a teaspoon ful of
pepper, and a slice of onion.
Eub a slice of onion over the inside of a frying-pan.
Pare the tomato, and cut it into bits ; then put it into
the frying-pan, with the butter, and cook for five min-
utes, stirring occasionally. Beat the eggs well, and at
the end of the five minutes put them into the pan, with
the salt and pepper. Stir constantly until the eggs
begin to thicken, like scrambled eggs; then pour the
mixture into a warm dish,- and serve at once.
Spanish eggs are a good dish for breakfast, tea, or
luncheon.
* Cuban Eggs.
For six persons use eight eggs, one teaspoonful of
minced onion, four table-spoonfuls of sausage meat, half
a teaspoonful of salt, and one-eighth of a teaspoonful of
pepper.
Cook the sausage meat and onion together over a hot
fire for five minutes. Beat the eggs well, and add to
them the salt and pepper. Draw the pan back to a
cooler part of the range, and add the beaten eggs. Stir
until the eggs become thick and creamy ; then pour into
a warm dish, and serve immediately.
Buttered toast should go with the dish. It may be
arranged on a flat dish, and the eggs be poured over it.
Eggs in Force-meat.
Take for six persons four eggs, a cupful of grated bread
crumbs, a eupful of any kind of fine-chopped cold meat,
414 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
three gills of soup stock, two table-spoonfuls of butter,
one heaping teaspoonful of flour, one teaspoonful of salt,
one-third of a teaspoonful of pepper, a slice of onion,
half a teaspoonful of lemon juice, a clove, a bay leaf, a
sprig of parsley, and a slight grating of nutmeg.
Boil the eggs hard ; then remove the shells, and cut
the eggs in two. Eub the yolks through a sieve or coarse
strainer. Rub the flour and butter together ; and after
adding the stock and seasoning, cook gently for twelve
minutes. Mix the bread crumbs and chopped meat ; and
when the sauce has cooked for twelve minutes, strain it
upon this mixture. Fill the whites of the eggs with this
mixture, and spread the remainder on a gratin-dish or
a small platter. Stand the filled eggs in this bed of
force-meat, and decorate both them and the bed with
little mounds of the sifted yolks. Put the dish into a
moderate oven for eight minutes ; then remove it, and
pour half a pint of tomato sauce upon the dish, or
serve the sauce in a separate dish. Bechamel sauce
or a simple brown sauce may be used, if preferred to
tomato.
This is a nice dish for luncheon.
* Eggs au Gratin.
The materials needed to provide a dish for six persons
are : half a dozen eggs, as many small slices of bread,
a pint of cream sauce, a cupful of bread crumbs, a table-
spoonful of butter, and some salt and pepper.
Put the eggs into a deep saucepan, and cover them
with boiling water. Cover the pan, and set it on the
stove where the water will keep warm for twenty minutes
without any likelihood of its boiling.
Make a sauce the same as for eggs farce. Toast the
bread to a delicate brown. Put the butter on the stove
in a small frying-pan, and when it gets hot, put in the
crumbs. Stir over a hot fire until they get brown and
crisp ; then remove the pan.
DISHES OF EGGS. 415
Transfer the eggs from hot to cold water at the end
of the twenty minutes, and in a moment remove the
shells. Put the slices of toast on a gratin-dish or on a
stone-china platter, and place a whole egg on each slice
of toast. Pour the sauce over the eggs, and sprinkle
with the fried crumbs. Set in a moderate oven for six
minutes, and serve without change of dish, adding a
delicate garnish of parsley.
* Egg Nests on Toast.
For six nests use half a dozen eggs, half a teaspoon-
ful of salt, one table-spoonful and a half of butter,
and six small slices of toast. Separate the two parts
of the eggs, putting the whites into a bowl and keep-
ing the yolks whole by letting them remain in the half-
shells until the time comes for using them. Put the
salt with the whites, and beat until a stiff froth is
formed. Toast the bread ; and after dipping the edges
in hot water, spread the slices with butter, and place
them on a tin sheet or pan. Heap the whites of the
eggs on the toast. Make a depression in the centre of
each mound, and after putting one-fourth of a teaspoon-
ful of butter in each depression, drop the whole yolks
into the hollows. Place the nests in a moderate oven,
and cook for three minutes. Serve immediately on a
warm dish.
If ham be liked, a spoonful of it, chopped fine, may
be spread on each slice of toast before the white of an
egg is placed on it.
Eggs Farc6.
Use for six persons half a dozen eggs, one table-spoon-
ful of flour, three of butter, one pint of milk, three drops
of onion juice, and some salt and pepper.
Boil the eggs for twenty minutes, and then drop them
into cold water. Remove the shells, and after cutting an
416 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
even slice from each end of the egg, cut the eggs in two.
Take out the yolks, and mash them until light and
smooth ; then add one-fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper,
half a teaspoonful of salt, one table-spoonful of butter,
four of milk, and the onion juice. When these in-
gredients have been well mixed, heap the mixture in
the shape of domes in the halves of the whites. Set
the whites in a tin plate or pan, and put them into the
oven for six minutes.
During this cooking make a sauce. Put the remain-
ing table-spoonful of butter into' a small frying-pan, and
when it gets hot, add the flour. Stir until smooth and
frothy, being careful not to brown ; then gradually add
the milk. Season with salt and pepper, and boil up
once.
When the eggs have been cooked sufficiently, arrange
shem on a warm dish, pour the sauce around them, and
garnish with parsley.
Bechamel, tomato, or curry sauce may be used in place
of the cream sauce recommended.
* Eggs in Cases.
If provision is to be made for six persons, use half a
dozen eggs, a table-spoonful of butter, one-third of a tea-
spoonful of chopped parsley, three table-spoonfuls of
fine dry bread crumbs, one teaspoonful of salt, and one-
fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper. You will also need
half a dozen paper cases. In large cities these may be
bought, in a variety of shapes, of first-class confectioners ;
but it is not a difficult matter to make them if they can-
not easily be obtained. They should be formed of stiff
white paper, and have a length of about three inches,
a width of two inches, and a depth of an inch and a
half.
Butter the cases, using a little extra butter for the
purpose. Put two-thirds of the table-spoonful of butter
DISHES OF EGGS. 417
into a small frying-pan, and when it gets hot, stir in the
crumbs. Stir over a hot fire until the crumbs get brown
and crisp, being careful not to let them become scorched ;
then take from the fire, and add to them the salt and
pepper and the chopped parsley. Deposit this mixture
in equal parts in the six paper cases. Break an egg. into
each case, and put the remaining butter, broken into bits,
upon the eggs. Set the cases in a tin pan, and bake for
five minutes in a moderate oven. Serve on a fringed
napkin.
Small china souffle* dishes may be used for these eggs.
OMELETS.
In no form in which eggs are cooked are they more
acceptable than in an omelet. Nothing can be simpler
than the preparation of an omelet when all the condi-
tions are right, yet few succeed in cooking this simple
dish to perfection. There must be a very hot fire ; and a
smooth, light pan, with a long handle, also is required.
The eggs should be beaten only enough to break them
well ; there should never be much froth. If the eggs be
beaten light, the omelet will be dry and tasteless. A
perfect omelet usually is soft and creamy. There are a
few exceptions to this rule : rum, jelly, or fruit omelets
should be made rather light.
One of the first things the beginner should learn is
how to shake the pan. Here is a good way to learn.
Spread a newspaper on the kitchen table. Put ; couple
of spoonfuls of granulated sugar in the omelet pai. and
place the pan on the paper. Now take hold of the pan,
putting the hand under the handle, and shake vigorously.
The motion must be quick and nervous, and such that
the sugar in the pan will be thrown up from the bottom
of the pan. It is the same motion that one uses in
popping corn, being almost wholly from the wrist. A
little practice is all that is needed to acquire it ; and one
27
418 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
cannot make a perfect omelet without this motion. Per-
sist until the sugar is thrown from the bottom of the
pan with every shake.
Having mastered the motion, the next thing to do is
to see that the pan is all right. It must be perfectly
Rolling an Omelet.
smooth. If not so, scour it with Sapolio, wash in hot
water, and rub it smooth and dry with a soft towel.
Put the butter in the pan, and place on the fire where it
will heat gradually. When quite warm, place on the
hottest part of the stove. Pour the egg mixture into
the pan, and shake until the whole mass is about as
thick as soft custard. The egg mixture should be thrown
DISHES OF EGGS.
419
from the bottom of the pan with every shake. Let the
pan rest for about five seconds ; then place the left
hand under the handle, and tip the pan forward. With a
knife, roll the omelet in the same direction. Let it rest
on the fire for about
fifteen seconds.
Take a warm dish
in the left hand.
Put the right hand
under the handle of
the omelet pan, and
place the edge of the
pan nearly in the
centre of the dish.
Turn out the omelet
in the centre of the
dish, and serve at
once. It may take
many trials before
the beginner makes
a success of an ome-
let, but the success
will come. A small
pan, and two eggs at
a time, will do for
practice.
Many failures come from having too much egg in the
pan. When this is the case, one part becomes hard
before the other
is warmed. The
egg mixture
should be not
more than half
an inch deep in
The Omelet when Finished. . , ., . ,
the pan ; it is bet-
ter to have it even less. All the work must be done
very rapidly. It should be not more than two minutes
How to Turn out an Omelet.
420 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
from the time the eggs are poured into the hot pan
until the omelet is on its way to the table.
It would be better to have any guests wait for two
minutes for a perfect omelet than to have the omelet
done a minute before it is served, and better to send
several small omelets to the table than to make only
one, and have that large.
Make yourself familiar with a receipt at the start, so
that there will be no delay at any stage of the work or
in the serving.
* Plain Omelet.
Beat four eggs until well broken, but not until very
light. Add to them half a teaspoonful of salt and two
table-spoonfuls of milk or water. Put one table-spoonful
of butter in the omelet pan, ancl place the pan where it
will heat slowly. When it becomes hot, draw it forward
where the heat is intense. Pour in the egg mixture, and
shake vigorously until the egg begins to thicken. Let
the pan rest on the stove for about five seconds ; then
roll up the omelet. When rolled, brown it. It will take
about fifteen seconds for this. Turn out, and serve at
once.
* Baked Omelet.
For six persons use half a dozen eggs, half a cupful of
milk, one table-spoonful of flour, one teaspoonful of
baking-powder, one large teaspoonful of salt, and one
generous table-spoonful of butter.
Mix the milk and flour. Beat the whites of the eggs
to a stiff froth. Add the salt and the yolks of the eggs to
them, and beat for half a minute longer. Now put the
butter in a hot frying-pan. Add the milk and flour and
baking-powder to the eggs, and stir quickly. Turn the
mixture into the buttered pan, and put the pan in a rather
hot oven for ten minutes. At the end of that time fold
DISHES OF EGGS. 421
the omelet and turn it out on a warm dish. Serve with-
out a moment's delay.
Beat the whites of six eggs to a stiff froth. Beat the
yolks well, and add a teaspoonful of salt and a quarter
of a cupful of milk. Stir well, and then add the beaten
whites. Put a table-spoonful of butter into a hot frying-
pan, and as soon as it has become melted, pour the mix-
ture into the pan. Place in a moderate oven, and bake
for six minutes; then remove, and after folding, turn
out on a hot dish. Serve immediately.
A variation is to spread over the omelet, just before
folding, a pint of chicken warmed in a pint of cream
sauce, or any kind of meat or fish, cut fine and heated
in sauce. Or, heat a pint of oysters to the boiling-point
in their own liquor. Skim carefully, and then stir in
with them a large table-spoonful of butter mixed with a
level table-spoonful of flour. Season with salt and pep-
per, and after boiling up once, spread over the omelet.
Green-Pea Omelet.
If provision is to be made for six persons, use four
eggs, two table-spoonfuls of butter, four of cream or
three of milk, two of water, one teaspoonful of salt, one-
fifth of a teaspoonful of pepper, half a teaspoonful of
sugar, one teaspoonful of flour, and half a pint of green
or canned peas.
Kinse and drain the peas. Put a table-spoonful of
butter into a small stew-pan, and when it becomes melted,
add the flour. Stir the mixture until it is smooth and
frothy ; then add the peas, sugar, pepper, and half the
salt. Stir for two minutes, and after adding the cream
or milk, set the pan where its contents will simmer for
six minutes.
422 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Meanwhile heat an omelet pan, and wipe it perfectly
clean and dry, rubbing the inside with a dry towel until
it is very smooth. Set this pan on the back part of the
range where it will keep rather hot while the eggs are
being beaten.
Break the eggs into a bowl, and beat them well, though
not to a dry froth. Add the water and the remainder of
the salt. Put the butter into the omelet pan, and set
the pan on the hottest part of the range. When all the
butter has become melted and is just about to turn in
color, put the eggs into the pan. Shake vigorously until
the mixture begins to look thick and creamy. Let the
pan remain still for two seconds, as nearly as it can be
estimated, and then spread the peas over the egg. Tip
the pan forward from the handle, and roll the omelet in
the same direction. Turn out on a warm dish, and serve
immediately.
Asparagus may be used in an omelet the same as peas.
Only the green heads should be taken, and they should
be boiled, drained, and seasoned.
Fish Omelet.
This is a very savory dish. The materials used are :
six large smelts, four eggs, four table-spoonfuls of milk,
two table-spoonfuls and a half of butter, one table-spoon-
ful of chopped chives, half a teaspoonful of chopped
parsley, a generous teaspoonful of salt, and a little pep-
per. If it be inconvenient to use chives, substitute half
a teaspoonful of chopped onion ; and if smelts cannot be
had, take any other delicate kind of fish containing roe,
flounders, or any pan fish. There should be about a
quarter of a pound of clear fish.
Free the flesh of the smelts of skin and bones, and cut
it, together with the roe, into fine pieces. Put a table-
spoonful and a half of the butter into a frying-pan or
stew-pan, and when it has become melted, add the fish,
DISHES OF EGGS. 423
chives, parsley, three-fourths of the salt, and all the
pepper. Cook slowly for five minutes, and then add two
table-spoonfuls of the milk. Let the mixture boil up
once, and set it back where it will keep warm until
needed.
Beat the four eggs till rather light, and add the re-
mainder of the milk and salt. Put the remaining butter
into a large omelet-pan or frying-pan ; and as soon as it
becomes very hot, a moment's heating should suffice,
pour in the egg mixture. Shake vigorously over the fire
until the mixture begins to thicken ; then spread the fish
upon it. Roll up the omelet, and, turning out on a hot
dish, serve immediately.
From the time of putting the eggs into the pan until
the omelet is finished, the work must be done very
rapidly.
Mushroom Omelet.
To those persons who like omelets of any sort, and are
fond of the peculiar flavor of mushrooms, this dish should
give much satisfaction. It is made of four eggs, two
table-spoonfuls of butter, four table-spoonfuls of chopped
mushrooms, a generous half-table-spoonful of flour, two-
thirds of a cupful of stock, a little water, and enough
pepper and salt for seasoning to suit the taste of the
maker.
Put a table-spoonful of the butter on the stove in a
frying-pan, and when it gets hot, add the flour. Stir
until smooth and brown. Gradually add the stock ; and
after boiling up once, add the mushrooms. Season with
salt and pepper, and simmer for five minutes.
Beat the eggs till rather light, and add to them half a
teaspoonful of salt and one table-spoonful of water. Put
a table-spoonful of butter into a warm omelet-pan, and
set in a hot place. As soon as the butter becomes very
hot, put in the beaten eggs, and shake vigorously until
they begin to thicken. Spread the mushrooms and about
424 MISS PAKLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
half of the sauce upon the mixture, and then fold the
omelet, and turn out on a hot dish. Pour the remainder
of the sauce around it, and serve immediately.
Not more than a minute and a half should be consumed
in work from the time of pouring the eggs into the pan
until the omelet is finished.
Tomato Omelet.
Put a pint of canned or stewed tomato into an open
stew-pan, and let it simmer for half an hour. Season
with salt and pepper, and a table-spoonful of butter.
Beat six eggs well, and add to them a level teaspoonful
of salt and three table-spoonfuls of water. Put a gener-
ous table-spoonful of butter into a large omelet-pan or
frying-pan, and when it becomes white and frothy, pour
the eggs into it. Shake over a very hot fire until the
eggs begin to thicken and look creamy ; then pour in
the hot tomato, spreading it over the middle of the
omelet. Eoll up quickly, and after browning for an in-
stant, turn out on a warm dish and serve immediately.
First make the egg preparation, as for the green-pea
omelet, but do not cook it. Next put a cupful of canned
tomatoes into a stew-pan, and cook for ten minutes. Put
a table-spoonful of butter on the stove in a small frying-
pan, and when it gets hot, add half a table-spoonful of
flour. Stir the mixture until smooth and frothy ; then
add it to the tomatoes, and also add half a teaspoonful
of salt, half a teaspoonful of sugar, and one-fifth of a
teaspoonful of pepper. Cook for five minutes longer.
Now cook the eggs until thick and creamy. Spread the
tomato over the cooked egg ; then roll up, and serve at
once. These omelets are nice for breakfast or luncheon.
Oysters, cheese, chicken, ham, and, indeed, nearly all
kinds of meat and fish, may be used in the same way a^
DISHES OF EGGS.
425
tomato. When meat or fish is used it should first be
heated in a little sauce. Cheese is simply grated and
sprinkled over the omelet just before the rolling.
Jelly Omelet.
Use half a dozen eggs, a table-spoonful of butter, a
table-spoonful of powdered sugar, a teaspoonful of salt,
three table-spoonfuls of water, and half a tumbler of
any kind of jelly, currant is best.
Break up the jelly, so that it can be spread easily.
Beat the whites of the eggs until very light ; then add
the unbeaten yolks, the sugar and salt. After blending
these ingredients, add the water. Heat a large frying-
pan, and after melting the butter in it, pour in the egg
mixture. Bake in a hot oven for six minutes; then
spread with the jelly, roll up, and turn out upon a warm
dish. Serve immediately.
426 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
SALADS.
SALADS are made with any kind of fish and meat, com-
bined with various green vegetables; or they may be
made of a single vegetable with a sauce. Several vege-
tables may be combined, and dressed with a simple sauce
or a Mayonnaise sauce; or cooked vegetables may be
served, alone or in combination, using a simple dressing
or a Mayonnaise. The important things to remember
in salad-making are that the materials should be of the
best quality, the green vegetables crisp and fresh, the
meat or fish well seasoned and cold, the oil pure and
sweet, and that in most cases the dressing should be added
at the last moment.
There are many kinds of salad-dressing. The Mayon-
naise is the cream of all yet invented. Even people who
dislike oil, as a rule, find this by far the most delicate
dressing made. Some cooks think that a Mayonnaise
is ruined if there be mustard and sugar in it. Others
condemn the use of cream. These are matters of taste,
and individuals have a perfect right to exercise their
own judgment in the matter. One cupful of whipped
cream added to one pint of Mayonnaise will so tone the
flavor of the oil that people who cannot eat a salad when
made with the ordinary Mayonnaise will enjoy it when
this slight addition is made. Again, some persons use
no acid but lemon juice, whereas others would not have
a drop of lemon juice mixed with a Mayonnaise. It
seems as if at least one-half of the salad-eating people
in America do not like the taste of oil. If they choose
to tone it down with cream there is no law against it.
SALADS. 427
A rule for cream-dressing is given on page 428 for the
benefit of those who will not use oil.
The simple French dressing which is used with so many
vegetable salads is, like the Mayonnaise, subject to modi-
fications to suit various tastes. The proportions may
be six table-spoonfuls of oil to one of vinegar ; or the
quantity of vinegar may be twice that of oil. A good
rule is to take six table-spoonfuls of oil, two of vinegar,
half a teaspoonful of salt, and a saltspoonful of pepper.
Mix the oil, salt, and pepper together; then add the
vinegar.
Mayonnaise Dressing.
For one pint of dressing use three gills of oil, the
yolks of two uncooked eggs, one teaspoonful of mustard,
half a teaspoonful of salt, two table-spoonfuls of lemon
juice, two of vinegar, one-tenth of a teaspoonful of cay-
enne, and four table-spoonfuls of thick sweet cream.
In order to succeed in making a Mayonnaise dressing,
it is necessary to have all the materials cold. Let the
oil stand in the refrigerator for an hour or more before
using it. Set a small smooth-bottomed bowl in a shallow
dish, and put a few pieces of ice and a pint of cold water
in this dish. Put the dry ingredients and the yolks of
the eggs in the bowl, and beat them with the Dover-
beater until the mixture is light and thick. TSTow begin
to add the oil, a few drops at a time. Each time the oil
is added, beat until it is thoroughly blended with the
other ingredients. As soon as the mixture becomes
thick and ropy the oil may be added more freely. Begin-
ning at this stage, the vinegar may be added, half a tea-
spoonful at a time. When the dressing gets so thick
that the beater will hardly turn, the oil may be added
in larger quantities, about a table-spoonful at a time.
As soon as all the vinegar has been added, begin to
add the lemon juice in the same manner. When the
dressing is light and smooth, whip the cream with a
428 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
fork, and stir it into the dressing. Where the taste of
oil is liked the cream may be omitted ; the cream tones
down the flavor of oil. On the other hand, when oil is
not liked, less of it may be used, thick whipped cream
being substituted. For most tastes, however, the dress-
ing as it is given will be found satisfactory.
* Cream Salad Dressing.
Use one pint of rich cream, the yolks of three hard-
boiled eggs, one teaspoonful of sugar, one of salt, one-
eighth of a teaspoonful of cayenne, one teaspoonful of
mustard, and two table-spoonfuls of vinegar. Rub the
yolks of the eggs to a smooth paste. Gradually add to
them the salt, sugar, vinegar, and mustard. Have the
cream very cold, and whip it until smooth and light.
Use the Dover-beater or a whisk. Stir this, a spoonful
at a time, into the egg mixture. Use this dressing the
same as Mayonnaise.
* Cooked Salad Dressing.
This is made of four eggs, eight table-spoonfuls of
weak vinegar, four of oil, one teaspoonful of salt, one-
fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper, and two table-spoon-
fuls of mixed mustard.
Put the oil and vinegar into a small saucepan, and set
this pan into another containing boiling water. Beat
the eggs well, and pour the hot oil and vinegar upon
them, stirring all the while. Turn the mixture into the
stew-pan, and set the pan in the boiling water once more.
Stir the dressing until it begins to thicken, say for
about five minutes ; then take it from the fire, and add
the salt, pepper, and mustard. If the dressing should
not be smooth, rub it through a strainer ; but if it has
been stirred constantly, there will be no occasion for
straining.
This dressing will keep for weeks. Butter may be
substituted for oil, but it is not BO good.
SALADS. 429
Chicken Salad.
Free cold cooked chicken of skin, fat, and bones, and
cut it in cubes. Put one quart of the meat in a bowl
with a marinade made by mixing three table-spoonfuls
of vinegar, one of oil, one generous teaspoonful of salt,
and half a teaspoonful of pepper. Stir well, and place
in the refrigerator for one hour or longer.
Cut in thin slices enough of the white, tender part of
celery to make a generous pint. Wash this in cold
water, and put it in the refrigerator with pieces of ice
on top. At serving-time remove the ice, and drain all
the water from the celery. Mix the celery with the
chicken, and add half a pint of Mayonnaise dressing.
Arrange the salad in a bowl or on a flat dish. Mask it
with half a pint of Mayonnaise, and garnish with some
of the blanched celery leaves.
Sweetbread Salad.
For six persons use a pair of large sweetbreads, half a
pint of celery, sliced thin, six heart leaves of lettuce,
half a pint of Mayonnaise, one table-spoonful of vinegar,
half a table-spoonful of oil, a saltspoonful of salt, and
one-third of a saltspoonful of pepper.
Clean the sweetbreads, and boil them in water for
twenty minutes ; then cool them, and cut them into
cubes. Add the vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper. Place
the dish in the refrigerator for an hour. Prepare the
lettuce and celery, and put them in the refrigerator to
chill.
At serving-time mix the celery and sweetbreads, and
add half the dressing. Arrange the six lettuce leaves in
a flat dish. Divide the sweetbread mixture into six
parts, and place it on the lettuce leaves. Drop the re-
mainder of the dressing in teaspoonfuls on the sweet-
breads. Serve at once.
430 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Lobster Salad.
Cut into cubes enough boiled lobster to make a
quart. Put it into a bowl, and mix with it a marinade
made by mixing three table-spoonfuls of vinegar, one
of oil, one teaspoonful of salt, and half a teaspoonful of
pepper. Put the bowl in the refrigerator for an hour
or more.
Wash the heart leaves of four heads of lettuce. Place
them in a dish, and sprinkle with cracked ice.
At serving-time stir half a pint of Mayonnaise into
the dish of lobster. Shake the ice and water from the
lettuce. Place two leaves together in the form of a shell,
and arrange them on a flat dish. Put a table-spoonful
of lobster in each shell, and a teaspoonful of dressing on
top of the lobster.
Oyster Salad.
For a two-pound can or a solid quart of oysters use
dressing made as follows : Beat well four eggs. Add to
them a gill each of cream and vinegar, one teaspoonful of
mustard, one of celery seed, one of salt, one-fifth of a
teaspoonful of cayenne, and two table-spoonfuls of but-
ter. Place in the double-boiler, and cook until as thick
as soft custard. It will take about five or six minutes.
The dressing must be stirred from the time it is put
on the fire until it is taken off; and when that time
comes, add two table-spoonfuls of powdered and sifted
crackers.
Heat the oysters to the boiling-point, in their own
liquor. Drain them, and add the dressing. Stir lightly,
and set away in a cold place for an hour or more.
The cracker and celery seed may be omitted, and at
serving-time a pint of celery, sliced thin, may be
added.
SALADS. 431
Shrimp Salad.
For this salad there will be required a can of shrimps,
the heart leaves of four small heads of lettuce, and a
generous half-pint of Mayonnaise dressing.
Remove the shrimps from the can to a large bowl full
of ice-water, and after rinsing them, drain off all the
water. Place the shrimps in another bowl, and after
sprinkling upon them a marinade made of a table-spoon-
ful of oil, two of vinegar, half a teaspoonf ul of salt, and
a quarter of a teaspoonful of pepper, let them stand in
the ice-chest for two hours.
Arrange the leaves of lettuce in the form of shells on
a flat dish. Mix half the dressing with the shrimp, and
put a spoonful of the mixture into each shell. Drop
into each shell, also, a teaspoonful of the remaining
dressing ; and then serve the salad without delay.
The lettuce must, of course, be perfectly clean and
crisp. If you cannot get the head lettuce, take the
larger leaves of cabbage lettuce, and arrange them
around the border of the dish. Cut up the crisp white
leaves, and spread them lightly in the centre of the dish.
On this bed arrange the dressed shrimps, and drop white
heart leaves and teaspoonfuls of dressing here and there.
If you prefer, you may break the shrimps into two or
three pieces as the first step in making the salad.
* VEGETABLE SALADS.
A salad can be made of almost any kind of cooked
vegetables, but certain combinations are desirable. Peas,
string and shell beans, asparagus, cauliflower, and young
carrots all combine well, and potatoes, carrots, turnips,
beets, parsnips, and cauliflower make another combina-
tion. Any two of the cooked vegetables may be used
together. When a variety is used the dish is called
Salade Macedoine,"
432 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
If possible, when combining vegetables, have those
which are of delicate flavor form the body of the salad,
using only a small proportion of those with strong
flavor. Remember that beets are sweet, and use them
sparingly.
A vegetable salad may be made a thing of beauty
or an indistinct mixture and uninviting dish. Each
vegetable should be boiled and cut up separately, and all
should be seasoned with salt and pepper. Use any kind
of salad dressing ; the French dressing, however, is
especially fit. Sprinkle the prepared vegetables in thin
layers in a salad bowl, and sprinkle each layer with the
dressing; continuing the work until all the materials
have been used. Let the dish stand an hour or more in
the ice-chest.
For each quart of the vegetables use three large table-
spoonfuls of oil, one table-spoonful of vinegar, half a
teaspoonful of salt, one-quarter of a teaspoonful of pep-
per, and a teaspoonful of onion juice. Mix this dressing
thoroughly before using. The amount which can be
made with the ingredients mentioned above flavors the
salad delicately; and if the dish be desired moist and
highly seasoned, the quantity of dressing should be
doubled.
* French Vegetable Salad.
This dish is made of nearly all kinds of cooked vege-
tables, string and Lima beans, peas, turnips, carrots, and
cauliflower being the most desirable. All .or only a part
of -those which have been mentioned may be used. The
string beans should be cut into short pieces, and the
carrots and turnips into cubes, while the cauliflower
should be broken into little flowerets. The vegetables
must be mixed lightly, and be placed in a refrigerator,
to get thoroughly chilled. They should be cold when
used for the salad. A quart will be enough for six
persons,
SALADS. 433
To make the dressing, rub a slice of onion on the
sides and bottom of a pint bowl j then put into the bowl
a level teaspoonf ul of salt and one-third of a teaspoonful
of pepper, and gradually beat in six table-spoonfuls of
salad oil arid two of vinegar. Mix this dressing thor-
oughly with the vegetables, and serve.
* Mac6doine Salad.
This is easily made, only a can of mixed vegetables,
six table-spoonfuls of olive oil, two of vinegar, a tea-
spoonful of salt, and one-fourth of a teaspoonful of pep-
per being used. Turn the vegetables from the can into
a strainer, and after pouring cold water over them, put^
them into a salad bowl. Mix the oil, vinegar, salt, and
pepper, and add to the vegetables, mixing all very
thoroughly. Or, instead of the can of vegetables, use
a gill each of carrot, turnip, Lima beans, green peas, and
cauliflower. All except the peas should be cut into
small, pretty shapes.
* Potato Salad.
In no other salad is there such an opportunity for
variety of combinations. The salad, though, of course,
to be served cold, is always better for being made of
hot potatoes. New potatoes and when these are not
in season, German potatoes are best. A ripe, mealy
potato breaks into crumbs, and spoils the appearance of
the dish. Of course, it is not always convenient to
obtain either new or German potatoes. In that case
boil the potatoes a little less time than for most other
purposes, say twenty-five minutes, instead of thirty.
Cold potatoes may be used. Here are a few combina-
tions, and the housekeeper may enlarge upon them to
any extent she pleases.
Cut one quart of boiled potatoes into small cubes.
Add to them one teaspoonful of chopped parsley, and
434 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
a dressing made with three table-spoonfuls of vinegar,
six of oil, three of hot water or stock, one level table-
spoonful of salt, one-third of a teaspoonful of pepper,
and one teaspoonful of onion juice. Mix this lightly
with the potatoes, and set away in a cold place for an
hour or more.
Sprinkle a teaspoonful of salt and a teaspoonful of
onion juice over a quart of potato cubes, and add half
a pint of cream dressing. Let the dish stand for an
hour or more in a cold place. At serving-time arrange
crisp leaves of lettuce on a flat dish. Put two table-
spoonfuls of the salad in each leaf, and put a teaspoonful
>f fine-chopped cooked beet on top of the potato.
Make a dressing, the same as for oyster salad, omit-
ting the crackers, however. Mix with one quart of
potato cubes one table-spoonful of capers, two of chopped
cucumber pickles, and one teaspoonful of salt. Now add
the dressing, and a teaspoonful of onion juice. Let the
salad stand until perfectly cold.
Olives, smoked herring, fine-chopped cooked ham, or
smoked salmon, may be combined with potatoes in a
salad. Indeed, anything in the way of fish, meat, or
vegetable may be used. Care must be taken that such
additions do not predominate.
* Lettuce Salad.
Wash leaf by leaf the tender white leaves of two
heads of lettuce, and put them into an ice-chest for an
hour or two. A short time before the salad is to be
served, cut an onion in halves, and rub the inside of a
cup with it ; then put a quarter of a teaspoonful of salt,
one-eighth of a teaspoonful of pepper, and four table-
SALADS. 435
spoonfuls of olive oil into the cup, and after stirring
well, gradually add a table-spoonful and a half of vinegar.
Lay the lettuce in a salad dish, and pour the dressing
upon it.
This dressing answers for any salad of green or cooked
vegetables. The onion flavor may be omitted if one
prefer.
* Onion-and-Lettuce Salad.
Two heads of lettuce and a small Spanish onion must
be taken, as well as six table-spoonfuls of olive oil, three
of vinegar, half a teaspoonful of salt, and one-eighth of
a teaspoonful of pepper.
After mixing the salt and pepper with the oil, add the
vinegar, and stir very thoroughly. Strip off and put
aside the green leaves of lettuce ; and after washing the
heart leaves in cold water, drop them into a pan of ice-
water, to make them crisp. Peel the onion (it is well
to peel it under water), and with a sharp knife cut it
into shavings. Shake the lettuce in a colander until
it is free of water. Put the lettuce and onion into a
salad bowl in alternate layers, sprinkling a little of the
dressing upon each layer. Serve the salad as soon as
possible after it is made ; or, to put it in another way,
do not make it so early that it will stand a long time
before being eaten.
The green leaves of lettuce, which were put away at
the outset, may be boiled and hashed like spinach, and
served as a cooked vegetable.
Aguacate Salad.
The aguacate, or alligator pear, is found in foreign-
fruit stores. It is obtained from a West Indies tree;
is shaped somewhat like a pear, has a very thin rind,
and an extremely large seed-stone. A good-sized agua-
cate weighs about two pounds, and costs from fifteen to
436 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
twenty cents. In New York there is a fruit store on
Fulton Street, near Fulton Market, where this fruit can
almost always be had.
For a salad, use one good-sized aguacate, the tender
whit^ leaves from two heads of lettuce, a Spanish onion,
and half a pint of Mayonnaise dressing. Cut the onion
into very thin slices. Pare the aguacate, and cut it into
thin rings. Wash the lettuce, keeping it as crisp as
possible. After putting two of the leaves together,
place a slice of onion upon them ; over the onion lay two
rings of the aguacate ; and in the centre of these rings
put a heaping teaspoonful of Mayonnaise dressing. Dis-
pose of all the material in this manner, and after placing
on a flat dish, serve at once.
The onion may be omitted if its flavor be disagreeable.
* Spinach Salad.
To a pint of cold boiled spinach that has been minced,
add a dressing made of six table-spoonfuls of oil, two of
vinegar, one level teaspoonful of salt, and one-fourth
of a teaspoonful of pepper. Arrange the spinach neatly
on a dish, and garnish with two hard-boiled eggs. The
whites and yolks of the eggs should be chopped sepa-
rately with a plated knife (a steel blade would discolor
the eggs) and be heaped in little mounds on the salad.
When it is planned to have spinach for dinner, the
vegetable may be washed, boiled, and chopped early in
the day, and it will then be ready to warm with the
butter and other ingredients at serving-time. This plan
will enable the making of a salad on the same day ; or
a pint of the minced vegetable may be put aside for
the next day, having the salad on a day when another
dish of spinach is not to be served hot.
Spinach salad sometimes is served with roast beef,
mutton^ or game.
SALADS. 437
* Salsify in Salads.
Cold boiled salsify makes a pleasant salad when mixed
with a French dressing or any other simple dressing.
It is also nice when combined in a salad with other
cooked vegetables like potatoes, carrots, beans, and
cauliflower.
* Peppers in Salad*
After draining some boiled peppers and cutting them
into strips, place them in a small bowl, and add to each
pint of the peppers a mixture made of the following-
named ingredients : three table-spoonfuls of salad oil,
one of vinegar, one-third of a teaspoonful of salt, one-
fifth of a teaspoonful of pepper, and a few drops of onion
juice.
This salad may be served with crackers as a course in
a dinner, or be served with hot or cold meats.
* Cabbage Salad.
Chop rather fine a cabbage of medium size, and let it
stand for two hours in cold water enough to cover, sea-
soned with two table-spoonfuls of salt. Beat four eggs
well, and add to them one pint of vinegar, half a cupful
of butter, a scant table-spoonf al of pepper, and a heaping
table-spoonful of mustard. Place the bowl containing
the mixture in a basin of boiling water, and stir until the
mixture begins to thicken, say for about eight minutes ;
then remove from the fire and add a table-spoonful of
sugar. After draining all the water from the cabbage,
pour this hot dressing over it ; and as soon as the dish
is cold, it is ready to be served. It will keep a week,
and is especially nice with cold meats at luncheon or
dinner.
438 MISS PAKLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
* Beet Salad.
Cut cold boiled beets into cubes, and moisten them
with any kind of salad dressing. This is a handsome
and very palatable dish.
* Orange Salad.
For twelve persons pare eight rather acid oranges, and
slice them very thin, cutting down the sides instead of
across. Sprinkle half a cupful of sugar, two table-spoon-
fuls of sherry, and one table-spoonful of maraschino over
the fruit, and then put it into the refrigerator for an
hour.
This is nice to serve just before game, as it prepares
the palate for new dishes. The wine and maraschino
may be omitted, and the juice of a lemon used instead.
* Egg Salad.
After boiling half a dozen eggs for twenty minutes,
plunge them into cold water, and let them lie there for
three minutes ; then take off the shells, and cut the eggs
in halves. Remove the yolks, and mash them until light
and fine. Add to them two table-spoonfuls of butter,
one of vinegar, half a teaspoonful of salt, and a quarter
of a teaspoonful of pepper, and heap the mixture in the
halved whites. Serve on a flat dish with a garnish of
lettuce or parsley.
The yolks may be moistened with any kind of salad
dressing, in which case the seasoning described above
should be omitted.
* Marguerite Salad.
Cut the whites of eight hard-boiled eggs into rings,
and mix the yolks with half a pint of Mayonnaise dress-
ing. Arrange sixteen small crisp leaves of lettuce on a
flat dish in a tasteful way, having two leaves lie together
SALADS. 439
in such a mauner as to be round or almost round. Lay
the rings of white upon these leaves, to simulate the
petals of a daisy, and heap the yolks in the centre.
If one possess a little originality, there is hardly a
limit to the variety of salads that can be made during
the summer.
* Cheese Salad.
Use for this salad three hard-boiled eggs, a cupful and
a half of cheese, grated fine, one teaspoonful of mustard,
one-tenth of a teaspoonful of cayenne, half a teaspoonful
of salt, two table-spoonfuls of salad oil, two of vinegar,
and a cupful of cold chicken, chopped rather coarse.
Rub the yolks of the eggs until a smooth paste is
formed. Gradually add the oil, stirring all the while
with a fork ; then add all the seasoning. Mix the cheese
and chicken lightly with this dressing, and heap the
mixture on a pretty dish. Garnish with the whites of
the eggs, cut in circles, and with a few white celery
leaves or some sprigs of parsley. Serve with water
crackers, cold or toasted.
440 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
GARNISHES.
Fish Garnishes.
ANY kind of fried, boiled, or baked fish may be gar-
nished in the following manner :
Arrange the fish in the centre of a dish; then place
around it a border of sliced tomatoes, and put a tea-
spoonful of Tartar sauce in the centre of each slice of
tomato. Serve at once. The fish must be very hot, and
the tomatoes cold. Serve a slice of tomato to each
person.
Another garnish for the same kinds of fish is small
smooth tomatoes, stuffed and baked. This is particularly
nice with baked fish.
Fried or fresh parsley arranged in little groups, with
a slice of lemon between each group, forms a good
garnish.
Or, a border of the delicate heart leaves of lettuce,
with red radishes sliced thin and dropped into the leaves,
and a teaspoon ful of Mayonnaise put into each group,
makes a garnish that is especially suitable for fried or
broiled fish.
Stuffed olives, arranged on a thin border of barbe de
capucine, make a pleasant garnish for spring.
Groups of crisp sorrel leaves make another nice spring
garnish for fried or broiled fish.
Fried oysters may be placed in the centre of a dish on
a warm napkin, and a border of celery salad placed
around them.
GARNISHES. 441
A shallow dish, oval or round, may be filled with
celery salad placed in the centre of a warm platter,
and surrounded with fried oysters or fried scallops.
When parsley is abundant, a thick border of it may be
arranged on a folded napkin laid in the centre of a
flat dish. Any kind of fried fish may be used with this
garnish. In winter, celery leaves may be substituted for
the parsley. Slices of lemon, laid here and there on the
green, make the dish more effective.
Fried oysters are frequently served on small squares
of fried Boston brown bread. When this is done, gar-
nish with a few sprigs of parsley.
Boiled fish and baked or sauted fillets require a very
different garnish from broiled, fried, or ordinary baked
fish.
A contrasting sauce will alone be a sufficient garnish
for many delicate kinds of fish, for example, a pink
lobster sauce with a clear white fish. Shrimp sauce,
with a dozen of the whole shrimps heated in it, makes
another nice garnish.
For boiled fish, a good garnish may be made of rings
of the whites of hard-boiled eggs, arranged around the
dish, with the unbroken yolks placed in them.
Another way is to chop the whites of the eggs, and
rub the yolks through a coarse strainer. Arrange the
whites in little mounds, cap them with the yolks, and
stick a bit of parsley in the top of each mound. The
effect is very pretty.
Still another way is to pour the sauce over the fish,
then sprinkle the chopped whites of eggs over it, and
finish with the sifted yolks. A few bits of parsley
arranged around the edge of the dish will give a good
effect.
Boiled potato balls, seasoned with butter, salt, and
chopped parsley, make a nice garnish when arranged in
groups around a dish, or when heaped in the centre of a
circle of fillets.
442 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Cold fish may be seasoned and then garnished with
the chopped whites and yolks of hard-boiled eggs and
chopped pickles or capers. Sprinkle the whites over
the fish ; then arrange the yolks and the pickles in very
small mounds. Garnish the base with bits of parsley.
A solid block of cold halibut or salmon may be placed
in the centre of a dish, sprinkled with a marinade, and
then allowed to stand for several hours. At serving-
time it may be coated with Mayonnaise, a circle of
delicate leaves of lettuce placed at the base of the
fish, and sliced olives sprinkled in this. If a little color
be desired, a few pieces of pickled beets may be added.
Cut hard-boiled eggs in two, and take out the yolks.
Cut a slice from the end of each half, so that it will
stand firmly ; fill each- of these little cups with cooked
beets, finely chopped. Garnish a plain boiled fish with
this, having the yolks of the eggs alternate with the
whites and beets.
A slice of cold salmon or. halibut may be sprinkled
with a marinade, and allowed to stand several hours in a
cold place. It should be placed on a large flat dish, and
masked with Mayonnaise. Arrange a circle of the heart
leaves of lettuce around it. Put the yolk of an egg and
the white and chopped beet in alternate leaves.
Fried Bread.
Fried bread is used as a garnish for soups, and with
various entrees. When used for soup, it is cut into
small squares. If for a garnish for meat or fish, it is
cut into rounds and triangles. The bread must be stale
and free of crust. It should be fried in lard or clari-
fied butter. If the bread is to be in rounds, cut it in
slices about one-third of an inch thick; with a round
pattie-cutter stamp out as many rounds as you wish. Or,
if the shape is to be triangular, cut the slices the same
thickness, then cut into squares, and cut the squares in
two diagonally.
GARNISHES. 443
To Fry in Lard. Have the fat so hot that a blue
smoke rises from the centre. Put the bread in a frying-
basket, and lower it into the fat. When the bread is a
golden brown (which it should be in about one minute),
take the basket from the fat, and drain the bread on
brown paper.
To Fry in Butter. Put half a cupful of clarified
butter in a large frying-pan, and heat it slowly until it
begins to smoke. Put in as much bread as will cover
the bottom of the pan. Brown on one side, and then
turn and brown on the other. Drain on paper. Be care-
ful not to scorch the butter.
Fried Boston Brown Bread.
Cut the bread in thin slices, and, putting it into the
fry ing-basket, plunge into boiling fat. After cooking
for one minute, drain on brown paper.
Crisped Bread for Soups or Garnishes.
Cut stale bread in thin slices, and butter one side of
each slice. Cut the slices into whatever shape you fancy.
Put the bread, buttered side up, in a shallow tin pan,
place the pan in a hot oven, and cook until the bread is
a rich brown. It will take about five minutes. Be care-
ful that the bread does not burn. This bread is used
for soups and garnishes the same as fried bread.
Crisped Crackers.
Dip small fancy crackers in cold water. Take them
out and butter them on one side. Spread them in a
shallow pan, the buttered side up, and brown them in a
hot oven. Boston butter crackers may be split and
treated in the same manner.
Crisped crackers are nice to serve with oyster soups
and stews; also with fish and clam chowders.
444 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Toasted Bread for a Garnish.
Stale bread may be cut in thin slices, toasted very
brown, and then cut in any form desired. Use the same
as the fried or crisped bread.
Royal Custard, for Soup.
Beat well with a spoon three eggs and one-third of a
teaspoonful of salt. It must be thoroughly beaten, and
yet it should not be frothy. Add one gill of consomme.
Butter a cup, and pour the custard into it. Put the cup
in a deep pan, and surround it with warm water. Place
in a moderate oven, and cook until the custard is firm in
the centre. It should cook so slowly that it will require
half an hour for cooking. The water should not be
allowed to boil. Let the custard cool in the cup ; then
turn it out, and if any of the surface be rough, trim it off.
Cut the custard into squares or cubes, and add these to
three quarts of consomme*, after the consomme is in the
tureen.
When this custard is added to a consomme, the soup
is called " Consomme a la royale."
Egg Balls.
Put four eggs into a saucepan, cover them with boiling
water, and boil gently for twenty minutes ; then put
them into cold water for a moment, and afterward
remove the shells. Take out the yolks, and pound them
in a bowl to a smooth paste. Add a level teaspoonful of
salt, about one-tenth of a teaspoonful of pepper, and a
well-beaten raw egg. Shape the mixture into balls about
the size of grapes, and roll these in flour. Put a table-
spoonful of butter on the stove in a small frying-pan,
and when it gets hot, put in the egg-balls. Fry them
until they turn a delicate brown. They must be watched
carefully, and turned frequently. They may be prepared
and fried a number of hours before the soup is served.
GARNISHES. 44o
Frequently the yolks of hard-boiled eggs are put into
soups. They are not nearly so nice as egg balls, and it
is worth the while to take a little time and trouble for
the latter.
Chicken Force-meat Balls.
Chop very fine half of the breast of a large tender
chicken, and pound to a smooth paste ; then rub it
through a coarse sieve. There should be a generous
third of a cupful of the meat after it has passed through
the sieve. Put a quarter of a cupful of cream into a
small saucepan with one-eighth of a cupful of stale bread
crumbs and a tiny bit of mace, and cook until the mix-
ture will form a smooth paste when stirred. It will
take about ten minutes. Remove the mace, and add a
table-spoonful of butter, one-eighth of a teaspoonful of
salt, a very little pepper, the meat, and the white of an
egg, beaten to a stiff froth. Mix well, and set away to
cool. When cold, form into balls about the size of Dela-
ware grapes. Have ready a pan containing a quart of
boiling water, slightly salted. Drop in the balls, and
place the pan where the water will keep hot without
boiling. Cook the balls in this way for five minutes.
Turn them into a strainer, and as soon as they are well
drained, add them to the soup.
Profiteroles for Soup.
Use one gill of boiling water, two scant gills of flour,
half a gill of butter, and two eggs. Put the water and
butter in a saucepan, and place on the fire. When the
butter becomes melted and the liquid begins to boil
rapidly, add the flour, all at one time, and beat well with
a strong spoon for two minutes, being careful that the
mixture does not burn. Turn it into a bowl, and set
away to cool. When it is cold, add the eggs, one at a
time, and beat the mixture for a quarter of an hour.
446 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Butter the bottom of a shallow cake-pan very lightly.
Drop the cooled mixture into the pan in balls about the
size of a pea. Bake in a moderately hot oven for ten
minutes ; then take them from the pan, and put away
until the time for serving in the soup. They should not
be put into the tureen until after the soup has been
poured in.
If a delicate flavor of cheese be liked, one-fourth of a
teaspoonful of grated Parmesan cheese may be added to
the butter and water when they are put on to boil.
Effective Combinations of Vegetables.
With a fillet of beef any of the following-named prepa-
rations of vegetables may be used as a garnish : Potatoes
a la parisienne, peas, stuffed onions, stuffed tomatoes,
vegetables a la jardiniere, macedoine of vegetables, mush-
rooms, stuffed, stewed, or broiled, fried sweet potatoes,
and Brussels sprouts.
Beef, veal, and lambs' tongues all may be served with
a mound of mashed potatoes, or with a pure*e of spinach,
turnip, carrot, cabbage, tomato, or cauliflower, or with
artichokes, turnips, stewed carrots, vegetables k la jar-
diniere, mace*doine of vegetables, boiled rice, Turkish rice,
or macaroni.
Chops and cutlets of veal, lamb, or mutton may be
arranged around a mound of mashed potatoes, a timbale
of potatoes, a mound of thin fried or French fried pota-
toes, a mound of peas, beans, asparagus, Brussels sprouts,
spinach, salsify, or okra ; or they may be disposed on a
border of mashed potatoes, and another vegetable, like
peas, beans, tomatoes, or cauliflower, may be heaped in
the centre; or, again, there may be a combination of
vegetables, as k la jardiniere, or the mace'doine ; or a
sauce may be poured in the centre.
Carrots and peas, singly or together, afford most effec-
tive combinations in garnishes, because of their beautiful
GARNISHES. 447
colors. Cutlets of game require the same kinds of vege-
tables that would be served with cutlets of mutton, lamb,
or veal. The vegetables suitable with cutlets or chops
may be served with almost any kind of entree made
of cold meat. When the made dishes are in the form
of croquettes, timbales, cutlets, or quenelles, the vege-
tables should be served as a puree, or in a simpler sauce,
or with only a seasoning of salt and butter. Heap
the vegetable in the centre of the dish, and arrange the
entree around it ; or a mace'doine, or vegetables a la jar-
diniere, may be placed in the centre, and the entree be
disposed on the border.
Purges of Vegetables.
When a puree of vegetables is designed for a garnish,
it must be made so dry that it will not spread over the
dish when poured upon it ; yet it must be moist enough
to be served almost as a sauce.
In making a puree, one must pare the vegetable used,
if it have any skin, and boil or stew it until tender;
then mash it tine, and rub it through a pure*e sieve;
season it, and moisten with stock, or milk, cream, or per-
haps some of the water in which it was boiled ; and at
serving-time make it very hot, and serve it on a warm
dish in the form and size desired. The hoi; entree should
be placed upon the puree, and the dish be served at once.
A puree of potatoes does not, however, need to be pressed
through a sieve. It is spoiled by standing, and should
therefore be served as soon as made.
Here are receipts for a few purees :
Pure"e of Cauliflower.
Use a head of cauliflower weighing about two pounds
and a half, a cupful of milk or cream, three table-spoon-
fuls of butter, one table-spoonful of flour, half a tea-
spoonful of chopped onion, one teaspoonful of sugar,
448 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
two s of salt, and one-third of a teaspoonful of white
pepper.
Beinove and discard the green leaves of the cauliflower,
and wash the remaining part in cold water ; then place
it, head down, in sufficient cold water to cover it, and
add two table-spoonfuls of salt. Soak it for two hours,
and at the end of that time put it into a large stew-pan,
and add three quarts of boiling water. Cover, and sim-
mer for thirty minutes; then turn into a colander, and
drain thoroughly, and afterward turn into a wooden bowl
or tray, and pound to a pulp. Finally rub through a
pure'e sieve.
Put the butter and chopped onion into a large frying-
pan, and cook slowly for five minutes. Add the cauli-
flower, salt, pepper, sugar, and flour, and cook for five
minutes, stirring all the while; then add the stock or
cream, and cook for three minutes longer, stirring all the
while. At the end of that time spread the pure'e on
the dish, add the entrde, and serve.
Other Pur6es.
Spinach is prepared in almost the same manner as
cauliflower. There is this difference : use only water
enough to cover it when it is boiled; or if the bitter
flavor of the vegetable be liked, use only a cupful of
water to a peck of spinach. Turnips and carrots will
require forty minutes' boiling ; asparagus, fifteen, only
the green heads being cooked; peas, from twenty to
forty minutes, the time depending upon their age and
freshness; beans can be boiled sufficiently in an hour
and a quarter if fresh, or in two hours, if they be rather
old.
When tomatoes are used for a pure'e, most of the
liquor must be drained from them before they are put
on to cook ; and to each quart of the pulp there should
be added two table-spoonfuls of powdered cracker crumbs,
GARNISHES. 449
two level table-spoonfuls of flour, two large table-spoon-
fuls of butter, one table-spoonful of sugar, a quarter of a
teaspoonful of pepper, and one teaspoonful of salt. Cook
the tomatoes for half an hour ; then add the other ingre-
dients, having the flour and butter mixed together, ami
cook twenty minutes longer. Finally rub the puree
through a sieve.
Pur6e of Chestnuts.
To garnish a dish that will serve for twelve persons,
use fifty Spanish chestnuts, one table-spoonful of butter,
one teaspoonful of salt, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of
pepper, half a pint of white stock, one gill of cream.
Shell, blanch, and boil the chestnuts in water sufficient
to cover them, for half an hour. Drain off the water,
and put the nuts in the mortar. Pound them to a powder,
and add the butter, the seasoning, and the stock, a little
at a time. Continue pounding for ten minutes longer ;
then rub through a puree sieve. Put the strained mix-
ture in a stew-pan, and cook slowly for one hour, stirring
frequently. Then beat in the cream, and cook for five
minutes longer. This pure'e is served with cutlets of
turkey and game.
Pure"e a la Bretonne.
Make a Breton sauce. Pour it in the centre of a
warm platter, and in the centre of this sauce heap a
pint and a half of boiled Lima beans, seasoned with salt
and butter. Arrange cutlets or chops of mutton or pork
around this, and serve very hot. Or the garnish may
be arranged in a vegetable dish, and served with a roast
of mutton.
Rice Border.
Wash a cupful of rice in three waters. Put it in a
stew-pan with three cupfuls of white stock. Cook for
half an hour. At the end of that time add one level
450 MISS PAKLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
table-spoonful of salt and two table-spoonfuls of butter,
and set back where the mixture will cook slowly for
twenty minutes. Beat the yolks of four eggs with three
table-spoonfuls of cream or milk ; stir these into the
rice. Butter a border-mould thoroughly ; pack the rice
into it. Let it stand for eight or ten minutes in a warm
(not hot) place, and turn it out on a warm platter.
The centre may be filled with any preparation of meat
warmed in a sauce. This makes a very elegant and
savory dish.
Potato Border.
Pare, boil, and mash nine good-sized potatoes ; add to
them two table-spoonfuls of butter, a generous half-cup-
ful of boiling milk, one generous table-spoonful of salt,
and the yolks of two eggs, well beaten; and beat the
mixture until very light. Butter a border mould thor-
oughly. Pack the potato in it, and let it stand on the
kitchen table for about eight minutes. Beat the whites
of the eggs to a froth j add a quarter of a teaspoonf ul of
salt to them, and turn the potato border on a warm
platter. Cover the potato with the beaten white of the
egg, and put the dish into a moderate oven to brown
the egg. Take from the oven, and fill the centre with
meat or fish heated in a sauce.
FORCE-MEAT.
THis is used so extensively in the making of entries
that a good cook should understand its preparation
perfectly. When the principles are once mastered there
need be no fear of failure in the preparation of the most
delicate dish which in a great measure depends for its
success upon the quality of the force-meat.
The finest kinds of force-meat consist of raw meat or
fish, a panada, either butter, beef suet, or calf s udder,
eggs, and seasoning.
GARNISHES. 451
To prepare the meat or fish, free it of fat, skin,
bone, and sinews ; then chop it fine, and pound it to a
paste. Put it in a wire pur^e sieve, and with a wooden
vegetable-masher rub it through the sieve. This is the
hardest part of the work in making force-meat.
Panada is made by cooking together, until a smooth
paste is formed, bread and cream or stock in the pro-
portions of half as much bread as there is cream or
stock. If beef suet be used it must be freed of tough
fibrous parts, then chopped fine, and pounded with the
meat and bread. It is then rubbed through the pur^e
sieve. This is not so delicate as butter or calf's udder,
and is not so often used. When a force-meat is made in
this manner it is called " godiveau." It is cheaper than
the force-meat made with butter or udder.
Calf's udder is a fat-looking substance attached to the
inner part of the leg of veal. To prepare it tie it in a
piece of netting, and boil it in the stock-pot for one hour.
If there be no stock cooking, boil it in slightly salted
water. When cold, chop it; then pound, and rub it
through a puree sieve. When the udder is used in place
of butter, great care must be taken to have it blend with
the other ingredients. This is best done by pounding
all the ingredients together in the mortar.
In all the rules for force-meats given in this book,
butter and cream have been used ; but the same quantity
of udder may be substituted for the butter, and soup
stock may always be used instead of cream in the
panada.
It should be borne in mind that all the meat except
liver (which is boiled) and all the fish must be raw.
Sometimes the bread may be a little firmer than at
others ; or it may be cooked too long in the cream, and
thus become tough and rather dry, in which case the
force-meat will not be so delicate. Again, the force-meat
may from various causes be too delicate to keep its form.
It is always best to try the mixture after it is finished.
452 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
To do this, roll a small piece into the shape of a ball ;
drop it into a small saucepan of boiling water, move the
saucepan back where the water will not boil, and cook
the force-meat ball for ten minutes. This is called
poaching. Take up and cut open. If it cuts smooth
and firm all through, and yet is very tender, it is all
right ; but if it should be tough, add two table-spoonfuls
of cream to each half -pint of force-meat; or if you
should use a little Bechamel sauce, it would be better
than the cream.
If, on the other hand, the force-meat ball is too soft,
and shrinks when cut, add one well- beaten egg to every
pint of the force-meat. This will give it more body.
No matter in what form the force-meat may be cooked,
the greatest care must always be used to cook it very
slowly. The heat must never be above the boiling-point.
If the water with which the article is surrounded be
allowed to boil, the force-meat will be spongy and tough ;
but if cooked at the boiling-point, or a little below it,
the force-meat will be smooth, fine-grained, and delicate.
Force-meats are used for quenelles, boudins, borders
for entries, in the shape of balls for soups, for raised
pies, timbales, etc.
Chicken-Liver Force-meat.
For about a pint and a half of force-meat use six
chicken livers, one pint of cream or rich chicken stock,
half a pint of stale bread crumbs, three eggs, one gen-
erous table-spoonful of salt, one-sixth of a teaspoonful of
pepper, eight table-spoonfuls of butter, and one-eighth
of a teaspoonful of ground mace.
Wash the livers, and put them in a stew-pan with
boiling water enough to cover them. Boil for half an
hour, and then take them from the water and let them
cool. When cold, pound to a smooth paste, and then
rub through a puree sieve. Put the bread and cream
GARNISHES. 453
in a small stew-pan, and cook slowly, stirring often,
until a smooth paste is formed, it will take about ten
minutes for this. Then take from the fire, add the
butter to the paste, let it cool slightly, and add the liver,
the seasoning, and the eggs, well beaten. Mix these
ingredients thoroughly, and cool them. The force-meat
is then ready for any purpose.
Sometimes this force-meat is made by using three gills
of the liver and three gills of chicken meat. This give?
a more delicate dish.
Chicken Force-meat White.
Use the uncooked breasts ol two large fowls, chopped,
pounded, and rubbed through a puree sieve. This will
give a generous half-pint of meat. In addition will be
needed three table-spoonfuls of butter, half a table-
spoonful of salt, half a blade of mace, one-eighth of a
teaspoonful of pepper, half a pint of cream, one gill of
stale bread, free of crust, and the whites of three eggs.
Mix the seasoning with the strained meat. Boil the
bread, mace, and cream together until they are cooked
to a smooth paste, about ten minutes j then take from
the fire, and add the butter, and then add the meat and
seasoning. Beat the whites of the eggs well, and add
them to the mixture. Stir until all the ingredients are
thoroughly blended.
Chicken Force-meat Dark.
Make this the same as the white force-meat, with the
exception of substituting dark meat for white, and the
yolks of the eggs for the whites.
Veal Force-meat.
This is made the same as the chicken force-meat,
save that half a pint of veal, chopped, pounded, and
strained, is used instead of chicken.
454 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Game Force-meat.
Use half a pint of any kind of game instead of the
chicken, and proceed as for chicken force-meat.
Fish Force-meat.
Any kind of delicate fish may be used for force-meat.
It must be free of skin, fat, and bone. Pound, and
rub it through the puree sieve. Use a generous half -pint
of this, and proceed as for chicken force-meat.
Oyster Force-meat.
Use one generous pint of stale bread crumbs, one
dozen large oysters, three table-spoonfuls of butter, one
teaspoonful of salt, one-eighth of a teaspoonful of cay-
enne, one teaspoonful of minced parsley, a slight grating
of nutmeg, one table-spoonful of lemon juice, three table-
spoonfuls of oyster juice, and the yolks of two uncooked
eggs.
Chop the oysters very fine, add the other ingredients,
pound to a smooth paste, and rub through a pure*e sieve.
Taste, to see if the preparation is salt enough ; if not,
add more salt.
This force-meat may be used for timbales, or for stuff-
ing any kind of fish or poultry. It may also be shaped
into balls or quenelles, which may be covered with the
yolks of eggs and bread crumbs, and then fried; or
the balls may be made very small, then rolled in egg
yolks, and browned in a hot oven. When treated in
this manner, they are a nice garnish for soup.
Anchovy Force-meat.
Use one bottle of anchovies, preserved in salt, one
gill of stock, one generous table-spoonful of stale bread
crumbs, two scant table-spoonfuls of butter, one table-
GARNISHES. 455
spoonful of lemon juice, a grain of cayenne, and the
yolks of two uncooked eggs.
Take the fish from the brine, and wash them, and then
soak in cold water for two hours; drain and wipe the
anchovies, and then take out the bones. Boil the bread
and stock together for ten minutes ; cool the mixture j
then put this, with the anchovies and all the other ingre-
dients, except the egg yolks, into the mortar, and pound
to a smooth paste. Add the egg yolks, and pound for
ten minutes longer. Eub through a puree sieve, and the
force-meat will be ready for use.
Anchovy force-meat may be used for timbales, or to
stuff smelts, olives, turbans of fish, etc.
Chicken Quenelles.
Use the breast of one chicken, half of a calf's brains,
half a gill of cream, one generous table-spoonful of stale
bread crumbs, one generous table-spoonful of butter, one
egg, a level teaspoonful of salt, one-tenth of a teaspoonful
of pepper, a slight grating of nutmeg, and half a tea-
spoonful of lemon juice.
Clean the brains, tie them in a piece of cheese cloth,
and boil for half an hour in salted water, or, better still,
in stock. Let- them cool. Chop the raw chicken breast, and
add the brains ; pound, and rub through a puree sieve.
Add the seasoning. Cook the bread and cream together
for three minutes; add the butter, and then add this
mixture and the egg, well beaten, to the meat and
seasoning. Mix these ingredients thoroughly ; set away
to cool. When the force-meat is cold, put a pint and a
half of chicken stock, or any other light stock, on the fire
in a saucepan. Butter the bottom of a small frying-pan.
Put some boiling water into a bowl ; dip two teaspoons
into the water for a moment; fill one spoon with the
force-meat, and slip the force-meat on the other spoon as
illustrated on page 456. Then slip the quenelle from the
456 MISS PAKLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
second spoon into the buttered pan. When all the
quenelles are formed, cover them with the boiling stock ,
place on a part of the stove where the stock will be
Process of Making Quenelles.
sure not to boil ; cover the quenelles with but-
tered paper, and cook for ten minutes. If the
quenelles be made with table-spoons, they must
be poached for twenty minutes. The small
quenelles are used for soups and in ragouts ; when made
with table-spoons, they may be served with a delicate
sauce, as an entree. With the quantity of ingredients
given above, about a dozen and a half small quenelles
may be made.
The force-meat may be shaped into balls the size of
an olive, and be poached in the same manner as when
shaped with a spoon.
Financidre Ragout.
Use two cocks'-combs, four table-spoonfuls of chopped
truffles, a cupful of mushrooms, cut into dice, one pair
of sweetbreads, boiled and cut into dice, half a pint of
small chicken quenelles, one pint of Spanish sauce, half
a gill of Madeira, and one teaspoonful of salt.
Put all the ingredients in a stew-pan, and simmer
for ten minutes. This ragout is used with fillets of
poultry and game, with quenelles, as a filling for a tim-
bale, etc. Whenever it is used with a dish, the dish
GARNISHES. 457
takes its name ; as, for example, sweetbreads a la finan-
ciere. In making this ragout, the simplest way is to
buy the cocks'-combs, mushrooms, and truffles all in one
bottle. A bottle costing f 2.50 will be sufficient for the
ragout, and also for a pint of financiere sauce. This
ragout is so rich that only a very small portion should
be served to a guest ; the amount given will therefore
be enough to serve as a dish intended for a dozen per-
sons. The quenelles may be made with the rule for
chicken force-meat for soup. Shape them in teaspoons,
and poach in boiling stock for five minutes.
Chicken Ragout.
Put into the double-boiler a pint and a half of cooked
chicken, cut into dice, half a pint of mushrooms, cut
into small pieces, the yolks of six hard-boiled eggs,
the whites of the eggs cut in rings, one teaspoonful of
salt, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of white pepper, and
one pint of supreme or white sauce. Place on the fire,
. and cook for 'twenty minutes.
This ragout may be used to fill a vol-au-vent, to pour
into the centre of a rice or force-meat border, or to
serve with fillets of chicken.
Ragout of Game.
Put into a double-boiler a pint and a half of any kind
of tender cooked game, cut into dice, half a pint of
mushrooms, cut into dice, a dozen and a half stoned
olives, a teaspoonful of salt, a grain of cayenne, and one
pint of Spanish sauce. Place on the fire, and heat for
twenty minutes. Add two table-spoonfuls of Madeira
and one of lemon juice.
This ragout may be used as a garnish with game cut-
lets, to fill a border of rice or force-meat, or to fill a vol-
au-vent. Small rounds of red tongue may be added to
the ragout.
458 MISS PAKLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Aspic Jelly.
Use one quart of rich consomme*, one gill of Madeira,
two table-spoonfuls of lemon juice, two table-spoonfuls
of tarragon vinegar, one teaspoonful of salt, and one
package of gelatine.
Soak the gelatine in half a pint of the consomme' for
two hours. At the end of that time put the remainder of
the consomme* on the fire in a saucepan. As soon as it
reaches the boiling-point, add the soaked gelatine and
the other ingredients. Draw back to a cooler part of the
range, and stir for five minutes. Then strain through a
flannel bag or a napkin. The liquid may be cooled in
any form one pleases. The amount of materials given
will make nearly three pints of jelly.
Aspic jelly is used in such dishes as boned birds, foie de
gras, and all kinds of delicate meats and fish. The mode
of making it described is the simplest one. If the
whites of two eggs be moderately well beaten and added
to the hot consomme at the same time that the soaked
gelatine and other ingredients are put with it, the
jelly may be cleared as directed for clearing jellies. If
it be then strained through a flannel bag, the jelly will
be as clear as crystal.
Aspic jelly may be used to garnish cold meats, fish,
or salads.
Pour the jelly into a flat dish to a depth of about an
inch ; when firm, stamp it out with fancy cutters. A
border of these fancy shapes may be arranged around a
salad, a piece of cold fish, or a boned bird.
To make an aspic border, place a border mould in a
pan and surround it with ice. Pour the jelly into the
border to the depth of an inch. When this is congealed,
decorate it with cooked beet and carrot, and the white of
a hard-boiled egg, all cut into fancy shapes with the
vegetable-cutters. Add two table-spoonfuls of liquid
jelly to fasten the decorations in place. When this has
GARNISHES. 459
hardened, pour in about an inch more of the liquid jelly,
and let it stand in a cool place for several hours. This
border may be turned on a flat dish, and the centre be
filled with a salad or with cold fish. If the border be
large enough, a boned fowl or bird may be placed in the
centre. The jelly may be cooled in tiny moulds, and
each mould be decorated with any of the vegetables
named for the border, or with anything else one may
fancy.
Glaze.
Meat glaze is used a great deal in high-class cookery.
It is consomm^ boiled down to a thick glue-like sub-
stance. One quart of consomme is put in an open sauce-
pan, and boiled until it is reduced to half a pint.
Half-glaze is made by reducing a quart of consomme*
to one pint. The thicker glaze may be kept for a month
or more in a cool dry place.
Glaze is used to give a smoot-h, glossy surf-ace to
cooked meats. It is also added to soups, sauces, and
ragouts to give them smoothness and body. When it is
used on meats it should be put in a small saucepan, and
this saucepan must be placed in another of boiling
water ; stir the glaze until it is melted, and it is ready
to use. A brush or a small piece of cloth is used for
spreading the glaze on the meat.
Marinades.
'
A marinade is a kind of pickle which is used to season
meats and fish either before or after they are cooked. It
is nearly always added to the meat or fish that is to be
used in a salad. Cold boiled fish is sometimes sprinkled
with it several hours before serving. Various kinds of
cutlets are steeped in a marinade for hours before they
are cooked. A leg of venison, and venison chops, steaks,
and cutlets, are frequently kept in marinade for a day
460 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
or longer, before being cooked. There are two kinds of
marinades, the cooked and uncooked.
Cooked Marinade.
Put into a stew-pan two table-spoonfuls of butter, two
of chopped bacon, three each of chopped onion, carrot,
and celery, one clove of garlic, one bay leaf, and one
sprig each of thyme and parsley.
Let these cook slowly for twenty minutes ; then add
three gills of vinegar, and one of water, one teaspoonful
of salt, and half a teaspoonful of pepper. Simmer for
twenty minutes; then strain and cool. This marinade
is particularly nice for cutlets of game and poultry, and
for fish.
Raw Marinade.
Mix together three table-spoonfuls of oil and six of
vinegar, one teaspoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of
pepper, and half a teaspoonful of onion juice.
If the marinade be for fish, use only three table-spoon-
fuls of vinegar and three of lemon juice. The onion
juice may be omitted if it be not liked. This marinade
is suitable for cooked meat or fish that is to be served in
a salad.
Essence of Chicken.
Draw and clean a fowl weighing about five pounds.
Remove the greater part of the fat. Cut the fowl into
small pieces, and place it in a stew-pan, adding three
pints of cold water. Place it on the fire, and heat slowly
to the boiling-point. Skim carefully, and set back
where it will simmer for three hours. At the end of
that time add one small slice of carrot, one-fourth of a
small onion, and one clove. Cook for half an hour
longer, and then strain. Put the liquid in a cool place.
GARNISHES. 461
When cold, skim off the fat. The liquid, when chilled,
should be a firm jelly.
Essence of chicken is used in making rich sauces and
ragouts. A few spoonfuls of it are added to a sauce to
give it increased smoothness and body.
The cooked fowl used in making the essenee may be
served with a sauce.
. .
462 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
MEAT AND FISH SAUCES.
THIS is a branch of cookery which every housekeeper
should understand perfectly. There are many simple
sauces which can be made quickly .and of materials
always at hand ; but for fine sauces there must be rich,
clear stock, and a long, slow process of preparation.
When a sauce is desired clear, smooth, and velvety,
the saucepan must be placed on a part of the stove
where the sauce will bubble at only one side. The
saucepan must not be covered. In two hours' time the
sauce will " clear," as it is termed ; that is, the butter
will have separated from the other ingredients and will
float on top, the flour and other ingredients will have
combined and dissolved, and the sauce will have a semi-
transparent appearance. All fine sauces, such as Span-
ish, supreme, mushroom, etc., must be cleared in this
manner.
When cooking butter and flour together for a thicken-
ing, be sure, that the butter is hot before the flour is
added. When the flour is added, be sure to stir con-
stantly until the liquid is added. If the sauce is to be
white, the liquid must be added to the butter and flour
before the mixture begins to brown, that is, while it is
still frothy. When the sauce is to be brown, the flour
and butter must be cooked together until as brown as a
chestnut. These preparations of butter and flour are
termed brown and white roux, although as roux really
means " russet," it can hardly be applied with propriety
to a white thickening.
One of the mistakes of the inexperienced cook in
making a sauce with a thickening of butter and flour
MEAT AND FISH SAUCES. 463
cooked together is that the liquid is added to the thick-
ening before the temperature has been lowered. The
pan in which the butter and flour are cooked should be
drawn back to a cool part of the range, and the mixture
should be stirred until partially cooled ; then may be
added gradually the liquid, which should be cold, or
nearly so, whenever possible.
It should be remembered that a sauce must cook long
enough to clear and have the butter separate and come
to the top, where it can be skimmed off; or that the
sauce should not boil more than ten minutes from the
time the liquid is added. When a sauce is cooked less
than ten minutes the butter does not separate from the
other ingredients. Longer cooking causes the butter par-
tially to separate from the other materials ; this makes
the sauce greasy unless the cooking be continued long
enough to make the separation complete.
For common sauces the quick method is generally
used, and it sometimes happens that, by mistake, the
sauce is cooked so long that it becomes oily. In this
case add a little cold stock or water, and stir until the
sauce begins to boil. It will then be perfectly smooth ;
take it from the fire at once.
If the suggestions here given be remembered and the
rules for the various sauces carefully followed, any
housekeeper may feel assured of success.
Spanish Sauce.
This is the finest of the brown sauces, and is the foun-
dation of many of the meat and fish sauces. There will
be required for it one pint and a gill of consomme, three
table-spoonfuls of gelatine, four of flour, four of butter,
two of chopped onion, one of chopped carrot, one of
chopped celery, one ounce of lean ham, one bay leaf, one
sprig of parsley, two cloves, a bit of mace, salt, and
pepper.
464 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Soak the gelatine in one gill of consomme* for an hour
or more. Cook the butter and vegetables together for
ten minutes, being careful not to let them burn ; add
the flour, and cook until brown, stirring all the while.
Draw the saucepan back, and gradually add the pint of
consomme ; boil for three minutes, stirring all the while.
Then add the herbs and spice, and put the mixture back
where it will simmer, letting it stay there for two hours.
At the end of that time add the soaked gelatine, and
cook for fifteen minutes longer. Skim the fat from
the sauce, and strain. It is now ready to be served
as a simple Spanish sauce, or as the foundation for
various fish and meat sauces.
Chateaubriand Sauce.
Use one pint of Spanish sauce, one gill of sherry, three
table-spoonfuls of butter, a teaspoonful of minced parsley,
one table-spoonful of lemon juice, one saltspoonful of
salt, and a little pepper.
Beat the butter, lemon juice, salt, and pepper together ;
then add the parsley. When ready, to serve, add this
mixture and the wine to the hot sauce; stir for one
minute, and serve.
Financiere Sauce.
Use one pint of Spanish sauce, one gill of essence of
chicken, one cupful of chopped mushrooms, and one small
box of truffles, chopped fine. Put all the ingredients
together, and let them simmer for one hour ; strain, and
the sauce will be ready for use.
The materials that remain in the strainer may be put
into a stew-pan, with three pints of any kind of stock,
and simmered for two hours or longer. This will give
a strong flavor of the mushrooms and truffles. This
stock may be usecl for any kind of sauce.
MEAT AND FISH SAUCES. 465
Madeira Sauce.
To a pint of Spanish sauce add one gill of Sicily
Madeira. This sauce is used with baked fish and with
game.
Venison Sauce.
Put into a stew-pan one pint of Spanish sauce, four
table-spoonfuls of currant jelly, one of lemon juice, and
one gill of port wine.
Place on the fire, and cook until the jelly is melted.
Stir frequently.
Olive Brown Sauce.
Stone two dozen olives. Cook them for half an hour
in water or stock enough to cover them. Drain them ;
put them into a stew-pan, with a pint of Spanish or brown
sauce ; simmer for five minutes.
This sauce is suitable for broiled steak, roast duck,
or any entre"e of poultry or game where olives may be
used.
Duxelles Sauce.
For this, use one pint of Spanish sauce, one cupful of
minced mushrooms, one table-spoonful each of minced
onion and parsley, and two table-spoonfuls of butter.
Put the butter and vegetables into a stew-pan ; cook
over a moderate fire for ten minutes; stir frequently.
During the last two minutes stir constantly, and have
the stew-pan over a hotter part of the fire. Add this
mixture to the Spanish sauce. Simmer for three minutes,
and serve. This sauce is suitable for rich entrees or
steaks.
Mushroom Brown Sauce.
For a pint and a half of sauce, use one quart of rich
consomme", half a pound of fresh mushrooms, or one can
466 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
and a half of mushrooms, one sour apple, baked, six
table-spoonfuls of butter, five of flour, a slight grating
of nutmeg, two level teaspoonfuls of salt, and half a
teaspoonful of flour.
Put the butter into a stew-pan, and place it on the
fire; when hot and beginning to brown, add the flour,
and stir until a dark brown. Draw the stew-pan back
to a cool place, and stir until the contents are slightly
cooled. Add gradually the stock, and stir until it boils ;
then add the seasoning, the baked apple, and half a cup-
ful of chopped mushrooms. Set back where the sauce
will just bubble at one side of the stew-pan for two
hours. At the end of that time skim off the butter,
and strain the sauce into another stew-pan. Add the
remainder of the mushrooms and three table-spoonfuls
of consomme.
If the mushrooms be fresh, they must be pared and
cut into small pieces. They should simmer for ten
minutes in the hot sauce. If canned mushrooms be
used, they may be cooked whole, and only for five
minutes.
Simple Mushroom Sauce.
Make a plain brown sauce ; add one can of mushrooms
to it, and simmer for five minutes.
Mushroom White Sauce.
Make a white sauce; after straining, add a can of
mushrooms, and cook for five minutes longer.
Supreme Sauce.
For one quart of this sauce use one pint of rich chicken
stock, two pounds of shin of veal, one quart of water,
one teacupful of butter, five table-spoonfuls of flour, one
small onion, one slice of carrot, two cloves, a bit of mace,
MEAT AND FISH SAUCES. 467
a slight grating of nutmeg, one bay leaf, a sprig of pars-
ley, two level teaspooufuls of salt, one-third of a tea-
spoonful of white pepper, and half a pint of chopped
mushrooms.
Cut the veal in small pieces, and put it into a stew-pan
with the quart of cold water, the spice and vegetables.
Cook slowly for four hours. Strain, and put away to
cool ; when cool, skim carefully. Add this stock (which
should be a clear jelly) to the chicken stock. Put the
butter into a stew-pan, and on the fire ; when it be-
comes hot, but not brown, add the flour, and stir until
smooth and frothy. Draw the pan back, and stir until
the mixture cools slightly ; then gradually add the veal
and chicken stocks. Stir until this boils; add the
chopped mushrooms, salt, and pepper. Move the sauce-
pan back where the heat will be just enough to keep
the sauce bubbling at one side of the pan. Cook with the
cover off the stew-pan for two hours ; then skim off the
butter and strain the sauce through a fine sieve.
This sauce should be clear and velvety. To obtain this
result, great care must be taken to have the stock used
rich and clear, and to have the simmering done slowly.
* Brown Sauce.
For one pint of sauce use one pint of clear brown
stock, three generous table-spoonfuls of butter, three
level table-spoonfuls of flour, two of chopped onion, one
of chopped carrot, one clove, one teaspoonful of salt, and
a little pepper.
Cook the vegetables and the butter together, slowly,
for half an hour ; then draw the stew-pan forward to a
hot part of the range. Stir until the preparation is
slightly browned ; then add the flour, and stir until that
is browned. Draw the stew-pan back, and let it cool
slightly, stirring the contents all the while; gradually
add the stock, and stir until it boils. Add the salt,
468 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
pepper, and clove, and set the stew-pan back where the
mixture will simmer for twenty minutes. Strain, skim
off the fat, and serve.
This gives a somewhat thick sauce. If a thinner sauce
be liked, use only two table-spoonfuls of flour. This
sauce may have added to it the trimmings of mushrooms,
a bay leaf, a sprig of parsley, or, indeed, any seasoning
that one may choose.
* Brown Sauce for Fish.
Put two table-spoonfuls of pork fat into a small frying-
pan, and when it is melted, add two slices of onion, one
of carrot, a bay leaf, and a sprig of parsley. Stir for
three minutes; then add a heaping table-spoonful of
flour, and stir until the sauce becomes dark brown. Add
a cupful of stock, and cook three minutes longer. Sea-
son with a table-spoonful of lemon juice, and salt and
pepper to suit the taste.
Clear Brown Sauce.
Use a table-spoonful of beef extract, one table-spoonful
and a half of arrowroot, one cupful and a half of water,
a clove, a bay leaf, a small slice of onion, a thin slice of
carrot about the size of a quarter of a dollar, a teaspoon-
ful of butter, and salt and pepper to suit the taste.
Mix the arrowroot with half a cupful of boiling water,
and boil for five minutes; then add all the other in-
gredients except the butter; and after cooking gently
for ten minutes, add the butter. Boil up once, and
strain.
In this sauce consomme may be substituted for the
beef extract and water.
* A Simple Sauce for Poultry.
Use a pint of stock (the water in which a fowl was
boiled, or gtpck made by covering the bones of roast
MEAT AND FISH SAUCES. 469
chicken with cold water and cooking them for two
hours), half a pint of milk or cream, a slice of onion the
size of half a dollar, a slice of carrot, a clove, a tiny bit
of mace, three table-spoonfuls of butter, three of flour,
a heaping teaspoonful of salt, and one-fourth of a tea-
spoonful of pepper.
Put the butter and flour into a small saucepan, and rub
them until creamy ; then add the stock, vegetables, and
spice, and place the pan on the fire. Stir the mixture
occasionally until it begins to boil ; then set it back
where it will just simmer for half an hour. At the end
of that time add the dressing and cream or milk. Let
the sauce boil up once ; then strain it, and it will be
ready for use. It will be found nice to serve with boiled
fowl or to warm cold poultry in, giving a delicious fri-
cassee. Cold veal also may be warmed in it. If one
intend to do this, the bones and hard bits of veal should
be boiled for stock. If one choose, the quantity of
butter mentioned at the outset may be reduced one-half,
but in that case the flour must be wet with stock when
it is put into the saucepan.
* White Sauce.
Into a frying-pan put three table-spoonfuls of butter,
one of chopped onion, one of chopped carrot, two of
chopped celery, a bay leaf, a sprig of parsley and a sprig
of thyme, and simmer slowly for ten minutes, being
careful not to brown ; then add three table-spoonfuls of
flour, and stir until smooth and frothy. Draw the pan
back to a cooler place, and gradually add a pint of white
stock. Stir until smooth, and then add salt and pepper.
Boil for five minutes, and add half a cupful of cream
or milk. Boil up once, and after straining, use it. This
is good for boiled fish or poultry, and is also a nice sauce
in which to heat cold fish or meat.
470 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Another receipt : Use a cupful of white stock, a cupful
of cream, one table-spoonful of chopped onion, one of
lemon juice, two of butter, two of flour, a teaspoonful of
salt, and a quarter of a teaspoonful of pepper.
Cook the butter and onion together, slowly, for ten
minutes ; then add the flour, and cook until the mixture
is smooth and frothy, probably about half a minute will
suffice. At this point gradually add the stock ; and after
simmering for ten minutes, put in the cream, salt, and
pepper. Boil up once, and strain through a sieve ; then
add the lemon juice.
This sauce is nice for boiled, baked, and broiled fish,
and is quite necessary for the finishing touch to halibut
a la poulette. Make it while the fish is baking.
*Poulette Sauce.
This is nice with boiled fowl or boiled fish, and may
be used with any kind of delicate meat, fish, or vege-
tables. To make it, take half a cupful of butter, three
table-spoonfuls of flour, the yolks of three eggs, one pint
of stock or water, one table-spoonful of lemon juice, one-
eighth of a teaspoonful of pepper, and one level tea-
spoonful of salt.
Beat the butter and flour together until smooth and
light ; then add the salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Grad-
ually pour the boiling stock or water upon this mixture,
and simmer for ten minutes. Meanwhile beat the yolks
of the eggs in a small saucepan. Gradually pour the
sauce upon them. Set the saucepan in another contain-
ing boiling water, and stir for a minute and a half ; then
remove from the stove without delay.
'
Bechamel Yellow Sauce.
Put three table-spoonfuls of butter into a saucepan,
and beat to a cream ; then add three level table-spoonfuls
MEAT AND FISH SAUCES. 471
of flour, and beat both articles together. Add ten pepper-
corns, a small piece of mace, a small slice of carrot, half
an onion, and a pint of white stock. Tie together a bay
leaf, two sprigs of parsley, and one of thyme, and put the
bunch into the saucepan with the other ingredients.
Simmer for twenty minutes ; then strain, and put over
the fire again. Add half a cupful of cream, and salt and
pepper to meet your taste. Beat together the yolks of
four eggs and half a cupful of cold cream. Stir this
mixture into the sauce ; and after the sauce has been
heated to the boiling-point, cook two minutes longer,
stirring all the time.
Sauce Allemand.
Pat into a saucepan four table-spoonfuls of butter, one
slice of carrot, one of turnip, two of onion, two cloves, a
small piece of mace, a sprig of parsley, and one bay leaf,
and cook slowly for twenty minutes, being careful not to
brown; then add two heaping table-spoonfuls of flour,
and stir until smooth and frothy, at- which time add a
pint of white stock, very slowly. Let the sauce boil
gently for five minutes ; then strain it, and return to the
fire. Beat together the yolks of six eggs and half a cup-
ful of cream. Add to the sauce a slight grating of
nutmeg, one table-spoonful of mushroom ketchup, a table-
spoonful of butter, and salt and pepper to suit the taste.
Place the basin containing the sauce in another of boiling
water. Stir the beaten cream and eggs into the sauce,
and cook for three minutes, stirring all the while. Ee-
move from the fire, and stir into the sauce the juice of
half a lemon. Use the sauce at once.
Dutch Sauce.
Rub together two table-spoonfuls of butter and two
scant table-spoonfuls of flour until they become smooth
and creamy; then add a cupful and a half of white
472 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
stock, and simmer for ten minutes. Season with a level
teaspoonful of salt and one-eighth of a teaspoonful of
pepper, and add the yolks of three eggs beaten with
half a cupful of cream. Set the basin containing these
ingredients into another of boiling water, and stir con-
stantly for three minutes ; and after a table-spoonful of
lemon juice has been added, the sauce is finished by
straining. It is delicious with any kind of fish.
Bearnaise Sauce.
This sauce is made of the yolks of four eggs, four
table-spoonfuls of butter, half a teaspoonful of salt, one-
fifth of a teaspoonful of pepper, one table-spoonful of
tarragon vinegar, one teaspoonful each of chopped pars-
ley and tarragon, and one teaspoonful of onion juice.
Put the butter into a hot cup, and stir until soft and
creamy. Put the yolks of the eggs and the salt and
pepper into a small granite-ware or tin saucepan, and
beat with a Dover beater until the eggs beconie light ;
then add the butter in three parts, beating each time
until the mixture is smooth. Now add the vinegar, and
beat again. Chop the tarragon and parsley, to have it
ready for use.
Place the saucepan containing the sauce in another of
boiling water, and cook for three minutes, beating con-
stantly with an egg-beater. Take from the fire at the
end of that time, and add the chopped parsley and
tarragon. Of course, when tarragon is out of season,
parsley must suffice. The sauce should be used as soon
as finished.
Hollandaise Sauce.
For half a pint of sauce use half a cupful of butter,
one-third of a cupful of boiling water, the yolks of four
uncooked eggs, one table-spoonful and a half of lemon
juice, half a teaspoonful of salt, and one-tenth of a tea-
spoonful of cayenne.
MEAT AND FISH SAUCES. 473
Fill a pint bowl with warm water ; immediately pour
out the water and wipe the bowl. Put the butter into
the bowl, and beat it until soft and creamy; add the
yolks of the eggs, one by one, and beat until they are
blended with the butter ; add the lemon juice and the
salt and pepper, and beat until again smooth. Then
take out the spoon, and beat the mixture with the Dover
beater for five minutes. Place the bowl in a pan of
boiling water, being careful not to have the water come
so high that it will boil into the bowl j add one-third of
a cupful of boiling water, and cook until the sauce is as
thick as a Mayonnaise sauce, beating constantly with the
Dover beater. Take from the fire, and it is ready to
serve.
This sauce may be served with all kinds of fish, with
iillets and steaks, and also with some vegetables. When
it is served with boiled fish, half a pint of shrimp or
lobster, cut into dice, may be added to it. Or, if con-
venient, a table-spoonful of ravigote may be added to it.
Ravigote.
This is a combination of four herbs. It is used in
sauces and salads. Mince separately one table-spoonful
each of chives, chervil, tarragon, and burnet. Mix them
together, and you have a ravigote. The meaning of the
word is " to revive, strengthen, or invigorate."
Ravigote Butter.
Put half a cupful of butter into a warm bowl, and beat
it to a cream ; add half a teaspoonful of salt, one tea-
spoonful of lemon juice, one-third of a teaspoonful of
pepper, and one table- spoonful of ravigote.
This butter may be spread on broiled fish or meat of
any kind. It may be added to a white or Bechamel
sauce, and this will give a ravigote sauce.
474 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Ravigote Sauce.
For this there will be needed four table-spoonfuls of
butter, three scant table-spoonfuls of flour, three pepper-
corns, half a good-sized onion, a slice of carrot, a bit
of mace, a bay leaf, a sprig of parsley, a sprig of thyme,
a cupful of cream, two cupfuls of chicken stock, a table-
spoonful of chopped parsley, a slight grating of nutmeg,
and salt and pepper.
Eub together the flour and three table-spoonfuls of the
butter, and add all the other ingredients except the
cream, chopped parsley, and the remainder of the butter.
Simmer for half an hour, being careful that there is no
burning. In the mean time pound the spoonful of
butter and the chopped parsley in a mortar, and when
the mixture looks rather smooth and green, scrape all of
it from the mortar and add it to the sauce. Then add
the cream ; and if there be not seasoning enough, put in
a little more salt and pepper. When the sauce boils up,
strain it, and it will be ready for use. This is a delicious
sauce for all kinds of delicate fish and meats.
Chestnut White Sauce.
Use thirty French chestnuts, one pint of milk, one
table-spoonful of butter, one teaspoonful of salt, one-
fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper.
Shell and blanch the chestnuts. Boil them, in water
enough to cover, for half an hour ; drain off the water,
and then pound the nuts to a paste. Add the butter,
salt, pepper, and the milk, a little at a time, pounding
all the while; rub through a puree sieve, and cook for
half an hour in a double-boiler. This sauce may be
served with boiled turkey or fowl.
Chestnut Brown Sauce,
Use thirty French chestnuts, one pint of brown stock,
one table-spoonful of butter, one of flour, one teaspoonful
of salt, and one-fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper.
MEAT AND FISH SAUCES. 475
Shell, blanch, cook, drain, and pound the chestnuts ;
add the seasoning and the stock, a little at a time,
pounding all the while. Rub the preparation through a
sieve ; put the mixture into a stew-pan, and cook gently
for half an hour. Then put the butter on the fire in a
small frying-pan, and when it is hot and beginning to
brown, add the flour; stir until the mixture is a dark
brown, and then add it to the chestnut mixture. Cook
five minutes, and serve. This sauce is suitable for roast
turkey or chicken.
Asparagus Sauce.
This is nice to serve with broiled delicate meats or
fish, and is also appropriate for use with roast chicken.
It requires the tender green heads from a bunch of
asparagus, a pint of white stock, a slice of onion, a small
slice of carrot, a bay leaf, a tiny bit of mace, a sprig of
parsley, two generous table-spoonfuls of butter, two of
flour, and salt and pepper to suit the taste.
Put the butter and flour into a saucepan, and rub them
to a cream ; then add the seasoning and stock. Heat
the mixture slowly, stirring frequently ; and when it
begins to boil, set it back where it will only simmer for
twenty minutes. Meanwhile wash the asparagus tops,
and put them into a saucepan with a cupful of boiling
water, half a teaspoonful of salt, and half a teaspoonful
of lemon juice or vinegar. Cover closely, and boil for
twelve minutes ; then drain off the water, and rub the
asparagus through a fine sieve. Strain upon it the con-
tents of the other pan, and heat to the boiling-point, but
not beyond ; for much cooking would destroy the deli-
cate green color of the asparagus.
* Oyster Sauce.
This is made of a solid pint of oysters, half a pint of
chicken stock, a table-spoonful of lemon juice, four table-
476 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
spoonfuls of butter, two of flour, and salt and pepper in
quantities to suit the taste.
Put the stock on the stove to boil, and set the oys-
ters on to heat in their own liquor. Beat the butter and
flour together until light and creamy. Pour the hot
chicken stock on the mixture, and after stirring well, set
on the stove to simmer. When the oysters have become
heated to the boiling-point, skim off the froth and put
the oysters into a strainer. Pour the oyster liquor into
the cooking mixture, being careful to prevent any shells
or sand from passing with the liquor. Cook for ten
minutes ; then add the oysters, some salt and pepper, and
the lemon juice. This sauce should be served hot.
Put one pint of small oysters into a stew-pan, and heat
them in their own liquor to the boiling-point. As soon
as they begin to boil, remove from the fire and skim care
fully ; then drain the liquor into another stew-pan. Beat
to a cream one-third of a cupful of butter, and three
table-spoonfuls of flour. Add to the oyster liquor one
cupful of milk, and when the mixture has been heated
to the boiling-point, stir in the creamed butter and flour.
Let the sauce boil up once, and season with salt and
pepper ; then add the oysters. This sauce is to be served
with boiled fish.
Lobster Sauce.
For a pint and a half of sauce, use a lobster weighing
two and a half pounds. Make the lobster butter as
directed on page 478.
Cut the tender est part of the claws into dice. Chop
the remainder of the lobster meat, and put it into a stew-
pan with one quart of water ; simmer for one hour. Put
four table-spoonfuls of butter into a stew-pan on the
fire, and when hot, add three generous table-spoonfuls
of flour, and stir until smooth and frothy. Then add,
MEAT AND FISH SAUCES. 477
gradually, the lobster liquor, stirring all the while. Stir
until the mixture boils ; add a teaspoonf ul and a half of
salt, half a saltspoonful of cayenne, a table-spoonful of
lemon juice, and the lobster butter. Cook for five
minutes.
Put the lobster dice into a small saucepan ; strain the
sauce on it, and place on the fire. Boil up once, and
serve. This sauce may be served with any kind of boiled
fish.
Shrimp Sauce.
After beating a cupful of butter to a cream, add two
table-spoonfuls of flour, and beat until light and smooth ;
then add two table-spoonfuls of essence of anchovy and
one table-spoonful of lemon juice. Pour upon this mix-
ture a pint of boiling water. Heat the sauce to the boil-
ing-point without actually allowing it to boil ; then add
half a pint of fresh or canned shrimp, with the tails cut
in two, and a grain of cayenne. Let the sauce get very
hot, and use at once.
Use two dozen shrimp, and proceed as for lobster sauce,
using half a dozen of the shrimp to cut into dice and
add last.
Anchovy Sauce.
Put four table-spoonfuls of butter into a stew-pan, and
place on the fire. When the butter is melted, add three
table-spoonfuls of flour. Stir until smooth and frothy.
Cool a little, and then add, gradually, one pint of white
stock or water. Stir until this boils ; then add one-
fourth of a saltspoonful each of white and cayenne
pepper, the anchovy butter, a table-spoonful of lemon
juice, and salt enough to season the sauce. As the an-
chovy butter is salted, one must taste the sauce to
ascertain how much salt to use. This sauce may be
used with all kinds of fish dishes.
478 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Anchovy Butter.
Pour the brine from a bottle of anchovies, and soak
the fish for two hours in cold water. Drain and wipe
them. Remove the bones, and place the fish in a mortar,
with two table-spoonfuls of butter. Pound to a smooth
paste, and rub through a fine sieve.
Work three table-spoonfuls of butter and a grain of
cayenne into the strained mixture. If the butter is to
be used on toast, a teaspoonful of lemon juice may be
added. This butter may be used in various kinds of
fish sauces.
Shrimp Butter.
Use five table-spoonfuls of butter, one dozen shrimp,
the shells of the shrimp, and a grain of cayenne.
Put the shells and three table-spoonfuls of butter into
the mortar, and pound to a powder. Put this into a
small saucepan, and place this in another containing boil-
ing water. Cook for one hour. Press the mixture
through a piece of cheese-cloth into a bowl of ice-water.
It will form in little cakes on the water ; skim these off.
Put the meat of the shrimp and the two remaining spoon-
fuls of butter into the mortar, and pound to a paste.
Add the red butter, which was obtained by pounding and
cooking the shells and butter together. Pound a little
longer, and then rub the mixture through a fine sieve.
This butter gives color and body to a shrimp sauce.
If lobster coral can be obtained, pound two table-spoon-
fuls of it with the butter, and then add the fish and the
remainder of the butter, and pound all together until a
paste is formed. Of course, the shells and cooking will
not be necessary in this case.
Lobster Butter.
Pound the coral of a lobster with two table-spoonfuls
of butter until a smooth paste is made j then add three
MEAT AND FISH SAUCES. 479
table-spoonfuls of chopped lobster and one of butter,
and continue pounding until the whole mass is a smooth
paste. Rub this through a fine sieve. This butter is
used in lobster soups and sauces to give color and rich-
ness. Should there be no coral, pound small lobster
claws and the butter together, and proceed as for shrimp
butter.
Tartar Green Sauce.
The yolks of two uncooked eggs, one gill and a half of
olive oil, one table-spoonful of lemon juice, two of vine-
gar, one of mustard, half a teaspoonful of sugar, one
teaspoonful of salt, one-tenth of a teaspoonful of cayenne,
one teaspoonful of onion juice, two table-spoonfuls of
capers, two of cucumber pickles, one of butter, and one
teaspoonful of chopped parsley will be needed.
Put the chopped parsley and the butter into the mortar,
and pound until the mixture is a smooth paste ; this
will require hard blows. Then rub the paste through a
small strainer ; the strainer will be used again for the
pickles and capers. Pound the capers and pickles to a
paste in the mortar, and rub them through the strainer
into the same bowl with the parsley and butter. Keep
this mixture cool. Put a small smooth-bottomed bowl
in a tin pan, and surround it with cold water about an
inch deep ; add a few pieces of ice. Put the dry ingre-
dients and the yolks of eggs into the bowl. Beat with
the Dover beater until the mixture is thick and ropy ;
it will take from three to five minutes for this. Then
add the oil, a few drops at a time, until the mixture is
so thick that the beater turns with difficulty ; then add
the oil in larger quantities, say a table-spoonful at a
time. When the mixture is thick, add one teaspoonful
of the vinegar ; continue in this way until all the oil and
vinegar are used ; then add the lemon juice, and finally
the onion juice and the strained mixture.
This sauce should be thick and smooth when done.
480 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
It surely will be a success if the dry mixture and yolks
of eggs be beaten thick before the oil is added, and if
the oil be added only a few drops at a time until
the mixture is thick and ropy. After this the oil may
be added in generous quantities. Unless the first of the
work be done right, no amount of care later will give a
thick, smooth sauce.
Tartar Butter Sauce.
Use the yolks of three uncooked eggs, three-fourths of
a cupful of butter, half a teaspoonful of salt, one-fifth of
a teaspoonful of cayenne, one teaspoonful of sugar, one
table-spoonful of mustard, four table-spoonfuls of vine-
gar, one of lemon juice, one generous table-spoonful each
of chopped cucumber pickles and capers.
Pour boiling water into a small bowl, and immediately
turn it out again. Wipe the bowl and put the butter in
it. With a spoon beat the butter to a smooth soft cream.
Put the egg yolks and the dry ingredients into another
bowl, and beat rapidly for five minutes with the Dover
beater ; then add the creamed butter, a spoonful at a
time. Beat well after the addition of each spoonful.
When all the butter has been used, add the vinegar and
lemon juice, a little at a time, beating very thoroughly
after each portion is added. When the mixture is smooth
and light, add the chopped ingredients. This sauce is
nice with fried or broiled meat or fish.
Remoulade Sauce.
Use the yolks of two hard-boiled eggs and the yolk of
one raw egg, a scant half-pint of oil, three table-spoonfuls
of tarragon vinegar, three of plain vinegar, one teaspoon-
ful of mustard, half a teaspoonful of salt, one-third
of a teaspoonful of white pepper, and one teaspoonful
of chopped parsley.
Work the cooked yolks of the eggs with a fork on a
plate until they are perfectly smooth j then put them
MEAT AND FISH SAUCES. 481
into a bowl with the uncooked yolk and the seasoning.
Add two table-spoonfuls of the vinegar, and beat with
the Dover beater for five minutes. Then add the oil,
a teaspoonful at a time, beating two or three minutes
between each addition to the mixture. After five tea-
spoonfuls have been added in this manner the oil may
be added in quantities three or four times as large.
Whenever the sauce becomes so thick that the beater
turns hard, add half a table-spoonful of vinegar. When
all the oil and vinegar have been used, add the chopped
parsley. This sauce is suitable for fried and broiled
meat or fish j it is used also as a dressing for salads.
* Soubise Sauce.
This is made of a pint of pared and sliced white onions,
three table-spoonfuls of butter, one gill of white stock,
two gills of milk or cream, one table-spoonful of flour,
one level teaspoonful of salt, one-eighth of a teaspoonful
of pepper, and half a teaspoonful of sugar. .
Put the onion into a stew-pan with one quart of boiling
water, and boil gently for half an hour. Then, after
draining off all the water, add the sugar and one table-
spoonful of the butter. Cover the stew-pan, and set it
where its contents will cook slowly for one hour, being
careful that they do not become browned. At the end
of the hour rub the onion through a fine sieve. Return
the strained mixture to the stew-pan, and after adding
the stock, milk, salt, and pepper, set the pan on the fire.
Now beat together the flour and the two remaining table-
spoonfuls of butter, and stir this mixture into that which
is in the pan when the latter boils. Cook for five min-
utes, stirring frequently, and have it very hot when it is
poured around the meat. This sauce is served with
mutton or pork.
Breton Sauce.
Use one generous pint of peeled and sliced onion, one
pint of Spanish sauce, three table-spoonfuls of butter,
31
482 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
one teaspoonful of sugar, one of salt, and one-fourth of a
teaspoonful of pepper.
Put the butter, onions, sugar, salt, and pepper into a
small frying-pan, and cook slowly for one hour, stirring
frequently. At the end of that time draw the pan for-
ward, and stir the onion constantly until it is brown;
then rub it through a strainer into a saucepan ; add the
Spanish sauce, place on the fire, and stir constantly until
the sauce boils. This sauce is served with roast, broiled,
or breaded mutton.
* Butter Sauce.
Beat together half a cupful of butter and one table-
spoonful of flour. Pour on this mixture half a pint of
boiling water. Place the saucepan on the fire, and stir
constantly until the sauce boils ; then take from the fire
immediately.
* Egg Sauce.
Stir three hard-boiled eggs, chopped rather fine, into
the butter sauce.
* Cream Sauce.
Put three table-spoonfuls of butter into a frying-pan,
and place on the fire. When the butter is hot, add two
level table-spoonfuls of flour. Stir this until smooth and
frothy ; then draw the pan back, and gradually add one
pint of cold milk. Eeplace the pan on a hot part of
the stove, and stir the sauce until it boils. Add one tea-
spoonful of salt and about one-fourth of a teaspoonful
of pepper; simmer three minutes, and it is ready for
use. A few drops of onion juice will improve this sauce.
A teaspoonful of minced parsley may be added when
this sauce is to be used for fish or potatoes.
* Bread Sauce.
Use a cupful and a half of dry bread, one pint of
stock, a large slice of onion, two generous table-spoonful*
MEAT AND FISH SAUCES. 488
of butter, one teaspoonf ill of salt, and half a teaspoonful
of pepper.
Put the bread on a board, and crush it lightly with a
rolling-pin. Put this into a sieve, and sift all the fine
crumbs through ; there should be half a cupful of these.
Put them in the double-boiler, with the onion, salt,
pepper, and stock ; cook for half an hour ; at the end
of that time take out the onion, and add one table-spoon-
ful of the butter. The sauce is then ready to serve.
While the sauce is cooking, put one table-spoonful of
butter into a frying-pan, and place on the fire. When the
butter is hot, add the coarse crumbs that did not go
through the sieve. Stir over a hot fire until the crumbs
are brown and crisp. This work must be done carefully
in order that the crumbs shall be crisp and brown and
yet not be burned.
Bread sauce is served with grouse, quail, partridge,
ptarmigan, roast chicken, and turkey. The sauce and
fried crumbs may be served in separate dishes ; or the
sauce may be spread on a meat dish, and the birds be
placed on this, and the birds and sauce sprinkled with
the crumbs. If stock cannot be obtained, substitute a
generous pint of milk.
*
* Tomato Sauce.
Use one pint of stewed and strained tomatoes, half a
pint of stock, three table-spoonfuls of butter, two gener-
ous table-spoonfuls of flour, one slice of onion, one of
carrot, one generous teaspoonful of salt, and half a tea-
spoonful of pepper.
Cook the butter, onion, and carrot together for ten
minutes ; add the flour, and stir until frothy ; then add"
the stock, stirring all the while. When smooth, add the
tomato, salt, and pepper. Simmer for ten minutes ; strain,
and serve.
.
484 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
* Matelote Sauce.
The materials of which this sauce is made are : a pint
of stock, an onion, a slice of carrot, a teaspoonful of
chopped parsley, three table-spoonfuls of butter, two
of flour, two of lemon juice, half a teaspoonful of sugar,
a teaspoonful of salt, and a quarter of a teaspoonful of
pepper.
Put the sugar into a stew-pan, and as soon as it begins
to smoke, add the butter, and then the onion and carrot,
cut fine. Cook slowly for ten minutes ; then add the
flour, and stir until smooth. Now add the stock, salt,
and pepper, and after boiling up once, set back where
the sauce will only simmer for twenty minutes. At the
end of that time strain it, and add the lemon juice and
parsley. Boil two minutes longer.
* Hot Mustard Sauce.
For a generous half-pint of sauce, use one table-spoon-
ful each of mustard, butter, flour, and tarragon vinegar,
one slice of onion, one clove of garlic, half a teaspoonful
of salt, one-eighth of a teaspoonful of cayenne, half a
pint of stock, and two table-spoonfuls of cold water.
Cook the butter, onion, garlic, and vinegar over a
rather hot fire for five minutes ; then add the flour, and
stir until smooth and frothy. Draw the saucepan back
to a cooler part of the fire, and gradually add the stock.
Mix the mustard with the cold water, and add this and
the salt and pepper to the sauce. Boil for five minutes ;
strain, and serve. This sauce is for roast beef or veal.
* Mustard Cream Sauce.
This is made of a cupful of milk, three table-spoonfuls
of butter, one level table-spoonful of flour, one teaspoonful
of mustard, half a teaspoonful of salt, and a grain of
cayenne. Put the milk on the stove in a double-boiler.
MEAT AND FISH SAUCES. 485
Beat the butter, flour, and mustard to a cream, and grad-
ually pour upon this cream the boiling milk. Add the
salt and pepper, and put the sauce on the stove in the
double-boiler, to cook gently for three minutes. It will
be found nice to serve with roast clams as well as with
baked crabs.
* Horseradish Sauce.
.
Mix together two table-spoonfuls of grated horseradish,
one teaspoonful of mustard, two table-spoonfuls of vin-
egar, four of cream, and a saltspoonful of salt. Serve
with roast beef or cold or broiled veal.
Currant-Jelly Sauce.
Put three table-spoonfuls of butter and one of chopped
onion into a frying-pan, and cook until the onion begins
to brown ; then add a table-spoonful of flour, a bay leaf, a
sprig of parsley, and two whole cloves. Stir until the
mixture becomes dark brown, and then slowly add three
gills of soup stock. When the sauce boils up, add a
table-spoonful of lemon juice, half a cupful of currant
jelly, and salt and pepper to suit the taste. After sim-
mering for three minutes, strain and use it. This sauce
is for venison.
Claret Sauce.
The materials required are a tumbler of stock, a tum-
bler of claret, half a tumbler of currant jelly, four cloves,
two table-spoonfuls of butter, one of flour, one teaspoon-
ful of salt, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper, half a
teaspoonful of lemon juice, and a bay leaf.
Put the butter on the stove in a small frying-pan, and
when it gets hot, add the flour. Stir the mixture until
it turns brown ; then draw the pan to the back part
of the range, and gradually add the stock. Let the sauce
boil up ; then add all the other ingredients except the
486 MISS PABLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
claret. Let the sauce simmer for a quarter of an hour ;
then add the wine, and boil up once. Strain the sauce,
and serve it hot.
Orange Sauce.
This is designed to go with roast duck. In making
enough for a pair of ducks, take half a pint of stock, two
large table-spoonfuls of butter, one table-spoonful of
flour, half a teaspoonful of sugar, a large slice of onion,
the juice and a quarter of the rind of a Seville orange,
a grain of cayenne, and one-third of a teaspoonful of
salt.
Cook the butter and onion together until the latter
begins to turn yellow ; then add the flour, and cook until
the mixture becomes dark brown. Draw the frying-pan
to the back part of the stove, and gradually add the half-
pint of stock. Now add the orange rind, salt, pepper,
and sugar. Let the sauce simmer for ten minutes ; then
add the orange juice, and cook two minutes longer.
Strain and use.
If you cannot get a Seville orange, use the juice of a
common orange and one-fourth of the rind, and a tea-
spoonful of the juice of a lemon. Or the grape fruit,
which resembles the shaddock, will answer; it has a
little of the peculiar bitter flavor that makes the Seville
orange desirable.
Sometimes half a pint of clear stock is seasoned with
salt, pepper, and a gill of port ; then the juice of half an
orange is added; the remaining half of the orange is
freed of skin and cut into bits ; and after the sauce has
boiled up once, these morsels of fruit are added, and it
is served hot with roast duck.
* Piquant Sauce.
This is intended to be an accompaniment for roast and
broiled meats, and some kinds of fish. It makes an
MEAT AND FISH SAUCES. 487
agreeable change from mint sauce, when served with
roast lamb. The ingredients are : a pint of stock, four
table-spoonfuls of butter, three of flour, four of vinegar,
one of chopped onion, two of chopped capers, two of
chopped cucumber pickle, one teas^oonful of sugar, one
of salt, and one-tenth of a teaspoonful of cayenne.
Put the butter on the stove in a frying-pan, and when
it gets hot and begins to turn brown, add the flour.
Stir the mixture until the flour is dark brown; then
draw the pan back to a cooler place, and gradually add
the stock, stirring all the time. Add also the salt and
pepper, and draw the pan to a place where its contents
will boil gently for ten minutes. Meanwhile put the
onion, vinegar, and sugar into a saucepan, and boil rap-
idly for five minutes ; and at the end of the ten minutes
mentioned in the preceding sentence, add these ingre-
dients to the sauce, together with the capers and pickle.
Boil rapidly for three minutes, and the work will be
finished.
* Caper Sauce.
Beat to a cream two table-spoonfuls of flour and half
a cupful of butter, and pour upon it a pint of boiling
water. Set the mixture over the fire, and stir constantly
until it has become heated to the boiling-point. Season
with a little white pepper and a grain of cayenne, and
add a table-spoonful of lemon juice and three of capers.
* Parsley Butter.
Beat three table-spoonfuls of butter to a cream, and
then add one table-spoonful of lemon juice, one of
chopped parsley, half a teaspoonful of salt, and one-
eighth of a teaspoonful of pepper. Beat these ingre-
dients into the butter, and it will be ready for use. It
is nice to spread upon fried or broiled fish, and also over
potato balls. When intended for the latter, however,
half a table-spoonful of lemon juice will be enough.
488 MISS PARLQA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
* Mint Sauce.
After rinsing some mint in cold water, place it on a
board, and chop it fine with a sharp knife. Put with a
quarter of a cupful of mint, half a cupful of vinegar and
one teaspoonful of sugar. The sauce should stand at
least ten minutes before it is used.
* Cranberry Sauce.
Pick over and wash a quart of cranberries, and after
putting them into a stew-pan with a scant pint of water,
and pouring a pint of sugar over them, cook for twenty
minutes, stirring often. Rinse a mould with cold water,
and pour the stewed cranberries into it. Set away to
cool and harden.
* Cranberry Jelly.
Pick over and wash a quart of cranberries. Put the
fruit into a stew-pan, either porcelain-lined or granite-
ware, and add half a pint of water and a pint of sugar.
Heat quickly to the boiling-point ; then stir well, press-
ing the berries to the sides of the stew-pan to crush
them. Cook for twelve minutes from the time they
begin to boil. Kinse a mould in cold water, and at the
end of the twelve minutes press the mixture through a
strainer. Put it into the mould immediately, and set
away to harden. As soon as it becomes cold it will be
firm.
VEGETABLES. 489
VEGETABLES.
Ix the past, housekeepers have been rather neglectful
of opportunities offered by vegetables to vary the family
fare, but now-a-days, happily, they give considerable at-
tention to the subject. The cooking of vegetables calls
for the same skill and taste that are employed in making
a delicate dessert. Perfect cleanliness, cooking the veg-
etable only until it is tender, and serving it with salt
and sweet butter or a delicate sauce, are the things
necessary to secure perfection.
During the fall and summer all kinds of vegetables
should be abundant in every part of the country ; but for
many reasons vegetables often are scarce and poor where
they should be plentiful and good. Every farmer should
set apart a plat of his warmest and richest land for a
kitchen garden, and every farmer's wife and daughter
should know when vegetables are at their best, and also
how to cook them in the best manner.
Neglect to Gather Vegetables soon Enough.
One of the great mistakes which American gardeners
make consists of allowing green vegetables to grow too
large and rank before gathering them. Turnips, carrots,
beets, radishes, etc., should be gathered while they are
small and delicate in flavor. String beans should not
be picked after the seed begins to form in the pod, or
they will be found tough and not very digestible when
cooked. Pick green peas before they are fully grown.
When allowed to grow to a large size, they acquire a
strong flavor and become less digestible. Of course,
490 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
such varieties as the marrowfats and champions will be
both large and tender. Sweet corn should have the ears
just filled, but the kernels should be tender and juicy.
Vegetables Best if Cooked soon after Picking.
It is surprising what a difference there is in the time
required for cooking many vegetables which have stood
a day or two after the picking, as compared with those
which have come fresh from the garden. For example,
peas that are picked in the early morning for use the
same day can be cooked in about half the time that
would be needed if the same peas were kept a day or
longer. Besides, the flavor of vegetables that are cooked
while fresh is much superior to that of those which have
stood for some time.
Ears of green corn that are just filled will, if plunged
into boiling water as soon as gathered, cook in t#n
minutes, or perhaps in less time ; while the same corn, if
kept for one or two days, will require twice as much
time for cooking, and will not be so tender and fine-
flavored as if cooked at once. This is where one having
a garden of her own has a great advantage of the house-
keeper who is obliged to get her supplies from the
market. Eating green peas and corn in the country
spoils one for anything that can be bought in a city
market.
A piece of cooking-soda about the size of a pea will, if
added to a quart of peas or beans, make them tenderer
and preserve the green color. It should not be added
until the vegetables are half cooked.
Points to be Remembered.
Some of the summer vegetables last a long time, and
others only a few weeks. Gardeners obtain fresh peas
and beans throughout the season by planting more than
VEGETABLES. 491
one crop ; therefore housekeepers will do wisely to
avoid having either so frequently at the outset as to be-
come tired of them before half the summer has gone.
Remember, always, that a great variety of vegetables at
any meal is secondary to both freshness and perfect
cooking. There is no sauce for vegetables which can
rival sweet butter and a little salt. When fresh vege-
tables are to be cooked the water should be boiling when
they are put into it, and salt should not be added until
the cooking is nearly finished. The articles should be
served promptly after they have been over the fire the
prescribed time, for the most delicate will become dark
and strong-flavored if cooked too long.
It may be well to state that freshness and flavor may
be, in a measure, restored to wilted vegetables by the
use of ice-water.
Time was when all the Northern markets depended
upon the South for most of the fresh vegetables that
were sold after the frost came ; now, however, there are
dealers who raise the greater part of such vegetables
in hot-houses and cold frames, so that one may get
tomatoes, cucumbers, Brussels sprouts, spinach, lettuce,
radishes, mushrooms, etc., picked fresh each day for the
market. This is true, also, of the many salads, whicli
are not so well known as they should be. But, after
all, it is only the rich who can afford to buy the forced
vegetables. The housekeeper of moderate means may,
nevertheless, enjoy the pleasure of a variety, for there
are vegetables in abundance and at very reasonable
prices ; the only difficulty lies in their proper prepara-
tion for the table.
Few housekeepers are familiar with the changes that
take place in the tuberous vegetables as the season
advances, and continue to cook them as if they were
fresh from the garden. The carrots, turnips, potatoes,
onions, and cabbages that were crisp and delicate wheu
stored in the fall become somewhat wilted and quite
492 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
strong-flavored by spring, and should stand in cold water
for several hours before being cooked.
Carrots, turnips, onions, and cabbage should be
cooked in a great deal of water, at least four times the
quantity of vegetables, and should be boiled only long-
enough to cook them thoroughly. Continuing to boil
vegetables after they are done, or cooking them in an
insufficient quantity of water, makes them dark and
gives them an unsatisfactory flavor. The average house-
keeper does not give half enough attention to this
matter.
It is a good plan to use rice, hominy, and macaroni as
vegetables during the winter and early spring. Remem-
ber that fully as acceptable a variety of dishes may be
obtained, from day to day, by cooking a small number of
vegetables in divers ways as by cooking a large number
in only one way. Proper cooking and good modes of
serving are of more account than a varied selection of
materials.
When Various Vegetables may be Appropri-
ately Used.
Inexperienced housekeepers often are much perplexed
in regard to vegetables ; they cannot easily decide what
to serve with various kinds of meat and fish, being
doubtful about either the vegetables themselves or the
most appropriate ways of serving them. In large cities
the housekeeper has a great variety of vegetables from
which to select, the year round. Scattered through the
twelvemonth there are about forty kinds ; and when
fresh vegetables cannot be had, canned goods may be
obtained. In the country a woman's choice is more
limited, though the common winter vegetables, supple-
mented with a few canned articles, permit of frequent
changes of dishes. Too many people are content to cook
a vegetable always by the same mode. To the average
VEGETABLES. 493
housekeeper the potato appears to be about the only
vegetable capable of being served in a variety of forms.
Receipts for cooking potatoes are, to be sure, very nu-
merous, yet many rules can be found for nearly all com-
mon vegetables.
In American families of moderate means, the dinner
seldom consists of more than three courses ; indeed, in a
majority of cases there may be only two courses, meat
or fish with vegetables, and the dessert. The number of
courses increases with the amount of style in which
people live, though one will find that among refined
folk the number in a family dinner is not more than five
or six, and in a company luncheon or dinner not more
than six or eight. This is a sensible change. Time was
when about a dozen courses were thought to be a neces-
sity when guests were to be entertained.
In a two-course dinner several kinds of vegetables are
served at the outset, whereas in a dinner of many courses
only one kind of vegetable, or at the most two kinds,
should be provided with each dish of meat or fish.
Fish. There may be served with baked, boiled,
broiled, and fried fish, potatoes and tomatoes in any
form ; also cucumbers and green peas. When fish has
curry sauce as an accompaniment, it also should have
rice ; if it have cream sauce, any kind of potatoes except
fried may be served, besides onions. Fish is, however,
such a delicate dish that a vegetable of pronounced
flavor should not be served with it; therefore onions
should be made as delicate as possible by boiling in a
plentiful supply of water, changing the water several
times, and finally adding cream sauce to the vegetables.
It used to be the fashion not to serve anything with fish ;
but bread, potatoes in some dainty form, and green peas
are now provided.
Roast Beef. Any of the following-named vegetables
may be served with roast beef: boiled, mashed, or
mashed and browned potatoes, potato puffs, potatoes
494 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
roasted under the meat, boiled or baked sweet potatoes,
squash, mashed turnips, boiled rice, boiled hominy, cauli-
flower, Brussels sprouts, stewed celery, boiled okra,
parsnips, young beets, beet greens, green corn, green
peas, Lima beans, shelled beans, butter beans, indeed,
all kinds of fresh beans, spinachj kohl-rabi, tomatoes,
onions.
Beefsteak. Potatoes in any form may be served with
beefsteak. For dinner or luncheon it is best to have
them baked, or mashed, or fried in balls, thin slices, or
by the French mode ; for breakfast or supper have them
fried or baked, or warmed over in some palatable form.
At dinner hominy or rice is a good substitute for pota-
toes. When steak forms a part of a dinner or luncheon,
any of the vegetables given with roast beef may be served
with it ; or vegetables a la jardiniere will be found an
excellent accompaniment. Again, vegetables a la mace-
doine may be served with steak. Cold vegetables may
be warmed in one of a variety of attractive modes. As-
paragus, salsify, mushrooms, and artichokes all are good
with steak.
Vegetables a la jardiniere ought always to go with
stewed, braised, or rolled beef, though boiled and baked
potatoes, rice, and hominy, turnips, parsnips, carrots,
peas, beans, tomatoes, and sweet potatoes all are good
with beef cooked in any of the three ways mentioned.
Corned Beef. There are some vegetables which appear
almost indispensable, potatoes, turnips, cabbage, beets,
and carrots. There are, however, several substitutes for
cabbage, such as spinach, beet greens, Brussels sprouts,
dandelions, chiccory, and lettuce. Kohl-rabi may take the
place of turnips. Parsnips and sweet potatoes are good
with boiled corned beef.
Mutton and Lamb. The vegetables appropriate to
erve with boiled mutton are boiled potatoes, turnips,
carrots, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, okra, salsify, onions,
spinach, and any kind of green beans. With roast mutton
VEGETABLES. 495
serve potatoes, rice, hominy, sweet potatoes, mashed
turnips, onions, beans, peas, asparagus, spinach, salsify,
tomatoes, squash, corn, or macaroni.
Tfie vegetables suitable for serving with roast lamb are
potatoes, asparagus, peas, beans, spinach, lettuce, young
carrots, white turnips, summer squash, and salsify.
Any of the vegetables named for beefsteak may be
served also with mutton or lamb chops or cutlets.
Pork. With roast pork the following-named vegeta-
bles are appropriate : white and sweet potatoes, squash,
onions, turnips, carrots, parsnips, tomatoes, spinach, okra,
cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kohl-rabi, salsify, rice, and
hominy. Remember, too, that a dish of roast pork is
incomplete without apple sauce.
Veal. E/oast or braised veal tastes best with young
carrots, white turnips, or spinach. Among other vege-
tables very good to serve with it, are fresh beans, peas,
asparagus, okra, tomatoes, lettuce, dandelions, parsnips,
creamed cabbage, young beets, and beet greens.
Poultry and G-ame.- The most suitable vegetables
with boiled turkey and chicken are potatoes, cauliflower,
turnips, stewed celery, macaroni, parsnips, onions, Brus-
sels sprouts, and artichokes. If the poultry be roasted
the vegetables should be about the same, beans of all
kinds, green peas, cauliflower, white and sweet potatoes,
rice, mushrooms, salsify, corn, turnips, carrots, and
macaroni.
Game of all kinds should be so cooked and served that
none of the natural flavors will be disguised. For this
reason the sauces and the vegetables which accompany
the meat should be of such a character that they will
combine in a pleasing way with the game flavor. Celery
is excellent ; it may be served plain, stewed, and with a
white sauce, or with Mayonnaise dressing. In the last-
named form celery is good with any kind of game. In
a dinner of many courses it is customary to serve with
the game a sauce, a salad, almost always uncooked
496 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
vegetables, and bread. Here is a list of vegetables
good with* any kind of game : green peas, French beang,
sweet potatoes, when boiled, glazed, or cooked au gratin ;
tomatoes, stuffed, broiled, or in a salad ; white potatoes,
as croquettes, or puffs, or fried in balls ; cauliflower,
when cooked au gratin ; spinach, a la creme ; and some
tastes are gratified with stuffed onions as a companion of
wild ducks. Unless there be an olive sauce, olives should
be served with ducks. Sometimes fried hominy is served
with grouse and ducks.
The vegetables appropriate to serve with roast goose
are not especially numerous. Onions and potatoes are
considered by most people to be necessary adjuncts ; so
is apple sauce. Sweet potatoes, squash, rice, turnips,
peas, beans, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, salsify, and okra
all are suitable.
In arranging the bill of fare for a dinner, avoid placing
two similar vegetables in the same course, unless they
are to be served a la mace'doine or a la jardiniere. The
common vegetables may be classified as follows :
1. Cabbage, chiccory, spinach, lettuce, endive, dande-
lions, cauliflower, beet greens, Brussels sprouts.
2. Turnips, salsify, kohl-rabi.
3. Squash, sweet potatoes.
4. Shelled beans, peas.
5. Bice, hominy, macaroni, white potatoes.
Now, if squash be used, sweet potatoes should not, in
the same course ; or if turnips be served, salsify should
not.
POTATOES.
The potato is one of the most common vegetables,
and yet its characteristics are not very well understood
by the majority of housekeepers. The potato may be
soaked in cold water for twelve or more hours before
being cooked, and will be improved rather than injured ;
but let it stand in but little moisture after it is cooked.
VEGETABLES. 497
for even ten minutes, and it would be spoiled. The
potato is composed largely of starch. The uncooked
starch does not unite with moisture, but as soon as it is
cooked it absorbs moisture like a sponge. A good potato
will be light and mealy as soon as it is baked or boiled,
but if the cooking be continued it will become dark,
heavy, and strong-flavored.
In warming over potatoes, or in using them in a salad,
there is an objection to a very mealy potato. When po-
tatoes are new they are rarely mealy, and are therefore
particularly nice for salads and for warming over. Ger-
man potatoes are sold in large cities for these purposes.
They are small, and, like a new potato, will not crumble
if cut into cubes or in slices. If one have neither new
nor German potatoes, mealy potatoes may be used for
the purposes mentioned, if they be under-boiled.
* Boiling Potatoes.
There are many ways of boiling the vegetable. It
really makes no difference in the quality of the potato
whether it be put into cold or boiling water, when it is
put on to cook, but it does make a little difference in the
care to the cook. If they be covered with boiling water
they can be timed to a minute, and there will be no care
except to put in the salt and to take them off as soon as
the time is up. If, however, they be put on in cold
water, it will not be possible to time them accurately.
Again, a potato may be so mealy that the outside will be
broken to pieces before the centre is cooked. This
happens only when the boiling is violent.
Here is a rule that has never failed to give a perfectly
cooked potato in all seasons and in all parts of the
country : Put the potatoes in the boiler and on the fire.
Cover them with boiling water. Cover the boiler, and
let them cook half an hour. Eemember it is half an
hour from the time the water is poured over them, not
498 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
from the time they begin to boil. When they have been
cooking fifteen minutes, add a table-spoonful of salt for
every twelve potatoes. The boiling should be only
moderately brisk. At the end of half an hour pour off
every drop of water. If the potatoes must be kept hot
for any length of time, lay a folded towel over them, and
place the kettle on the back part of the stove. They
will keep hot and mealy for hours, if cared for in this
way.
* Princess Potatoes.
Cooked by the following simple mode, potatoes are ren-
dered delicate and delicious. A quantity of cold mashed
ones should be used. Cut into strips about two inches
long, one inch wide, and half an inch thick. Have in one
saucer a table-spoonful of melted butter, and in another
a beaten egg, and dip the strips of potato first into the
butter and then into the egg. With a knife, lay them
in a light!} 7 buttered tin pan, and cook in a hot oven for
twelve minutes. Serve at once. An egg and a table-
spoonful 'of butter will suffice for about a pint of
potatoes.
Duchess Potatoes.
Grate five cold boiled potatoes of medium size. Mix
five level table-spoonfuls of flour, a quarter of a tea-
spoonful of baking-powder, and a teaspoonful of salt;
then lightly mix the grated potatoes with these ingre-
dients, and add half a cupful of milk and two well-beaten
eggs. Have ready in a Scotch bowl or a deep saucepan
boiling lard to the depth of about three inches, and drop
the mixture into the lard by small spoonfuls. About
half of the entire quantity can be cooked at one time.
Fry for eight minutes, and serve on a napkin.
The potatoes used should be light and dry ; the eggs
should be beaten with vigor; the mixing of the ingre-
dients should be done thoroughly, and the fat should
VEGETABLES. 499
be so hot that blue smoke rises from the centre of the
pan.
* Potato Omelet
This requires nine potatoes of medium size, three table-
spoonfuls of butter, one level table-spoonful of salt, one-
third of a teaspoonful of pepper, and half a cupful of hot
milk.
After paring the potatoes, cover them with boiling
water, and cook for half an hour ; then drain off all the
water, and mash the potatoes until fine and light. Add
the salt and pepper, and two table-spoonfuls of the butter,
and after mixing well, gradually add the hot milk, beat-
ing all the while. The mixture should be very light.
Put the remaining table-spoonful of butter on the stove
in a large frying-pan ; and when it gets hot, and before
it has become browned, turn the potato into the pan,
spreading it smoothly. Cover the omelet, and set it
where it will brown slowly and evenly. It should be
done in ten minutes. Fold it, and turn out on a hot
dish. Serve at once.
* Escaloped Potatoes.
Cut a quart of cold boiled potatoes into very thin slices,
and season with half a teaspoonful of salt and a level
table-spoonful of pepper. Next butter an escalop dish.
Put two table-spoonfuls" of butter into a frying-pan, and
when the butter has become hot, and before it has become
browned, add a table-spoonful of flour. Stir until a white
froth has formed, and then draw the frying-pan to a
cooler part of the stove, and add very gradually a pint
of cold milk. After about a third of this quantity has
been thus used, move the frying-pan to the hottest part
of the range, and stir the mixture constantly until it
bubbles ; then add the remainder of the milk, and let it
all boil up. Season with a little pepper, and a third
of a teaspoonful of salt. Spread a layer of this sauce on
500 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
the bottom of the escalop dish, then a layer of potato,
another of sauce, and another of potato, and finish with
one of sauce. Cover with fine dry bread crumbs, and
cook in the oven for twenty minutes.
The potatoes can be sliced and seasoned the night
before, and the crumbs and dish placed in readiness on
the table, so that the work in the morning may be quickly
done.
A dish of creamed potatoes may be made by putting
the seasoned potatoes into the sauce, and heating them
for five minutes.
* Hashed Potatoes in Cream.
Pare, and chop rather coarse, enough cold boiled pota-
toes to make a quart. Put them into a stew-pan with
one teaspoonful of flour, one of salt, and one-fourth of a
teaspoonful of pepper. Mix these materials lightly, and
add a scant pint of sweet milk. Set the stew-pan into
another containing boiling water, and cook the mixture
until it gets boiling hot, say about twelve minutes;
then add a table-spoonful of butter, and a teaspoonful
of chopped parsley. Keinove the stew-pan from the
water, and set it where its contents will boil up once.
Taste, to be sure that there is enough seasoning ; then
serve.
* Potatoes au TGratin.
Butter a gratin dish or a stone-china platter, and spread
upon it a quart of cold potatoes cut into cubes. Dredge
well with salt and pepper, and sprinkle a teaspoonful of
fine-chopped parsley over the dish. Cover with a pint
of cream sauce, and place in the oven for ten or twelve
minutes. In that time the potatoes should become slightly
browned. Serve at once.
To Make the Sauce. Put two table-spoonfuls of butter
into the frying-pan, and when melted, add a table-spoon-
ful of flour. 3tir until the mixture is smooth and frothy ;
VEGETABLES. 501
then draw back to a cooler part of the stove, and grad-
ually add a pint of milk. Season with salt and pepper,
and boil for a moment.
Hashed and Browned Potatoes.
For six people use one quart of cold boiled potatoes,
cut into cubes, two table-spoonfuls of butter, one of flour,
a level table-spoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper,
and one cupful of stock.
Sprinkle half the salt and pepper on the potatoes.
Put one table-spoonful of the butter on the stove in a
frying-pan, and when it becomes hot, put in the flour.
Stir until smooth and brown; then gradually add the
stock and the remaining salt and pepper. Cook for
three minutes ; then add the potatoes, and cook for five
minutes, stirring three or four times with a fork, and
being careful not to break them.
Now put the second table-spoonful of butter on the
stove in another frying-pan, and when it becomes hot,
turn the potatoes into this pan, spreading them lightly.
Cook for ten minutes on a rather hot part of the stove,
being careful that they do not get burned. When the
mixture becomes browned, fold it like an omelet, and
turn out on a hot dish.
It is better to have the potatoes a little under-boiled
for this dish, as they will keep their shape. Follow the
rule carefully.
* Hashed and Browned Potatoes, in Cream
Sauce.
Use for six persons one quart of cold boiled potatoes,
cut into cubes, one slice of onion, two sprigs of parsley,
one slice of carrot, three table-spoonfuls of butter, one
level table-spoonful of salt, one-fourth of a teaspoonful
of pepper, two scant table-spoonfuls of flour, one pint of
milk, and one cupful of grated bread crumbs.
502 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Beat the flour and two table-spoonfuls of the butter
together, in a saucepan. Add the onion, parsley, carrot,
and half the salt and pepper. Heat the milk, and pour
it gradually upon the contents of the saucepan ; then set
the pan on the stove. When the milk begins to boil,
set the pan back where the milk will only simmer for
five minutes.
Season the potatoes with the remainder of the salt
and pepper, and put them into a gratin dish or a shallow
escalop dish. Strain the hot sauce over them. Now
sprinkle the crumbs over the dish, and dot them with
the third, or remaining, table-spoonful of butter. Set
the dish in a rather hot oven, and cook for twenty
minutes. Serve without delay.
* Potatoes Warmed in Chicken Gravy.
Chop a quantity of cold boiled potatoes rather fine,
and season with salt and pepper. Put a teaspoonful of
butter in a frying-pan, and when it is melted, put in the
potatoes. To each quart add half a pint of chicken
gravy. Stir frequently with a fork until the potatoes
have become very hot and brown.
Any other kind of gravy may be used in the same way
with potatoes.
* Stewed Potatoes.
This savory dish will require a quart of raw potatoes,
chopped rather fine, a generous teaspoonful of salt, one-
fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper, one table-spoonful
of flour, one of butter, one cupful of milk, and one of
water.
Pare and chop the potatoes, and let them stand in a
quantity of cold water for ten minutes ; then pour off
the water, and put the potatoes into a stew-pan with all
the other ingredients except the milk and flour, and
simmer for twenty minutes. Now mix the milk with
VEGETABLES. 503
the flour, and add to the articles which are cooking.
After ten minutes' further cooking, serve at once.
If stock be used instead of milk and water, the pota-
toes will be much richer and more savory.
*Dry Stew of Potatoes.
Use two quarts of thin-sliced raw potatoes, about a
quarter of a pound of fat salt pork, one level table-spoon-
ful of salt, and half a teaspoonful of pepper.
Soak the potatoes in cold water for half an hour.
Have the pork cut in very thin slices. Put about one-
fourth of it in the bottom of a deep pudding-dish ; then-
put in half the potatoes, and sprinkle half the pepper and
salt over them. Now put in the remainder of the pota-
toes, and sprinkle with the balance of the salt and
pepper. Spread the remainder of the sliced pork over
the potatoes. Cover the dish, and bake it in a moderate
oven for half an hour. When that time has passed,
remove the cover from the dish, and bake for twenty
minutes more. Serve at once in the same dish.
This is excellent for dinner, luncheon, or supper when
meat or fish is not available. It is both nutritious and
savory. To some tastes a table-spoonful of grated onion,
mixed with the potatoes, will be considered as an
improvement.
* Casserole of Potatoes.
After paring eight good-sized potatoes, cover them
with boiling water, and cook for half an hour ; then
pour off all the water, and mash the potatoes until fine
and light. Add two table-spoonfuls of butter and a tea-
spoonful and a half of salt ; and when these ingredients
have been beaten into the potato, add a generous half-
cupful of milk. Have ready a tin mould, warm and well
buttered, and pack the potato into it. Let the casserole
stand for five minutes ; then turn out on a platter.
504 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
In order to be successful one must be not sparing of
butter when greasing the mould. A chaiiotte-russe or
jelly mould answers well for holding the potato. A
pretty way to serve the casserole is to turn it out upon a
buttered tin sheet, cover with beaten egg, and brown in
the oven.
Potato Timbale.
In order to make a timbale large enough for eight
persons, use eight large potatoes, one table-spoonful of
salt, four table-spoonfuls of butter, half a teaspoonful of
white pepper, three eggs, one cupful of hot milk, and
one-third of a cupful of crumbs.
Pare the potatoes, and, putting them into a stew-pan
with boiling water enough to cover them, cook them for
half an hour. Put the milk on to heat. Pour all the
water from the potatoes, and mash them until fine and
light. Add half the butter and all the salt and pep-
per. Beat the mixture a little, and gradually add the
milk, beating all the time. Finally add the eggs, well
beaten.
Butter a charlotte mould or any other plain mould
with the remaining two spoonfuls of butter, and sprinkle
the bottom and sides with the crumbs, having as many
as possible cling to the butter. Pack the mould with
the potato, and place in a moderate oven for half an hour.
Let it stand for ten minutes after it comes from the
oven ; then turn out the contents very gently on a flat
dish.
* Potato Balls.
With a vegetable-scoop, cut two quarts of balls out of
raw potatoes, and put them into cold water. A quarter
of an hour before serving-time, put them into a saucepan
with boiling water enough to cover, and cook for twelve
minutes. After pouring off all the water, dredge the
balls with salt, and let them stand on the back of the
range to dry off.
VEGETABLES. 505
* Potato Balls with Cream Sauce.
Pare a number of large round potatoes, and cut balls
from them with a vegetable-scoop. A dozen potatoes
will give about sixty balls, if the largest scoop be used.
Cover the balls with boiling water, and cook them twelve
minutes ; then pour off the water, and add to the balls a
pint of boiling milk. Into this stir two table-spoonfuls
of butter mixed with one of flour, and also a seasoning
of salt and pepper. Boil up once, and serve.
A teaspoonful of chopped parsley improves the appear-
ance of the dish.
There is another nice mode of serving potato balls.
When all the water has been drained from them, add a
teaspoonful of lemon juice, half a teaspoonful of salt
one-quarter of a teaspoonful of white pepper, and three
table-spoonfuls of butter, mixed with one teaspoonful of
chopped parsley. This mode is particularly nice when
the potato balls are to accompany some dish of fish.
There should be no delay in serving.
* Potato Cakes.
These are made by shaping into small flat cakes cold
mashed potatoes left from a previous meal, putting them
on a buttered tin, spreading them lightly with soft but-
ter, and placing them in a hot oven for a quarter of* an
hour. Serve at once.
* Roasted Potatoes.
If the cooking be perfect, roasted potatoes are an ex-
cellent accompaniment of roast beef ; but if it be faulty,
and the potatoes come from the oven hard and dry, this
mode of cooking is not likely to be a favorite. The
potatoes should be large. Pare them, and cover with
boiling water; and after fifteen minutes' cooking, take
506 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
them out and drain them. Now put them into the
dripping-pan containing the roast beef, and cook for
twenty-five minutes. Baste several times with the beef
gravy. Serve the potatoes as a garnish around the
roast.
* Saratoga Potatoes.
After paring six large potatoes, slice them very thin,
and put them into three quarts of cold water. Let them
stand all night in a cold place, in the ice-chest, if possi-
ble. In the morning pour off the water, and put in some
that is fresh, as well as a large piece of ice. When the
potatoes are brittle, drain about a pint of them, and,
putting them into a frying-basket, lower them into a
kettle one-third full of boiling fat. Cook for ten min-
utes, lifting them with a spoon from the bottom of the
pan two or three times while they are frying. Drain the
potatoes well, and turn them into a dish lined with soft
brown paper. Continue cooking the potatoes in this
way until all are done.
A great many points are to be observed : The slices
should be cut equally thin; they should stand long
enough in cold water for the extraction of a large part
of the starch and coloring matter ; they should be so cold
when put into the fat as to be brittle ; the fat should be
smoking hot, and be kept boiling all the time ; and care
should be taken to prevent the potatoes from burning.
The particles of water that cling to the potatoes turn
to steam on coming into contact with the fat, and the
expansion will force the fat out of the kettle, unless the
basket be lowered gradually.
This may seem to be a great deal of space to devote to
fried potatoes ; but they are worth it.
* Lyonnaise Potatoes.
Cut into cubes enough cold boiled potatoes to make
one quart. Season them with a generous teaspoonful of
VEGETABLES. 507
salt and one-third of a teaspoonful of pepper. Put three
level table-spoonfuls of either pork, sausage, or ham fat
into a large frying-pan, and add two table-spoonfuls of
minced chives. Cook for three minutes, stirring all the
time. Add the potatoes, and stir with a fork, being
careful not to break them, until they become browned
and very hot. Now add one teaspoonful of minced
parsley, and cook for a minute longer. Turn into a hot
dish, and serve at once.
If butter be preferred, it may be substituted for fat.
One table-spoonful of minced onion may be used instead
of the chives. Use more salt and pepper if you choose.
* Sautd Potatoes.
Cut into balls or cubes enough raw potatoes to make a
quart. Put them in a stew-pan, and cover with boiling
water. Cook for ten minutes ; then drain off the water,
and add four table-spoonfuls of clarified butter. Shake
over a hot fire until the potatoes are a golden brown.
Dredge with salt, and serve at once.
* Potato Chowder.
For this dish will be required two quarts of pared and
sliced potatoes, five good-sized onions, pared, and sliced
very thin, half a pound of salt pork, two quarts of water,
two table-spoonfuls of flour, and salt and pepper for
seasoning.
Cut the pork into thin strips, and fry slowly until it
turns light brown ; then add the onions, and cook slowly
until they have become slightly browned. Put a layer
of sliced potatoes into the soup-kettle, then a thin layer
of pork and onion, and dredge with salt, pepper, and
flour. Continue putting in these alternate layers until
all the solid materials have been used ; then add the
water. Heat the chowder slowly to the boiling-point,
and simmer for forty minutes afterward.
508 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
* French Fried Sweet Potatoes.
Cut cold boiled potatoes into sixths, lengthwise. Sea-
son them with salt, and, putting them into the frying
basket, cook in fat for five minutes.
This is one of the most delicious ways of serving
sweet potatoes.
* Fried Sweet Potatoes.
Cut cold boiled sweet potatoes in slices about an inch
thick, and season with salt and pepper. For each quart,
cut a quarter of a pound of fat salt pork in thin slices ;
and after frying until it is brown and crisp, remove it
from the pan and put in enough of the sliced potatoes
to cover the bottom. Fry until brown on one side, and
then turn and brown the other. Keep the cooked slices
hot until all have been fried. Place in a hot dish, and
serve with the slices of pork laid around the potatoes.
Great care must be exercised to prevent the potatoes
from becoming burned during the frying.
Use large potatoes. After paring them, cover them
with boiling water and boil for one hour ; then let them
cool in the water in which they were boiled. When they
are cold, cut them into slices about half an inch thick,
and season well with salt and pepper. For each quart
bowlful of sliced potatoes, allow a quarter of a pound of
fat salt pork. Cut it in thin slices, and fry slowly for
about ten minutes ; then put it on a hot part of the range,
where it will grow crisp rapidly. When it is crisp,
take it up, and cover the bottom of the frying-pan with
slices of potato. Cook until brown on one side ; then
turn and brown on the other. When all have been
cooked, place in a hot dish, and garnish with the slices
of pork. Serve very hot.
This is a favorite mode of frying potatoes in Southern
homes. It leaves them moist, and makes them delicious.
VEGETABLES. 509
* Escaloped Sweet Potatoes.
Slice enough cold boiled sweet potatoes to make three
pints, and sprinkle with a teaspoonf ul of salt and a little
pepper. Butter a large shallow dish, and spread the
potatoes in it, making a layer not more than an inch
thick. Melt one-third of a cupful of butter in one-fourth
of a cupful of boiling water; and after sprinkling a
quarter of this liquid over the potatoes, put them into a
hot oven. In ten minutes sprinkle another quarter of
the liquid over them ; and repeat the act twice more at
intervals of ten minutes. After the final sprinkling, let
the dish bake ten minutes longer, or forty minutes
in all.
This is a nice entree for dinner, and is also appropriate
for breakfast. It may be made much richer by using
more butter and no water for the basting. Sometimes a
table-spoonful of sugar is mixed with the butter and
water, but it is doubtful whether an improvement is
thus made.
Glazed Sweet Potatoes.
Cut cold sweet potatoes in slices about an inch thick,
and season well with salt and pepper. For a quart of
potatoes, melt half a cupful of butter, and add two. table-
spoonfuls of sugar to it. Dip the slices in this liquid,
arid lay them in a large pan. Cook for twelve minutes
in a very hot oven. The potatoes should turn a rich,
glossy brown in that time. Serve hot. They are nice
for luncheon, dinner, or supper.
* Carrots with Cream Sauce.
Scrape, wash, and cut into cubes enough carrots to
make a quart when cut up. Put them into a stew-
pan with two quarts of boiling water, and cook them for
one hour ; then pour off all the water except half a gill.
510 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Add one teaspoonful of sugar and one of salt, and boil
rapidly until all the water evaporates; then add the
sauce, and serve at once.
To Make the Sauce. Put three gills of milk into a
stew-pan, and when it boils, add two table-spoonfuls of
butter that has been beaten, with a level table-spoonful
of flour, to a froth. Now add half a teaspoonful of salt
and one-eighth of a teaspoonful of pepper. Cook for
three minutes before pouring over the vegetables.
.
* Stewed Carrots.
Pare and slice enough carrots to make three pints, and
cut them into cubes about half an inch square. Put
these into a stew-pan containing two quarts of boiling
water, and cook for an hour ; then drain off all the
water, and add a heaping teaspoonful of sugar, two table-
spoonfuls of butter, half a teaspoonful of salt, a little
pepper, and half a pint of stock. Cook rapidly until the
stock has almost boiled away.
Stewed Turnips.
Proceed exactly the same in cooking turnips as you do
in preparing carrots, except that the turnips should be
cooked for only half an hour.
Parsnips with Butter Sauce.
Scrape and wash the parsnips. Cut them in slices
about five inches long and one-third of an inch wide.
Put one quart of these slices in a stew-pan with two
quarts of boiling water. Cook them for three-quarters
of an hour. When they have been boiling for half an
hour, add one table-spoonful of salt. When they are
done, drain off all the water, and put the parsnips in a
vegetable dish. Dredge them lightly with salt, and
pour half a pint of butter sauce over them.
VEGETABLES.
511
* Fried Parsnips.
Let it be assumed that some parsnips were left from
a dinner. Allow the butter sauce (which should be pro-
vided with boiled parsnips) to cling to them, and after
dipping in beaten egg and bread crumbs, put them into
the frying-basket, and plunge into boiling fat. Cook for
five minutes.
If the parsnips have not had butter sauce and salt
and pepper on them, season them well before frying.
Parsnip Fritters.
Put a pint of flour into a sieve, and add to it one tea-
spoonful and a half of baking-powder and a scant tea-
spoonful of salt. Mix thoroughly, and rub through the
sieve. Next beat two eggs till light ; and after adding
a pint of milk to them, stir the mixture into the flour.
Follow with the addition of a pint of cold boiled parsnips,
grated fine ; and after beating the mixture thoroughly,
drop it by spoonfuls into boiling fat, holding the spoon
close to the liquid before you venture to drop the con-
tents. Cook the fritters for about five minutes, and serve
very hot. There should be fat enough to float the fritters,
and it should smoke before they are dropped in.
* Creamed Onions.
After boiling half a dozen onions in three quarts of
water for one hour, pour off the liquor, and cut the
onions into small pieces. Season with salt and pepper,
and pour a pint of cream sauce over them. Serve very
hot.
To Make the Sauce. First put a pint of milk into
a saucepan to boil. Eub to a cream two table-spoonfuls
of butter and one generous table-spoonful of flour ; and
when the milk begins to boil, stir this cream into it.
Continue the stirring until the sauce is smooth. Season
with salt and pepper, and boil up once.
512 MISS PABLO A'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
*Escaloped Onions.
Prepare the onions just as if they were to be served
as creamed onions. Put them into an escalop dish before
pouring the sauce over them, and after sprinkling them
with a small cupful of bread crumbs, bake in a moderate
oven for twenty minutes.
By some people it may be considered as an improve-
ment to use a table-spoonful of grated cheese with the
crumbs.
Stuffed Onions.
Boil six large onions gently for an hour in clear water
in plenty. At the end of the stated time remove the
onions from the water, and with a sharp knife cut a
piece from the centre of each. Mix together two table-
spoonfuls of fine-chopped ham, three of bread crumbs,
one of butter, three of inilk or cream, one egg, half a
teaspoonful of salt, and a grain of cayenne. Fill with
this mixture the spaces made in the onions. Sprinkle
with dry crumbs, and put half a teaspoonful of butter
on top of each onion. Place on brown earthen plates,
and bake slowly for an hour. Serve with cream sauce.
Spanish onions are especially delicious prepared in
this manner.
* Stewed Tomatoes.
Pare ripe tomatoes, and then cut them into small
pieces. Put them in a stew-pan, and simmer for half
an hour. At the end of that time add, for each quart,
a teaspoonful of salt, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of
pepper, and two table-spoonfuls of butter. Simmer for
ten minutes longer.
This is a dish as to which tastes vary a good deal ; ten
minutes' cooking being all some persons give it, whereas
others stew the tomatoes two hours. A teaspoonful of
VEGETABLES. 513
sugar and half a cupful of cracker crumbs are some-
times added with the butter and other seasoning.
Canned tomatoes can be treated the same as the fresh,
except that they will require but half as much cooking.
Baked Tomatoes.
Cut the skin from one end of each of half a dozen good-
sized smooth tomatoes. With a teaspoon scoop out
about half of the pulp, and mix it with two table-spoon-
fuls of butter, two of powdered cracker, one teaspoonful
of salt, one of sugar, and half a teaspoonful of pepper.
Fill the cavities with this mixture, and after sprinkling
the tomatoes with crumbs, bake them in a moderate oven
for half an hour.
Breaded Tomatoes.
The tomatoes should be firm and cold. The variety
called beefsteak tomato is the best for breading. Before
doing any other work, get ready a kettle of hot fat, roll
and sift a quantity of bread crumbs, and beat two eggs.
All this is necessary because the tomatoes grow soft and
juicy if allowed to stand. Pare and slice them, and
after seasoning well with salt and pepper, dip each slice
in beaten egg and then in bread crumbs. When all the
slices have been treated in this manner, dip them again
in the egg and crumbs j then place them in a frying-
basket, and plunge into boiling fat. Cook for about a
minute and a half. For six people, about four large
tomatoes, two eggs, and a cupful of crumbs will be
required.
* Broiled Tomatoes.
After paring and slicing the tomatoes, and seasoning
suitably with salt and pepper, dip the slices in beaten
egg and in crumbs. Broil over clear coals for about
eight minutes. Place on a hot dish, with a bit of butter
m
514 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
in the centre of each slice. This dish is good for break-
fast, luncheon, or tea.
Another way of cooking the tomatoes is to put a little
butter into a hot frying-pan, and brown the tomatoes on
both sides in the pan.
* Sliced Tomatoes.
For this dish one should use only such tomatoes as
are ripe and smooth. Put them into a bowl, and pour
boiling water upon them. This will loosen the skins, so
that the paring is an easy task. As soon as the tomatoes
have been pared, place them where they will become
very cold ; and when they are cold, slice them with a
very sharp knife, and then place the dish on ice again
until the time of serving.
* Tomato Fritters.
tlse for these fritters a can of tomatoes, eight slices of
stale bread about half an inch thick, one table-spoonful
of butter, one of flour, one teaspoonful of salt, one of
sugar, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper, two eggs,
anci a pint of crumbs of bread or crackers.
Cook the tomatoes, salt, pepper, and sugar together in
a stew-pan for ten minutes. Rub the flour and butter
together, and stir into the cooking mixture. Cook for
three minutes longer j then rub through a strainer.
Spread the slices of bread on a platter, and pour the
strained tomato . over them. After they have stood for
abbut half an hour, turn them over and let them stand
ten minutes longer, 'that both sides maybe weir covered
with the sauce.
Beat the eggs well, and dip the toast first in the eggs
and then in the bread crumbs. Put a few slices into a
frying-basket, and cook in boiling fat for two minutes,
repeating the process until all the slices have been thus
treated. Drain well, and serve very hot.
VEGETABLES. 515
* Boiled Asparagus.
After cutting the tough ends from the asparagus, wash
it in cold water and tie it again in bundles. Put it into
a stew-pan with salted boiling water, a teaspoonful of
salt to every quart of water, and boil for twenty-five
minutes. On taking from the fire, drain off the water.
Now untie the bundles, and place the asparagus on slices
of toast. Season with butter and a little salt.
Or, the asparagus may be cut in two-inch pieces and
boiled as directed. Drain off all the water. Put the
asparagus in a vegetable-dish, and season with butter and
a little salt. This is a very satisfactory way to cook
and serve the vegetable.
* Asparagus Points.
Cut off the tender green heads of asparagus. Wash
them, and then boil in salted water from fifteen to
twenty minutes. These are served like peas.
Asparagus with Eggs.
Use two bunches of asparagus, half a dozen eggs, three
table-spoonfuls of butter, and three level teaspoonfuls of
salt.
After cutting off the tough ends, wash the rest of the
asparagus, and cut it in pieces about two inches long.
Place it in a saucepan with enough boiling water to
cover it, and boil for twenty-five minutes, adding two
teaspoonfuls of salt at the end of the first quarter of an
hour. When done, take from the fire and drain off all
the water. Place the asparagus in an escalop-dish or
gratin-dish. Spread half the butter on it, and then set
the dish where the asparagus will keep hot while the
eggs are being beaten. Beat them till rather light ;
then add a teaspoonful of salt and the remainder of the
butter, broken into bits. Pour this mixture over the
516 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
asparagus, and set the dish in a moderate oven for four
minutes. Serve very hot.
This dish may be served as an entre'e.
* Green Peas.
Shell the peas. Put them in a stew-pan with boiling
water enough to cover them, and add a table-spoonful of
salt for each quart of peas. Boil from twenty minutes
to an hour, the time depending upon the age and condi-
tion of the peas. Those that require an hour's boiling
to make them tender are not of a delicate flavor when
cooked. Drain off almost all the water, and season the
peas with butter and salt.
French Peas.
Open a can of French peas, and turn them into a
strainer. Rinse them thoroughly by pouring cold water
over them. Put them in a flat-bottomed stew-pan, and
add to them one table-spoonful of butter, one teaspoonful
each of salt and sugar, and one gill of stock. Cook
rapidly, having the stew-pan uncovered, until the peas
have absorbed all the liquid. Serve at once.
Fresh peas may be finished in this manner after they
have been boiled and drained.
* Boiled Salsify.
As the season for delicate green vegetables goes by,
people turn to vegetables of a somewhat heavier kind.
Salsify, or oyster-plant, is one of the most palatable tubers,
and may be cooked in a variety of ways. If it is simply
to be boiled, first remove the tops (which are not used)
from two bunches, and cover the bunches with cold
water. Next put a quart of cold water and a table-
spoonful of lemon juice into a bowl. Scrape the salsify
perfectly clean ; and as each piece is finished, drop it
into the liquid in the bowl, which will keep it white.
VEGETABLES. 517
When ready to cook the salsify, drain it carefully and
put it into a clean stew-pan with boiling water enough
to cover it. Boil for fifty minutes, adding a teaspoonful
of salt at the end of the first half-hour. At serving-
time drain the plant thoroughly, and season it with salt
and pepper and a table-spoonful of butter ; or serve with
butter sauce.
Salsify grows dark in cooking unless it be kept in
water from the time it is scraped until it is boiled. It
should not be cooked in an iron kettle.
Salsify a la Poulette.
Boil the salsify as already directed, and serve with a
sauce made as follows : Put two table-spoonfuls of butter
and one of flour into a small saucepan, and rub them to a
smooth paste. Add a piece of onion the size of a quarter
of a dollar, a tiny bit of mace, one-tenth of a teaspoonful
of white pepper, half a teaspoonful of salt, and a cupful
and a half of white stock. Let the mixture boil for ten
minutes ; then add the yolks of two eggs, beaten with a
quarter of a cupful of stock. Stir the sauce on the back
of the stove where it will not boil for one minute ;
then add a teaspoonful of lemon juice, and strain imme-
diately. Split the pieces of salsify, and lay them in
a warm dish, and pour the sauce over them. Serve
very hot.
The eggs may be omitted if one prefer. The sauce
will then be white, which is a good color in an accom-
paniment of salsify.
* Fried Salsify.
Use the cold salsify left from a dinner. Dip it in
beaten egg and then in bread crumbs, and after placing
it in a fry ing-basket, put it into boiling fat. It should
fry brown in a minute and a half. If any sauce cling
to it when it is breaded, so much the better. Serve hot.
518 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
* Boiled Green Corn.
The time of boiling corn depends so much upon the
age of the vegetable and the time that it has been
picked that it is impossible to give a definite rule. Corn
that is tender and freshly picked will cook in ten
minutes. Some people cook it for only five, but that is
hardly enough. When the corn is older it will take
from fifteen to thirty minutes to cook.
Remove the husks and the fine silk from the ears.
Put the corn in a stew-pan with boiling water enough to
cover it, and boil until done. Take it from the water,
spread a napkin on a flat dish, and lay the corn on it.
Draw the ends of the napkin up, so as to cover the corn.
Serve at once.
Sometimes the inner husks are left on the corn ; but
the silk is of course removed. The corn may be served
in the husks, or they may be removed after the corn is
boiled.
* Green Corn in Cream.
Husk the corn, and boil it for ten minutes. Cool it a
little. Draw a sharp knife down each row of kernels,
thus cutting every kernel in two. Press the corn from
the husks with the back of a knife. When all the corn
is ready, put it in a saucepan, and to each pint add half a
teaspoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of sugar, one-
fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper, one table-spoonful of
butter, and three-fourths of a cupful of milk or cream.
Simmer for ten minutes, and serve very hot.
This is the most satisfactory mode of preparing the
corn when it is at all old and hard.
* Canned Corn.
Put a can of corn in a stew-pan with three gills of
milk, one teaspoonful each of salt and sugar, and one-
VEGETABLES. 519
fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper. Simmer for twenty
minutes ; then add a generous table-spoonful of butter,
and serve.
* Lima Beans.
These beans should stand in cold water for at least
an hour before they are cooked, and at the time of cook-
ing two quarts of boiling water should be allowed for
each quart of beans. An hour's cooking probably will
be sufficient. The beans should be seasoned with salt,
pepper, and butter ; or white- or poulette sauce should
be served with them. ; -
Dried Lima beans, if used, should be soaked in cold
water over night. Cook them for .two hours, and season
them with salt and butter.
* Succotash.
Use a pint of shelled beans, ten or a dozen ears of
corn, half a pint of cream or niilk, two table-spoonfuls- of
butter, one teaspoonful of salt, and one-fourth of a tea-
spoonful of pepper.
Wash the beans, and boil them for an hour in clear
water. Pour off the water at the end of that time, and
put into the stew-pan a gill of boiling water, the milk
or cream, and the corn cut from the cob. Heat the
dish to the boiling-point, and then let it simmer for a
quarter of an hour. After this time has passed, add the
butter, salt, and pepper to the corn and beans ; then boil
up once and serve.
If the corn be fresh from the garden and very tender,
from five to ten minutes' simmering will cook it suffi-
ciently, whereas, if it be a trifle old, from twenty to
thirty minutes' cooking may be required.
520 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
* Escaloped Corn and Tomatoes.
Use one pint of cold boiled corn, cut from the cob, or
one can of preserved corn, one pint of pared and chopped
tomatoes, one level table-spoonful of salt, half a tea-
spoonful of pepper, three table-spoonfuls of butter, one
teaspoonful of sugar, and a generous half-pint of grated
bread crumbs.
Mix together the corn, tomato, seasoning, and two
table-spoonfuls of the butter, and pour the mixture into
an escalop-dish, one that will hold three pints. . Spread
the bread crumbs over the mixture, and dot with the
third table-spoonful of butter. Bake in a moderate oven
for half an hour.
This dish may be used for luncheon, dinner, or tea.
* Cauliflower.
This is a handsome and delicate vegetable. It is a
pity that more people do not know how to cook it prop-
erly. Frequently a head of cauliflower, which was white
and delicate when it went to the kitchen, is red and
strong-flavored when placed on the table, and perhaps
has a thick coating of melted butter and flour, or a thick
sauce of flour and milk, which tastes as if it were pre-
pared for a paste rather than a sauce.
There are many ways of cooking this vegetable, but
the simplest is the best. The cauliflower should be
washed thoroughly, and then allowed to stand in cold
water for a quarter of an hour or longer ; it should next
be put into a stew-pan either one of granite-ware or
one with a lining of porcelain with a plentiful quan-
tity of boiling water ; and after the cover has been put
on the stew-pan, the cauliflower should be simmered for
half an hour, if it be fresh, crisp, and of moderate size,
or for forty minutes, if it be rather large; it should
then be drained and placed in a deep vegetable-dish ;
and finall) 7 a sauce should be poured over it.
VEGETABLES. 521
The simplest and best sauce is made by beating two
table-spoonfuls of butter and one of flour to a cream,
pouring over this mixture three gills of boiling milk,
and adding half a teaspoonf ul of salt after the liquid has
boiled for five minutes. Half a teaspoonful of salt
should be sprinkled over the cauliflower before the sauce
is poured over it.
* Escaloped Cauliflower.
Put a good-sized cauliflower into a kettle containing
two quarts of boiling water, and after adding a table-
spoonful of salt, cook the vegetable slowly for half an
hour. At the end of that time remove it, and after
allowing the water to drip from it, break the cauliflower
apart, and put a layer into an escalop-dish. Moisten
with cream sauce, and sprinkle with grated cheese ; then
put in another layer, pour the remainder of the sauce
over it, and sprinkle thickly with cheese and bread
crumbs. You will need a pint of sauce, a scant half-
pint of bread crumbs, and two table-spoonfuls of cheese
or more if you desire a strong flavor. Cook the dish
for twenty minutes, and serve as soon as it comes from
the oven.
To Make the Sauce. Put two table-spoonfuls of butter
into the frying-pan, and when it becomes melted, add a
table-spoonful of flour. Stir the sauce until it is smooth
and frothy ; then gradually add a pint of cold milk.
Season with salt and pepper, and boil up once.
* Creamed Cabbage.
For six persons use two quarts of sliced raw cabbage,
two table-spoonfuls of butter, one of flour, one teaspoon-
ful of salt, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper, and
one cupful of milk.
After letting the sliced cabbage stand in cold water
for an hour, drain it, and put it into a stew-pan with two
522 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
quarts of boiling water. Cover closely, and boil gently
for ten minutes ; then pour off all the water, and add two
quarts of fresh boiling water. Cover the pan, and set it
where its contents will boil gently for an hour and a
half ; then drain off all the water, and chop the cabbage
rather coarse. Put it into a frying-pan with the butter,
salt, and pepper, and stir over the fire for five minutes;
then cover, and set back where the mixture will cook
slowly. Mix the milk gradually with the flour, and
when a smooth mixture has been formed of the two in-
gredients, pour it over the cabbage. Draw the pan for-
ward where the dish will only simmer for the next ten
minutes. Serve hot.
* Escaloped Cabbage.
Cook the cabbage as directed for creamed cabbage,
using a generous cupful of milk. Turn the cooked mix-
ture into an escalop-dish, and sprinkle over it a pint of
grated bread crumbs and one table-spoonful of grated
Parmesan cheese. Bake for half an hour, and serve as
soon as it comes from the oven.
* Stewed Cabbage.
Take two quarts of chopped cabbage, two quarts of
boiling water, eight slices of rather lean salt pork, one
generous table-spoonful of butter, and one teaspoonful of
salt.
Put the cabbage into a stew-pan, and after adding the
salt and butter, lay the slices of pork on top of the cab-
bage. Pour the boiling water into the pan, and cook for
an hour. Add some Indian dumplings at the end of that
time, and cook fifteen minutes longer.
Indian Dumplings. These require a cupful of Indian
meal, one-fourth of a cupful of flour, one cupful of milk,
one level teaspoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of baking-
powder, and a small egg.
VEGETABLES. 523
Mix all the dry ingredients, and rub them through a
sieve. Beat the egg until it is light. Add the inilk,
and after pouring this liquid mixture upon the dry one,
beat both thoroughly. Drop from a spoon upon the
boiling cabbage ; and after covering the stew-pan, cook
for a quarter of an hour.
i.-i*
Brussels Sprouts Saut6.
Use one quart of sprouts, three table-spoonfuls of but-
ter, one teaspoonful of sugar, one table-spoonful of salt,
one teaspoonful of flour, and one-quarter of a teaspoonful
of pepper.
After ridding the sprouts of the loose hanging leaves,
soak them in cold water for half an hour ; then wash
them, and put them on the stove in a stew-pan contain-
ing two quarts of boiling water. Boil for half an hour,
adding a teaspoonful of salt at the end of the first ten
minutes. At the end of the half-hour drain off all the
water, and add the sugar, butter, pepper, flour, and one
teaspoonful of salt. Shake the pan over the fire until
the sprouts become colored slightly, say for about four
minutes ; then turn the vegetables into a warm dish, and
serve at once.
Brussels Sprouts in Cream Sauce.'
Wash and boil a quart of sprouts as for the saute, and
after draining them carefully, put a cupful of milk into
the stew-pan with the sprouts, and set the pan where its
contents will boil. Now beat together one table-spoonful
of flour and two of butter. Stir this mixture into the
milk, and add one-fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper and
one teaspoonful of salt. Simmer for five minutes.
* Boiled Okra.
The okra should be fresh and tender. Wash it, and
then cut off the stems. The pods are so sticky that care
524 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
must be taken to avoid breaking them, else it will be
difficult to get them perfectly clean. This is why they
should be washed before the stems are removed. Put
them into a stew-pan, and cover with a liberal allowance
of water. For each quart of okra put in about three
ounces of lean salt pork. Boil for an hour, or even
longer, unless it be tender by that time. When it is
cooked, pour off the water and season with salt. Serve
hot.
If you object to pork, cook the okra in clear water ;
and when it is done, season with salt and butter.
* Spinach & la Crdme.
Pick apart, leaf by leaf, a peck of spinach. Throw
away the decayed portions, and put the rest into a large
pan of water. When this has been done, take the pan
to the sink and wash the spinach free of sand. This is
a difficult operation, requiring much care and a great
deal of water. Two pans should be used, and only a few
pieces of spinach washed at a time. They should then
be laid in the second pan, in clean water ; and after the
first pan has been very thoroughly rinsed and filled again
with fresh water, wash the spinach again, and return it
to the first pan. Continue the washing from pan to pan
until no trace of sand can be found. No other method
will give clean spinach, and unless one be willing to
take all the pains described, it would be better to do
without the vegetable.
Now that the spinach is clean, put it into a large stew-
pan, with one cupful of water ; and after covering closely,
cook for a quarter of an hour. Add a table-spoonful of
salt, and cook five minutes longer; then remove from
the fire and turn into a colander, and press out as much
water as possible. Put into a chopping-tray, and mince
very fine.
A little before serving-time, put three table-spoonfuls
of butter into a frying-pan, and when it has become
VEGETABLES. 525
melted, add two table-spoonfuls of flour. Stir the mix-
ture until it becomes smooth and frothy ; then add the
chopped spinach, and cook for five minutes, stirring con-
stantly. Add a cupful of cream, and salt and pepper
to suit your taste, and after cooking for three minutes,
serve on toast.
Stuffed Peppers.
A vegetable that is coming into much favor is the
green Spanish sweet pepper. It is usually served stuffed,
and in a course with meats. For eight good-sized peppers
take a pint of fine-chopped cooked meat, half a pint of
grated stale bread, half a pint of water or stock, two
level teaspoonfuls of salt, one-fifth of a teaspoonful
of pepper, half a teaspoonful each of summer savory,
thyme, and sage, three table-spoonfuls of dried bread
crumbs, and three table-spoonfuls of butter.
Cut a thin slice from the stem end of each pepper, and
then remove the seeds. When all have been treated in
this way, put them in a stew-pan, cover with boiling
water, and set where they will simmer for a quarter of
an hour.
Meanwhile mix all the ingredients except one table-
spoonful of the butter and the dried crumbs. When
the peppers have been cooked for fifteen minutes, drain
them, and fill them with the dressing. Sprinkle the tops
with the crumbs, and dot with the remainder of the
butter. Place in a pan, and bake in a hot oven for
fifteen minutes. Serve very hot.
The ends that are cut off may be boiled with the pep-
pers, and put in their original positions after the peppers
are stuffed. In this case the crumbs and butter need
not be used.
* Fried Egg-plant.
Cut an egg-plant in slices about half an inch thick.
Pare these, and lay them in a deep, flat dish, and pour
upon them a quart of boiling water, to which has been
526 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
added a table-spoonful of salt. After the slices have
stood for an hour in the water, drain and pepper them ;
then dip them into beaten egg and bread crumbs, and fry
in boiling fat for eight minutes. Serve immediately.
* Stuffed Egg-plant.
Of course, an egg-plant is needed ; and the other things
used are : a pint of grated bread crumbs, an egg, two
table-spoonfuls of butter, one teaspoonful of salt, a
quarter of a teaspoonful of pepper, half a teaspoonful
of chopped onion, and the same quantity of chopped
parsley.
Boil the egg-plant for ten minutes ; then take it from
the fire, and as soon as it has become partially cooled,
divide it into two pieces, cutting lengthwise. With a
spoon scoop out the greater part of the vegetable, being
careful not to break the skin.
Cook the butter, onion, and parsley in a large frying-
pan for three minutes; then add the pulp of the egg-
plant and the seasoning, and continue the cooking for
ten minutes, stirring frequently.
Meanwhile beat the egg well, and at the end of the ten
minutes add it to the mixture ; then remove the frying-
pan from the fire. Put the two shells of the plant into
a baking-pan, and fill them with cooked mixture. Sprinkle
the bread crumbs over them, and bake in a rather quick
oven for twenty minutes. Send to the table very hot.
Stuffed egg-plant may be served as a vegetable, with
meats, or as an entree.
* Baked Egg-plant.
Besides one good-sized egg-plant, use two table-spoonfuls
of butter, one teaspoonful and a half of salt, one-fourth
of a teaspoonful of pepper, two cupfuls of grated bread
crumbs, and one-third of a cupful of stock or water.
Cut the plant in two, lengthwise, and scoop out the
VEGETABLES. 527
pulp with a spoon, leaving the skin about half an inch
thick, that the plant may hold its shape. Chop the
pulp rather fine, and add to it one teaspoonful of the
salt, half the pepper, and all the butter. Cook in a
frying-pan for ten minutes, stirring frequently ; then
add the water, and one cupful of the crumbs. Sprinkle
the interior of the shells with the remainder of the salt
and pepper, and fill them with the cooked mixture.
Sprinkle the second cupful of crumbs over the surface
of the mixture. Place the two parts of the plant in a
baking-pan, and pour enough hot water into the pan to
come half-way up the sides of the plant. Bake for one
hour. At serving-time spread a napkin on a flat dish
before placing the plant on it. Serve hot.
Cooked by this rule, the egg-plant will be found very
delicate, and may be served either as a vegetable or an
entre'e.
* Macedoine of Vegetables.
For eight or ten persons use one pint of cooked cauu-
flower, one pint of carrots, cut into fine cubes, one can
of French peas or French beans, three gills of white
stock, half a cupful of cream or milk, three teaspooiifuls
of salt, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of white pepper, one
table-spoonful of sugar, three table-spoonfuls of butter,
two scant table-spoonfuls of flour, one table-spoonful of
chopped onion, and one bay leaf.
Cook the carrots in three quarts of water for forty
minutes ; then pour off the water, and add to the carrots
the cooked cauliflower, broken into flowerets, the peas,
rinsed and drained, the sugar, half the pepper, two tea-
spoonfuls of the salt, and one gill of the stock. Cover
the stew-pan, and set it where its contents will cook for
ten minutes.
Now put the butter and flour into a stew-pan, and mix
them until smooth. Heat the remainder of the stock,
and pour it upon the mixture. Set the stew-pan on the
528 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
fire, and stir the mixture until it boils. At that time
add the onion, bay leaf, and the remainder of the salt
and pepper. Cook for five minutes ; then add the milk
or cream, and boil up once. Strain this sauce over the
vegetables, and arrange them on a warm dish. Serve
immediately.
This makes a nice dish to serve with cutlets, chops,
braised tongue, or any meat entree. It also is a suitable
entre'e if served by itself.
The materials required are : a can of mixed vegetables,
a table-spoonful of beef extract, a teaspoonful of sugar,
a teaspoonful of salt, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of
pepper, two table-spoonfuls of butter, and half a cupful
of water.
Turn the vegetables into a strainer, and pour cold water
over them ; then place them in a stew-pan with the other
ingredients, and cook over a hot fire for eight minutes,
shaking the stew-pan occasionally. Serve hot.
If it be inconvenient to get beef extract, use half a
cupful of stock instead of the water.
Vegetables a la Jardiniere.
For eight or ten persons use one can of French peas or
one quart of fresh peas, when in season, one pint each of
carrot and turnip cubes, three gills of any kind of stock,
three heaping teaspoonfuls of butter, three teaspoonfuls
of sugar, and three level teaspoonfuls of salt.
Put the carrots and turnips in separate saucepans,
with two quarts of boiling water to each vegetable, and
cook the carrots for forty minutes, and the turnips for
thirty. Now, if fresh peas are to be used, put them into
a saucepan, with boiling water enough to cover them,
after the other vegetables have been cooking for ten
minutes, and cook them for half an hour. If very young
and tender, they may be cooked in twenty minutes ; if
VEGETABLES. 529
old, they may require forty minutes' boiling. In case
French peas be used, open the can and pour the peas
into a strainer. Pour over them a quart of cold water,
and after it has been drained off, put the peas into a
saucepan.
When the turnips and carrots havi, been cooked, drain
off all the hot water. Add to each saucepan of vegeta-
bles one-third of the sugar, salt, batter, and stock, and
set the pans where their contents will boil rapidly.
Shake the pans occasionally, and continue the cooking
until all the stock has been absorbed. Spread the tur-
nips on a warm platter, making the border rather thick,
and having the thickness decrease toward the centre of
the dish. Heap the carrots on the turnip, covering all
except a border about an inch wide. Flatten the top of
the mound of carrot, and heap the peas upon it.
This is an exceedingly attractive dish. It may be
served in a dinner or luncheon as an accompaniment of
an entree of cold meat, or may itself pass as an entree.
Potato balls, or potatoes cut into half-inch cubes, boiled
for ten minutes, drained, and then seasoned with one
teaspoonful of salt and one large table-spoonful of butter,
may be used instead of the turnip. In this case use a
quart of the potato balls or cubes.
Curry of Vegetables.
For this dish use one large onion, a sour apple, a pint
each of carrot, turnip, and celery cubes, a heaping tea-
spoonful of curry-powder, one pint of stock or milk, two
table-spoonfuls of flour, two level teaspoonfuls of salt,
half a teaspoonful of pepper, and three generous table-
spoonfuls of butter.
Mince the onion. Paz?e the apple, and cut it into thin
slices. Put the butter on the stove in a stew-pan, and
as soon as it becomes melted, add the onion and apple.
Stir for two minuses, and then add the other vegetables.
530 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Continue the stirring until the vegetables begin to turn
brown ; then add the flour and seasoning. Stir again,
and then pour the stock or milk into the stew-pan.
Cover the pan, and let the contents simmer for an hour.
Serve on a warm platter, with a border of rice.
This is a nice dish for luncheon.
Ragout of Turnips.
Use a quart of turnips, cut into cubes, three table-
spoonfuls of butter, one teaspoonful of sugar, one heap-
ing teaspoon ful of salt, one-fifth of a teaspoonful of
pepper, one table-spoonful of chopped onion, one table-
spoonful of flour, and one cupful of stock or milk.
Put the butter on the stove in a stew-pan, and when it
becomes melted, add the turnips and chopped onion. Stir
until the vegetables begin to turn brown ; then add the
salt, pepper, sugar, and flour, and stir two minutes longer.
At the end of that time add the stock or milk. Cover the
stew-pan, and set it where the mixture will simmer for
twenty minutes. Serve as a vegetable or as an entree.
Jerusalem artichokes may be treated in the same
manner. They should be served without delay.
* Vegetables in Sauces.
Cauliflower, Lima beans, carrots, turnips, celery, Jeru-
salem artichokes, onions, salsify, and green peas may
be served in a poulette or Bechamel sauce, the vegeta-
ble taking the name of the sauce used, as onions a la
Bechamel. When served in this way the vegetable may
accompany an entree of meat or fish, or may itself be
used as an entree. Any vegetable served with either
sauce must be boiled, thoroughly drained, and seasoned
with salt and pepper before the sauce is added.
* Wilted Cucumbers.
Cut a good-sized cucumber in very thin slices, and
soak for at least half an hour in a pint of cold water into
VEGETABLES. 531
which has been put a table-spoonful of salt. At the end
of the half-hour put the slices into a strong, clean towel,
and wring the towel until it is impossible to extract any
more moisture. On opening the towel the slices will be
found to be wilted and flabby. Put them into a dish
with cracked ice. They are said to be less injurious
served in this way than in the ordinary style ; and
some epicures call them delicious, spite of the loss of
crispness.
Stuffed Cucumbers.
These are delicious, and may be served either as a
vegetable or as an entree. For six or eight persons use
four cucumbers of good size. Pare them lightly, and
after cutting off the ends, cut each cucumber into two
parts. Kemove the seeds with an apple-corer. Put a
table-spoonful of salt and a quart of cold water into a
basin, and drop the pared and cored cucumbers into the
liquid ; then set away in a cool place.
Chop enough veal free of skin and gristle to make
a generous half-cupful of pulp. Probably a quarter of a
pound will be enough. Now put half a gill of milk and
one-third of a gill of stale bread, free of hard parts,
into a small saucepan, and cook until a smooth paste is
formed. Ten minutes' cooking probably will suffice.
Mix thoroughly with the veal this paste and half a tea-
spoonful of salt, one-eighth of a teaspoonful of pepper,
one-eighth of a teaspoonful of thyme, one-fourth of a
teaspoonful of onion juice, one teaspoonful of butter,
and a well-beaten egg.
Kemove the cucumbers from the basin of water, and wipe
them with a soft towel. Fill them with the force-meat
just prepared, packing solidly, and being careful to have
the ends of the cucumbers smooth. Lay the cucumbers
in a stew-pan, and pour over them a pint and a half of
boiling veal stock or chicken stock. Add a bay leaf ;
and if the stock was not seasoned when it was made,
532 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
add also half a teaspoonful of salt and one-fifth of a tea-
spoonful of pepper. Cover, and simmer for three-quarters
of an hour. At serving-time place the cucumbers on
thin strips of toast ; and after pouring over them a
sauce made as directed below, serve without delay.
Sauce. Eub together in a saucepan until smooth,
three table-spoonfuls of butter and a generous table-
spoonful of flour ; then add three gills of white stock,
chicken or veal, a piece of carrot of about the size of
a quarter of a dollar, a slice of onion of the same size, a
sprig of parsley, a clove, a bay leaf, a light grating of
nutmeg, half a teaspoonful of salt, and one-fifth of a
teaspoonful of white pepper. Simmer for a quarter of
an hour ; then add a teaspoonful of lemon juice, and
strain the sauce.
THE FRENCH ARTICHOKE.
This vegetable, which has not been very common and
whose value has not been well understood, is becoming
so popular that the supply is increasing, and in time the
cost will be comparatively low.
The artichoke belongs to the thistle family ; the flower
ig picked before it opens. In England and France an
artichoke may be bought for two or
three cents, but in our Northern markets
we are obliged to pay from twenty to
forty cents apiece; thus making a dish
of the vegetables quite expensive. In
the South they are cheaper, and of
course better, because they can be ob-
tained fresh.
There are many ways of cooking arti-
Artichoke. chokes ; but as in the case of nearly all
vegetables, the simplest is the best. The
artichokes should be green and crisp ; if old, or if cooked
after they have been picked some time, they will be
VEGETABLES. 533
unsatisfactory. If the leaves be brown and dry, the
artichokes will be dark and tough, and it does not pay
to buy or to cook them when in that condition. In buy-
ing the vegetable select the small green heads rather
than the large ones that have leaves with broken and
dark edges.
When very small and tender, the artichoke may be
served raw as a salad.
The vegetable consists of three parts, the bottom,
leaves, and choke. The first two parts alone are used ;
the choke may be removed or not, as one pleases. Only
the base of the leaves is edible. If the choke is to be
removed, cut out the stem and save it, and with the
point of a sharp knife cut around the base of the choke
and draw the choke out. Trim the top of the artichoke.
When this has been
done, wash the vege.
table, and soak it for
half an hour in salted
water, one table-
spoonful of salt to
two quarts of water. Artichokes after Trimming.
It will then be ready for cooking by any mode. If it is
simply to be boiled, and served with a sauce, which is
decidedly the best mode, press the stem back into the
head, and put the vegetable into a stew-pan with boiling
water enough to cover it. Add a teaspoonful of salt and
two table-spoonfuls of lemon juice for every two quarts
of water. A gentle boiling for half an hour will be a
sufficient cooking unless the artichoke be very old ; in
which case ten or fifteen minutes' extra cooking will be
required. On taking from the water, drain well. Serve
hot with Bechamel, Hollandaise, or butter sauce, or serve
as a salad, with oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. The
sauce may be poured around the artichokes or served
separately.
The leaves of the artichoke are broken off with the
584 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
fingers, and the base, or fleshy end, is dipped into the
sauce.
When the heads are small, there should be one for each
person ; but when very large or expensive, they may be
cut into two or more parts.
Stuffed Artichokes.
Trim four artichokes and remove the chokes. Boil
them for half an hour in salted and acidulated water.
On taking them from the water, drain them. Stuff them
with a chicken force-meat, and arrange them in a shallow
baking-pan. Baste well with white sauce, and bake in a
moderate oven for half an hour, basting twice in that
time with the sauce. Serve on a flat dish, with white
sauce.
The leaves must be trimmed very short when the arti
chokes are to be stuffed.
Artichoke Quarters with Dutch Sauce.
Cut the leaves of the artichokes very short. Cut off
the tops, and then cut in quarters. Kemove the chokes.
Soak the quarters in salted
water for half an hour; then
drain off all the water, and
put the quarters in a stew-
pan, with one table-spoonful
Artichoke Quarters. f butter ' One ^spoonful of
salt, one table-spoonful of lemon
juice, and one pint of white stock for two artichokes.
Simmer for half an hour. Drain the quarters, and
arrange them in a shallow dish. Pour Dutch sauce
around them, and serve.
VEGETABLES. 535
Artichoke Bottoms with Hollandaise Sauce.
Keinove all the leaves
from six artichokes (they
may be used for a puree of
artichokes). Take out the
chokes, and trim the bottoms.
Cook the same as artichoke Bottoms of Artichokes,
quarters. Arrange them in a
shallow dish; and pour Hollandaise sauce over them.
MUSHROOMS.
During the summer and fall mushrooms abound in the
fields in many parts of the country. In some sections
mushroom parties may be seen almost every pleasant
morning throughout September and October. The wild
funguses are as much more delicate and more finely fla-
vored than the cultivated mushrooms as the wild straw-
berries are superior in flavor to the fruit usually sold in
the market from gardens. Mushrooms should be used
while fresh, and should be prepared carefully but simply.
Put into a bowl two quarts of water and the juice of a
lemon. After cutting the stalks from the mushrooms,
and throwing them away, pare the cups. As each is
pared, drop it into the bowl. When ready to cook the
mushrooms, drain them as speedily as possible after
removing them from the liquid. Wild mushrooms give
an incomparable flavor to stews, ragouts, and sauces for
meats.
Stewed Mushrooms.
Put into a stew-pan a quart of cleaned mushrooms,
two table-spoonfuls of butter, one teaspoonful of salt,
one-third of a teaspoonful of pepper, and one table-
spoonful of flour mixed with half a cupful of cold water.
536 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Cover the stew-pan, and boil gently for five minutes,
stirring frequently. Serve very hot.
Some folk doubtless will think the dish is improved
if they add a table-spoonful of lemon juice just before
removing the mushrooms from the fire. Stock may be
used in place of the half-cupful of water, and will pro-
duce a better flavor.
A simpler mode of stewing mushrooms is to peel and
wash them ; then cut them in small pieces, and put them
in a stew-pan, with a generous table-spoonful of butter,
half a teaspoonful of salt, and a little pepper, for every
pint of the mushroom. Simmer for ten minutes. Wild
mushrooms are delicious cooked this way.
Mushrooms Stewed in Cream.
Prepare the mushrooms as for the plain stew, save
that only half as much water should be used ; and after
five minutes' boiling, add a cupful of cream. Keep the
mushrooms on the stove until the liquid boils up.
Broiled Mushrooms.
Clean a quantity of large mushrooms, and put them
into a double-broiler, with all the cups lying the same
way. Place over clear coals, cup side down, and cook
for two minutes; then turn the broiler, and cook for
two minutes on the other side. Remove from the broiler
carefully, because the cups will be full of juice, and
sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Put a bit of
butter on each mushroom, and place on buttered toast.
Serve immediately.
Baked Mushrooms.
Use large mushrooms, and use also as many slices of
bread as there are mushrooms, and have them about the
VEGETABLES. 537
same size as the latter. Clean the mushrooms, and put
them into a basin of lemon water (the juice of a lemon
to two quarts of water). Toast the bread, and dip it
quickly into hot water. Butter a shallow cake-pan, and
lay the slices of toast in it ; then butter the toast, and
place a mushroom on each slice, cup side up. Sprinkle
the mushrooms with salt and pepper, and put a quarter
of a teaspoonful of butter on each one. Cover the pan
with another that has been rinsed in cold water, and set
in the oven for eight minutes. Serve immediately.
Stuffed Mushrooms.
For twelve large mushrooms, use six table-spoonfuls
of line-chopped cooked chicken, three table-spoonfuls of
stale bread, one gill of stock, two table-spoonfuls of
butter, one teaspoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful
of onion juice, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper, the
juice of one lemon, and one cupful of bread crumbs,
grated tine.
Soak together for ten minutes the three table-spoonfuls
of stale bread and the stock. Add the meat, salt, pepper,
onion juice, and one table-spoonful of the butter. Let
this stand while the mushrooms are being prepared.
Cut off the stalks, and pare the mushrooms. As each
one is pared, drop it into a dish in which there is a quart
of water and the juice of the lemon. When all are done,
take them from the acidulated water, and place them in
a shallow baking-pan, having the cup side up. Put one-
twelfth of the stuffing in each mushroom. Sprinkle with
the grated crumbs, and dot with the second table-spoon-
ful of butter. Cook in a moderately hot oven for ten
minutes.
* Macaroni.
Macaroni should be broken into pieces about three or
four inches long, and washed quickly in cold water.
538 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Immediately put it into boiling water, and cook rapidly,
with the cover off the saucepan, for half an hour. When
it has been boiling for fifteen minutes, add the salt.
There should be three quarts of water and one table-
spoonful of salt for half a pound of macaroni. Drain
off the water, and turn the macaroni into a vegetable-
dish. Pour three gills of sauce over it. Any of the
following-named sauces may be served with it: tomato,
white, brown, poulette, Bechamel, or cream. Or it may
be put into an escalop or gratin dish, and a white or
cream sauce be poured over it. Then sprinkle two table-
spoonfuls of grated Parmesan cheese and a cupful of
grated bread crumbs over it. Dot with a table-spoonful
of butter, and brown in the oven. If cheese be not liked,
-it "may be oniitted. The two table-spoonfuls of Parme-
san give but a slight flavor of cheese. If a strong flavor
be desired, use a cupful of freshly grated domestic cheese
'and three table-spoonfuls of Parmesan. In this case add
one-fifth of a teaspoonful of cayenue to the sauce.
* Macaroni with Brown Sauce.
Boil a quarter of a pound of macaroni for half an hour
with one table-spoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of pepper,
and two quarts of water. While it is boiling make a
sauce in the following manner :
-Put two table-spoonfuls of butter on the stove in a
frying-pan, and when it becomes hot, add two level
table-spoonfuls of flour. Stir until smooth and brown;
then draw the pan to the back part of the stove, ami
gradually add a cupful of brown stock and a cupful of
strained tomato. Move the pan forward to a hot place,
and stir the sauce until it boils ; then simmer for five
minutes. Season with a level teaspoonful of salt and
one-fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper.
Put half the macaroni into an escalop-dish, and sprin-
kle over it one table-spoonful of Parmesan cheese ; then
VEGETABLES. 539
pour on half the sauce. Now put the rest of the maca-
roni into the dish, and add the remainder of the sauce.
Sprinkle a second table-spoonful of cheese over the mix-
ture. Set the dish in a rather hot oven, and cook for a
quarter of an hour. It is a very nice entree, or may be
served with the vegetables in some other course of a
-dinner.
Macaroni a la Milanaise.
Anybody fond of macaroni will find this to be an ex-
cellent mode of cooking it. Of macaroni, only a quarter
of a pound is required ; and the other materials for the
dish are : a pint of white stock, half a pint of cream or
milk, half a can of mushrooms or a quarter of a pound
of fresh ones, a slice of carrot, a slice of onion, three
table-spoonfuls of butter, two generous table-spoonfuls of
flour, three teaspoonfuls of salt, and one-eighth of a tea-
spoonful of pepper.
After breaking the macaroni into pieces about three
mches long, wash it, and put it into a stew-pan with
two quarts of boiling water and two teaspoonfuls of salt.
Let it boil for half an hour, and meanwhile make a sauce.
Put the butter and flour into a small stew-pan, and beat
to a cream ; then add the onion, carrot, pepper, remain-
ing salt, and stock, and heat slowly. When the sauce
begins to boil, set it back where it will only simmer for
about twenty minutes. At the end of that time add the
milk or cream, and then strain the sauce. Pour the
water from the macaroni, and in its place put the pauce
and mushrooms. Cook for five minutes longer.
Spaghetti & Tltalienne.
Use for six persons a quarter of a pound of spaghetti,
a cupful of white stock, chicken or veal, a table-
spoonful of flour, two of butter, one teaspoonful and a
half of salt, one-fifth of a teaspoonful of white pepper,
540 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
one-tenth of a teaspoonful of cayenne, half a cupful of
American cheese, and two table-spoonfuls of Parmesan
cheese.
Break the spaghetti into pieces about five inches long.
Put it into a stew-pan with two quarts of boiling water,
and boil rapidly, with the saucepan uncovered, for
twenty minutes. At the end of that time pour the spa-
ghetti into a colander, and drain it well. Return it to
the stew-pan, and, after adding the salt, pepper, and
stock, set the pan on the stove again. Beat the flour and
butter together, and stir them into the mixture as soon
as it begins to boil. Cook for five minutes; then add
the cheese, broken into fine bits ; and continue the cook-
ing until the cheese becomes melted, say for three
or four minutes. The pan must be shaken vigorously
several times while the cheese is melting. Serve the
spaghetti without delay.
* Spaghetti and Cheese.
If the dish is to be served to six or eight persons, use
a quarter of a pound of spaghetti, the yolks of two eggs,
half a pint of milk, three table-spoonfuls of butter, half
a cupful of soft mild cheese, broken into bits, a level tea-
spoonful of salt, one-eighth of a teaspoonful of cayenne,
and one-third of a teaspoonful of white pepper.
After breaking the spaghetti into pieces about three
inches long, wash it quickly in cold water. Put it into
a saucepan with two quarts of boiling water, and boil it
gently for half an hour with the cover off the saucepan.
At the end of that time pour off the water and sprinkle
two-thirds of the salt over the spaghetti. Next put the
spaghetti into an escalop-dish, and after pouring some
sauce over it, bake it for five minutes in a hot oven.
Serve immediately.
To make the sauce which is to be poured over the
spaghetti, put the milk and cheese on the stove in a
VEGETABLES. 541
double-boiler ; beat the yolks of the eggs well, and add
the seasoning to them ; pour about half of the hot mix-
ture from the double-boiler upon the eggs, and after blend-
ing thoroughly, stir into the liquid in the double-boiler ;
add the butter, and cook for one minute, stirring all the
while.
This dish is a nice one for luncheon or dinner. If a
strong flavor of cheese be desired, use a cupful of that
article instead of half a cupful.
* Noodles.
Prepare the noodles the same as for noodle soup.
After they have been drained, put them into a stew-pan
with one table-spoonful of butter, one teaspoonful of
salt, one -fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper, and a scant
half-pint of hot milk. Cook for ten minutes, and serve
as a vegetable.
If there be a plentiful supply of soup stock on hand,
use two quarts of it instead of some water for boil-
ing the noodles, and cook them for half an hour. In
this case add a table-spoonful of butter to them, aiid
serve without any other seasoning. The stock may be
used the next day for a cream soup.
* Boiled Rice.
Wash one cupful of rice in three waters. In the first
water rub the rice well between the hands. Now pour
off this water, and simply rinse the rice in the other two
waters. Cover with clean water, and let it soak for one
or two hours. Have three quarts of boiling water in
a large stew-pan. Turn the rice into it, and cook from
fifteen to twenty-five minutes. The time will depend
upon the kind of rice used ; but if it be good Southern
rice, and not more than a year old, it will cook in fifteen
minutes. When it has been cooking for ten minutes,
add a geueroui table-spoonful of salt.
542 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
At the end of fifteen minutes press a few grains o
rice between the fingers, and if they be found soft, it ia
an indication that the rice is cooked sufficiently. Turn
it, with the water, into a colander, and drain well. Be
very particular to drain it the moment it is done. Never
put a cover on the stew-pan, and never stir the rice.
If these directions be followed carefully, every grain
of rice will be separate, and all will be perfectly tender.
* Boiled Rice, Southern Style.
Wash a cupful of rice in three waters, rubbing it well
between the hands. Now put it in a stew-pan with two
teaspoonfuls of salt and two cupfuls and a half of boil-
ing water. Place it where it will boil rapidly for fifteen
minutes ; then set the pan back where the rice will cook
slowly for an hour or more. This mode gives a dish of
rice that is sweet and dry.
.^ . : #
* Turkish Rice.
A cupful of rice, one of strained tomato, two of cold
water, two table-spoonfuls of butter, one teaspoonful of
salt, and two ounces of fine-chopped ham are the ingredi-
ents required.
After washing the rice in three waters, put it into
a stew-pan with the other materials, and set upon the
stove. When the dish begins to boil, put the stew-pan
back where its contents will hardly simmer during the
next forty minutes. At serving-time turn the rice into a
warm dish. Do not use a spoon in making this transfer,
as that would be likely to break the grains and mar the
appearance of the dish*
Turkish rice is nice for serving with cold meat or fish
or warmed-over meat.
* Curry of Rice.
For six or eight persons use one cupful of rice, two-
cupfuls and a half of boiling water, two-, tgaspppnfuls ;pf ,
VEGETABLES. 543
salt, two level teaspoonfuls of curry-powder, one-fourth
of a teaspoonful of pepper, one teaspoonful of minced
onion, and two table-spoonfuls of butter.
Wash the rice in three waters, and then let it soak for
two hours in fresh cold water. At the end of the two
hours drain it thoroughly. Put the butter and onion in
a stew-pan, and cook until the onion acquires a light
straw-color. Now add the rice, and stir over a hot fire
for five minutes. Draw the stew-pan aside, and add
the curry-powder, pepper, and salt. Stir well, and then
add the water. Cover the stew-pan, and let the con-
tents boil rapidly for ten minutes ; then set back to a
place where the cooking will go on slowly for forty or
fifty minutes.
This vegetable dish is nice with any kind of fish or
meat that has been prepared in a sauce.
* Baked Hominy.
After washing a cupful of hominy in three waters,
pour upon it a pint and a half of boiling water, and boil
for twenty minutes ; then add a table-spoonful of butter,
a scant table-spoonful of salt, and half a pint of milk.
Butter a deep pudding-dish, and pour the mixture into
it. Bake for forty minutes in a moderate oven.
Prepared in this way, hominy answers either as a
vegetable or as a pudding.
* Baked Beans.
It is rather singular that that particular section of the
country which is credited with the greatest consumption
of beans does not produce the vegetable in large quanti- .
ties, but depends upon the Middle States for apart of
the supply. No other vegetable has so great a food
value, though peas and lentils are almost as nutritious;
and despite the light manner in which reference is com-
mp.nly.made to the bean, the country is much indebted
, 544 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
to it as food for man and beast. One frequent failing in
the preparation of beans is to allow too little time for
cooking. The process of cooking them properly is a
long and slow one, and forgetfulness in this respect is
the reason why the dish is often unsatisfactory.
If the family consist of eight or ten persons, a quart
of dry pea beans will be sufficient to cook. Use also a
pound of salt pork, a table-spoonful of molasses, a gener-
ous table-spoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of mustard,
and one-fourth of a teaspoonful of soda.
Examine the beans carefully, removing all that are
not good, and all foreign substances ; then wash them
carefully. Let them soak over night in a pan containing
two gallons of cold water. In the morning pour off this
water, and rinse the beans in cold water ; then put them
in a stew-pan with six quarts of cold water. Score the
rind of the pork, cutting it into little squares, and being
careful not to cut deeper than the rind. Put the pork
into the stew-pan with the beans, and set on the stove.
Heat slowly to the boiling-point, and simmer for a quarter
of an hour from the time they begin to boil. At the end
of the fifteen minutes turn the beans into a colander,
and drain off all the water. Pour cold water over them
to rinse them thoroughly. Put half the beans into an
earthen pot, and then put in the pork, rind side up.
Now put in the remainder of the beans. Mix the
molasses, mustard, salt, and soda with one quart of
boiling water, and pour over the pork and beans. If
the liquid does not wholly cover the beans, add more
boiling water. There should be only enough to come to
the top of the beans. Cover the pot, and cook the beans
slowly for ten hours. Boiling water should be added
from time to time when it is found that there is not
enough to cover the beans.
At serving-time turn out on a flat dish, and place the
pork in the centre. If the beans have been properly
cooked, each will be whole, yet all will be tender and
VEGETABLES. 545
have a rich reddish color. Care and slow cooking alone
will give this result.
* Stewed Beans.
Wash one quart of beans (scarlet runners are the
best), and soak them over night. In the morning set
them on the fire with half a pound of mixed salt pork.
They can be cooked in four hours, but will be better
cooked an hour longer. If the pork should not flavor it
enough, season with a little salt.
Ml oT
546 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
SPECIAL ARTICLES.
BRIOCHE PASTE.
DISHES made of brioche paste are not often found in
this country except at the foreign pastry-shops. It is a
pity that this should be the case, for they are light and
healthful. There appears to be an idea that they are
difficult to make, but they are not more so than many
which are quite common in every household. Care must
be taken that the ingredients are used in the proper
proportion, and that the paste is properly worked, raised,
chilled, and baked. If this be done, the cakes will be as
good as those found in any of the first-class shops in
New York. In Paris a man got rich by making a spe-
cialty of warm loaves of brioche. In New York there
are several small pastry-shops, kept by Frenchmen, where
plain brioche loaves are for sale on Saturdays, and there
is a large demand for them. It is hoped that many
readers will try the simple rules given in this article.
With the plain paste there can be made the plain loaf,
baba, wine cakes, rum cakes, Savarin, fritters, Munich
cakes, etc. These various cakes are made by the addi-
tion of fruits and flavors, and by changes of shape and in
the modes of cooking.
To Make the Paste.
For two large loaves there will be required one quart
of flour, one generous cupful of butter, one gill of water,
one table-spoonful of sugar, one teaspoonful of salt, half
SPECIAL ARTICLES. 547
a cake of compressed yeast, and eight small eggs, or
seven large ones.
Dissolve the yeast in the water, which should be blood
warm. Put some boiling water in a small bowl, and let
it stand for five minutes ; then pour out the water, wipe
the bowl dry, and put a cupful of the flour into it. Add
the dissolved yeast to the flour, and beat well. Cover the
bowl, and set it in a warm place say where the tem-
perature is about 80 until the mixture rises to
double its size. About an hour will be required for the
rising.
Half an hour after the sponge has been set, put the
remainder of the flour, and the salt, sugar, butter, and
three of the eggs into a large bowl. Mix these ingre-
dients well with the hand, and when a smooth paste is
formed, add the remainder of the eggs, one at a time ;
beating the paste vigorously until it is very light and
smooth. The eggs should not be beaten before they are
added. Now, if the sponge be risen, add it to the paste,
and beat well ; should it not be risen, it will not hurt the
beaten mixture to stand awhile.
When the sponge is thoroughly incorporated with the
paste, cover the bowl and set in a warm place. It will
take about six hours for the sponge to rise sufficiently.
When it becomes light, beat it well and then put it into
the ice-chest. If possible, put it on or beside the ice.
Let it remain there for ten or twelve hours, and it will
then be ready for use.
The sponge may be set at two o'clock in the afternoon
and be added to the paste at three. The paste will be
ready to put on ice at nine o'clock, and in the morning
it will be ready to use in any form.
Brioche Loaf, to be Eaten Plain and Hot.
For a small loaf take a heaping cupful of the chilled
paste, and form it into a smooth ball. Put this on a
548 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
floured board, and roll down to the thickness of half an
inch. Tear a hole in the centre of the cake. Now twist
this paste inward and into a rope-like shape. This will
give a form something like a crown. Place the paste in
Brioche Loaf on a Napkin.
a buttered pan or on a tin plate, and let it rise for half
an hour in a warm place. Bake in a moderate oven for
twenty minutes, and serve hot on a napkin.
This kind of loaf is nice for luncheon or tea. When
wanted for tea, keep the paste on ice until the afternoon ;
or the loaf may be baked in the morning and warmed at
serving-time.
The loaf made of the ingredients mentioned will be
quite small, and if a larger one be desired, double the
quantity of ingredients and allow ten minutes longer for
the baking. Loaves may be shaped like balls, and be cut
across with a sharp knife before they have risen or been
baked; or they may be put into any kind of pan, and
allowed to rise to twice their original height before they
are baked. The paste is so soft that the work must be
done quickly when the loaf is to be of the crown shape,
that first described. It grows very soft as it becomes
warm.
These warm brioche loaves are particularly nice to
serve with berries and cream, or with preserved fruit
and cream.
Baba.
To make a large loaf of baba, use three cupfuls of the
paste, half a cupful of dried currants, one cupful of
raisins, and one gill of wine.
SPECIAL ARTICLES. 549
Soak the fruit in the wine over night. In the morning
work the fruit and wine into the paste. Butter a deep
mould, and put the paste into it. Cover, and put in a
warm place to rise to twice the original size. It will
take about an hour and a half. Bake in a moderate
oven for forty minutes. On taking from the oven,
turn from the mould on a deep plate or dish, the top of
the cake being down. Let it cool in this position.
While the cake is cooling, make a syrup by boiling
together for twelve minutes one cupful of sugar and
three-fourths of a cupful of water. At the end of the
twelve minutes add four table-spoonfuls of rum to the
syrup, and pour the liquid over the cake, being careful
to wet the sides with it. Let the dish get perfectly cold,
and serve it as dessert.
Savarin.
For this cake use four cupfuls of the paste, one cupful
of chopped almonds, half a cupful of candied orange peel,
cut very fine, and a syrup made like that for baba ; sub-
stituting, however, two table-spoonfuls of anisette (a cor-
dial) for the rum mentioned in the preceding receipt.
Work the candied orange peel into the paste. Butter
a round cake-pan thickly with washed butter, and sprinkle
the bottom and sides with the chopped almonds. Put
the paste into this pan, and after letting it rise to double
its original size, bake it in a moderate oven for three-
quarters of an hour. On taking from the oven, turn out
on a dish, and pour the syrup over it. Serve either hot
or cold for dessert.
Wine Cakes.
Put three cupfuls of the paste into a deep mould, and
let it rise to double its original size. Bake for forty -five
minutes.
Boil one cupful and a half of sugar with one cupful
550 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
of water for twelve minutes ; then add a gill of sherry.
When the cake is done, turn it out on a deep plate or
dish, and pour the hot syrup over it. Serve hot or cold.
Wine Cakes.
Small cakes are made by letting one gill of the paste
rise to a little more than double its first height in either
dariole moulds or individual charlotte-russe moulds. Bake
for twenty minutes ; then turn out, and pour hot syrup
over them. The syrup may be flavored with wine, rum,
orange or lemon juice, or with any kind of cordial.
Brioche Fritters.
Roll some brioche paste down to the thickness of half
an inch, and with a jagging-iron or a sharp knife cut it
into strips four inches long and two wide. Drop these
into boiling fat, and cook for six minutes. Drain on
brown paper ; then arrange on a warm dish, and sprinkle
with powdered sugar. Serve at once with a plentiful
quantity of hot syrup flavored with fruit juice or wine.
Another kind of fritter is made by rolling the paste
until it is only a quarter of an inch thick, and cutting
it into large rounds with a plain or fancy cutter ; next
putting half a teaspoonful of apricot or some other kind
of jam in the centre of each round ; then folding the
edges over and sticking them with the beaten white of
an egg, and finally frying in fat for five minutes. Serve
with hot syrup,
SPECIAL ARTICLES. 551
With the quantity of materials given on page 546 a
good deal of paste can be made, enough for three loaves
of any of the dishes named ; so in a small family it will
be wise to use only half the usual quantities at first.
* CURRY-POWDER AND ITS USES.
It is remarkable how few people in this country un-
derstand how to prepare a sauce or a dish with the use of
curry-powder. This should not be the case, as a bottle
of the powder, costing only twenty-five cents, will^enable
one to make agreeable changes in the composition of
dishes for twenty or more meals. When used in a soup,
the quantity must be very small, just enough to give a
little tone, say half a teaspoonful to three or four
quarts of soup or of a stew ; but when used in a sauce
for meat or fish, there should be enough to give color
and pronounced character. When the taste for this con-
diment is acquired, it proves strong. Curry is especially
useful in flavoring sauces for meats and fish which have
been warmed over, making them very appetizing.
The simplest mode of preparing a dish of curry is
this : Free one quart of cold meat of skin, fat, and bones,
and cut it into small pieces. Put it in a frying-pan with
three table-spoonfuls of butter and one of chopped onion.
Cook for five minutes, stirring frequently. Now add
two table-spoonfuls of flour and one heaping teaspoonful
of curry-powder (Cross & BlackwelPs u Genuine Indian
Curry " is the best). Stir for one minute ; then draw
the pan back, and gradually add one pint of cold stock
or cold water. Boil for two minutes, stirring all the
time ; then add half a teaspoonful of salt, and boil for
three minutes longer.
Sprinkle a generous teaspoonful of salt on the cold
meat, and put the meat in a stew-pan. Strain the curry-
sauce over it, and cook the dish for five minutes. Serve
with boiled rice. One cupful of the uncooked rice will
552 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
be enough for the quantity of curry mentioned, and the
dish will be sufficient for serving to six persons. It
should not be accompanied by potatoes.
Madras Curry.
This is more delicate than the ordinary curry. It
may be made with any kind of cold meat and with most
kinds of fish. The ingredients are : half a cocoanut, the
milk of a cocoanut, one gill of cow's milk, two good-
sized onions, three table-spoonfuls of butter, one heap-
ing teaspoonful of curry-powder, two table-spoonfuls of
flour, one pint of the liquor in which the meat or fish
was cooked, one scant quart of cooked meat or fish, and
about one level table-spoonful of salt.
Bore a hole in the cocoanut, and pour out the milk.
Now crack the nut, and pare the brown skin from one-
half of it. Grate this half, and add it to the milk. Add
the cow's milk to the mixture ; and after a good stirring,
place the dish in the refrigerator for two or three hours.
Unless cold meat is to be used, put the meat or fish on
to cook in as little water as possible. Simmer until so
tender that it may be cut with a spoon. When the meat
is done, take it from the liquor, and put both away to
cool. When cold, free the meat or fish of skin, bone,
and fat, and cut it into small pieces. Free the liquor
of fat. Chop the onions rather fine, and put them in a
stew-pan with the butter. Cook slowly for ten minutes ;
then add the flour and curry-powder, and draw the pan
to a hotter part of the range. Stir the mixture until it
becomes frothy ; then draw the stew-pan back to a cooler
place, and gradually add the pint of liquor, stirring all
the while. Boil for two minutes ; then strain the milk
from the cocoanut into the mixture, pressing every par-
ticle of moisture from the grated nut. Stir well, and
simmer for ten minutes.
Put the meat or fish in a stew-pan and sprinkle the
SPECIAL ARTICLES. 553
salt over it ; then strain the hot curry-sauce over it.
Cover, and simmer for twenty minutes or half an hour.
Serve in a warm covered dish.
A dish of boiled rice should be served with this dish.
If meat or fish left from a previous meal be used, take
a pint of some kind of light stock (such as the water in
which chicken or veal was boiled) instead of the liquor
called for.
If one like a very strong flavor of curry, double the
quantity of powder may be used.
The fish most suited for this curry are prawns, shrimp,
and lobster. When they are used they should not be
cooked in the sauce for more than ten minutes. Oysters,
scallops, and clams may be used in a curry ; but they
must be well drained, and should cook in the sauce for
only six or eight minutes.
Any kind of meat may be used in a curry ; but the
delicate light meats, such as chicken, turkey, veal, lamb,
sweetbreads, etc., are best. Any of the following-named
relishes may be served with the curry : Chutney, boiled
ham, rashers of bacon, Yarmouth bloaters.
Honolulu Curry.
For the sauce for this curry there will be needed a
small cocoanut, a quarter of an onion, one clove of garlic,
an inch piece of root ginger, two large table-spoonfuls
of curry-powder, a quart of milk, four table-spoonfuls of
butter, four of flour, and salt and pepper to suit the
taste.
Grate the onion, garlic, ginger, and cocoanut into the
double-boiler, and add the curry-powder and milk. Cook
slowly for an hour. Beat the butter to a cream ; then
add the flour, and beat the mixture until it is smooth
and light. Strain upon it the curry mixture, gradually,
so that it shall not be lumpy. The meat or fish which
is to be served with this sauce should now be added, and
554 MISS PAKLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
the dish should be cooked in the double-boiler until boil-
ing hot, about a quarter of an hour.
The quantity of sauce made by following the directions
will be sufficient for two cans of shrimp, the meat of
two lobsters that together weigh about six pounds, or
two good-sized chickens. If the latter be used, they
should be fried, broiled, or roasted, and cut into hand-
some pieces ; and the meat should be hot when it is
added to the sauce. Serve with plain boiled rice.
* VARIOUS WAYS OF USING A CALF'S
HEAD.
During the spring and summer veal is plentiful and
cheap, and a calf s head, which never costs a large sum,
may be had at very low price. In old times it was a
common dish, but its popularity waned until few house-
keepers served it frequently. Lately it has seemed to
come into high favor again, though its uses are not what
they once were. Formerly it was customary to use the
calf's head only in mock turtle soup, or to serve it boiled,
with brain sauce; now the meat is made into various
dainty dishes which answer for entries or dishes for
luncheon or tea, though it is still employed also when
mock turtle soup is made.
When a calf's head is bought at a market it usually is
scraped and otherwise cleaned, and is then split open ;
but in the country the housekeeper often has to attend
to these matters herself. If the head has not been
cleaned and split, put it into a deep pan, with water
enough to cover it, water that is heated almost to the
boiling-point. Set the pan on the stove in a place where
the water will bubble for five minutes ; then take up the
head, and with the back of the blade of a case-knife
scrape all the hairs from the head, being careful to get
the ears clean. Now place the head in cold water enough
SPECIAL ARTICLES. 555
to cover it, and let it stand for two hours. At the end
of that time remove the brains, being careful not to
break them apart, and put them into a bowl of cold water.
Next wash the head carefully, and put it on the stove in
a large kettle containing cold water enough to cover it.
Every part must be immersed, or that which is left un-
covered will become hard and black. Set the kettle where
its contents will quickly get heated to the boiling-point.
As soon as the water begins to bubble, skim it carefully ;
then set the kettle back where the water will simply
bubble during the next three hours. Hard boiling will
break the head. When the prescribed time has passed,
take up the head, and remove all the bones that can be
drawn out easily without tearing the meat. Dredge the
head with salt and pepper, and after placing it on a warm
dish, pour brain, parsley, tomato, or Bechamel sauce over
it. Serve at once.
This is the simplest mode of serving a calf's head.
The water in which it was boiled may be used for mock
turtle soup or a plain or cream soup. No matter how
the head is to be served, it must first be cleaned and
boiled as just directed. Half of the head may be served
with a garnish of brain force-meat balls; the tongue
being cut into four parts, lengthwise, and served with
half the head. Any one of the sauces named in the
preceding paragraph should be poured around it. The
remaining half of the head may be used for one of
the following-named dishes.
Calf's Head, Terrapin Fashion.
For this dish use one pint of the cold meat of the
calf's head, cut into small pieces, one cupful of stock,
the water in which the head was boiled will do, half
a cupful of cream, one teaspoonful of salt, one-tenth of
a teaspoonful of white pepper, and the same quantity
of cayenne, one teaspoonful of brandy, two table-spoon-
556 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
fuls of wine, the yolks of two eggs, one table-spoonful
of butter, and one level table-spoonful of flour.
Put the stock on to boil. Beat the butter and flour
together until smooth and light, and stir the mixture
into the boiling stock. Cook until smooth, say for
about a minute, stirring all the while. Add the meat
and the salt and pepper, and cook for five minutes.
Beat the yolks of the eggs well, and add the cream to
them ; beating the mixture thoroughly. When the meat
has been cooked for five minutes, add the yolks and
cream, and cook for one minute longer, stirring all the
while. Take from the fire promptly at the end of the
minute, and after adding the brandy and wine, serve at
once.
If there should be any delay in the work after the
yolks and cream are added, the dish would be spoiled,
as the eggs would cook too much, and the sauce would
have a curdled appearance ; but there would be no real
harm in letting the dish stand on the back of the stove
for ten or twenty minutes before the addition of the
eggs and cream.
Cooked poultry, game, and veal may be prepared in
the same manner.
* Calf's Head, with Bisque Sauce.
Use one quart of the cold meat from the calf's head,
cut in slices, one table-spoonful of salt, one-fourth of a
teaspoonful of pepper, two table-spoonfuls of butter, two
of flour, one cupful and a half of stock, and half a cupful
of strained tomato.
. Put the butter on the stove, in a frying-pan, and when
it becomes melted, add the flour. Stir the mixture until
it gets smooth and slightly browned ; then draw the pan
back where there is less heat, and gradually add the
stock. Place the frying-pan again on the hot part of
the stove, and stir the contents until they begin to boil.
SPECIAL ARTICLES. 557
Let them simmer for five minutes ; then add the tomato,
meat, and seasoning, and cook for seven minutes.
Any kind of cold meat may be served in this manner.
* Curry of Calf's Head.
Use one quart of the cold meat, cut in slices, one
table-spoonful of salt, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of
pepper, one teaspoonful of curry-powder, one table r
spoonful of chopped onion, two large table-spoonfuls of
butter, two of flour, one cupful of stock, and one cupful
of milk.
Put the butter and onion in a frying-pan, and cook
slowly for five minutes ; then add the flour and curry-
powder, and stir over a hot fire for one minute. Draw
the pan back, and gradually add the stock. Place the
pan again on the hot part of the stove, and stir the
mixture until it boils; then add the milk gradually,
stirring all the while. Let the mixture simmer for three
minutes.
Put the meat, with the salt and pepper, in a stew-pan,
and strain over it the sauce that is in the frying-pan.
Cook for six minutes, and serve with a dish of boiled
rice.
Other kinds of cold meat may be used in curries.
Brain Force-meat Balls.
Soak the brains in a bowl of cold water for an hour or
more ; then remove the thin covering, which is filled
with small blood-vessels. Rinse the brains thoroughly
in a bowl of cold water. Tie them loosely in a piece of
cheese-cloth, and, putting them in a stew-pan with boil-
ing water enough to cover them, let them boil for twenty
minutes. On taking them from the water let them cool
in the cloth ; and when they become cold, mash them
smooth with a spoon. Add to them one level tea-
spoonful of salt, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper,
558 MISS PAKLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
one-fourth of a teaspoonful of powdered thyme, one tea-
spoonful of chopped parsley, one of lemon juice, one well-
beaten egg, half a cupful of cracker crumbs, and two
table-spoonfuls of melted butter.
Mix these ingredients thoroughly, and let them stand
for half an hour. At the end of that time form the mix-
ture into small balls, and roll these in beaten egg and
then in bread crumbs. Place the balls in a frying-basket,
and cook them in fat for one minute and a half.
These are nice to serve as a garnish of any of the
various preparations of a calf's head ; or, served with
tomato, bisque, or Bechamel sauce, they make a good
entree.
The brains may be placed in two separate pieces of
cheese-cloth, and boiled and cooled as just directed, then
seasoned highly with salt and pepper, rolled in beaten
egg and then in bread crumbs, and fried in fat. Served
with a sauce, they make an excellent entree.
* Jellied Calf's Head.
After cutting the face from the head, for use in mock
turtle soup, free the rest of the head of bones and gristle,
and chop it rather fine. For each quart allow half a
teaspoonful of pepper, three generous teaspoonfuls of
salt, the juice of a lemon, a teaspoonful of onion juice,
and a pint of the liquor in which the head was boiled.
Put all into a stew-pan, and simmer for half an hour ;
then add a table-spoonful of capers, and remove the pan
from the fire.
The next steps are to butter a three-pint mould, and
to cut into rings those whites of hard-boiled eggs which
were left after making egg-balls, and use a part for
making a circle on the bottom of the mould. Put a
layer of the hot mixture perhaps an inch thick into
the mould, and then a layer of the egg whites ; and con-
tinue placing these alternate layers until all the materials
SPECIAL ARTICLES. 559
have been used. Let the dish get perfectly cold ; several
hours will be needed. At serving-time dip the mould
into warm water, and turn its contents out on a flat dish.
Garnish with heart leaves of lettuce.
Jellied calf's head is a nice dish for either luncheon or
supper.
The foregoing receipts are only a few of many ways
in which a cheap and much neglected article of food may
be palatably cooked.
THE WARMING OVER OF MEATS.
Meats, when recooked, require more careful, delicate
handling than in their first preparation. The things
essential to success in this branch of cookery are that
the meat shall be freed of all fat, shall be cooked only
long enough to heat thoroughly, or shall be cooked slowly
for a long time. This is particularly true of beef. The
meat should be well seasoned and be served very hot.
Here is a good general rule :
First cut off all the fat ; then cut the meat into the
kind of pieces you desire to have. This should be done
several hours before the time to cook the dish, the meat
being kept meanwhile in a cool place. Now put the
bones and gristle in a stew-pan, with cold water enough
to cover them, and boil gently for two or three hours.
If you choose, you may add a small piece each of carrot,
onion, and celery during the last hour. Strain the liquor
from the bones, and set away to cool. When cold, skim.
This is the stock for making the sauce which is used
when the meat is warmed.
The fat which was trimmed from the meat should be
cut up, put in a frying-pan, and placed on the back part
of the stove, to be fried slowly. After an hour or two
the sediment and solid parts will fall to the bottom of
the pan. A clear liquid fat can then be poured off.
560 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Strain into a dripping-jar, and put away in a cool place.
The fat from beef, veal, pork, and chickens may be used
for frying purposes, but for most tastes mutton, turkey,
goose, and ham fat leave too strong a flavor to be mixed
with other drippings. The fat from fried or roast ham
or from sausages may be kept in a separate jar. It can
be used for warming potatoes, frying hominy, etc.
Many good housekeepers use mutton fat for shorten ing
and frying purposes. It is quite as healthful as any of
the fats, and if there be no objection to the taste, there
is no reason why it should not be used as freely as other
fats.
There are few households where soft soap is not re-
quired in the kitchen. The strong fats can be utilized
in making this soap, which is a simple matter when
the fat is fried and strained as directed. Never wait
until the fat has become tainted before trying it out.
The subject of the care and use of fat is so closely
connected with the warming-over of meat that it could
not well be passed over ; hence this digression.
Having the meat cut in suitable pieces and the stock
made, the housekeeper will, with a few rules and sugges-
tions, be enabled to prepare many appetizing and health-
ful dishes.
The meat must always be seasoned with salt and pep-
per ; for if the sauce should have enough seasoning for
itself and the meat too, it would be spoiled. Season
every pint of meat with a heaping teaspoonful of salt and
one-fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper.
If the meat be red, like beef, mutton, venison, duck, or
grouse, the sauce should be dark ; if it be light, like veal,
chicken, or turkey, the sauce also should be light. For a
pint of meat, half a pint of sauce will be needed. After
the sauce is made, its character and name may be varied
by the addition of any of a variety of materials, such as
olives, mushrooms, capers, etc.
SPECIAL ARTICLES. 561
* Brown Sauce.
Put one. table-spoonful and a half of butter in the
frying-pan and on the fire. When the butter gets hot
and begins to turn brown, add a generous table-spoonful
of flour, and stir until the flour turns dark brown. Now
draw the pan to the back part of the stove, and stir until
the mixture cools slightly ; then add half a pint of stock,
pouring it in gradually and stirring all the while. Place
the pan on the hot part of the stove, and stir the sauce
until it begins to boil. Add a level teaspoonful of salt
and about one-fifth of a teaspoonful of pepper. Simmer
for five minutes.
* Cold Meat Warmed in Brown Sauce.
Add one pint of meat to the sauce just described, and
simmer for five minutes. Serve immediately on a warm
dish.
* White Sauce.
This is made in the same way as brown sauce, care
being taken not to brown the butter and flour. When it
has been boiled for three minutes, add one gill of cream
or milk.
* Cold Meat Warmed with Mushrooms.
Cut half a can of mushrooms in small pieces, and add
them to a pint of meat. Heat all in half a pint of brown
sauce.
* Cold Meat Warmed with Macaroni.
Boil one-eighth of a pound of macaroni for half an
hour in one quart of water seasoned with one teaspoonful
of salt ; then turn it into a colander to drain. Next put
it into a stew-pan with one pint of meat, half a pint of
brown or white sauce, and half a pint of strained toma-
562 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
toes. Add one-fifth of a teaspoonful of cayenne, and
simmer for eight minutes. Serve very hot.
Cold Duck Warmed with Olive Sauce.
Use a pint of meat, half a pint of brown sauce, one
dozen stoned olives, one table-spoonful of lemon juice,
and a grain of cayenne. Put all the ingredients into a
stew-pan, and simmer for five minutes. To some tastes it
will be considered as an improvement to add three table-
spoonfuls of claret.
* Cold Meat au Gratin.
Have a pint of cold meat cut into cubes, and seasoned
with salt and pepper. Mix a generous half-pint of white
or brown sauce with it. Turn into an escalop-dish hold-
ing about a pint and a half, and cover with half a pint
of grated bread crumbs. Dot this covering with a scant
table-spoonful of butter. Bake in a rather hot oven for
twenty minutes, and serve at once.
* Hashed Meat on Toast.
Use a pint of meat, half a pint of stock, a generous tea-
spoonful of salt, a little pepper, a table-spoonful of flour,
a table-spoonful of butter, and six small slices of toast.
Put the meat in the chopping-tray, and sprinkle over
it the salt, pepper, and flour ; then chop it rather coarse.
Now put it in a small stew-pan with the stock. Cover,
and simmer for half an hour ; then add the butter.
Toast the bread and arrange it on a warm dish. Spread
the hash upon it, and serve at once.
If the hash be made of veal or duck, add one table-
spoonful of lemon juice just as it is taken from the fire.
These are only a few of the many healthful dishes
that can be prepared by any housekeeper. The labor is
SPECIAL ARTICLES. 563
slight, but the care should be the same as that given to
the most delicate dessert. It will pay a hundred fold,
as regards both economy and the attractiveness of the
table.
*A BOILED DINNER.
Despite the array of savory viands and delectable
dainties which may be produced by following modern
modes of cooking, there is, for many people, nothing
more attractive and satisfying than an old-fashioned salt-
fish dinner or a boiled dinner ; yet commonly people do
not take the proper amount of pains in preparing either
meal. The articles required for a boiled dinner are six
or eight pounds of corned beef, a small head of cabbage,
enough white or yellow turnips to make three quarts
when sliced, three beets of medium size, a dozen good-
sized potatoes, four carrots, and, if convenient, the same
number of parsnips.
There are two methods of preparing this dinner : one
is to cook the meat and each vegetable separately, and
the other is to cook all, except the beets, in one large
kettle. The latter mode gives a savory meal ; yet many
persons have no appetite for articles which have been
boiled in a single utensil and each of which has acquired
a combination of flavors from the water as the cooking
progressed. By the second method of preparation each
article retains its distinctive flavor. All the vegetables
should be seasoned with salt and butter at serving-time.
Cooking the Meat.
The first step is to prepare the corned beef. The
rump or a brisket piece is the most suitable to use.
Wash the meat thoroughly, and put it into the kettle
with hot water enough to cover it ; or if the meat be
very salt, use cold water. Slowly heat the water to the
boiling-point, and then skim carefully. Set the kettle
564 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
back where the beef will only simmer for five hours and
a half. The water must simply bubble ; rapid cooking
would make the meat hard, dry, and stringy. At serving-
time put the meat on a large platter, and garnish with a
few slices of carrot, beet, and turnip.
In case the vegetables be cooked with the meat a much
larger quantity of water must be used than when the
meat is cooked alone, and the kettle must be drawn for-
ward to a hotter part of the stove when the vegetables
are added.
Preparation of the Vegetables.
Cut the stalk and green or bruised leaves from the
cabbage ; then cut the cabbage into four parts, and put
it into a pan with two table-spoonfuls of salt and cold
water enough to cover it. Let it stand for an hour or
more. Pare and slice the turnips; pare the potatoes;
scrape the carrots and parsnips, and cut them into slices
lengthwise. Put all these vegetables into cold water.
Wash the beets lightly, being particular not to break the
little roots. Put them into a large saucepan with boiling
water in plenty, and boil for two hours if the beets be
small, or for three hours if they be large. As beets
grow older they require more time for cooking. When
the beets are done, plunge them into cold water; for
this will enable you to rub off the skin readily. Slice
thin, and season with butter and salt, unless vinegar be
preferred.
Boil the cabbage for two hours, and during the last
half-hour add a table-spoonful of salt. Sometimes half a
pound of lean salt pork is cooked for five hours in the
water, put into the kettle in which the cabbage is to be
boiled, three hours before the vegetable is put in, and
the remaining two while the cabbage is cooking. When
this is done it is customary to place the pork on the dish
with the beef* and serve a thin slice to anybody desiring
SPECIAL ARTICLES. 565
it. The cabbage should be drained in a colander after
the cooking, and cut with a knife as it is drained, or it
may be put into a chopping-tray and chopped fine, salt
and butter being added, about a table-spoonful of butter
and a teaspoonful of salt.
The carrots and parsnips should be put into boiling
water, and cooked for an hour ; the potatoes and turnips
should be put into boiling water, and cooked for half
an hour.
If the vegetables are to be cooked with the meat, after
the latter has been simmering for three hours, the kettle
must be placed on a hotter part of the range, and the
cabbage be added; an hour later add the carrots and
parsnips ; and half an hour afterward add the turnips
and potatoes. At serving-time take up the potatoes, and
set them in a dish on the back part of the stove, cover-
ing them with a towel. Take up the cabbage, and let it
drain; then remove the rest of the vegetables and the
meat. The meat, being salt, gives the vegetables suffi-
cient seasoning, so they need only be placed in the
proper dishes. Everything should be served very hot,
and there should be mixed mustard and vinegar on the
table.
*A SALT-FISH DINNER.
Outside New England a salt-fish dinner is hardly
known, and even in that section it is rarely served in
such perfection in the interior as it is in the towns bor-
dering on the coast. To the uninitiated it may seem to
be a very insignificant meal ; but to those who know
what it really is, few dinners are more attractive. The
preparation of a salt-fish dinner calls for care and skill.
The materials should be of the very best. Codfish is
the only suitable fish to use, and dunfish is better than
white ; the process of curing the former being preferable
to that of curing white fish, and the result being a darker
and richer fish. But whichever fish is used, the treat-
566 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
ment is the same. The fish never should be cut before
cooking.
Preparation of the Fish.
A genuine salt-fish dinner is composed of a whole salt
cod, beets, carrots, onions, potatoes, salt pork, butter,
hard-boiled eggs, flour, salt, and pepper. The night
before the dinner is to be served, wash the fish care-
fully. It is best to use for this purpose a brush such as
is used for scrubbing hams. Cut off the fins and tail.
Put the fish into a large pan, skin side up ; and soak it
over night in sufficient water to cover it.
The next day place the fish, skin side up, in a fish-
kettle or in a large pan. Place on the fire where the
water will heat slowly to the boiling-point without actu-
ally boiling ; then set back where it will keep hot for
five or six hours. If care be taken not to let the fish
boil, it will break into soft, rich, gelatinous flakes when
served ; but if it be boiled, it will be dry, thready, and
hard.
Cooking the Beets.
Beets may be boiled without washing. When they
are washed the little roots are apt to be broken, and
the juices escape. This impoverishes the vegetables and
spoils the color. The time of cooking depends upon
the age. When they are small and young they may be
cooked in less than an hour, but as the season advances
the time must be increased. In September, October,
and November they should be cooked for two hours ; in
December and January they will require about three
hours' cooking; and in the spring four hours' will be
none too much. They need steady, gentle boiling. When
they are done, pour off the hot water, and cover them
with cold water. Rub off the skin, and slice them.
They may be seasoned with salt, pepper, and butter, or
served without any seasoning.
SPECIAL ARTICLES. 567
What to Do with the Other Vegetables.
The carrots should be scraped, sliced lengthwise, and
then cut into pieces about three inches long. Let them
stand for an hour or more in cold water ; then boil for
an hour in plenty of water. Pour off the water, and
add to each quart of carrots one level table-spoonful of
sugar, two table-spoonfuls of butter, one teaspoonful of
salt, and one gill of stock or boiling water. Let the
carrots boil till they absorb all the moisture.
Peel the onions, and boil them in plenty of water for
one hour ; adding to eight onions, in the last half -hour,
one table-spoonful of salt. Pour off the water at the
end of the hour. Add enough milk to cover the onions ;
then simmer for half an hour longer. At the end of
that time put them in a dish, and sprinkle with salt and
pepper. Add a table-spoonful of butter and a gill of
the milk in which they were boiled. Unless milk be
plentiful, it need not be used.
The potatoes should be pared, and then soaked in cold
water for an hour. Put them into a kettle, cover them
with boiling water, and cook for half an hour. They
should not be boiled rapidly. When they have been
cooking for fifteen minutes, add salt in the proportion of
a table-spoonful for every dozen potatoes.
When these vegetables are done, drain off every drop
of water. If the potatoes must wait a little time before
serving, lay a coarse towel over them, and place the
stew-pan on the back part of the stove, where its con-
tents will keep hot.
Making Pork Scraps.
Pork scraps are made by cutting salt pork into cubes
and frying them slowly for twenty minutes. At the end
of that time draw the pan forward where the heat is
greater. Stir the pork until it becomes brown and crisp ;
568 MISS PAKLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
then take from the fire at once. At serving-time make
very hot.
Egg Sauce.
Egg sauce is made by beating together half a cupful
of butter and a table- spoonful of flour ; adding half a
pint of boiling water ; setting the saucepan on the fire,
and stirring until the sauce begins to boil ; immediately
drawing the saucepan back, and adding half a teaspoonful
of salt and half a salt-spoonful of white pepper ; chopping
two hard-boiled eggs rather fine, doing it with a plated
knife or spoon, and adding them to the mixture already
prepared.
Serving the Dinner.
The fish, vegetables, and sauces being cooked, the dinner
should be served in dishes which you are particular to
have warm. There will be needed one large platter, four
vegetable-dishes, and two sauce-boats. Place the whole
fish, skin side up, on the platter, and garnish it with
carrot, beet, and parsley. Dish the vegetables, and send
everything to the table hot. In serving the fish slip the
knife under the skin, and fold the skin back. Cut out a
handsome piece of fish, and serve with either egg sauce
or pork scraps. The fish may be skinned before it is
sent to the table, but it will not keep so hot.
Any fish left from the meal may be used for fish-balls
or hash. If any beets be left, take them for a salad or
pickle. Sometimes they are chopped fine and added to
fish-balls or hash. Egg sauce and pork scraps often are
disposed of in the same way.
A GROUP OF SIMPLE DISHES. 569
A GROUP OF SIMPLE DISHES.
IN this chapter are given a few simple dishes for break-
fast and tea. But they form only a small proportion of
the entire number of this kind contained in the book.
In the chapters on " Dishes of Eggs " and " Cheese
Dishes " there are many good things for the breakfast
and supper table, not to speak of various receipts else-
where.
* Peach Short-cake.
Pare and cut, in very thin slices, enough peaches to
measure three pints when sliced. Put the fruit in a
large bowl, and sprinkle it with a generous cupful of
granulated sugar. Let it stand in a cool place for half
an hour or more.
Mix one quart of flour, one teaspoonful of soda, two
of cream-of-tartar, one of salt, and one of sugar, and rub
the mixture through a sieve. Now rub into the dry
mixture four table-spoonfuls of butter. Add a cupful
and a half of milk ; mix quickly until smooth dough is
formed. This should be divided into six parts, and each
part be rolled down to the size of a tin pie-plate of
medium size. Butter three plates, and lay a piece of
dough on each. Spread lightly with soft butter; then
lay a second piece of dough on each plate, and place in a
hot oven. Bake for ten minutes.
When the cakes are done, tear them apart, and spread
with the peaches. Put on the top pieces, and heap
whipped cream on them. Serve the short-cake at once j
it will not be good cold.
570 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
* Strawberry Short-cake.
Mix well together in a sieve, and then rub through it,
one pint of flour, a teaspoonful and a half of baking-
powder, two table-spoonfuls of sugar, and half a teaspoon-
ful of salt. Rub into this mixture three table-spoonfuls
of butter, and wet it with almost a teacupful of milk.
After sprinkling a board lightly with flour, lay the dough
upon it, and roll down to the thickness of about half an
inch. Place a jelly-cake plate upon the dough, and cut
around its edge with a sharp knife. Enough dough can
be made with the materials mentioned above for one to
obtain four small cakes. Butter two jelly-cake plates,
and place the ca.kes in them two in each plate. Bake
in a quick oven for twelve or fifteen minutes. On remov-
ing them from the oven, tear them apart (you will not
require a knife), and spread between the matched cakes
a quart of strawberries, slightly crushed, and sprinkled
with a cupful of powdered sugar. It is an improvement
to add a pint of whipped cream to the fruit. Serve
immediately.
* Adirondack Strawberry Short-cake.
This rather novel delicacy calls for the use of three
pints of strawberries, one cupful of sugar, one quart of
sour milk, one quart of flour, two eggs, four table-spoon-
fuls of melted butter, two teaspooufuls of soda, and one
teaspoonful of salt.
If the cake be desired for supper, in the morning pour
the sour milk upon the flour, and beat thoroughly. Let
the mixture stand in a warm place until evening ; then
dissolve the soda in one table-spoonful of cold water,
and add it to the batter, together with the salt and the
eggs, well beaten. Fry this batter on a griddle, like
common griddle-cakes, but have each cake the size of a tea
plate. Butter the cakes as they come from the griddle,
A GROUP OF SIMPLE DISHES. 571
and spread each with a thin layer of crushed straw-
berries. Sprinkle lightly with sugar. There should be
three griddle-cakes and three layers of berries for each
plate, and the short-cake should be served hot. By many
people a dish of whipped cream will be found to be an
agreeable accompaniment.
The batter for this cake makes very nice plain griddle-
cakes, and if it be used for such the eggs may be
omitted.
Cream Waffles.
Use half a cupful of butter, half a pint of cream, half
a pint of milk, one pint of flour, half a teasjpoonful of
salt, and four eggs.
Beat the butter to a cream. Add the well-beaten yolks
of the eggs and the salt, and beat for two minutes. Now
add the flour, milk, and cream, alternating with a gill of
the liquid and a gill of the flour. When all has beeii
beaten together until smooth, add the whites of the eggs,
beaten to a stiff froth.
These waffles are delicious, but of course expensive.
It is very important that the materials be combined in
just the order given.
* Raised Wheat Waffles.
Warm a pint of milk, and add to it two table-spoonfuls
of melted butter, two of sugar, a teaspoonful of salt, and
half a cupful of yeast, or half a cake of compressed
yeast. After sifting a pint and a half of flour, pour this
mixture upon it, and beat thoroughly. Add two eggs,
well beaten ; and after covering the dish closely, set in
a warm place, so that its contents shall rise. The mix-
ture should be light in four hours.
Make the waffle-irons very hot, and after rubbing them
slightly with fat salt pork, pour into them a thin layer
of the batter. When the waffles get brown on both sides,
572 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
which will be in about a minute and a half, serve them
at once. Delay makes them deteriorate.
* Hominy Waffles.
These are made of a cupful of hot or cold boiled
hominy, a cupful of milk, a cupful and a half of flour,
two eggs, one heaping teaspoonful of baking-powder, one
table-spoonful of melted butter, and half a teaspoonful
of salt.
Break up the hominy with a fork, and gradually beat
the milk into it. Mix the baking-powder and flour, and
sift over the hominy. Add the salt, and beat well ; then
add the eggs, well beaten, and cook the mixture as other
waffles are cooked. The waffle-iron should be very hot.
The first lot of waffles or griddle-cakes never will be
so good as those that follow, because after the iron has
been used it will become smooth, and the heat will be
more even.
* Indian Waffles.
These are delicious if served as soon as taken from
the fire. They are made of a cupful of flour, a cupful of
Indian white meal, two cupfuls of sour milk, half a
cupful of sour cream, half a teaspoonful of salt, two
table-spoonfuls of sugar, one teaspoonful of soda, one
table-spoonful of cold water, and two eggs.
Mix the sugar, salt, meal, and flour. Beat the eggs
until they are light. Dissolve the soda in the table-
spoonful of cold water, and stir it into the sour milk and
cream. Pour the liquid upon the dry mixture; then
add the beaten eggs, and stir well. Have the waffle-irons
very hot, and after rubbing them lightly with a piece of
fat salt pork, pour a thin layer of the batter into one
half of the iron. Drop the other half gently upon the
first one, and then turn the iron over. Cook until the
waffle is brown on both sides, say for about two
minutes.
A GROUP OF SIMPLE DISHES. 573
* Buckwheat Cakes.
The buckwheat cake is often exceedingly disappoint
ing. Sometimes it is so good that one may fancy it
would be impossible to tire of the dish; yet the next
time it may be so poor that almost anything would seem
preferable.
In making the cakes it must be remembered that it is
difficult to have them light and dry when they are made
wholly of buckwheat flour, and that the batter, if raised
with fresh yeast, will not be so good as that which is
raised with some of the unused batter of the previous
day. Here is a rule which should give perfect cakes :
Into a deep pail or pan put a pint of buckwheat, half
a cupful of Indian meal (white is best), a teaspoonful of
salt, and half a cupful of liquid yeast or half a cake of
compressed yeast, the latter to be first dissolved in
half a cupful of water. Add to the ingredients in the
pail a little more than a pint of warm water and a table-
spoonful of molasses. Beat the mixture thoroughly,
and place where it will rise. The batter should rise
and fall again before morning. In the morning sift into
the batter one teaspoonful of dry soda. Stir well, and
fry.
If you have the cakes, say three times a week, you
will not require fresh yeast after the first batch if you
reserve a little more than a pint of the batter in a cool
place, and use that instead. The griddle, for any kind
of batter cakes, should be kept as hot as possible without
danger of burning the cakes.
* These are delicate and delicious. In making them
use two cupfuls of buckwheat, two cupfuls and a half of
warm water, one cupful of stale bread, one cupful of
milk, one teaspoonful of salt, and half a cake of com-
pressed yeast.
574 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Dissolve the yeast in half a cupful of the water ; then
put this water with the remaining cupfuls, and pour all
upon the buckwheat. Add the salt, and beat for ten or
fifteen minutes ; then cover the mixture, and set it in a
warm place to rise.
Put the bread into a bowl with the milk, and let it
soak over night in a cool place. In the morning mash it
till fine and light, and add it to the risen buckwheat
batter. Fry as any griddle-cakes are fried.
* Sweet-Milk Griddle-cakes.
For six people use a pint and a half of flour, a pint of
milk, two eggs, a level teaspoonful of salt, two teaspoon-
f uls of baking-powder, and three table-spoonfuls of melted
butter.
Mix the dry ingredients, and rub them through a sieve.
Add the milk and the eggs, well beaten. Now add the
melted butter, and fry the cakes at once.
* Indian Griddle-cakes.
To make enough for six people one should take half a
pint of fine corn meal, half a pint of flour, a pint of boil-
ing water, three gills of cold milk, one teaspoonful of
baking-powder, one teaspoonful of salt, and two eggs.
Put the meal, salt, and sugar into a bowl, and pour the
boiling water upon them. Beat thoroughly, and then
add the cold milk. Let the mixture stand until it be-
comes perfectly cold ; then mix the flour and baking-
powder, and sift into the bowl. Blend thoroughly, and
add the eggs, well beaten. The cakes should be small,
well browned, and thoroughly cooked.
Another kind of Indian griddle-cake is made by scald-
ing the half-pint of meal with the boiling water and
adding, when the mixture gets cold, a pint of sour milk,
A GROUP OF SIMPLE DISHES. 575
a cupful and a half of flour, two table-spoonfuls of sugar,
and one teaspoonful of salt, and also adding, the next
morning, a teaspoonful of soda, which has been dissolved
in two table-spoonfuls of cold water.
If one have any sour cream, it will be well to use half
a pint of milk and half a pint of cream instead of a full
pint of milk.
* Bread Griddle-cakes.
Put a pint of stale bread and a pint of milk into a
deep bowl, and after covering, let them stand over night
in a warm place. In the morning rub through a colander,
and add to the mixture a teaspoonful of salt, two table-
spoonfuls of sugar, one teaspoonful of soda (previously
dissolved in two table-spoonfuls of cold water), one cup-
ful of flour, and two eggs, beaten well. If you choose
you may also add a light grating of nutmeg ; and should
you have a few spoonfuls of sour cream, the cakes will
be improved by using it at this point. It takes more
time to fry these cakes than the plain flour griddle-
cakes.
* Graham Griddle-cakes.
Mix together a cupful of flour, a cupful of graham, a
table-spoonful of sugar, and half a teaspoonful of salt.
Beat two eggs, the whites and yolks separately. Dis-
solve a teaspoonful of soda in two table-spoonfuls of cold
water, and stir into one pint of sour milk. Add this
to the dry mixture, and when both are well mixed, add
the beaten eggs and a heaping table-spoonful of melted
butter. Fry the same as any other griddle-cakes.
* Rice Griddle-cakes.
These are extra nice. Put a pint of boiled rice to a
pint of milk, to stand over night, and in the morning
add a pint and a half of flour, a teaspoonful of salt, a
576 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
table-spoonful of sugar, and a table-spoonful of melted
butter. Beat the mixture well, and add three well-
beaten eggs and a pint of milk in which a teaspoonful
of baking-powder has been stirred. Fry on a hot
griddle.
If you have half a pint of cream, substitute it for the
table-spoonful of butter.
* After dissolving a teaspoonful of soda in a table-
spoonful of cold water, stir it into a pint of sour milk.
Add a generous pint of flour ; and when the mixture is
smooth, add a cupful of cold boiled rice, two well-beaten
eggs, and half a teaspoonful of salt. Fry the cakes till
they turn a rich brown.
* Green Corn Griddle-cakes.
If one think the use of eggs a piece of extravagance,
this may seem to be a very expensive dish. For six
persons use half a dozen eggs, a pint of grated uncooked
corn, about ten ears, half a pint of milk, one pint of
flour, two table-spoonfuls of sugar, and two teaspoonfuls
of salt. Beat the eggs until they are light, and mix
with the other materials. Fry the batter on a griddle
in small cakes.
* Oatmeal.
All that is needed is half a pint of meal, three pints
of boiling water, and one teaspoonful of salt. Into the
water stir the meal, being particular to stir well from
the bottom of the stew-pan. Keep the dish for half an
hour where it will boil moderately, and during this period
stir it three times ; then add the salt, stirring well, and
after covering the dish closely, put it back where it will
simply bubble for .an hour and a half. It should not be
stirred at all. In the morning a double-boiler will be
A GROUP OF SIMPLE DISHES. 577
needed. This utensil consists of a tin pail fitting into
another considerably larger, the space between the two
being filled with water, so that the contents of the inner
pail can never acquire a burnt flavor. Into the double-
boiler pour half a cupful of boiling water, and into this
water turn the cooked oatmeal. Set the dish where it
will heat while the remainder of the breakfast is being
prepared.
If steamed oatmeal be liked it can be cooked in the
morning. A cupful should be stirred into a quart of
boiling water, together with a good-sized teaspoon ful of
salt, and boiled gently for half an hour, being stirred
twice during the first ten minutes.
* Baked Oatmeal.
Opinions vary as to the manner in which oatmeal
should be cooked. In Scotland and Ireland, where oat-
meal is a staple article of diet, the method of cooking
what is there termed porridge, and what we call mush,
is generally the same. This is not the case in America.
In the old countries the meal always is sprinkled gradu-
ally into the boiling water ; the mush being stirred con-
stantly. Then it is cooked for an hour or more, being
placed where it will boil gently all the time, and being
stirred frequently. The people of Scotland and Ireland
keep smooth iron pots for the special purpose of cooking
oatmeal. These pots usually have feet, diminishing the
danger of burning. This kind of pot is in common
use in the South, where hominy is cooked in much
the same way that oatmeal is cooked in Scotland.
Hominy is as important in the South as oatmeal is in
Scotland.
By cooking oatmeal in the manner described, one ob-
tains a sweetness and richness not found in oatmeal that
has been cooked in a double-boiler. But the necessary
stirring breaks the grains, and the dish may be properly
37
578 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
called mush. Now, if the grains be desired to remain
whole, there should be no stirring after the first ten
minutes' boiling. In baking oatmeal, you may get every
grain well cooked, but whole.
Put three pints of boiling water and half a table-
spoonful of salt into a stew-pan, and place the pan on
the fire. Gradually stir into the water one cupful of
coarse oatmeal. Let it boil for five minutes, stirring
frequently; then turn into a deep earthen bowl, and
cover with a plate. Set the bowl in a pan. Now pour
into the pan enough boiling water to come almost to the
top of the bowl. Place in a moderately hot oven, and
bake for two or three hours. Take the mush from the
oven at the end of that time, and let it cool in the bowl ;
then set it away in a cold place. In the morning put
the bowl again in a pan containing boiling water, and set
it in the oven for half an hour. On taking it from the
oven, slip a knife between the mush and the bowl and
turn the mush into a warm dish.
If this rule be followed carefully, the mush will be of
delicious flavor and each grain will be whole. When
one is fond of milk, half water and half milk may be
used at the start. This is an especially good way to
cook mush for children's dinner or supper.
* Wheat Germ Mush.
Wheat germ is a fine meal obtained from the heart of
the wheat. It makes an excellent mush. Into the inner
basin of a double-boiler pour a quart of boiling water ; and
after setting this basin on the stove, gradually sprinkle
into it one cupful of wheat germ. Stir the mixture con-
stantly until it boils up ; then add a teaspoonful of salt,
and set the small boiler into the larger one (in which, as
usual, there should be some water). Cook for twenty
minutes, having the water in the outer basin boil all the
time. Serve milk or cream with the mush.
A GROUP OF SIMPLE DISHES. 579
This is a pleasant change from cracked wheat or oat-
meal. If any mush be left from breakfast, it may be
fried like hominy for breakfast the next day.
* Hominy.
This is one of the most excellent simple foods that we
have, and may be used in a variety of ways for breakfast
or supper. It unfortunately happens that people often
fail of buying the right kind or of cooking it properly, and
so do not know its value. Get the fine white hominy.
After washing a cupful in three waters, stir it into a
quart of boiling water ; add a teaspoonful of salt, and
boil gently for an hour, stirring frequently. This simple
work is all that is required for obtaining a very palatable
and nutritious dish.
Hominy may be eaten with milk, like oatmeal, or
served with beefsteak or any kind of roasted or broiled
meat. It must be washed clean and boiled well to in-
sure perfection. If any part of the dish remain after
the first serving, it may be used for griddle-cakes or
muffins, or even eaten cold.
* Fried Hominy.
Still another way to serve hominy is to pour it, while
hot, into a deep pan which has been dipped into cold
water ; allow it to cool, and then cut it into slices, which,
after they have been sprinkled lightly with flour, are to be
fried in a pan containing just enough pork fat to prevent
burning. It takes a long time to brown hominy in this
way ; and as the fat spatters considerably, the frying-pan
should be covered during the cooking.
* Hominy Snowflakes.
This is the name given to a new preparation for Break-
fast dishes. It is easily and quickly cooked, and affords
a pleasant change in the fare. Put a cupful of the snow-
580 MISS PAKLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
flakes into a saucepan, and pour over them a cupful and a
third of boiling water ; then add a scant teaspoonf ul of
salt, and simmer for five minutes. Serve the same as
oatmeal.
Or, mix a cupful of the snowflakes with one cupful
and a half of cold milk and one scant teaspoonful of
salt, and put the mixture into the inner kettle of a
double-boiler, the outer kettle containing boiling water.
Cook for ten minutes. A richer dish is obtained by this
mode of cooking.
* Granulated Yellow Meal Mush.
In place of oatmeal, hominy, or cracked wheat, this
dish will be found a pleasant one for breakfast. It is
made by putting half a pint of meal into a stew-pan,
and gradually pouring upon it three pints of boiling
water, adding a teaspoonful of salt, and beating well ;
and finally setting the mixture on the stove to boil
gently for an hour or more. Serve cream or milk with
the mush.
* Rye Mush.
Put one pint of boiling water into a stew-pan and on
the fire. Mix three gills of rye meal with three gills of
cold water. Stir this into the boiling water. Add one
teaspoonful of salt. Stir the mush well, and place it on
the back part of the stove, where it will cook slowly for
half an hour. Serve with milk.
* Graham Mush.
Graham mush is made exactly the same as rye mush.
* Rolled Wheat Mush.
Put a pint and a half of boiling water and a generous t
teaspoonful of salt into a stew-pan. Place on the fire,
and when the water boils rapidly, sprinkle in one cupful
A GROUP OF SIMPLE DISHES. 581
of rolled wheat. Stir the mush well, and set back where
it will cook slowly for one hour. Serve with milk.
* Pearled Wheat Mush.
Wash one small cupful of pearled wheat in cold water.
Stir it into one generous quart of boiling water, and let
it boil rapidly for ten minutes. Add one teaspoonful
of salt. Cover the stew-pan, and place on the back of
the stove where the mush will simmer for three hours.
Serve with milk or cream.
This mush can be cooked one day and be heated in the
double-boiler for breakfast the next morning.
The Health Food Company sells a nice quality of
pearled wheat.
* Toast.
As a general thing, not enough care is taken in the
preparation of toast. Cut slices of stale bread about
one-third of an inch thick. Put them in the toaster and
hold them over the fire, but a little distance from it,
until they become slightly dried. It will take about two
minutes. Now hold the toaster near the fire, and brown
the bread quickly, being careful not to burn it, and yet
to let it acquire a rich brown color. The toast will be
delicate and crisp.
* Butter Toast.
This is made by dipping the edges of slices of toast in
. oiling water, and then spreading the slices with butter.
The toast should be served immediately.
-
* Cream Toast.
Heat three cupfuls of cream to the boiling-point ; then
add half a teaspoonful of salt. Put a slice of toast in a
deep warm dish, and pour a little of the cream on it;
then put another slice in the dish, and pour in more
582 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
cream. Continue in this way until all the materials are
used. Three cupfuls of cream will be sufficient for seven
or eight slices of toast. Serve hot.
* Milk Toast.
Reserve half a cupful of milk from a quart, and put
the rest in a double-boiler, and on the fire. Mix the
cold milk and two table-spoonfuls of flour, and stir the
mixture into the milk when it begins to boil. Stir for
two minutes ; then put the cover on the boiler, and let
the milk cook for a quarter of an hour longer.
Now add two table-spoonfuls of butter and a teaspoon-
ful and a half of salt. Stir well, and dip the slices of
toast in the liquid ; then lay them in a deep dish, and
pour the remainder of the milk over them. There will
be enough milk for ten or twelve good-sized slices of
toast. If bakers' bread -be used, it will only be neces-
sary to dip it into the sauce and take it out immediately.
Home-made will not absorb the milk so quickly, and it
will be better to let the slices remain in the sauce for a
minute or more.
Graham, brown bread, and cracker toast are made in
the same way. Toast the bread as carefully for cream
or milk toast as you would if it were to be served
dry.
* Toasted Crackers.
After splitting six Boston butter crackers, soak them
in cold water until they begin to swell ; then remove
them from the water, and drain them on a plate. Butter
the bottom of a flat baking-pan very lightly. Spread
the crackers in this pan, crust side down, and put them
in a hot oven for ten minutes. In that time they should
turn a delicate brown. Remove them from the oven,
butter them lightly, place them on a warm dish, and
serve at once.
A GROUP OF SIMPLE DISHES. 583
It makes the crackers richer, of course, to soak them
in milk instead of water. They are very nice served with
oyster soup, panned oysters, fricasseed oysters, oysters in
the shell, and oysters saute*. The crackers may be toasted
over the tire instead of in the oven.
* French Toast.
Cut from a loaf of baker's bread a dozen slices about
one-third of an inch thick. Beat together two eggs and
one-fourth of a teaspoonful of salt, and add a cupful and
a half of milk. Put a part of the mixture in a soup
plate, and dip a few slices of bread into it ; and continue
adding a little mixture and dipping the slices until all
the mixture has been used. Spread the bread on a
platter, and let it stand for half an hour. At the end
of that time rub the bars of a toaster lightly with butter,
and toast the bread brown on both sides. Send to the
table very hot.
* Toasted Pilot Bread.
Pilot bread is the large water cracker commonly used
on board ships. It is hard, but has a sweet, nutty flavor.
For six persons use eight or ten crackers. Put them in
a dish, and cover with cold water. Let them soak for a
quarter of an hour ; then remove them from the water,
and spread on a large platter. They should stand for at
least an hour or two. At supper-time butter the bars of
a toaster and toast the crackers a few at a time
until they turn a delicate brown. Spread lightly with
butter, and serve at once.
Instead of using a toaster, the crackers may be put in
a large baking-pan and set in a hot oven for ten minutes ;
then buttered and served. These toasted crackers are
especially good with broiled salt fish.
584 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
PIES.
Puff Paste.
NEARLY all cooks and housekeepers lind it a difficult
thing to learn to make putt' paste. Not that the work
is complicated, but because there must be great delicacy
and rapidity of touch. In the hundreds of rules given
in the cook-books of all countries, the principles are the
same, a pound of butter to a pound of flour, with varia-
tions in the way of lemon juice, sugar, or egg given in
one, and omitted in another.
In making puff paste the object is to get as many dis-
tinct layers as possible. Each layer should be as thin
as a sheet of note-paper. To insure this result, all the
materials and utensils used must be very cold, and the
work should be done in a cool room. The butter should
be of good quality, and the flour, when possible, be made
by the old process, or what is called "half-high mill-
ing." This flour is used a good deal at the West and
Southwest. Flour made by the new, or high-milling,
process is too granular to make perfect puff paste.
Many cooks, however, say that they can make puff paste
quite as good with the new as with the old-process flour.
The writer's experience leads her strongly to recommend
using only the pastry flour or the "half-high milling."
In making puff paste the flour, water, and salt may
be mixed to a dough, and then the butter be rolled with
it. Made in this way the flakes are larger and more
distinct; but the pastry is not quite so tender as it
would be if a small part of the butter were mixed with
the salt and flour before the water was added.
PIES. 586
If the paste cart be chilled three times while it is being
made, it will be lighter, and the flakes will be larger.
The colder and smoother the board on which the paste
is made, the better the paste will be. A smooth wooden
board answers all purposes, but, if convenient, a marble
or a slate slab is preferable because colder. Marble is
expensive and heavy, but a slate slab is light and inex-
pensive ; one measuring 18 x 20 inches, costing about
$1.50, may be used.
In summer there must be ice and a refrigerator; in
winter snow may be substituted for the ice, and the
chilling may be done in a cold room or out of doors.
Here is a method of making puff paste which is slow,
but the beginner may be almost sure of success ; and when
one has become expert in handling the paste, there need
be no intervals between the several times of rolling it.
For a large vol-au-vent, or twelve small patties, or
four medium-sized pies, use one quart of sifted flour,
two cupfuls of butter, packed solid, one table-spoonfui
of sugar, one level table-spoonful of salt, and about a
cupful and a quarter of ice-water.
Work the butter in a pan of cold water until it is
light and waxy ; then pat it between the hands to remove
all the water. Divide it into four thin cakes ; spread
them on a towel, and lay them on the ice in the refrig-
erator.
Put the flour, salt, and sugar into a bowl. On a firm
table put the pastry-board, rolling-pin, a case-knife, a
plate with a little flour for dredging, a soft towel, a
dripping-pan, and two shallow cake-pans. The three
pans must be water-tight. Put about four pounds of ice
into the canvas bag, and pound it until it is almost as
fine as snow; half fill one of the cake-pans with this,
and put the remainder into the dripping-pan. Set the
cake-pan filled with ice into the empty pan ; place these
in the dripping-pan, and put them in the refrigerator or
in a cold room. This is for chilling the paste quickly.
586 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Now break one of the cakes of butter and rub it
quickly into the flour, always keeping plenty of flour
between the hands and the bits of butter. Add the ice-
water, a little at a time, stirring with the knife.
When a smooth ball of paste is formed, sprinkle the
board lightly with flour, and turn the paste on it. Beat
it lightly with the rolling-pin, lifting it and tossing it
back on to the board, after two or three strokes of the
pin ; then roll the paste down until about half an inch
thick, keeping it as near the shape of a square as
possible.
Take one of the cakes of butter from the refrigerator,
and cut it into bits ; spread these over the paste, and
sprinkle lightly with flour. Fold the paste one-fourth
from each side so that the edges meet ; then fold
from the ends, but do not have these meet. Now double
the paste, pound lightly, and roll down to about one-
third of an inch in thickness. Eold as before, and roll
again. Now spread another cake of the butter as before ;
sprinkle with flour, and fold. Eoll down to about an
inch in thickness ; place the paste in a thin napkin ; and
lay this in the empty cake-pan, which has been kept
between the two pans of ice. Let the paste chill for
twenty minutes. At the end of that time roll it down
to the thickness of one-fourth of an inch ; fold it as de-
scribed before, and roll it once more. Now add the last
of the butter, and roll and chill as before. When it has
been chilled for twenty minutes, take it to the board
again and roll it down twice, each time having it about
one-third of an inch, or less, in thickness. After the
second rolling fold it in the middle and then double it.
Roll it gently until it is about the size of the pan in
which it cooled, being careful to have it equally thick in
every part. Place it in the pan, and let it chill for one
hour or more. It is now ready for use.
A word of caution, use as little flour as possible
in rolling the paste. Let each stroke of the rolling-pin
PIES. 587
be light and even. Be sure that the last chilling is
thorough.
Chopped Puff Paste.
This paste is made quickly, and is very satisfactory,
although not so delicate or light as genuine puff paste.
Into a chopping-tray put one quart of sifted flour, one
table-spoonful of sugar, one teaspoonful of salt, and two
cupfuls of unwashed butter.
Beat two eggs very light, and add to them half a
cupful of ice- water and one table- spoonful of lemon
juice. Chop the butter and flour together until the but-
ter is reduced to lumps about the size of a pea. Then
gradually add the mixture of egg, lemon juice, and water,
chopping all the while. When all the mixture has been
used, sprinkle the moulding-board with flour, and turn
the paste on to it. Roll and fold the same as for puff
paste. Do this three or four times. Chill and use the
same as puff paste. This paste may be used without
chilling, but it will not be so light and delicate as if
thoroughly chilled.
* Plain Paste for Pies.
For eight pies of medium size use two quarts of sifted
flour, one cupful of lard, one of butter, one table-spoonful
of salt, two of sugar, and about a cupful and a half of
cold water.
Eeserve half a cupful of the flour, and put the re-
mainder into a chopping-tray with the salt, sugar, lard,
and butter. Chop until all these ingredients are thor-
oughly blended ; then add the water, a little at a time,
chopping all the while. When the water gets well mixed
with the other ingredients there should be a stiff paste.
Sprinkle the moulding-board with some of the reserved
flour, and, putting the paste upon it, roll down to the
thickness of about a quarter of an inch. Fold the paste
and roll it down again ; and repeat the operation three
588 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
times. Put the paste on ice, that it may get chilled.
If one prefer to omit the lard, an extra cupful and a half
of butter may be substituted. Lard makes the paste
richer and tenderer, but butter gives a better flavor.
The smaller the quantity of flour used on the moulding-
board, the nicer will be the paste.
Unfortunately some housekeepers make pies every
week in the year, and they and their families would feel
lost if a day passed without the usual quantity of pie.
Wiser housekeepers have pies only occasionally, and
when the fruits and vegetables of which they are made
are at their best.
* Apple Pie.
For two large pies use enough apples to make three
quarts when pared, cored, and cut into eighths, two tea-
cupfuls of sugar, about one-third of a grated nutmeg, two
table-spoonfuls of flour, and eight of water ; and for the
crust use three cupfuls of flour, one of butter, two table-
spoonfuls of lard, one heaping teaspoonful of salt, one of
sugar, and a scant half-cupful of cold water.
Follow the directions previously given for plain paste,
using the quantities of ingredients given here. Now
prepare the apples. Butter two deep plates, and line
them with a thin layer of paste. Cover the bottom of
the plates with apples, being careful to place them so
that the sharp edges shall not cut through- the paste.
Fill the plates with the remainder of the apples.
Mix the two cupfuls of sugar, two table-spoonfuls of
flour, and the nutmeg, and sprinkle half of this mixture
over each plate of apples ; then sprinkle half of the half-
cupful of water over the fruit.
Roll a piece of the paste to a size a little larger than
the pie plates. Make a small slit in the centre of this
paste/ Cover one pie with this. With a knife lift the
edge of the under crust, and tuck in the edge of the top
PIES. 589
crust. When all the edge has been secured in this man-
ner, press the two edges together gently.
Cover the second pie in the same way, and bake in a
moderate oven for fifty minutes.
* Apple Tart.
Make a plain paste, as for apple pie. Heap* pared,
cored, and quartered apples in two oval vegetable-dishes
that have flat rims. Each dish should hold about two
quarts. Over each grate one-fourth of a nutmeg and half
the thin yellow rind of a lemon. Sprinkle into each
dish a generous cupful of sugar and one-third of a cupful
of water. Cover with paste about half an inch thick,
" fulling " it over the apples a little. The flat edge of
the dish must be covered with the paste. Prick the
paste in several places with a fork. Bake in a moderate
oven for three-quarters of an hour. Serve cream and
sugar with this tart.
This is by far the most desirable manner of baking
paste and fruit together, as there is no under crust to
become soggy with the juices of the fruit.
Swiss Apple Tartlet.
For a tartlet about the size of a large breakfast-plate
use three pints of apples, one cupful and a quarter of
sugar, the same quantity of water, about a quarter of a
grated nutmeg, and plain or rich paste to line the plate,
(one cupful of flour, with the other ingredients for the
paste, will be sufficient for one tartlet).
Pare, quarter, and core the apples. Put a cupful of
sugar and a cupful of water in a small stew-pan, and boil
for eight minutes ; then add a pint of the quartered
apples, and cook gently until tender perhaps for ten
minutes. Take the pieces from the syrup, and place
them on a large plate to cool. Now put another pint of
the apples into the syrup, and cook and cool as before.
590 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
When the second pint has been removed from the syrup,
cook the third one, with the cover on the stew-pan, until
the apples are so soft that the fruit will mash readily.
Take from the fire, and put away to cool.
Now prepare the paste for the tartlet. Butter the
plate, and roll out a piece of paste large enough to cover
it. Then roll out another piece, one-third of an inch
thick, and large enough to go around the plate when cut
into strips an inch wide. Wet the edge of the paste
that is on the plate, and lay the strips upon it. Grate
half the nutmeg and half the lemon rind upon the whole
quarters of apples, and half upon the mashed apples.
Put the latter in the bottom of the pie-plate, and
arrange the whole quarters on top of it, putting them
close together, and being careful to have the rounded
sides up. Put the tartlet into a rather hot oven, and
bake it for three-quarters of an hour. When it has been
baking for half an hour, put the remaining sugar and
water on to boil for fifteen minutes. When the tartlet
is taken from the oven, pour over the apples, by means
of a spoon, the hot syrup made by boiling the water and
sugar together ; then return to the oven, and cook five
minutes longer. On removing the tartlet from the oven
slip it on to a cold plate, and put it away to cool.
This is a very attractive dish, and not much more
work is required to make it than to make an apple pie.
Each piece of apple in the tartlet should be whole and
of a bright rich color. Lemon or cinnamon may be sub-
stituted for nutmeg.
* Gooseberry Tart.
For six persons use one quart of gooseberries, one cup-
ful of sugar, a slight grating of nutmeg, one cupful and
a half of flour, one-third of a cupful of butter, one tea-
spoonful of baking-powder, half a teaspoonful of salt,
and about one-third of a cupful of cold water.
Mix the baking-powder, salt, and butter lightly with
PIES. 691
the flour. Add the water gradually, stirring with a
knife. When a smooth paste is formed, turn it on to a
board that has been sprinkled lightly with flour. Koll
the paste down to a thin sheet about one-fourth of an
inch thick. Fold it up and roll down again ; then put in
a cool place until the fruit is ready. If possible, put it
on ice.
Free the berries of stems and blossoms ; then wash
them and put into an oval vegetable-dish, heaping them
in the centre. Grate the nutmeg, and sprinkle the
sugar over the fruit.
Now roll the paste into the shape of the top of the dish,
but somewhat larger, to allow for turning the edges in a
little. Cut a small slit in the centre of the paste, and
lift it from the board to the dish, being careful to put it
on evenly. Turn the edges in a little, and press them
against the sides of the dish. Bake in a moderately hot
oven for an hour; then set away to cool. At serving-
time sprinkle the top of the tart with sugar.
This is delicious without any sauce, but English
people usually serve cream or soft custard with it. Cur-
rant tarts are made in the same manner.
* Rhubarb Pie.
Put into a chopping-bowl a cupful of sifted flour, a
teaspoonful of sugar, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of salt,
and four table-spoonfuls of butter, and chop until the
ingredients get well mixed ; then add a little more than
one-eighth of a cupful of cold water, and continue the
chopping until a smooth paste is formed. Put away in
a cold place until needed later.
Mix a cupful of sugar and a teaspoonful of flour, and
afterward add a well-beaten egg and a heaping cupful
of chopped rhubarb. Now take a part of the paste
which was put away, and roll it rather thin. Use it for
lining a deep pie-plate, and turn the rhubarb mixture
592 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
into the plate. Boll the remainder of the paste thin,
and cover the plate with it, pressing together the edges
of the paste, that is, of the covering and lining. Bake
in a rather quick oven for forty minutes, reducing the
heat after the first ten.
How to Line Plates for Pies.
These directions apply only to squash, pumpkin, and
custard pies.
Butter a deep pie-plate. Roll the pastry a little
larger than the plate and about one-eighth of an inch
thick. Cover the plate with this paste, being careful
not to shut in air between the paste and the plate. It
is a good plan to lift one side of the paste and lower it
slowly, passing the left hand over it from the centre to
the edge as it touches the plate. This will force out any
air that may have lodged under the paste. Treat both
sides in this manner. The paste should hang about half
an inch over the edge of the plate. Koll it up until it
rests on the edge of the plate, the rolled part being
underneath. There will then be a thick edge all round
the plate. Pinch this with the thumb and forefinger
until a thin scalloped wall is formed. It is always
necessary to build a barrier like this, because plates are
not made deep enough for squash, pumpkin, or custard
pies.
It is a singular fact that many housekeepers do not
know the difference between a pumpkin and squash, and
cook both in the same manner. The squash can be pre-
pared in many ways ; the pumpkin is desirable only in
pies. The squash can be boiled or steamed in half an
hour ; the pumpkin must be cooked for six hours.
* Squash Pie.
The materials needed for two large pies are five cup-
fulg of stewed and strained squash, five cupfuls of milk,
PIES. 598
one table-spoonful of butter, one heaping cupful of sugar,
two teaspoonfuls of salt, the grated rind of a lemon, a
piece of stick cinnamon about five inches long, four eggs,
and about one-third of a nutmeg, grated.
Put the milk into the double-boiler with the stick cinna-
mon, broken into small pieces, and the lemon rind. Let
it cook for half an hour. Add the butter, and then
strain the liquor on the squash* Stir constantly while
adding the milk. Now add the sugar, salt, and nv.tineg,
and set away to cool.
Beat the eggs well, and add them to the squash mix-
ture. Fill the plates, and bake in a moderate oven for
three-quarters of an hour.
* Pumpkin Pie.
Cut a pumpkin into long strips. Remove the soft pulp
and the seeds. Pare the strips, and cut them into small
pieces. Wash and measure these pieces, and put them
into a stew-pan containing one-fourth as much boiling
water as there is pumpkin. Cover, and place on the fire.
When it has boiled for ten minutes, set back where it
will simmer for six hours. When it has cooked for four
hours add one cupful of molasses for every six quarts
of the vegetable. Stir frequently, to prevent burning.
When done, rub through a sieve, and measure. For two
large pies use five cupfuls of the strained pumpkin, one
quart of boiling milk, one small cupful of sugar, two
teaspoonfuls of salt, one table-spoonful of cinnamon, four
eggs, and one-fourth of a nutmeg, grated.
Mix the salt and spice with the pumpkin. Add the
boiling milk, a little at a time, stirring all the while.
Add the sugar, and set away to cool. When cold, add
the eggs, well beaten.
Line two deep plates with plain paste. Pour the mix-
ture into them, and bake in a moderate oven for three-
quarters of an hour
594 MISS PAKLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
It is always best to cook the pumpkin the day before
the pies are to be made.
Orange Pie.
For a plate that holds a pint, use the rind of one large
orange, and the juice of two large or three small ones, a
cupful of water, a cupful of sugar, two level table-spoon-
fuls of corn-starch, one of powdered sugar, one-eighth of
a teaspoonful of salt, and two eggs.
Use four table-spoonfuls of water to mix with the corn-
starch, and put the remainder on the stove in a stew-pan.
When it boils, stir the mixed corn-starch into it, and
cook for three minutes, stirring all the while. Take
from the fire at the end of that time, and add the salt,
orange rind and juice, and the cupful of sugar. Set away
to cool ; and when it becomes cold, add the white of one
egg, and the yolks of two, all well beaten.
Put two heaping table-spoonfuls of flour into a bowl,
and rub into it one heaping table-spoonful of butter, and
a quantity of salt about as large as a pea. Add enough
cold water perhaps a level table-spoonful to make
a stiff dough. Sprinkle a moulding-board with flour, and
roll the paste very thin. Line the buttered plate with
this dough, and pour the orange mixture into the plate.
Bake in a moderate oven for thirty-five minutes. At the
end of that time beat the reserved white of an egg to a
stiff, dry froth, and then beat into it the table-spoonful
of powdered sugar. Spread this mixture over the pie,
and cook for ten minutes, with the oven door open.
Close the door for two minutes (making twelve minutes'
cooking of the me'ringue in all) to give a good color to
the froth. Set the pie away to cool before serving.
Lemon Cream Pie.
To make the filling for this pie there must be taken
the juice of three lemons and the rind of one, a teaspoon-
PIES. 595
ful of butter, a table-spoonful and a half of corn-starch,
a large cupful of water, a cupful of granulated sugar, four
table-spoonfuls of powdered sugar, and four eggs ; and the
crust will require three large table-spoonfuls of flour, one
large table-spoonful of butter, and some water.
Make the crust by rubbing the butter into the flour,
adding cold water enough to make a smooth, stiff paste,
and then rolling very thin.
Mix the corn-starch with four table-spoonfuls of the
cupful of water. Put the remainder of the water into a
saucepan, with the lemon rind and juice and the granu-
lated sugar, and heat to the boiling-point ; then stir the
corn-starch into the boiling mixture, and cook for two
minutes. Stir the butter into the mixture, and set away
to cool. When cool, add the yolks of the four eggs, well
beaten. Pour the mixture into a large deep plate that
has been lined with paste, and bake in a moderate oven
for thirty-five minutes. During the last quarter of an
hour make a meringue by beating the whites of the eggs
to a stiff, dry froth, and gradually beating the powdered
eggs into this froth. At the end of the thirty-five
minutes cover the pie ivith the meringue, and bake, with
the oven door open, for ten minutes longer.
By following this rule, one gets a very large deep pie.
The materials named are sufficient for making two small
and rather thin pies.
At serving- time the dish should be as cold as possible.
Orange Cream Pie.
For the cake use a scant half-cupful of butter, two
cupfuls of sugar, three cupfuls and a quarter of flour, one
of milk, three teaspoonfuls of baking-powder, and three
eggs.
Beat the butter to a cream, and gradually beat into it
the sugar. Beat the eggs light, and then beat them into
the sugar and butter; add the milk, and then the flour
596 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
and baking-powder, mixed. Spread the mixture in six
well-buttered Washington-pie tins, these shallow plates
are also called "jelly-cake tins." Bake in a moderate
oven for about eighteen minutes. These six cakes will
make three pies. The cake is very tender, and must be
handled with care when it is taken from the pans. Let the
cakes cool, and then fill them with the cream filling.
Cream for Filling. The materials are : four medium-
sized oranges, one lemon, two cupfuls and a half of wa-
ter, one cupful of powdered sugar, the yolks of three
eggs, three table-spoonfuls of corn-starch, and one table-
spoonful of butter.
Into a saucepan put two cupfuls of water and the
grated yellow rind of two of the oranges, and place on
the fire. Mix the corn-starch with half a cupful of cold
water, and stir into the boiling water. Simmer for ten
minutes. Beat the sugar and yolks of eggs together,
and stir into the boiling mixture. Cook for two minutes
longer, stirring all the while. Take from the fire, and
add the butter and orange and lemon juice ; beat well,
and set away to cool. When the mixture is cold, spread
it on three of the round cakes, and cover with the other
three cakes. These pies may be frosted and decorated
with sections of oranges, or they may be served plain.
* Cream Pie.
Beat three eggs very light with the Dover-beater ; add
to them one cupful and a half of powdered sugar, and
beat with a spoon until the entire mixture is creamy.
Add one table-spoonful of lemon juice, and beat three
minutes longer.
Put two cupfuls of sifted flour into the sieve; mix
with it two level teaspoonfuls of baking-powder; add
one gill of cold water to the beaten egg and sugar ; then
sift in the flour and baking-powder, and beat well. Pour
a little more than half of this mixture- into two buttered
PIES. 597
deep tin plates. Pour the remainder into a small cake-
pan. Bake the part in the plates for twenty minutes,
and that in the pan for twenty-five. The two round
plates are for the pies, and the sheet of cake may be
used in the basket. It improves if kept a day or two.
Split the round cakes, and fill with the prepared
cream.
To Make the Cream. Put three gills of milk into the
double-boiler, and place on the fire. Beat together in a
bowl three table-spoonfuls of flour, two-thirds of a cupful
of sugar, one large egg, and half a salt-spoonful of salt.
When this is light and smooth, stir it into the boiling
milk. Beat well for two minutes ; cover the boiler, and
cook the cream for fifteen minutes, stirring frequently.
Season with half a teaspoonful of vanilla or lemon ex-
tract. Cool and use.
This cream is more delicate if one table-spoonful of
flour be omitted and two eggs be used.
Chocolate Cream Pie.
This is made in three parts, first the cake, then the
cream, and finally the icing.
To Make the Cake. Beat half a cupful of butter to a
cream, and gradually beat into it one cupful of powdered
sugar. Beat two eggs till light, and then beat them into
the sugar and butter. Add half a cupful of milk and
two level cupfuls of sifted flour, with which has been
mixed a teaspoonful and a half of baking-powder. Beat
this mixture quickly and vigorously, and pour into four
deep tin plates that have been well buttered. Spread
the batter evenly in the plates, and bake in a moderate
oven for a quarter of an hour. Carefully remove the
cakes from the tins, and put them on earthen plates.
To Make the Cream. Beat together the yolks of two
eggs, one table-spoonful of flour, and two table-spoonfuls
of sugar. Put a cupful of milk into a double-boiler, and
598 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
when it boils, add the beaten mixture and half a salt-
spoonful of salt. Stir constantly until the mixture be-
comes smooth; then cover, and cook for fifteen minutes,
stirring frequently. On taking from the fire add half a
teaspoonful of vanilla extract.
To Make Chocolate Icing. Mix six table-spoonfuls of
grated chocolate and half a cupful of powdered sugar.
Beat to a stiff, dry froth the whites of those two eggs
whose yolks were used in making the cream, and grad-
ually beat into them a cupful of powdered sugar and
a teaspoonful of vanilla extract. Put the mixture of
chocolate and sugar into a small frying-pan, and add two
table-spoonfuls of water. Stir over a hot fire until
smooth and glossy. Beat this cooked mixture into the
mixture of egg whites and sugar.
Spread two of the cakes with the cooked cream, and
spread a thin layer of chocolate icing over the cream.
Place the other two cakes on top of the first two, and
spread the remainder of the icing over them. Let the
pies stand for at least two hours before serving.
* Washington Pie.
For two pies make the cake the same as for orange
cream pies. When the cakes are cold, place one on a
plate, spread a thin layer of raspberry or strawberry jam
on it ; put a second cake on top of this, and spread jam
on it ; place a third cake on the other two, and sprinkle
with powdered sugar. Treat the other three cakes in
the same manner. Any cup cake, plain or rich, may be
used for Washington pies ; and any fruit jam may be
substituted for strawberry or raspberry.
Potato Pie.
The materials area generous pint .of mashed potato,
two table-spoonfuls of butter, one pint of cream, a gill of
PIES. 599
port, one gill of sugar, four eggs, about one-fourth of a
grated nutmeg, and a scant half-teaspoonful of salt.
Rub the mashed potato through a sieve ; add the sugar
to it, and then the cream, stirring it in gradually. Next
add the butter, melted. Stir in the yolks of the eggs,
well beaten, the salt and nutmeg, and then the wine, a
little at a time. Last of all, add the whites of the eggs,
beaten to a stiff froth. Have two small deep plates
lined with puff paste. Pour this preparation into them,
and bake half an hour in a moderate oven.
Cream Cheese Tart.
Use one cupful of cottage cheese, half a cupful of
sweet cream, two table-spoonfuls of sugar, half a cupful
of blanched and chopped almonds, one cupful of cur-
rants, and four eggs.
Butter a deep plate, and line it with a very thin sheet
of dough made in the manner described for making lun-
cheon rolls in the chapter on " Bread." Beat the cream
into the cheese. Beat the sugar and yolks of eggs to-
gether, and add the cheese and cream. Beat this mixture
for two minutes, and then add the almonds and currants.
Last of all add the whites of the eggs, beaten to a stiff
froth. Pour into the plate, and bake in a moderate
oven for half an hour.
Chantilly Tarts.
These dainty bits of pastry are made of two cupfuls of
flour, one of butter, a scant half-cupful of water, about
half a cupful of strawberry preserve, a pint of whipped
cream, a teaspoonful of salt, a teaspoonful of sugar, and
the white of an egg.
Put the flour, butter, sugar, and salt into a chopping-
bowl, and chop until the butter is thoroughly mixed with
the flour j then add the water, and continue chopping
until smooth dough is formed. Sprinkle a moulding-
600 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
board very lightly with flour, and, placing the dough
upon it, pound with a rolling-pin, and roll till thin.
Fold the paste, and pound and roll again ; and after
doing the same operation a third time, set the paste on
ice. When it has become thoroughly chilled, roll it
down to the thickness of a quarter of an inch, and cut it
into circular pieces with a large pattie-cutter or biscuit-
cutter. With a smaller tin, cut the centres out of these
pieces. Gather up the scraps of paste, and roll very thin,
and cut out with the large cutter as many pieces as there
are rings of paste. Moisten these pieces with the beaten
white of an egg, and place the rings upon them. Bake
in a quick oven for twenty minutes, and on removing
from the oven, fill with strawberry preserve. At serving-
time cover the tarts with whipped cream.
Mince-meat.
Take three pounds of beef from the tenderest part ot
the round, half a pound of chopped suet, three quarts of
pared and chopped apples, three cupfuls of stoned raisins,
two cupfuls of dried currants, a quarter of a pound of
citron, a cupful of molasses, three of sugar, one table-
spoonful of ground mace, four of cinnamon, one of
allspice, half a table-spoonful of cloves, three grated
nutmegs, two lemons, three table-spoonfuls of salt, five
cupfuls of cider, one pint of wine, and a pint of brandy.
Free the beef of fat and skin, and chop it very fine.
Chop the apples rather coarse ; they should be fine-
flavored and tart. Put all the ingredients, except the
cider, wine, brandy, and lemons, into a large bowl. Grate
the yellow rind of the lemons, and squeeze the juice of
the fruit upon the mixture. Mix all thoroughly, and
then add the cider. Put the mince-meat into a porcelain
kettle, and heat very slowly to the boiling-point; then
remove from the fire, and add the wine and brandy. Put
into stone jars, and keep until needed. It is well to try
PIES. 601
the mince-meat by putting a spoonful of it in a small
piece of paste and baking it, for the flavor is developed
in baking. Tastes differ in regard to seasoning ; and
while some persons may not think the quantities in this
receipt are sufficient, others may think that the flavor is
even too strong. If there be objection to brandy or
wine, use, instead, an extra pint and a half of cider.
Mince-meat improves with keeping. It should be
made at least a fortnight before it is baked in pies,
and the pies should be baked for an hour.
* Plain Mince-meat.
Cover four pounds of a round of beef with boiling
water, and let it simmer for five hours ; then let it coo'
in the water, and when it is cold, free it of fat and chop
quite fine, but not to a powder. There should be a gen-
erous quart of the chopped meat. Add to it three quarts
of pared and chopped apples, a pint of fine-chopped suet,
a quart of stoned and chopped raisins, a quart of English
currants, a quart of molasses, three pints of sugar, half
a cupful of ground cinnamon, a table-spoonful of cloves,
two of allspice, two of mace, six grated nutmegs, half a
cupful of salt, and some citron, if you choose.
Mix these ingredients thoroughly with the hands, and
then add three quarts of good cider. Let the mince-
meat stand over night, and in the morning, after heating
it slowly to the boiling-point, and simmering for one
hour, turn it into stone jars and set it in a cool, dry
place.
If you like you may add wine or brandy when you put
the mince-meat away or when making the pies, but it is
nice without either. It is an improvement, however, to
put a quart of stoned raisins into the mixture at the
time it is scalded.
This mince-meat will keep for three months in ordi-
nary stone jars, even if there be no brandy or wine. The
602 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
crust for the pies should be either puff paste or rich
chopped paste. The upper crust should be very thick,
and the pies should bake for an hour. Mince pies are
always better if baked several days before they are
served.
* Cheap Mince-meat.
The materials are : one cupful of chopped cooked meat,
two of chopped apple, a half-cupful of chopped raisins,
half a cupful of currants, one cupful of cider, half a cup-
ful of molasses, one cupful of the water in which the
meat was boiled, two teaspoonf uls of salt, one of cinna-
mon, one of allspice, a half-teaspoonful of clove, and a
half-teaspoonful of nutmeg. The cider may be omitted
and the juice and rind of a lemon used instead. Mix
all together, and then heat to the boiling-point.
PUDDINGS. 603
PUDDINGS.
MANY housekeepers look upon all dessert in the light
of luxuries ; others draw the line at dishes that call for
eggs. Now, some dessert dish, if properly made, should
form a part of every dinner, if no fruit be served. Even
with fruit, some people require sugar. When no dessert
is provided, a greater quantity of meat and vegetables
must be eaten to satisfy the demands of nature. For
some this is all right, but for the majority of people a
certain amount of sugar and starch is necessary. Chil-
dren should not be deprived of this kind of food. Even
for the poor it is economical to provide a simple dessert.
In arranging for a dinner, plan a light dessert when
the rest of the meal is to be substantial. On the other
hand, when the main part of ^he dinner is to be light,
let the dessert be hot and substantial. For example, if
the first part of the meal consists of cold meat and vege-
tables, or a hash and one vegetable, serve a hot apple
pudding for dessert. A good one can be made of a pint
of flour, prepared as for cream-of-tartar biscuit, rolled thin,
and filled with pared and quartered apples, then steamed
for two hours, and served with molasses or sugar sauce.
Or the apples may be put into a stew-pan with a little
water and sugar or a little molasses, stewed for a few
minutes, covered with the biscuit dough, and cooked for
about twenty minutes longer. No sauce will be needed
with this pudding. Nothing could be cheaper, and it will
be very palatable and wholesome.
Apples may be added to boiled sago or tapioca with a
pleasing result. Soak a cupful of either tapioca or sago
604 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
in three cupfuls of cold water over night ; then cook it
in a double-boiler for half an hour. Add to the contents
of the boiler one cupful of sugar, half a teaspoonful of
salt, and two quarts of pared and quartered apples.
Bake in a pudding-dish for an hour and a quarter. Cool
slightly, and serve with or without sugar and cream or
milk. These puddings are so simple that they will not
hurt even an invalid.
The simple dishes that can be made of apples are
numerous ; and as the fruit is so cheap and healthful, it
should be used freely through the fall and winter.
Puddings made of milk and rice, tapioca, sago, corn-
starch, etc., are healthful, and cheap, and, to most tastes,
appetizing, when properly cooked. The trouble with
almost all simple dishes is that the cook thinks that they
are not worth careful treatment ; but refined taste shows
itself in the simplest operation of cooking as well as in
the making of elaborate dishes.
HOT PUDDINGS
m erf.1 l
~* ~~ bfls
* Hot Farina Pudding.
Use one quart of milk, four heaping table-spoonfuls of
farina, and one teaspoonful of salt. Put all the milk
but half a cupful on to boil. When it boils, add the
farina and salt, mixed with the cold milk. Cook for one
hour, stirring frequently, and serve with sugar and
milk.
* Corn-starch Pudding.
The materials needed are : one quart of milk, five
table-spoonfuls of corn-starch, the yolks of three eggs,
and one teaspoonful of salt.
Reserve a cupful of the milk, and put the remainder
on the stove in a double-boiler. Mix the cold milk,
yolks, corn-starch, and salt, and stir into the boiling milk.
PUDDINGS. 605
Cook for ten minutes, stirring frequently. Pour into a
pudding-dish, and serve with strawberry sauce.
* Keserve half a cupful of milk from a quart, and put
the remainder into a double-boiler on the stove. Mix
four large table-spoonfuls of corn-starch and a teaspoouf ul
of salt with the half -cupful of milk ; stir into the boiling
milk, and beat well for two minutes. Cover the boiler,
and let the pudding cook for twelve minutes ; then pour
it into a pudding-dish, and set it in a cool place for half
an hour.
At serving-time make the sauce in this way : Beat the
whites of two eggs to a stiff, dry froth, and beat into
this two table-spoonfuls of powdered sugar ; as soon as
the sugar is mixed with the whites, add half a large
tumbler of currant or any other bright jelly ; or any kind
of preserved fruit may be used.
Sugar and cream are good and popular accompaniments
of corn-starch pudding.
* Rice Caramel Pudding.
For this pudding use one cupful of rice, one quart and
two gills of milk, one teaspoonful of salt, two eggs, one
stick of cinnamon, and half a cupful of sugar.
Wash the rice in three waters, and soak in cold water
for two hours ; then drain off all the water, and put the
rice in the double-boiler with the milk and cinnamon.
Cook for two hours.
Put the sugar into a small frying-pan, and stir until it
turns brown and becomes liquid. Instantly pour this
liquid into a three-pint mould that has been warmed on
the back part of the range. Turn the mould round so
as to coat all parts of it with the sugar. The liquid
hardens quickly, and the work must be done rapidly, or
the sugar will not spread. Now add to the rice the salt
606 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
and the two eggs, well beaten, and stir well. Pack this
mixture in the sugar-lined mould. Cover the mould, and
after placing it in a pan of hot water, set it in the
oven. Bake for half an hour.
On taking the pudding from the oven, let it stand for
ten minutes ; then turn out on a flat dish. Serve with a
soft custard. The pudding is to be served hot and the
sauce cold. Flavor the custard with vanilla.
* Plain Rice Pudding.
Wash half a cupful of rice in three waters, and soak
it in cold water for two hours. Drain off the water, and
add a level teaspoonful of salt, a slight grating of nut-
meg, two table-spoonfuls of sugar, half a cupful of
stoned raisins, and one quart of milk. Cook in a very
moderate oven for two hours, stirring twice in the first
half-hour. At the end of two hours add half a pint of
cold milk ; stir well, and cook for an hour longer. Serve
in the dish in which it is cooked.
* Boiled Rice Pudding.
Wash a cupful of rice in three waters, and, putting it
into a double-boiler containing two cupfuls of cold water,
cook it for half an hour ; then add a quart of milk and
a teaspoonful of salt, and cook for two hours longer.
Serve with sugar and cream.
When there are children in the family it is a good
plan to put a cupful of raisins into the cold water with
the rice. The fruit is healthful, and makes the pudding
more attractive and toothsome.
* Minute Pudding.
The materials are : one pint of boiling water, a pint and
a half of milk, half a pint of sifted flour, one teaspoonful
of salt, and two eggs.
PUDDINGS. 607
Put one pint of the milk in the double-boiler. Mix
the flour with the half-pint of cold milk. Beat the eggs
light, and add them and the salt to the flour and milk.
Now add one pint of boiling water to the hot milk.
Take the inner boiler from the water, and place it on the
stove. When the milk and water boil up, stir in the
mixture of flour, milk, and eggs. Beat well for one
minute. Now return the boiler to the water-boiler, and
cook for ten minutes, stirring frequently. Serve with
lemon or vanilla sauce.
* Bread Pudding.
Soak one pint of stale bread in one quart of cold milk
for two hours. At the end of that time mash the bread
fine. Beat together three table-spoonfuls of sugar, one
teaspoonful of salt, and two eggs. Stir this into the
bread and milk. Pour the mixture into an earthen pud-
ding-dish, and bake in a slow oven for three-quarters of
an hour. Serve with a vanilla or cream sauce.
* Chocolate Pudding.
For six persons use one quart of milk, one pint of
stale bread, four eggs, one ounce of grated chocolate
(that made by Walter Baker & Co., Boston, is excellent
for such purposes), half a cupful of granulated sugar,
three table-spoonfuls of powdered sugar, half a teaspoon-
ful of vanilla extract, and one teaspoonful of salt.
Soak the bread and milk together for two hours ; then
mash the bread fine by pressing it with a spoon against
the side of the bowl. Put the chocolate, three table-
spoonfuls of the granulated sugar, and one table-spoonful
of boiling water in a small stew-pan, and stir over a hot
fire until the liquid becomes smooth and glossy. Now
take from the fire, and add a few spoonfuls of bread and
milk. Stir until the mixture is thin and smooth ; then
add it to the bread and milk.
608 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
Beat the yolks and one white of the egg with the
remainder of the granulated sugar. Add this mixture
and the salt to the bread and milk. Pour into a pud-
ding-dish, and bake in a slow oven for forty minutes.
Now beat the three remaining whites to a stiff, dry
froth, and with a spoon beat into them three table-
spoonfuls of powdered sugar and the vanilla. Spread
this me'ringue over the pudding, and cook for a quarter
of an hour longer with the oven door open. Serve qpith
whipped cream.
When it is inconvenient to use cream, the me'ringue
will suffice as a sauce. If a strong flavor of chocolate
be liked, use two ounces instead of one. This may be
served cold, if so preferred.
* Bride's Pudding.
Put a quart of milk on to heat in a double-boiler.
Mix six table-spoonfuls of corn-starch with half a cup-
ful of cold milk, and add the yolks of four eggs and a
teaspoonful of salt. Stir this mixture into the quart
of boiling milk, and cook for eight minutes, stirring
occasionally. Butter a pudding-dish, and pour the mix-
ture into it ; but be careful to have a space of two inches
from the surface of the mixture to the edge of the dish,
for a me'ringue. Cook in a moderate oven for twenty
minutes; then let it stand in a cool place for twenty
minutes more.
Beat the whites of the four eggs to a stiff, dry froth,
and with a spoon gradually beat into them six table-
spoonfuls of powdered sugar. Spread this meringue
over the pudding, and cook in the oven, with the door
open, for twenty minutes. Serve immediately with cold
sauce.
* Prune Pudding.
For this pudding and its sauce there will be required
five eggs, seven table-spoonfuls of powdered sugar, a
PUDDINGS. 609
quarter of a pound of prunes, half a teaspoonful of cream-
of-tartar, a quarter of a teaspoonful of salt, a pint of milk,
and half a teaspoonful of vanilla extract.
Separate the whites of the eggs from the yolks, and
put them in a cold place until it is time to use them.
Reserve half a cupful of the milk, and put the remainder
into the double-boiler and upon the stove. Beat the
yolks of the eggs with two table-spoonfuls of sugar and
one-eighth of a teaspoonful of salt. Add the cold milk
and then the boiling milk, and put the mixture into
the double-boiler to cook until it begins to thicken,
say for five minutes, stirring all the while. As it be-
comes thick, remove it from the fire and pour into a
bowl to cool. Flavor with half a teaspoonful of vanilla
extract. This is the sauce.
To make the pudding, wash the prunes carefully, and
after just covering them with cold water, cook them
slowly for an hour and a half. Take them up at the
end of that time, and spread them on a dish to cool ; and
when they are cold, remove the stones, and cut each
prune into three or four pieces.
Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth. Mix five
table-spoonfuls of powdered sugar with one-eighth of a
teaspoonful of salt and the half-teaspoonful of cream-of-
tartar. Beat this mixture lightly into the beaten whites
of the eggs. Butter a two-quart pudding-dish slightly,
and drop into it about half the mixture. Sprinkle in
about half of the prunes; then add almost all the re-
mainder of the mixture and the rest of the prunes,
and finish by covering the fruit with the small part of
the mixture reserved. Bake in a very moderate oven for
twenty-two minutes.
This pudding may be served either hot or cold. If,
in making some other dish, you have any whites of
eggs left, you may use them for this pudding, and
serve it with whipped cream instead of the sauce given
above.
38
610 MISS PARLOA'S KITCHEN COMPANION.
* Steamed Roly-poly Pudding.
For six persons use one pint of flour, one teaspoonful
and a half of baking-powder, one teaspoonful of sugar,
half a teaspoonful of salt, two table-spoonfuls of butter,
nearly a small cupful of milk, and three pints of any
kind of berries.
Mix the dry ingredients, and rub them through a sieve.
Now rub the butter into the mixture. Add the milk,
and stir the dough into a smooth ball. Sprinkle the
moulding-board with flour ; then lay the dough upon it,
and roll down to the thickness of one-third of an inch.
Spread the berries over the dough, keeping free of berries
a space of about an inch at the ends and on one side.
Eoll up the dough, beginning at the side where the
berries reach to the edge. Press together the ends of
this roll ; then lay the roll in a buttered pan. Cover
with a napkin, and place in a steamer over a kettle of
boiling water. Steam for two hours. Serve with a hot,
rich sauce.
Any kind of fruit may be used for this dessert.
Sponge Roly-poly.
Use one quart of stewed, sweetened, and flavored fruit,
three eggs, one cupful of sugar, one of flour, one tea-
spoonful of baking-powder, and the juice of one lemon.
Mix the baking-powder and flour, and rub the mixture
through a sieve. Beat the yolks of the eggs, the sugar,
and lemon juice together ; then add the whites of the
eggs, beaten to a stiff froth, and finally add the flour.
Spread the mixture in a large buttered pan, and bake in
a rather slow oven for twenty minutes. On taking from
the pan, cut off the crusty edges. Now spread the fruit
over the cake, and roll up the cake. Serve with hot
syrup flavored with fruit juice or wine. Or the pud-
ding may be served with plain or whipped cream. If
whipped cream be used, heap it around the pudding.
PUDDINGS. 611
To Make the Syrup. Boil one cupful of sugar with
one of water for twenty minutes ; then add -the flavor,
which may be five table-spoonfuls of wine, or the juice
and rind of one lemon, or the juice and rind of two
oranges, or half a cupful of strawberry or raspberry
juice. Any of these flavors will go well with almost
any fruit.
* Boiled Cherry Pudding.
This is made of two quarts of stoned cherries, three
eggs, one pint and a half of stale bread, one pint of milk,
one pint of flour, one teaspoonful of salt, two of baking-
powder, one table-spoonful of sugar, and one-fourth of a
nutmeg.
Soak the bread in the milk for an hour. Mix the
sugar, salt, and baking-powder with the flour, and after
grating the nutmeg over the mixture, sift all into the
bowl containing the bread and milk. Now add the eggs,
well beaten, and finally the cherries.
Dip the pudding-cloth in boiling water, and then spread
it in a deep pudding-dish. Dredge it well with flour, and
then pour the batter upon it. Draw the cloth together,
and tie it tight. Have a tin plate at the bottom of a
large pot that is half filled with boiling water. Drop
the pudding into this pot, and boil it constantly for two
hours. If the water boils away, add boiling water from
the tea-kettle.
When the pudding is done, lift it from the pot and
pl
