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.
