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Title: The Century Cook Book

Author: Mary Ronald

Release date: January 2, 2011 [eBook #34822]
Most recently updated: January 25, 2021

Language: English

Credits: Produced by Julia Miller and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
produced from images generously made available by The
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CENTURY COOK BOOK ***

Transcriber’s Note

Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. A list of these changes is found at the end of the text. Inconsistencies in spelling and hyphenation have been maintained. A list of inconsistently spelled and hyphenated words is found at the end of the text.

Illustrations have been moved and placed near the paragraph that they illustrate whenever possible.

THE
CENTURY COOK BOOK

See caption
SQUARE-CORNERED DINNER-TABLE WITH FOURTEEN COVERS. DECORATIONS IN WHITE. (SEE PAGE 18.)

THE
CENTURY COOK BOOK

BY

This book contains directions for cooking in its various branches,
from the simplest forms to high-class dishes and ornamental pieces;
a group of New England dishes furnished by Susan Coolidge;
and a few receipts of distinctively Southern dishes. It gives also
the etiquette of dinner entertainments—how to serve dinners—table
decorations, and many items relative to household affairs.

“NOW GOOD DIGESTION WAIT ON APPETITE
AND HEALTH ON BOTH”
—Macbeth

NEW YORK
THE CENTURY CO.
1901

Copyright, 1895, by
The Century Co.

The DeVinne Press.

“To be a good cook means the knowledge of all fruits, herbs, balms and spices, and of all that is healing and sweet in field and groves, and savory in meats; means carefulness, inventiveness, watchfulness, willingness and readiness of appliance. It means the economy of your great-grandmothers and the science of modern chemists. It means much tasting and no wasting. It means English thoroughness, French art and Arabian hospitality. It means, in fine, that you are to be perfectly and always ladies (loaf-givers) and are to see that every one has something nice to eat.”—Ruskin.

APHORISMS—BRILLAT-SAVARIN.

Les animaux se repaissent; l’homme mange; l’homme d’esprit seul sait manger.

Dis moi ce que tu manges, je te dirai ce que tu es.

Le Créateur, en obligeant l’homme à manger pour vivre, l’y invite par l’appêtit et l’en récompense par le plaisir.

La table est le seul endroit où l’on ne s’ennuie jamais pendant la première heure.

La découverte d’un mets nouveau fait plus pour le bonheur du genre humain que la découverte d’une étoile.

L’ordre des comestibles est des plus substantiels aux plus légers.

L’ordre des boissons est des plus tempérées aux plus fumeuses et aux plus parfumées.

On devient cuisinier mais on naît rôtisseur.

Attendre trop longtemps un convive retardataire est un manque d’égards pour tous ceux qui sont présent.

Celui qui reçoit ses amis, et ne donne aucun soin personnel au repas qui leur est préparé, n’est pas digne d’avoir des amis.

La maîtresse de la maison doit toujours s’assurer que le café est excellent, et le maître, que les liqueurs sont de premier choix.

TIME TABLE.

BOILING.

MEATS.
|  | Time.
Mutton | per pound | 15 minutes.
Potted Beef | “ “ | 30 to 35 min.
Corned Beef | “ “ | 30 minutes.
Ham | “ “ | 18 to 20 min.
Turkey | “ “ | 15 minutes.
Chicken | “ “ | 15 “
Fowl | “ “ | 20 to 30 min.
Tripe | “ “ | 3 to 5 hours.

FISH.
|  | Time.
Codfish | “ “ | 6 minutes.
Haddock | “ “ | 6   “
Halibut | “ “ | 15 “
Blue | “ “ | 10 “
Bass | “ “ | 10 “
Salmon | “ “ | 10 to 15 min.
Small Fish | “ “ | 6 minutes.
Lobster |  | 30 to 40 min.

VEGETABLES.
|  | Time.
Potatoes |  | 20 to 30 min.
Asparagus |  | 20 to 25 “
Peas |  | 15 to 20 “
String Beans |  | 20 to 30 “
Lima |  | 30 to 40 “
Spinach |  | 15 to 20 “
Turnips |  | 30 minutes.
Beets |  | 30 min. or more.
Cabbage |  | 20 “
Cauliflower |  | 20 “
Brussels Sprouts |  | 10 to 15 min.
Onions |  | 30 to 40 “
Parsnips |  | 30 to 40 “
Green Corn |  | 20 to 25 “
Macaroni |  | 20 minutes.
Rice |  | 15 to 20 min.

BAKING.

MEATS.
|  | Time.
Beef, ribs, rare | per pound, | 8 to 10 min.
“ “ well done | “ | 12 to 15 “
“ “ boned & rolled | “ | 12 to 15 “
Round of Beef | “ | 12 to 15 “
Mutton, leg, rare | “ | 10 minutes.
“ “   well done | “ | 15 “
“ loin, rare | “ | 8 “
“ shoulder, stuffed | “ | 15 “
“ saddle, rare | “ | 9 “
Lamb, well done | “ | 15 “
Veal, | “ | 18 to 20 min.
Pork, | “ | 20 minutes.
Venison, rare | “ | 10 “
Chicken | “ | 15 “
Goose | “ | 18 “
Fillet, hot oven |  | 30 minutes.
Braised Meats |  | 3 to 4 hours.
Liver, whole |  | 2 hours.
Turkey, 8 lbs |  | 1¾ “
“ very large |  | 3 “
Birds, small, hot oven |  | 15 to 20 min.
Ducks, tame |  | 45 minutes.
“ wild, very hot oven |  | 15 “
Partridge |  | 35 to 40 min.
Grouse |  | 20 to 25  “

FISH.
|  | Time.
Large Fish |  | 1 hour, about.
Small |  | 20 to 30 min.

|  | Time.
Bread |  | 1 hour.
Biscuits |  | 20 minutes.
Cake |  | 20 to 45 min.
Custards, very slow oven |  | 1 hour.

BROILING.

|  | Time.
Steak, 1 inch thick |  | 8 to 10 min.
“ 1½ “ |  | 10 to 15 “
Mutton Chops, French |  | 8 minutes.
“  “ English |  | 10 “
Spring Chicken |  | 20 “
Quail |  | 8 to 10 min.
Grouse |  | 15 minutes.
Squabs |  | 10 to 15 min.
Shad, Bluefish, Trout |  | 15 to 25 “
Small Fish |  | 5 to 10 “

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

4 gills
=
1 pint.

2 pints
=
1 quart.

4 quarts
=
1 gallon.

16 ounce
=
1 pound.

½ kitchen cupful
=
1 gill.

1 kitchen cupful
=
½ pint or 2 gills.

4 kitchen cupfuls
=
1 quart.

}2 cupfuls of granulated sugar
2½ cupfuls of powdered sugar
=
1 pound.

1 heaping tablespoonful of sugar
=
1 ounce.

}1 heaping tablespoonful of butter
Butter size of an egg
=
2 oz. or ¼ cupful.

1 cupful of butter
=
½ pound.

}4 cupfuls of flour
1 heaping quart
=
1 pound.

8 round tablespoonfuls of dry material
=
1 cupful.

16 tablespoonfuls of liquid
=
1 cupful.

PROPORTIONS

5 to 8 eggs to 1 quart of milk for custards.

3 to 4 eggs to 1 pint of milk for custards.

1 saltspoonful of salt to 1 quart of milk for custards.

1 teaspoonful of vanilla to 1 quart of milk for custards.

2 ounces of gelatine to 1¾ quarts of liquid.

4 heaping tablespoonfuls of cornstarch to 1 quart of milk.

3 heaping teaspoonfuls of baking-powder to 1 quart of flour.

1 even teaspoonful of baking-powder to 1 cupful of flour.

1 teaspoonful of soda to 1 pint of sour milk.

1 teaspoonful of soda to ½ pint of molasses.

1 teaspoonful of baking-powder is the equivalent of ½ teaspoonful
of soda and 1 teaspoonful of cream of tartar.

For other proportions, see page 340.
For measuring, see page 77.

PREFACE

In France various honors are awarded to cooks. Accomplished chefs de cuisine are by compliment called cordon-bleu, which is an ancient and princely order. A successful culinary production takes the name of the inventor, and by it his fame often lasts longer than that of many men who have achieved positions in the learned professions. Cooking is there esteemed a service of especial merit, hence France ranks all nations in gastronomy.

Although definite honors are not conferred on cooks elsewhere, good cooking is everywhere appreciated, and there is no reason why it should not be the rule instead of the exception. In large establishments it may be said to prevail, but in many moderate households the daily fare is of a quality which satisfies no other sense than that of hunger, the hygienic requirements and esthetic possibilities being quite unknown or disregarded. This is what Savarin designates as feeding, in contradistinction to dining.

The author believes that the women of to-day, because of their higher education, have a better understanding of domestic duties; that hygiene, economy, system, and methods are better understood and more generally practised. Children are not only more sensibly clothed, but they are more wholesomely fed, and households are directed with more intelligent care.

It is hoped that this book will inculcate a desire to learn the simple principles of cooking for the benefits which such knowledge will give, and that it will be of material assistance to any woman who wishes to establish and maintain a well-ordered cuisine. Receipts are given for simple and inexpensive as well as elaborate and costly dishes, and they are intended to be of use to the inexperienced as well as to the trained cook. The rules are given in precise language, with definite measurement and time, so that no supervision by the mistress will be required for any receipt given the cook.

At the head of each chapter are given the general rules for the dishes included in that class. Economy, practicability, and the resources of the average kitchen have been constantly borne in mind.

The illustrations, it is believed, will aid materially in serving dishes, as they complete and demonstrate the receipts. Many of them are given to attract attention to very simple dishes, which might be selected as suited to one’s convenience, but which might otherwise be overlooked in a hasty perusal of the text. The pictures are from photographs of dishes, many of which are not too difficult for a novice to undertake.

The author has fortunately been able to secure from Susan Coolidge a number of receipts of New England dishes; also a few distinctively Southern dishes from an equally experienced Southern housekeeper. These, she hopes, will enable many who have strayed from home to enjoy again the dishes associated with other times and places.

Much care has been taken to give a complete alphabetical index, so that anything in the book can be quickly found, even if the ordinary classification is not understood.

The chapters on etiquette, serving, etc., are meant to aid those young housekeepers who, from lack of observation or experience, find themselves at a loss to remember small details when the responsibility of an entertainment falls upon them for the first time.

The author, in speaking of this book to friends, has had various questions asked and suggestions given, by which she has endeavored to profit. Some of the questions have been the following:

“Have you given receipts suitable for a family of two or three?”

“Have you given expedients, so if articles called for in the receipts are not at hand others may be substituted?”

“Is your book only for rich people?”

“Is it not a mistake to use French names, which many do not understand?” etc., etc.

In deference to the last suggestion, she has explained the meaning of certain classes of dishes known only by the French names, and which would lose character if translated. A soufflé, for instance, has no special significance when called “inflated,” but the word soufflé defines the class of dishes which are inflated, and is so generally understood that it is almost an Anglicized word.

The terms Soufflés, Pâtés, Timbales, Hors-d'œuvres, Entrées, etc., are as distinctive as Stews, Hashes, Creams, etc.; hence there seems no other way than to learn the culinary nomenclature as one partakes of the dishes.

The author strongly urges the trial of new dishes, and breaking away from the routine of habit. The preparation of so-called fancy dishes is very simple. A little attention given to ornamentation and garnishing, making dishes attractive in appearance as well as taste, will raise the standard of cooking without necessarily increasing the expense.

CONTENTS

Part I

| PAGE
Dinner-Giving and the Etiquette of Dinners | 1
Manner of Serving Dinners | 10
Laying the Table | 13
Table Decorations | 17
Courses | 24
The Home Dinner | 27
Serving the Informal Dinner | 29
Luncheon | 31
The Five o’Clock Tea | 33
A Homily on Cooking | 35
Cooking As a Pleasure and an Accomplishment | 38
To Train a Green Cook | 40
Economical Living | 44
Wastefulness | 50
How to Utilize what Some Cooks Throw Away | 51
Emergencies | 55
Things to Remember | 58
Care of Utensils | 61

Part II

CHAPTER

I
Methods of Cooking Explained
67

II
Soups
84

III
Fish
112

IV
Meats
145

V
Poultry and Game
179

VI
Vegetables
200

VII
{Farinaceous Foods used as Vegetables
Macaroni
Cereals
222
224
227

VIII
A Group of Receipts from a New England Kitchen
229

IX
{Distinctively Southern Dishes
Very Inexpensive Dishes
Miscellaneous Receipts
246
249
257

X
Eggs
261

XI
Sauces
275

XII
{Entrées
Terrapin, Frogs' Legs
Mushrooms
292
311
314

XIII
Aspic Jelly, Fancy Molding, Supports
321

XIV
Chafing-dish Receipts
329

XV
Bread
338

XVI
{Sandwiches and Canapés
Cheese and Cheese Dishes
364
369

XVII
Salads
374

XVIII
Cold Desserts
386

XIX
{Hot Desserts
Pudding Sauces
421
444

XX
{Pies
Puff Paste
450
457

XXI
{Cake
Icing and Decorating Cakes
462
483

XXII
Ice-Creams, Water-Ices, Parfaits, Mousses, Punches
488

XXIII
Boiling Sugar and Making Candies
510

XXIV
Fruits, Cooked and Fresh
529

XXV
Compotes, Preserving and Canning, Pickles
535

XXVI
Beverages
548

XXVII
Wines
560

THE CENTURY COOK BOOK

THE CENTURY COOK BOOK

decorative divider

Part I

decorative divider

DINNER-GIVING AND THE ETIQUETTE OF DINNERS

“To feed were best at home;
From thence, the sauce to meat is ceremony,
Meeting were bare without it.”—Shakspere

A dinner party may be considered as holding the highest rank among entertainments. In no other social function is etiquette so strictly observed. There are prescribed rules for the form of the invitation, the manner of assigning each guest his place at the table, the manner of serving the dinner, etc.; and when these rules are followed there need be no embarrassments.

The Company. It should always be remembered that the social part of the entertainment is on a higher plane than the gastronomic one, though the latter must by no means be slighted. A sentiment expressed by the wit who said, “A fig for your bill of fare, give me a bill of your company,” is generally felt, and a hostess should bring together only such people as she believes will be mutually agreeable.

The idea, given by Goldsmith in his “Retaliation,” of looking upon one’s friends as so many pleasant dishes, is offered as a suggestion. He says:

If our landlord supplies us with beef and with fish,
Let each guest bring himself, and he brings the best dish:
Our Dean shall be venison, just fresh from the plains;
Our Burke shall be tongue, with a garnish of brains;
Our Will shall be wild fowl of excellent flavour,
And Dick with his pepper shall heighten the savour;
Our Cumberland’s sweetbread its place shall obtain,
And Douglas is pudding, substantial and plain;
Our Garrick’s a salad, for in him we see
Oil, vinegar, sugar, and saltness agree:...
At a dinner so various—at such a repast,
Who’d not be a glutton, and stick to the last?

The Host and Hostess. The hostess should give her instructions for the details of the entertainment so explicitly that on the arrival of the guests she will have no care other than their pleasure.

If she is nervous, has wandering eyes, or shows constraint, it affects sensibly the ease of her guests. The spirit of pleasure is infectious, and upon the demeanor of the hosts the success of the evening largely depends. Much tact may be shown in placing the right people together at the table. If one is a great talker let the other be a good listener; if one is dogmatic let the other be without positive views, and so on; for as every one is happiest when appearing well, it is wise to consider the idiosyncrasies of the guests.

’T is a great point in a gallery how you hang your pictures; and not less in society how you seat your party.

The Guests. The part of the hosts is thus well defined; but the guests, too, have their obligations, and in recognition of the compliment of being included in an entertainment where the number of guests is limited to very few, each one should make exertion to be agreeable, as a dull dinner companion is a recognized misfortune. At a dinner there is time, not given at most other forms of entertainment, for rational and sustained conversation, and this may be turned to durance vile if one victimizes by egotism or caprice the person who without power of withdrawal is assigned to his or her society for perhaps two hours or more. Also, if one finds oneself neighbor to some person for whom one has a personal antipathy, it must not be allowed to interfere with the general pleasure; and should such a situation occur, there is nothing to do but to make the best of it, and conceal from the hostess the mistake she has unwittingly made—

And do as adversaries do in law,
Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends.

Under these circumstances the discovery may possibly be made that an unfriendly person is more agreeable than was supposed, and a pleasanter relationship may be established.

Time. Two hours is the extreme limit of time that should be given to a dinner; one hour and a quarter, or a half, is preferable. Eight courses served quickly, but without seeming haste, require as much time as most people can sit at the table without fatigue. Last impressions are as enduring as first ones, so it is important not to surfeit, for

When fatigue enters into so-called pleasure, failure begins.

Judgment shown in combination of dishes, the perfection of their preparation, careful serving, and taste in adornment, are elements of refinement that far outweigh quantity and ostentation.

Temperature. The temperature and ventilation of the dining-room should be given careful attention. The best of spirits and the brightest wit will flag in an overheated, ill-ventilated room. It is not always easy to maintain a fresh atmosphere where as many guests are seated as the size of the room permits, but at least the room can be well aired before the dinner is served. Windows opened a very little from both the top and bottom in an adjoining room, with a careful adjustment of screens to protect those who are sensitive to drafts, will do much to keep the air fresh, and will have a sensible effect upon the comfort and mental activity of the company.

The Invitation. Invitations are sometimes sent out a month or three weeks in advance, but ordinarily two weeks is sufficient time to secure the guests one wishes to entertain. Courtesy requires a dinner invitation to be answered at once, certainly within twelve hours, but better in less time. This enables the hostess to fill the vacancy in case the invitation is declined. Unconventional people are sometimes unmindful of this obligation, but as a rule those who are accustomed to entertaining recognize the importance of a prompt reply, and answer a dinner invitation immediately.

It is well, when convenient, to send the invitation as well as the reply by hand, so that there may be no uncertainty of prompt delivery; to send either of them by post is, however, permissible.

The answer should be definite, and where a man and his wife are invited, if one of them is unable to accept, the invitation should be declined for both. An invitation should be precise in expression, therefore the prescribed form given below should be exactly followed. It does not belong to the order of social notes; it is simply a formal invitation, and an acceptance should be of the same character. Any deviation from the prescribed form is uncalled for and likely to cause criticism. In declining the invitation, however, it is considered more gracious to answer the formal note informally, and, by stating the reason, show that the regret is not merely a perfunctory expression.

Verbal invitations or replies should never be given for formal entertainments. R. S. V. P. should not be put on a dinner invitation. Every well-bred person knows an answer is necessary, and it is a reflection upon good manners to assume that no reply would be given if the request for it were omitted.

It is important also that the reply should repeat, in the same words as the invitation, the date and hour of the dinner, so, if any mistake has inadvertently been made, it may be corrected, thus establishing an exact understanding.

A dinner engagement is the most exacting of any social obligation, and no greater discourtesy can be shown than to break it except for serious cause.

Form of Invitation. Mr. and Mrs. James J. James
request the pleasure of
Mr. and Mrs. Smith’s
company at dinner, on Monday,
December twenty-third, at
eight o’clock.

99 West A Street,
Dec. 1st.

Envelop addressed to Mrs. John B. Smith.

Reply. Mr. and Mrs. John B. Smith
accept with pleasure
Mr. and Mrs. James’s
kind invitation to dinner on
Monday, December twenty-third,
at eight o’clock.

66 West B Street,
Dec. 1st.

Envelop addressed to Mrs. James J. James.

Mr. and Mrs. John B. Smith
regret that they are unable to accept
Mr. and Mrs. James’s
kind invitation to dinner on
Monday, December twenty-third,
at eight o’clock.

66 West B Street,
Dec. 1st.

OR,

Mr. and Mrs. John B. Smith
regret that owing to a previous
engagement they are unable to accept
Mr. and Mrs. James’s
kind invitation to dinner on
Monday, December twenty-third,
at eight o’clock.

66 West B Street,
Dec. 1st.

Where an invitation is meant to be informal, a social form of note with formal phraseology is often sent, thus:

My dear Mrs. Smith:

Will you and Mr. Smith dine with us informally on Thursday evening, December twenty-third, at eight o’clock?

Sincerely yours,
Mary James.

99 West A Street,
Dec. 1st.

This form of invitation is sometimes misleading to strangers, as the word “informal” is open to different interpretations.

These dinners are generally quite as formal as the others, and require the same toilet.

A woman’s dinner dress should be décolleté, and for a man evening dress is always de rigueur.

Dress. The butler wears a dress suit with white tie. The footman, or second man, wears the livery of the family, or, in default of that, a coat of dark color, with brass buttons, and a bright-colored striped waistcoat.

The dining-room maid wears a plain black dress, a white apron that covers completely the front of her skirt, a linen collar and deep cuffs, and a small white cap, with or without strings, but no crown. Everything in a well-ordered household is supposed to be clean, including the hands of the domestics, and the use of white gloves is not permissible. First-class butlers and footmen do not wear mustaches.

Arrival. Guests are expected at the hour mentioned in the invitation, and should be as near that time as possible. In large cities, where distances are great and exact time difficult to calculate, a little grace is allowed, but the hostess is not expected to wait longer than fifteen minutes for a tardy guest. It is considered a breach of etiquette to be late, and the assumption is, when this occurs, that the delay is unavoidable and will be indefinite, and so the other guests should not be inconvenienced.

At large dinners a gentleman finds in the dressing-room, or a servant passes to him before he enters the drawing-room, a tray holding small addressed envelops. He selects the one bearing his own name, and finds on an inclosed card the name of the lady he is to take to the table. The letter R or L in the corner of the card denotes whether he will find his place on the right or left of the table from the entrance. If he does not know the lady, he should tell the hostess, so that he may be presented to her. The hostess stands near the door to receive her guests, and such introductions follow as can conveniently be made. If general introductions are omitted, guests are expected to act as though acquainted, and speak to whomever they may be near. This rule holds good for all entertainments in some countries, but Americans continue a reserve except at dinners, where barriers to ease and pleasure must not exist. The hostess does not knowingly bring together people who object to meet one another, but in such an event the acquaintanceship need not extend beyond the evening, and good breeding requires a courteous recognition of the friends of the hostess while under her roof.

The butler keeps count of the arrival of expected guests, and announces dinner shortly after all are in the drawing-room. In case of a tardy guest he waits for the hostess to order the dinner served. Announcement. He then enters the room, and, looking at the host or hostess, says, “Dinner is served,” or “Madam is served,” or simply bows to the hostess.

The host then offers his right arm to the lady who is to sit at his right, and leads the way into the dining-room; the other couples follow in any order that is convenient. Precedence. The hostess, with the gentleman she honors with the seat at her right, are the last to leave the drawing-room. If a distinguished man is present, it is to him this courtesy is shown. Except in official and diplomatic circles, there is no other rule of precedence. If the President of the United States or a royal personage were being entertained, the hostess with this dignitary would then precede the others.

At each cover is laid a card on which is distinctly written the name of the person who is to occupy that place. Confusion is thus avoided in seating the guests. It has been a fashion to have these cards artistic and elaborate in design, but at present plain gilt-edged cards stamped with the family crest or monogram are more generally used.

Departure. When the dinner is finished, the gentlemen return to the drawing-room with the ladies, and then withdraw to the smoking-room for half an hour. Shortly after their return to the drawing-room the guests take their leave. If guests of honor are present, they are the first to go.

MANNER OF SERVING DINNERS

The custom of serving dinner à la Russe (dishes passed) has supplanted the form known as the English style, where the joints are carved on the table. This is for good reason, as the host cannot well fulfil his social part if he has to do the carving; therefore, unless on very informal occasions, when the number of servants may be insufficient, the carving is done on the side-table, or the garnished dishes are cut in the kitchen. The portions, whether carved or otherwise, are placed on dishes to be passed, and should be so arranged that each guest may remove a part easily and without destroying the symmetry of the whole. This need not preclude attractive garnishing, but such complicated constructions as are sometimes seen, which embarrass one to find how to break them, should be avoided.

Sometimes a dish is placed on the table to be shown, and then removed to be served.

The dishes are presented on the left side. Passing the Dishes. Those of the first course are passed first to the lady sitting on the right of the host, and then in regular order to the right around the table. The dishes of each following course are started at some distance from the place where the preceding one was presented. In this way the same person is not left always to be served last.

Number of Servants. At least one servant is needed for every six persons, otherwise the service will be slow and tedious, and the portion placed on one’s plate becomes cold before the accompaniments of sauce or vegetable can be passed.

Many dishes may be garnished with the vegetable or sauce, thus obviating in a measure this difficulty. For large dinners two or more dishes should be arranged to pass on opposite sides of the table, so that every one may be served at about the same time. Plates, vegetable, and other large dishes are held in the hand of the servant. Small dishes, like hors d'œuvres, bonbon dishes, etc., are passed on a tray.

Wines. When the wines are served, the servant should name the wine offered, so that it may be refused if not wanted; the glasses should not be filled entirely full.

Plates. When a plate is removed it should be immediately replaced by another one holding a fork or any piece of silver or cutlery which is needed for the next course.

Plates should be removed with the left and replaced with the right hand.

Care should be taken that plates for the hot dishes are warm, but not hot, and that for the cold dishes they are not lukewarm.

The plate holding the shell-fish is placed upon the one already on the table; this under plate is used also to hold the soup plate, but double plates are not again used until the end of the dinner, when the dessert plate holding the finger-bowl plate is put on. In case a hot sweet dish is served, the double plates, being intended for ices, fruits, and bonbons, are not put on until after that course. Silver serving-dishes are much used; lacking these, all the china used in the same course should match when possible.

A different set of plates may be used with each course. China. In the matter of china the greatest latitude of taste and expense is possible, some china being more valuable than its weight in silver. When handsome china is being used, which demands great care in handling, it is well to have a table in the pantry reserved for its use, where it can be carefully piled and left until the following morning to be washed. Care of China. With daylight and ample time, it can be given the care it might not receive if washed after the fatigue and late hours of a long dinner. This need not necessarily mean leaving a disordered pantry for the night, although that would be of less consequence than the extra risk of having valuable china nicked or broken. The same care is recommended for handsome glass.

Clearing the Table. Before the dessert is served, all the plates, the small silver, the salt- and pepper-boxes, the hors d'œuvres, and such glasses as will not be again used are removed; the crumbs are then taken off, a silver crumb knife and a plate being used for this purpose. The dessert and finger-bowl plates are then put on. Under the finger-bowl is placed a small fancy doily, and beside it on the same plate such small silver as will be needed. If peaches, or any fruit which will stain, are to be served, a fruit doily should also be given at this time and laid beside the place. The finger-bowl should be filled one third with water, and have a thin slice of lemon, a scented leaf, or a flower floating in it.

The Service. The service should be entirely noiseless, and the machinery of the household as invisible as possible. There should be no rattling of china or silver, no creaking boots, or heavy tread, or audible speech among the servants.

Ordering the Dinner. When entertaining one should not attempt more than one is sure of being able to attain, bearing in mind the capabilities of the cook and the range, and remembering that the quality of the dishes rather than the number of them is what pleases. Experiments should be made at times when failure is of less consequence. In arranging the menu, each course should be in pleasing contrast to the preceding one, and in the same course only such dishes should be served as go well together. Butter is not served at dinner.

LAYING THE TABLE

The Table. A round or square table five feet across is a convenient size for ordinary use, giving ample room for six people, and leaving space for decoration. Large round tops are made to fit over extension-tables, which will seat from twelve to twenty or more people; and when the size of the room will permit, this is the pleasantest form of table for entertainments, and best lends itself to decorative effects, giving to each person a complete picture of the table and of the company assembled.

The Linen. A thick cotton material, which is made for the purpose, for interlining between table and cloth, is the first requisite in laying the table, and should always be used. It protects the polished surface of the table from injury, gives a more brilliant whiteness to the cloth, and prevents any noise when placing the china and silver upon the table. The linen should be as fine as the purse will allow. Handsome linen will give elegance to a table where ornamentation is very simple. It should be ironed without starch, or with a very little if it is not sufficiently heavy to take polish without it. It should be folded perfectly square, so that the lines will be straight, and should be of spotless and dazzling whiteness. With this as a basis, there will be no difficulty in making an attractive table.

In the way of linen, much taste may be shown in the ornamental pieces used in the center of the table. These may be of any shape or size desired, from a small square to a long scarf. They may be of embroidered linen, drawn-work, lace, plain silk or satin; but wash materials are preferable, and effects of color, when desired, can be obtained in the embroidery or linings. The attractiveness of these pieces depends on their daintiness. The fashion of a center-piece of linen is, however, a passing one, as they are not at present so generally used.

The order of laying the Table. After the interlining has been spread, the cloth should be laid with great care, making the center fold run perfectly straight with the room, and the cross fold again exactly divide the table at right angles to the other crease. By these straight lines, everything else is gaged. The fancy linen piece is next laid, and its center must coincide with that of the cloth. If the piece is square, it sometimes has better effect to place the points on the long lines of the cloth, giving it a diamond shape; this, however, is a matter of fancy. The center ornament is then placed on the exact point where the folds of the cloth cross in the middle of the table. The plates are next put in position, attention being given to the decoration on the china, if it be a monogram that it is right side up, if flowers that they are in natural position, etc. Where there are an uneven number of covers it is better to place the plates at equal distances around the table, without regard to the place of the hostess being opposite to that of the host. In other cases, the plates at the head and foot of the table, and those on the sides, should be directly opposite each other. Under no circumstances must the plates be omitted. On the left of the plates place the forks; three or four may be put on and laid in the order in which they will be used. Three knives (one of them being a silver knife for the fish course) and the oyster fork are placed on the right of the plate; the soup spoon may go in front of the plate or with the knives on the right; the bowls of the forks and spoons should be right side up, the edges of the knives turned toward the plate.

DIAGRAM OF TABLE. DIAGRAM OF TABLE.

A. Plates.

B. Plant, Flowers, Fruit, Lamp, or ornamental piece of silver.

C. Compotiers, holding cakes, fruit, or flowers.

D. Candlesticks or Candelabra.

E. Salt and Pepper Boxes.

F. Water and Wine Glasses.

G. Bonbons, or Hors d'œuvres, or Carafes.

H. Bonbons, or Hors d'œuvres.

Position of plates and glasses
DETAIL OF ONE COVER.

The Decoration. After the plates and small silver and cutlery are in position, the decorating of the table should proceed as far as possible. The position for everything can be best determined after the plates are laid. The perishable articles, that cannot be put on until the last moment, can usually have their position located by the compotiers or the bonbon dishes which will hold them. Uniformity is not required in having two or four of these dishes to match, but such ornamental holders as are used must be placed in uniform positions, so as to balance and harmonize. Any deviation from this rule, or neglect of the small details in placing the table furniture, will give the effect of a disordered table.

Lights. The candlesticks, or candelabra, as the case may be, should be so placed as not to obstruct the views across the table. This may be determined by two persons taking seats on opposite sides of the table, viewing each other from different places, and moving the candelabra until the right position is found, which usually will not be more than an inch or two either way. It is well to give attention to this matter, as comfort is much disturbed and conversation interrupted from shutting out by this kind of screen the different persons at the table. Before being placed on the table candles should be fitted firmly and straight in their sockets, be lighted for a few minutes, and then the wicks should be cut and the shades fitted squarely upon the holders. This will prevent smoking, dripping and other annoyances that may occur if it is not done. Shade-holders that fit the top of the candle are very objectionable and dangerous, but those that clasp the candle below the heated part give little trouble.

Salt- and pepper-boxes are placed at the corners of the table, or within easy reach of every two people if more than four are used. If carafes are used the same rule is observed. After the decoration of the table is completed as far as possible, the glasses are put on. There is danger of their being broken if put on before. They are placed in uniform groups at the right of the plates: the water glass nearest the plate, and the wine-glass to be first used nearest the edge of the table. Port and Madeira glasses are not put on until the time for serving those wines, which is at the end of the dinner.

The napkin, folded in triangular shape, the embroidered monogram on top, is laid on the plate, and a piece of bread cut two inches long and one and a half inches thick, or more generally a dinner roll, is laid in the fold, but left in full sight, so that it will not be shaken on to the floor when the napkin is lifted.

Everything that will be needed in serving the dinner should be convenient to hand. The Sideboard. The plates to be warmed should be in the hot closet; those for the cold courses, the finger-bowls, extra small silver and cutlery, extra rolls and cracked ice, should be on the sideboard, so that there will be no delay in getting them when needed.

Foot-stools placed under the table for the ladies add much to their comfort.

TABLE DECORATION

There is wide range for individual taste and artistic arrangement in table decoration, which is limited only by the resources at one’s command.

Pleasing effects of color are perhaps the first consideration. Of late it has been a fashion to have one prevailing color. In many cases this is very suitable as well as complimentary to the guests entertained. For instance, a white dinner to a bride, pink to young people, red to a Harvard company, or yellow to those with Princeton affiliations.

The scheme of color is often carried through the menu as far as possible; the dishes served corresponding in color to the table decorations. Where this is done the colors should be light and delicate. Dark shades are not pleasing, and suggest the name “painted foods,” which has been scornfully given to them.

Of all colors green is the easiest to carry out, and perhaps the most pleasing. The many shades of green give variety and contrasts. Ferns make a light and dainty centerpiece, and rival flowers in beauty. For the menu spinach gives a soup, vegetable, and coloring for sauces. Green salads are numerous. Angelica makes a decoration for desserts. Pistachio nuts give flavor and color to ice-cream, icings, and bonbons. A very beautiful and elaborate dinner on this scheme is described below, which was called in the invitation “Al Fresco,” and in its design and execution well simulated an out-door entertainment. Green is a soft, reposeful color; red, pink, and yellow are gayer, and give a more festive aspect. Yellow is sunny in effect, and for a yellow dinner the color scheme may be obtained with yellow flowers, oranges, silver-gilt compotiers, gilded china, and with light diffused through yellow shades. For the culinary part the yolks of eggs render important service for coloring, covering, and garnishing, and oranges furnish many delicious dishes.

White dinners are also easy to arrange with white flowers, silver, a profusion of cut-glass, lace shades, white grapes, spun sugar, whipped cream, white sauces, celery, whites of eggs, white meats, etc.

A white dinner is likely to be too severe, however, unless carefully managed. Delicate ferns can be mixed with white flowers without changing the effect, and a warm glow may be thrown on the table from a center light in the chandelier, screened with thin pink or yellow silk, and raised high, so as not to appear as a part of the decoration. The most beautiful pictures of snow scenes are not a dead white, but reflect the color of the sunset or atmosphere.

Fruits and flowers typical of the season are in good taste, and usually more pleasing than hot-house products. In the spring, tulips, daffodils, lilies of the valley, or any wild flowers. Goldenrod, chrysanthemums, and asters in their times. Autumn leaves and berries later, holly and mistletoe at Christmas, and lilies at Easter, while in the summer the fields and lanes afford a wealth of material. At other times, and where the purse does not permit indulgence in roses and forced flowers, the resources lie in potted plants and fruits. Any plant not too large, which looks fresh and healthy, will make a pleasing centerpiece. The crotons and dracænas give beautiful colors. A dish of growing ferns makes an attractive, satisfactory and enduring center ornament. With care the ferns will last a long time, and at small expense can be renewed. Double silver-plated boxes, both square and oval, are made for this use.

Fruits are always pleasing and give good color effects.

The success of any decoration depends largely upon the proper lighting of the table; lacking this, beautiful arrangements may appear commonplace or wholly lose their effect.

The decorated dinner-table should be the especial picture of the room, the conspicuous object of interest and beauty for the time; therefore the light should be centered upon it and the rest of the room form but the shadowy background. The pleasantest light is from shaded single candles, placed at intervals around the table, and a more brilliant light thrown on the center of the table from the shaded drop-light of a chandelier, or from large candelabra holding groups of candles.

Small lamps which fit candlesticks are much used, and when there are open windows and drafts they give much less trouble than candles. Effects of color are largely obtained from the use of shades. These vary in size and shape to suit the fancy or fashion of the moment, and are made of silk, lace, or paper; for the latter, crape papers are much used. Shades recently brought from Paris were of translucent paper painted by hand to imitate china. Making shades is pleasant fancy work, and the materials are so inexpensive that one can easily indulge in a variety of them. With a centerpiece of polished red apples and candles with red shades, or a potted plant and green shades, quite a definite and pleasing character may be given to a simple dinner. High ornaments should be avoided except they be candelabra or lamps which do not obstruct the view across the table. It is very annoying to be forced to look around ornaments when trying to talk to a person seated opposite at table; such a screen effectually debars general conversation. On large or long tables, large ornamental pieces should be used. Those appropriate to a small table often appear scanty and insufficient on a large one. Masses of one color are more effective than mixtures, and a display of abundance may be made on large tables while on small ones daintiness is more pleasing.

Confectioner’s pieces are again being used for dinner decorations. Baskets and horns of plenty made of nougat or pulled sugar, holding glacé fruits, and forms made of spun sugar are in good taste, but imitations of art objects and high pyramids, such as are used on supper tables, should be excluded.

A pleasing decoration for a hot day may be made of a block of ice set in a pan deep enough to hold the drippings, but placed on something to raise it above the sides of the pan. The pan should be concealed with moss and ferns, or flowers, arranged around it loosely so as to partly conceal the ice also. A hole cut through the center of the block of ice, and a flat candle, such as are used in night lamps, placed within it, gives a brilliant and lovely effect. The block of ice should be cut square and weigh at least ten pounds. This decoration is easily managed in the country, where ferns are readily obtainable.

See caption
ROUND DINNER-TABLE WITH EIGHTEEN COVERS—CLOTH OF PINK INDIA SILK COVERED WITH LACE—CENTER ORNAMENT OF FERNS—BUNCH OF PINK ROSES IN FRONT OF EACH COVER.

A pan filled with floating water-lilies, together with their buds and leaves, the pan being concealed in a bed of moss and ferns, makes also a pretty decoration for a luncheon table. These flowers close at night, and so are only suitable for daylight service. A table may be made beautiful by entirely covering it with a mass of the same kind of flowers, leaving only enough space around the edge to hold the plates and glasses. The flowers may or may not be raised in the center of the table, or may in any way simulate a garden-bed. When daisies are used they should be plentifully mixed with grasses as they are in the field. Care must be used not to make the decoration high, or the effect will be lost; and to avoid this the stems of the flowers, cut the desired length, can be stuck into wet sand or moss, held in flat tins. This will hold them firmly in place, as well as keep them fresh. An English fashion is to have a piece of silver ornament the table, without accessories of fruits or flowers. This severe but elegant simplicity is perhaps a reaction from the overloading of tables which has long prevailed.

A pink dinner given in Washington was arranged as follows: The table was round and large enough to seat eighteen persons. A covering of thin ivory-colored India silk over pink was cut round to fit the table, and a frill of lace ten inches deep fell over a ruffle of pink silk on the edge. A large square of silk gauze embroidered in pink covered the center of the table. A mound of maiden-hair ferns formed the centerpiece. Around this were placed pink candles in Venetian-glass candlesticks and shaded with full frills of lace over pink. The bonbon dishes and all the glasses were of Venetian and Bohemian glass. Four ornamental candy pieces were used: two were garden hats holding glazed cherries, and a pink ribbon tied around each hat held a large bunch of pink roses. The other two were baskets, and held frosted grapes which were half hidden under spun sugar. Ornamental silver was omitted, as being out of harmony with the other decorations.

A dinner unique in its character was given a few years ago by Lord Dufferin, the English ambassador to France. The centerpiece was flowers, and candelabra lighted the table; but in place of the dessert dishes which ordinarily do ornamental service were choice bits of bric-à-brac collected by the ambassador in various parts of the world. The curios served as an interesting novelty, and became the subject of conversation. A dinner given in Jamaica is described, where orchids in profusion were suspended over the table, some on climbing vines, and others, of such delicate form and texture as made it seem not unnatural, appeared as though floating in the air.

The “Al Fresco” dinner referred to above was in imitation of a woodland scene. It was served in a dining-room the walls of which were hung with tapestries. The ceiling decoration was blue sky with white clouds. A profusion of palms, bay-trees, and rubber-plants were placed about the room and screened the side-boards. The dining-table was a mass of verdure. It was round, seating eighteen persons. The whole center of the table was depressed eight inches, leaving an outside rim fourteen inches wide for the plates and glasses. The center space was filled with growing plants, the top of the pots being on a level with the outside rim. The pots were concealed by mosses and loose ferns making a solid mass of green. Four tall slender plants rose from the center, the rest was of ferns and lycopodium with here and there a few primroses. Green candles with fluffy green shades in glass candlesticks were so distributed as to give sufficient light. The space left for the dinner service was covered with light-green India silk over canton flannel. On the back of the menu cards were water-color sketches of forest scenes. The menu was largely composed of products of the forest. The aspect of this dinner was really sylvan, and the idea so well carried out that the elaboration of it was artistically hidden. From the time of Lucullus, dinner-givers have been striving for novelties, but as a rule any radical departure from conventional forms is a failure.

MENU OF THE “AL FRESCO” DINNER

Soup

Cream of Celery (colored green).

Fish

Brook Trout, Butter Sauce.

Entrée

Mushrooms on Crusts.

Roast

Saddle of Venison. Wild plum sauce. Saratoga potatoes. Green peas served in fontage cups.

Salpicon of Fruits au Rhum.

Game and Salad

Quails in nests of Purée of Chestnuts. English Walnuts and Celery mixed with green Mayonnaise in cups of molded tomato jelly.

Cheese

Small balls of Cream-cheese, colored green to imitate bird’s eggs, in nests of shredded Lettuce.

Hot Entremet

Individual Nut Puddings (burning).

Dessert

Pistache Ice Cream Pralinée, molded in a ring, the center filled with whipped cream. White cakes with green icing. Fruits. Coffee.

COURSES

The order of the dinner service is soup, fish, flesh, fowl. These may be supplemented to any extent with entremets and entrées. Mets are the principal dishes. Entremets, the dishes served between the mets. Entrées, dishes which are served between any of the courses.

First Course. I. Course. Canapés of caviare, small bits of anchovy toast, or in their season muskmelons, are sometimes served as the first course, but ordinarily oysters or clams on the half shell is the first dish presented. The smallest-sized shell-fish are preferable to the large ones. One half dozen are served on each plate and placed symmetrically on or around a bed of cracked ice; a quarter of a lemon cut lengthwise is placed in the center. Cayenne pepper and grated horse-radish are passed with this course, also very thin slices of brown bread buttered and folded together, then cut into small squares or triangular-shaped pieces. The plates holding the shell-fish may be placed on the table before dinner is announced; but as there is no place to conveniently lay the folded napkin except on the plate, it is as well not to serve the mollusks until the guests are seated.

Second Course: Soup. II. Course: Soup. It is better to serve a clear soup when the dinner is to be of many courses, as heavy soups are too hearty. The choice of two kinds of soup may be offered. Grated Parmesan cheese may be passed with clear soups, dice of fried bread with cream soups, and toasted cracker biscuits with any kind of soup. One ladleful of soup is sufficient for each person, and a second portion is not offered. An anecdote is told of a punctilious person who, being asked if he would be helped again to soup, answered, “Thanks, not to-day.”

Hors d'œuvres, which are radishes, celery, olives, etc., are passed after the soup. Salted almonds are taken at any time through the dinner.

Third Course: Fish. III. Course: Fish. Fish, if boiled or fried, is served upon a napkin. If baked no napkin is used, and a little sauce is spread on the dish. Boiled potatoes are served with boiled fish, and are more attractive when cut with a potato-scoop into small balls. Cucumbers dressed with oil and vinegar are also served with fish.

Fourth Course: Entrées. IV. Course: Entrées. Entrées can be served between any of the courses, or they may be omitted altogether; but a variety of attractive dishes come under this head, and usually one is served after the fish.

Fifth Course: Vegetables. V. Course: Vegetables. A vegetable, such as asparagus, artichokes, cauliflower, is served at this time, although the French reserve the vegetable until after the joint. Only one vegetable besides potato is permitted with a meat course, and if more are wanted they are served as a separate course.

Sixth Course. VI. Course. The joint with one green vegetable and potato.

Seventh Course. VII. Course. Frozen punch, when served, comes between the meat and game courses. It is not passed, but a glassful standing on a plate, with a coffee spoon beside it, is placed before each person.

If preferred, a cheese omelet or soufflé may be used instead of punch for this course.

Eighth Course. VIII. Course: Game and Salad, or Poultry and Salad. Game is usually not passed, but the portions are laid on the individual plates by the butler. This is done in order to serve it as hot as possible. A small cold plate is sometimes given for the salad; crescent-shaped plates are made for this use. With ducks, celery and small squares of fried hominy are served. When game or poultry is not used, cheese may be served with the salad, or cheese-straws instead of cheese. When salad is served with game or poultry, cheese and crackers may be served immediately afterward as a separate course, or they may be passed after the dessert.

Ninth Course. IX. Course. Sweet puddings, soufflés, Bavarian cream, etc.

Tenth Course. X. Course. Ice-cream or any frozen dessert. Cakes and brandied peaches, preserved ginger, or wine-jellies may be passed with ice-cream.

Eleventh Course. XI. Course. Fruit, fresh or glacé, and bonbons.

Twelfth Course. XII. Course. Coffee, liqueurs.

Of the courses given above, the first, fourth, fifth, and seventh, and a choice of either the ninth or tenth, may all, or any one of them, be omitted.

Black coffee in small cups is passed on a tray, with cream and sugar, in the drawing- and smoking-rooms after the guests have left the table.

Apollinaris or other sparkling water is passed later, and is usually welcomed.

THE HOME DINNER

At the every-day or family dinner there will naturally be less elaboration in the decoration of the table, and fewer courses, than when the dinner is an occasion of entertainment, but so far as the appointments reach they should be observed with the same precision and care. The dinner has always something of a ceremonious character, being the time when the family all meet with the leisure to enjoy one another’s society after the labors of the day are done. It is well, therefore, to attend to the few material details which aid in making the occasion an agreeable one. Refinements are more clearly shown at table than elsewhere, and the influences of decorum at dinner are more subtle than are always recognized. Let the linen be as spotless and white, the silver and glass as polished, and the dishes, however few, be as carefully prepared as though guests were present. The simplest dinner so ordered will give pleasure and satisfaction. When attention to details is practised every day, company will cause no agitation in the household. The refinements of the table are within the means of the humblest. A word may also be said for manners at the home table. The habit of fault-finding, commenting upon the dishes and wines, correcting the mistakes of servants while at the table, making apologies, etc., is reprehensible, inefficacious and vulgar, and not only interrupts conversation, but spoils the pleasure of the dinner hour. It is always difficult, and often impossible, to improve a dish after it is served; therefore, it is better to accept it without remark. If the housekeeper, who is always the first to observe faults in the service, can conceal her discomfiture, it is but right for the others to be considerate. Faults often pass unnoticed if attention is not called to them. Dr. Johnson, it is said, always complained of his dinners, but never omitted to say grace. Upon one such occasion his wife interrupted him, saying, “Nay, hold, Mr. Johnson! Do not make a farce of thanking God for a dinner which in a few minutes you will pronounce uneatable.”

The home table, with its every-day appointments, causing one to blush in the event of a friend’s unexpected arrival, is not to be excused in this day of advanced women in the nineteenth century, when higher education has at least taught them to regard their domestic duties in the light of a science and an art.

There are many simple dishes that can be quickly prepared which will give the dinner a little more complimentary character, and supply the little extra that may be needed when more are present than were originally provided for. A beefsteak can be virtually enlarged by serving with it a mushroom sauce, for the mushrooms, having the same elements of nutrition as the meat, permit the latter to be served in smaller portions. A simple entrée, such as a dish of macaroni, a scallop dish, a mince, with good sauce (which is easily made where the stock pot is ever ready), a cheese omelet, a vegetable salad, etc., etc., are suggested as a few of the dishes, which are called by the French plats d’amitié, and should enable any woman to enjoy the pleasure of entertaining unexpected guests in a hospitable manner.

SERVING THE INFORMAL DINNER

In laying the table for an informal dinner, where the carving is to be done on the table, a napkin to protect the cloth is spread at the carver’s place. Very pretty fancy pieces are made for this use, but an ordinary dinner napkin will do. This is not removed until the table is cleared for the dessert. When the carving is done on the table, the soup and dessert are usually served by the lady of the house, and the salad is also dressed on the table, and then passed. So far as the service will allow, however, it is pleasanter to have everything passed that does not need cutting.

The vegetable dishes should never be placed on the table. When the joint is put on the table, warm plates in a pile are set at the left of, or before the carver, and when a portion is served, the plate is lifted by the servant and placed before the person for whom it is intended, without the use of a tray. The plates placed on the table when it is laid are used for holding the soup plates, and are not removed until the ones holding the portions of the next course are exchanged for them; if the succeeding course is to be passed, warm or cold plates, as the course requires, are in turn exchanged for them; but if the course is to be served from the table, the places are meanwhile left without covers. There should always be a plate before each person except in this instance, and when the table is cleared for dessert. Sharpening the carving-knife is a trial to the nerves of many, and this infliction can be easily avoided by having it done before dinner is announced. Many good carvers, however, seem to delight in this preliminary operation and are unconscious of committing an act of impoliteness. The attractiveness of a dish may be wholly lost by unskilful carving, and the appetite may be destroyed by an overloaded plate. Where but one substantial dish is served, it is permissible to be helped a second time. The dish can be removed to the side-table, and the second portions helped by the servant, if the carver does not care to be interrupted in his own dinner after he has performed the office of cutting the joint.

The sense of sight should always be considered, even though it cost the trouble of replenishing a dish. No more than can be used on one plate is served at the same time at any well appointed table. One vegetable only, besides potatoes, is served with the roast; if more are used, they are served as courses separately.

LUNCHEON

The luncheon service does not differ materially from that of dinner. Lighter dishes are usually served, entrées taking the place of joints and roasts, and the soup or bouillon is served in cups instead of soup plates. Grape fruit, or a fruit salad, is often an acceptable first course.

When the table has a handsome and polished surface the cloth may be left off if desired and a fancy square take its place. In this case small squares may also be used under the plates to protect the table and in such other places as needed. Drawn-work linen squares over mahogany make an attractive luncheon table.

When a large number of guests are being entertained at luncheon, small tables placed in the different rooms (and on the piazzas, if in the country) are often used, and these do not admit of more than the slight decoration of a few flowers. Luncheons of this kind are usually of an informal character and secondary to some entertainment which has preceded them. A few simple menus for luncheons are given below.

MENUS FOR LUNCHEON

No. 1.

Grape Fruit.

Bouillon.

Oyster Patties.

Chops and Peas.

Quail, Lettuce Salad.

Ice-Cream.

Cake.

Tea.

No. 2.

Melon.

Clams on Half-shell.

Cold Salmon, Sauce Tartare.

Filets Mignons, Sauce Béarnaise.

Omelet Soufflé.

Cheese.

Coffee.

No. 3.

Grape Fruit.

Bouillon.

Shad Roe.

{ Broiled Chicken.
Green Peas.

Russian Salad.

{ Ice-Cream and Jelly.
Angel Cake.

Tea.

No. 4.

Bouillon.

Lobster à la Newburg.

Eggs Villeroi.

Sweetbreads and Peas.

French Chops, Potato Straws.

Russian Salad of Chicken Aspic, Celery and Walnuts (see receipt).

Plum-Pudding Glacé.

Coffee.

No. 5.

Chicken Consommé.

Lobster Chops.

Mushrooms on Toast.

Sweetbreads and Peas.

Frozen Punch.

Quails on Toast.

{ Pâté de Foie Gras en Bellevue.
Lettuce.

Charlotte Russe.

No. 6.

Clams.

Eggs à la Reine.

{ Planked Shad.
Cucumbers.

{ Broiled Squabs.
Vegetable Salad.

Ice-Cream.

Cheese.

Fruit.

No. 7.

Salpicon of Fruit.

Cream of Clams.

Salmon Cutlets, Cucumbers.

Curried Eggs.

Chicken à la Poulette.

Asparagus, Sauce Hollandaise.

Fruit Tart.

Chocolate Pralinée.

No. 8.

Little Neck Clams.

Bouillon.

Vol-au-Vent.

Broiled Chicken, Peas.

Mushrooms.

Lobster Salad.

Gâteau St. Honoré.

Strawberries.

At a luncheon, given in a country house to a large party of golfers, all the edibles, consisting of cold meats, game, aspics, salads, and mince-pie, were placed on the side-table, and the gentlemen served the ladies before taking their own places at the table. The servants came into the room only to remove the plates. This gave a very social and lively character to the meal, which all enjoyed for its informality.

Entertainments of this kind may often be practicable, as the question of service sometimes debars one from entertaining many guests at a time.

THE FIVE O’CLOCK TEA

A cup of tea at this time of the afternoon is usually gratefully accepted, and one is disappointed if it is made so badly that it is not drinkable. The young lady who presides at the tea table at an afternoon reception has sometimes a difficult task if the tea is not prepared with a bag (as directed on page 550), but for the unceremonious social cup of tea with the friend who drops in at this hour it is easy to have it just right. After the proper preparation of the tea (as directed on page 549), the attractiveness of the table and the delicacy of the china are the next things to be desired. Tea does not taste as well taken from a coarse, large, or heavy cup. The taste and refinement of the hostess are easily recognized in this very unceremonious, but very social, function. The cloth may be as elaborate as one wishes, but it must above all be spotless, unwrinkled and dainty. The cups may all differ from one another, but each one should be small and thin, and the steaming kettle, which lends cheerfulness to the occasion, should be highly polished, whether it be silver, brass, or copper. A dry biscuit or a thin piece of bread and butter is usually offered with the tea. Fresh unsalted butter is preferable, but any of the fine butters may be used. The butter is spread very evenly on the loaf; the bread sliced very thin and doubled like a sandwich. It may be cut into any shape desired, such as strips, diamonds, or triangles. It is attractive stamped into circles with a biscuit-cutter of about the size of a silver dollar. Three kinds of bread may be used—white, graham, and Boston brown bread, and all may be served on the same plate. This simple dish is carried into the esthetics in some English houses, where the bread and butter is described as tasting of roses, violets, clover, or nasturtiums. The flavor is obtained by shutting the fresh butter in a tight jar with the blossoms for several hours. Butter very readily absorbs flavors and odors, indeed it is the medium used for extracting perfumes in the manufacture of those articles. The flavored butter is spread in the ordinary way on the bread, which has been treated also to a bath of flowers. Butter sandwiches must be exceedingly thin and shapely, and have no suggestion of mussiness. They should be laid in a folded napkin to keep them fresh. Any sweet wafers may also be used, but as this is not a meal, nothing should be offered which will take away the appetite for dinner, which follows shortly afterward.

A HOMILY ON COOKING

It is a trite saying that a thing worth doing at all is worth doing well, but, from the inefficiency of the large number of domestics who hold the office of cook, and from the acceptance of careless work by so many families, it would seem that the truism is not regarded in reference to cooking. Since it is upon the kitchen that the health and comfort of the family so greatly depend, is it not a duty, and would it not be a pleasure, for the mistress of every house to understand the science of cooking as well as the arts which give other attractions to the house? A knowledge of its fundamental principles would give her a sense of independence and power, which knowledge is proverbially said to do. If she were familiar with the nature of the yeast plant, and the action of heat as applied in boiling, broiling, and frying, if she could make a sauce and clear a soup, her family would be relieved from the affliction of sour bread, burned meats, and muddy soup. An ordinary kitchen servant can do these simple things well, if she is once told how, and this basis would be a guide in other work, and a safeguard against many failures. There is no such thing as luck in cooking. Laws govern the chemical changes which take place, and can always be relied upon. Water will boil at 212°, and cannot be made hotter by violent boiling in an open vessel. Frying can be properly done only when the fat is smoking hot. Broiling can be properly done only over, or under, hot and bright coals. For baking, the oven must be of the right temperature. The same thing cooked in the same way will always be the same, and failure comes simply from neglect of the rules. It is as easy to have good cooking as bad; the former requires only the elements of care and intelligence. With very little trouble, dishes may be made to please the sight as well as the taste. The difference between the elegance and refinement of one table and the vulgarity of another often lies merely in the manner of dishing and serving. Again, the step from plain to fancy cooking is very short. A simple and tasteful arrangement, or combination, of materials prepared in the ordinary way will make an ornamental dish. Minced chicken pressed into a ring mold to give it shape, and the center filled with a mushroom sauce, will make a more appetizing dish than if placed carelessly together with no regard to symmetry. Potatoes pressed into a fancy mold, a part of the center removed, and the space filled with chopped seasoned meat, will give a chartreuse, and no thought of hash suggested. A jelly with a flower in the top, or of two colors, will make a decorative piece for the table. Uniformity in size and shape of potatoes, chops, pancakes, slices of bread or anything that is served on the same dish, gives a pleasing sense of order and care, which is as marked as the proper arrangement of the table furniture. It is in little things only that fancy differs from plain cooking, but as soon as a cook comprehends the value of the appearance of dishes she is sure to think of their perfection in every other way.

There is a popular prejudice against fried foods, and a belief that abstaining from them will cure us of our dyspepsia, but if articles are properly fried they should contain no more grease than the boiled one does of water. Smoking fat has such a high degree of heat, that certain articles are better cooked by frying than by any other method. Minced meat, rolled into the form of croquettes and fried, assumes a different character both in taste and rank from the minced meat heated in other ways. If the croquettes are coated with egg and crumbs and immersed in smoking hot fat, as the rule directs, the egg is instantly hardened, and no fat can be absorbed through it. That which covers the outside is evaporated by draining and drying in a hot place. The napkin on which the croquettes are served will not be stained if they are rightly fried. Saratoga chips can be handled with a glove without soiling it. We need not be a nation of dyspeptics from eating pie when the French are not from eating puff-paste, or from hot breads when the English are not from plum pudding and pork pies. It is from the manner of preparing our foods that we suffer. Cooking has not been one of the virtues of our new country, as we have been satisfied to get our cooks from France and Ireland, but if intelligent American housewives will take interest and pleasure in this important department, which is delegated to their care, some of the serious trials of life will be overcome, and emancipation from many petty cares and annoyances will follow.

COOKING AS A PLEASURE AND AN ACCOMPLISHMENT

The common sayings about waste in American kitchens, dyspeptic results of American cooking, etc., reflect the opinion held by other nations of our culinary art, and though the judgment may be too severe, it has been pronounced, and should remind us of our shortcomings.

It seems, however, as though a new era were now dawning. Cooking-schools are established in large cities, cooking lectures are given everywhere and are well attended. The nutritive values of different foods and the chemistry of cooking are studied. This, and the recognition of the fact that health proceeds largely from the diet, seem to indicate that there has been an awakening of interest in the subject of gastronomy. In this day of fads, it will soon be discovered also that pleasures lie in this line of work. Fancy cooking has an interest quite as engaging as other occupations of diversion. Fine cooking utensils, gas-stoves, and modern conveniences, make the well-appointed kitchen as attractive as the laboratory or workshop. Trying a new dish has the same interest as any other experiment. The construction of ornamental pieces is as interesting as other fancy work. Making puff-paste, ice-creams, fancy molding of desserts and salads, boiling sugar, etc., are in reality simple processes, and with very little practice found to be as easy to prepare as dishes which from familiarity have come to be called plain cooking. Skill and dexterity of hand may be enjoyed in boning, trussing, and larding, and taste shown in decorating with truffles and other articles, in molding with flowers and fruits, in icing cakes, in spinning sugar, and in making bonbons. The pleasure of decorating the table and adorning the dining-room will be found secondary to that of preparing artistic dishes when that art has once been learned.

The gas-stove obviates the objection, formerly existing, of one’s being subjected to excessive heat while cooking. At a cost of about $2.00 a stove can be bought which will stand on a table anywhere, and answer all ordinary purposes of boiling and frying. More expensive ones, fitted with ovens and other appliances, answer the requirements of all kinds of cooking.

When the preparation of a new or a fancy dish comes to be looked upon as a pastime instead of a task, there may be discovered in America Savarins and Béchamels. We have already had a Sam Ward, but to the women should belong the honor of raising our standard of cooking, and though they need not agree with the terrible sentiment expressed by Margaret Fuller, that a woman to have influence must cook or scold, still it must be conceded that the former accomplishment will enable her to wield a potent scepter. Perhaps, however, the strongest word to be said in favor of every mistress of a house knowing how to cook is the usefulness of it. The difficulty of getting trained cooks at reasonable wages, the caprices of the class, whose consciences do not prevent their leaving at the moment when their services are most needed, and the many occasions that arise when a knowledge of cooking is of the greatest comfort and service, make it difficult, for those who know how to cook, to comprehend how any one can keep house without this knowledge, or how, with the inferior service generally rendered, the pleasures of hospitality can be enjoyed, or the comfort of a well-ordered culinary department experienced.

TO TRAIN A GREEN COOK

If one is obliged to accept the service of inexperienced cooks, or of women who claim to be plain cooks, but in reality know nothing of the right ways of preparing anything, it is often necessary to do more or less teaching or supervising. Often it would be found easier to begin at the beginning, and teach an entirely green girl who has intelligence and a desire to learn, than it is to correct careless habits or bad methods already formed. A formula for teaching a green cook is given below for the benefit of any who care to avail of it.

First. Impress the necessity of clean utensils, being particular that every saucepan used is perfectly clean on the outside as well as the inside.

Second. Have all the utensils of one kind kept together in definite places, and insist that each one is returned to its place as soon as it has served its use, thus establishing system.

Third. When sugar, butter, spices, or any articles are taken out for use, have the boxes returned to their places as soon as the desired quantity is removed.

Fourth. Do not allow any accumulation of soiled utensils waiting for a general cleaning-up. A great deal of time and work can be saved, and an orderly kitchen maintained, by washing things as you go along so far as possible at odd moments, and also in not using an unnecessary number of dishes.

Fifth. Explain about exact measurements. Insist upon the use of the tin measuring-cup (see page 77).

Sixth. Have a time-table giving time per pound for cooking meats, fastened in a convenient place against the wall, for easy reference.

Seventh. Have all meats weighed and wiped off with a wet cloth before proceeding to cook them.

Eighth. At all times give attention to right management of the fire; be especially careful not to have coal piled above the grate, nor to let the top of range become red-hot. Shut off drafts before the coal is burned out, and have the ovens clean and at the right temperature.

Ninth. Have everything dished neatly, and garnished simply.

Tenth. No matter how simple the dish, insist that it be attractive in appearance, and that every dish placed on the table show the care of the cook in its preparation; for instance, have every piece of toast of the same size and shape, evenly browned and carefully arranged on a hot plate.

To instil strict care in every detail is a most important point in forming a good cook.

DISHES RECOMMENDED FOR FIRST LESSONS.

To make beef stock for soups, page 88.

To boil potatoes, page 201.

To boil rice, page 222.

To make a white sauce, page 277.

With one half the sauce make cream potatoes, add a little onion juice to the other half, and add to it meat minced very fine, making a creamed mince. Serve it on moistened toast; or make creamed chicken and serve a border of rice around it. When making a roux, and a white sauce is understood, it is easy to show the variations of it, such as to cook onion or vegetables with the butter before the flour is added; or to brown the flour if a brown sauce is wanted; or to use stock instead of milk, thus making a Béchamel sauce; or to add an egg to white sauce, making a poulette sauce, etc.

To poach eggs: Serve them on toast cut uniformly and moistened. Place symmetrically on dish and garnish with parsley; or, spread the toast with creamed mince, place a poached egg on each piece, and put a spot of pepper on the center of the yolk.

To make coffee, page 551.

To broil a steak, page 156.

To boil a leg of mutton, caper sauce, pages 163 and 164.

To roast beef and baste frequently, roast potatoes in the same pan, pages 146 and 204.

To draw and truss a chicken, pages 180 and 183.

To clear the beef stock for clear soup, page 86.

To make common stock, page 87.

To make potato soup, page 105.

To clarify drippings, page 74.

To try out all other fat, page 74.

To dry bread and roll it into crumbs, page 51.

To make bread and bread biscuits, page 340.

To make rice pudding, page 433.

To make bread pudding, page 434.

To make plain cornstarch pudding, page 397.

A compote to serve with cornstarch pudding, page 535.

Cottage pudding, sabayon sauce, pages 435 and 446.

Cup cake, page 470.

Cookies, page 481.

Plain pie-crust, page 451.

Baked apple-dumplings, hard sauce, pp. 429 and 448.

Some variations of cornstarch pudding, page 398.

Plain wine-jelly, page 415.

When a woman has learned to do these few simple things perfectly, she will have no difficulty in following any ordinary receipt, and having a knowledge of the first principles of cooking, can then advance to more elaborate dishes.

Frying should not be attempted until she can roast, broil, and bake.

Croquettes of various kinds can then be made; to mold them uniformly requires a little practice—the care of the fat and the right degree of heat are the essential things to emphasize in frying.

In one month a woman of ordinary intelligence, with the desire to learn, should be able to make perfectly, and serve attractively, enough simple dishes to supply the family table with sufficient variety, without troubling the mistress to plan and think for her.

An insistence upon system and exactness will insure immunity from failures.

ECONOMICAL LIVING

A very pleasant book called “$10.00 Enough” explains how a family of two lived well on that sum per week, including house rent and wages of one servant. Mrs. Rorer says $2.00 per head a week is a liberal allowance. Articles are published giving directions for living on ten cents a day; also of dinners for six people costing twenty-five cents. In examining these formulæ it is evident that in order to accomplish this very small cost of living, one must first understand the comparative values of foods, so as to select those which at low prices furnish the necessary nourishment, and secondly, to be able to cook them in such a way as to make them acceptable; in fact the rule holds good, however high the scale of living, that the proper cooking of food counts for more than the cost of it. The cheap and the expensive articles can be equally spoiled in the cooking; while the cheap ones, well cooked, are more esteemed than the high-priced ones poorly prepared. The first thing excluded from the list of cheap nutritive foods is white bread. Refining the flour to the whiteness of the so-called best qualities takes out most of its nutritive elements, while the lower grades or brown flours retain the gluten, and make a bread which is preferred when one becomes familiar with it. Beans, peas, and corn-meal have an important place on the list of accepted foods. They supply the wastes of the system and afford a hearty meal. Meat, which is the most expensive food, has come to be regarded here as a necessity, but in the old countries the classes who perform the hardest labor consider it only as a luxury, and seldom use it oftener than once a week. Often the cost of living is more in the waste than in the actual consumption of food. Another needless and unwise expense is buying more than is required, providing for three persons enough for six; and still another extravagance is in buying articles which are out of season. For instance, in the spring veal is a very cheap meat; in the autumn it is the most expensive one, but, at the right times, one may indulge in sweetbreads, calf’s head, calf’s brains, and liver. In its season game is frequently abundant and reasonably cheap. The idea prevails that, in order to have variety, it is necessary to buy whatever the market offers, whereas variety may be attained by variation in the ways of cooking, in serving with different sauces, and with different accompaniments, and in arranging the menu so that one course is in pleasing contrast to the preceding one, thus avoiding surfeit.

Many pieces of meat of the best quality are sold at low rates because not in shapes to be served as boiling or roasting pieces. These serve well for entrées and made-up dishes; other pieces, which are tough, but well flavored, can by slow cooking be made as tender as the prime cuts, such as a round of beef braised.

On page 249 will be found a number of menus and receipts for very inexpensive dinners.

Mushrooms. Mr. Gibson, in an interesting article on “Mushrooms,” published in “Harper’s Magazine” for August, 1894, calls attention to the vast amount of wholesome and nutritious food that lies at the door of every country dweller. City people pay at least a dollar a pound for mushrooms, which are served at the finest dinners, and are considered as among the best articles for use in high-class cooking. Therefore, why should they be scorned or overlooked by those who can have them for the gathering? Neglect to use them seems equal in wastefulness to the practice of some country butchers, who throw away calves’ heads, brains, sweetbreads, fresh tongues, etc., because the people have not learned their value. A French family who moved into a western town reported that the cost of living there was nominal, because the foods which they most prized, not being recognized as belonging on the list of comestibles, were given away by the butchers as food for dogs. Mushrooms are very distinctive in feature, and by the aid of descriptions given in books and colored charts, one can easily learn the edible varieties which grow in his neighborhood. By taking no risks in eating those not perfectly recognized, there is no danger of being poisoned. It is not thought difficult to learn varieties of the rose, nor to discriminate between the poison and the innocuous ivy. The form, color, and habitat of mushrooms make them equally easy to recognize. Care should be taken, however, to avoid any mushroom which is old or partly decayed, as its condition then is analogous to that of putrid meat. In their season the edible fungi grow in great profusion; they are nitrogenous, containing the same nutritive elements as meat, and well serve as a substitute for it, giving a pleasant change to the limited bill of frugal fare. Mr. Gibson speaks of them as beefsteaks. They seem from circumstances, therefore, to have a place in the dietary of the poor as well as the rich. Receipts for cooking mushrooms are given on page 314.

It is sometimes thought to be an extravagance to serve a roast to a small family, because so much meat is left over. When there is no way known of presenting it again except as cold meat or as hash, it may indeed be disagreeable to have the same meat served four times. A good cook, however, served turkey acceptably at four dinners to a family of three persons in this way:

FIRST DAY’S DINNER

10 lbs. turkey at 16 cents per lb.

$1.60

1 quart sweet potatoes boiled

.10

2 quarts apples (of which she used three for baked apple dumplings, sabayon sauce, page 446)

.15

1 egg
.03

1 lemon
.02

½ cup sugar
.01

—
.06

—

Cost of first day’s dinner

$1.91

SECOND DAY’S DINNER

2 lbs. codfish boiled

.20

HOLLANDAISE SAUCE (page 281).

2 eggs
.06

¼ lb. butter
.08

½ lemon
.01

—
.15

6 croquettes made of one cupful of turkey meat

.00

SAUCE TO MIX THEM

½ cup milk
.01

½ tablespoonful butter
.01

1 egg
.03

—
.05

½ tablespoonful flour (see croquettes, page 293)

1 pint cranberries

.09

Sweet potatoes left from day before, cut in strips and browned (see page 206)

.00

BROWN BETTY PUDDING

Apples from day before
.00

Molasses and crumbs
.05

—
.05

—

Cost of second dinner

.54

THIRD DAY’S DINNER

Soup made from carcass of turkey
.00

CHICKEN SOUFFLÉ (page 190).

1 cup turkey meat
.00

SAUCE TO MIX IT

1 tablespoonful butter
.02

1 cup milk
.04

3 eggs
.09

Other ingredients
.02

—
.17

BAKED MACARONI

½ lb. macaroni
.04

Cheese
.05

—
.09

COTTAGE PUDDING

1 egg
.03

½ cup sugar
.01

½ cup milk
.02

1 tablespoonful butter
.03

Baking powder
.01

—
.10

CHOCOLATE SAUCE (page 447).

3 oz. chocolate
.08

½ cup sugar
.02

—
.10

—

Cost of third day’s dinner

.46

FOURTH DAY’S DINNER

1 codfish steak, 1 lb.
.10

4 smelts for garnishing
.10

—
.20

CHARTREUSE OF CHICKEN (page 190).

1 cup rice
.04

White sauce
.07

What is left of turkey including giblets
.00

Boiled potatoes
.05

Scalloped tomatoes
.15

Salad of water-cresses
.05

Bread pudding
.10

—
.46

—

Cost of fourth day’s dinner

.66

First day
$1.91

Second day
.54

Third day
.46

Fourth day
.66

Extras for bread, seasonings, etc.
.30

——

Total

$3.87

Average per day
96¾ cents.

The turkey in this case gave three cupfuls of chopped meat after the dinner of the first day. Any kind of meat can be made into the same dishes, and will be liked if the meat is chopped very fine, is well seasoned, and made creamy by using enough sauce.

WASTEFULNESS

As a rule the family life of America does not represent opulence, yet it has become a familiar saying that a French family could live on what an American family throws away. Again, it is said that in American kitchens half the provisions are spoiled and the other half wasted. There is no need to-day of being open to such accusations. At small expense a woman can have the benefit of lessons in cooking-schools, and should not be accepted as a cook until she has some knowledge of the duties, and is qualified to bear that name. The gage of a woman’s rank in her profession can be definitely determined by what she wastes or utilizes, and the high wages paid a first-class cook are often saved by the intelligent use she makes of all her materials. Many of her best entrées are but a combination of odds and ends which another cook would throw away. Her delicious sauce, which gives a very ordinary dish that requisite something which makes it highly esteemed, may be but the blending of many flavors obtained from little scraps.

The waste in foods need be so small as practically to have no waste material; not a crumb of bread, a grain of sugar, a bit of butter, a scrap of meat or fat, a piece of vegetable or leaf of salad, but can be utilized with profit. The soup pot is a receptacle for everything too small for other uses, and from this source can be drawn seasonings which will give richness and flavor to innumerable dishes, which are greatly improved by using stock instead of milk or water in their preparation.

HOW TO UTILIZE WHAT SOME COOKS THROW AWAY

Bread. Trim such pieces of cut bread as will do for toast into uniform shape and serve at the next breakfast. Smaller pieces cut into croûtons (page 81) for garnishing or for soup. Save unshapely pieces for bread pudding, Brown Betty, or stuffings. Save every scrap of bread for crumbs, to use for breading croquettes, chops, scallop dishes, etc. It is well to have two kinds of crumbs, using the white ones for the outside of fried articles, as they give a better color. To prepare the crumbs, separate the crumb from the crusts of bread and dry each of them slowly, on separate tins, on the shelf of the range. When dry, roll, sift and place them in glass preserve-jars until wanted.

Fat. Clarify all beef fat and drippings, the grease which rises on soup stock, and fat from poultry, and keep in a clean jar or tin pail for use in frying; it is preferable to lard (see “frying,” pages 72 and 59). Mutton, turkey, and smoked meat fat has too strong a flavor to be used for frying, but save it with other fat that may be unsuitable for frying, and when six pounds are collected make it into hard soap (page 259).

Use the marrow of beef bones on toast for a luncheon entrée (page 159), or use it with bread to make balls for soup (page 94).

Grill wings and legs of fowls that are left over (page 188) for luncheon, or stuff the legs as directed (page 188). If the sinews are removed from the legs when the fowl is drawn, as directed (page 180), the meat of the leg will be as good as that of the second joint.

Use a ham bone for improving bean soup. Use the carcasses of fowls and the bones from roasts for making soup.

Try out chop bones and other meat taken from the plates for soap fat.

Tough Pieces. Chop the tough ends of steak very fine, season, and form them into balls or cakes, sauté or broil them, and serve for breakfast or luncheon (see “Hamburg steaks,” page 151).

Small Pieces, Cold Meats. Cut pieces of white meat into dice or strips, mix it with a white sauce, turn it into a flat dish, make a border of pointed croûtons, sprinkle over the top a little chopped parsley, and garnish with hard-boiled egg; or mix the meat with aspic jelly in a mold and serve cold with salad.

Mix dark meats of any kind with a brown sauce, and garnish with lettuce leaves, hard-boiled eggs, and croûtons. Any kind of cold meat may be chopped and used in an omelet, or combined with rice and tomatoes for a scallop. For cold mutton see “Ragoût of Mutton” (page 165).

Eggs. Save egg-shells to clear soup, jellies, or coffee. Boiled eggs that are left return to the fire and boil them hard to use for garnishing, to mix with salad, or to make golden toast (page 270) for luncheon. Cold poached eggs can be boiled hard and used in the same way. Cold fried or scrambled eggs can be chopped and mixed with minced meat, and will much improve it.

When an egg is opened for the white alone, drop the yolk carefully into a cup, cover the cup with a wet cloth, and keep it in the ice-box until wanted. When whites are left over make a small angel cake (page 467), angel ice cream (page 497), kisses (page 475), or cover any dessert with meringue, or serve a meringue sauce (page 448) with the next dessert, or make a meat soufflé without yolks (page 190).

General Odds and Ends. Everything too small to utilize in other ways put in the soup pot, and from this can be drawn sauces and seasoning for minces, scallops, etc., that will often be better than specially prepared stock.

Cereals. Oatmeal, hominy, cracked wheat, and other cereals which are left over can be added next day to the fresh stock, for they are improved by long boiling and do not injure the new supply, or such as is left can be molded in large or in small forms, and served cold with cream, or milk and sugar. In warm weather cereals are nicer cold than hot. Cold hominy and mush, cut into squares and fried, so that a crisp crust is formed on both sides,—also hominy or farina, rolled into balls and fried,—are good used in place of a vegetable or as a breakfast dish.

Any of the cereals make good pancakes, or a small amount added to the ordinary pancake batter improves it.

Cold rice can be added to soup, or made into croquettes, or used in a scallop dish, or mixed with minced meat and egg and fried like an omelet. Cold rice pudding can be cut into rounded pieces with a spoon and served again on a flat dish; this may be covered with whipped cream or flavored whipped white of egg.

Vegetables. A small amount of vegetables left over may go into the soup, or may be mixed with a ragoût. Peas, tomatoes, or beans can be put in an omelet. A number of vegetables mixed together can be used for a salad. Cauliflower broken into flowerets, covered with white sauce, and sprinkled with grated cheese, makes “cauliflower au gratin,” a dish which is much liked.

The coarse stalks and roots of celery make a good vegetable dish when cut in pieces and boiled, or they make a good cream-of-celery soup. The leaves are valuable in the soup pot for flavor; also are useful for garnishing.

Sour Milk. Sour milk makes cottage cheese, or makes good biscuits.

For uses of stale cakes see page 411.

For jellies left over see page 418.

Fruits. When fruits show signs of deterioration, stew them at once instead of letting them decay. See compotes. Stew apple parings and cores to a pulp and strain; this will make a jelly which, spread on apple tart, greatly improves it.

Boil lemon and orange peels in sugar, and dry as directed, page 527, for candied peels.

Cheese. Grate cheese which becomes dry and use for gratin dishes or soups; or it can be served with crackers the same as though in its original shape.

EMERGENCIES

There is to-day such a variety of well-preserved foods that a store-closet provided with these articles may be almost the equivalent of a full larder. With such a resource the housekeeper can meet without embarrassment the emergencies that may arise in any household, however well ordered. In the country, where tradespeople are difficult to reach, it will be especially useful at such times. The articles sealed in glass jars seem the most wholesome, and are sometimes so well preserved as to be a very good substitute for the fresh ones. Salted meats and fish are distinctive foods, which are occasionally very acceptable, and the dessicated foods are beyond suspicion of unwholesomeness. A few suggestions are offered of how to utilize some of the articles which can be recommended. Many of the soups are excellent; chicken gumbo is particularly good. Extract of beef can be quickly made into soup, beef-tea, or aspic jelly (page 322). Canned salmon and chicken, either of them, can be heated and covered with a white sauce, or be used for salad, or the salmon may be broiled and covered with a maître d’hôtel sauce (page 286).

Potted meats spread on toast make excellent canapés for luncheon (page 368). Shrimps make a salad, or in a chafing-dish can be prepared à la Newburg (page 333). Of the salted and smoked meats are ham, bacon, dried tongue, chipped beef, codfish, smoked salmon, and mackerel, all of which are much esteemed as breakfast dishes, and may be offered at luncheon or supper. Of the vegetables, string-beans and flageolets make good salads. Asparagus makes a good extra course served alone. Tomatoes, the cheapest of all, and perhaps the most useful, will make soup, sauces, a scallop dish, or may be added to an omelet, macaroni, or rice. Pilot bread, toasted bread in slices, and rusks make delicious cream-toasts for luncheon or supper. Noodles or macaroni boiled plain for a vegetable, or mixed with any sauce, tomatoes, or cheese. Cheese is useful for canapés (pages 368-371), cheese soufflé (page 370), macaroni, etc. There are varieties of plain and fancy cracker biscuits which can be used in the place of cake. Plum-puddings wrapped in tin-foil will keep indefinitely. The canned whole apples can be used for dumplings (page 429) or pies. California apricots or cherries around a form of plain boiled rice, hominy, or other cereal, make a dessert; peaches make a shortcake (page 443); jams make delicious tarts, or, served alone with cracker biscuits, are a sufficient dessert for luncheon. Plain boiled rice may be used as a vegetable in place of potatoes; or, sweetened and mixed with a few raisins, or served with stewed prunes, makes a dessert.

There are prepared flours from which biscuits may be quickly made; prepared buckwheat which makes good pancakes for supper or for breakfast. A few cans of condensed milk should be in the store-room for use in case of real necessity only; it answers very well for puddings, sweet dishes, or chocolate.

Outside the store-room supplies, eggs furnish a variety of dishes quickly prepared. Eggs à l’aurore, or Bourguignonne, omelets with peas, tomatoes, mushrooms, minced meat, etc., are for luncheon, and cheese omelets, sweet omelets, and soufflés for dinner dishes.

It is well to have fondant (page 513) in close jars ready for icing cakes or for bonbons, candied fruits for sweets or for ornamenting desserts, ginger and brandied peaches to serve with ice-cream. Lady-fingers are easily made, and will keep in a cracker-box indefinitely. If these are at hand, a Charlotte russe is quickly made, and is one of the simplest and most acceptable light desserts.

There are olives, gherkins, and chow-chow for hors d'œuvres. There are catsups and condiments in variety to make barbecues (page 331), or to make cold meats acceptable.

The growing plant, the globe of gold fish, the bird-cage partly concealed with branches, may be utilized for table decoration. As circumstances alter cases, there are many expedients to which a housekeeper may resort in supplying deficiencies which might not be in rule, were the occasion a formal one. The chafing-dish on the luncheon or supper-table, or a dish more appropriate to a different meal, would not only be excused, but perhaps give to an embarrassing occasion the pleasant feature of informality.

THINGS TO REMEMBER

Eggs. A dash of salt added to the whites of eggs makes them whip better.

Not a speck of the yolk must get into the whites which are to be whipped.

Fold the whipped whites into any mixture rather than stir them in, as the latter method breaks the air cells.

Break eggs one at a time into a saucer, so any can be rejected if necessary and the mixture not be spoiled.

Add a tablespoonful of water to an egg used for crumbing in order to remove the stringiness.

Use a double boiler for milk.

Milk. Milk is scalded when the water in the lower pan boils.

A pinch of bi-carbonate of soda mixed with tomato before milk or cream is added prevents the milk from curdling.

With sour milk, or molasses, use soda instead of baking powder.

Butter. Milk and butter should be kept in closely covered vessels, as they readily absorb flavor and odor from other articles.

Butter added slowly in small bits to creamy mixtures, or sauces, prevents a greasy line forming.

Crumbs. Crumbs grated directly from the loaf give a more delicate color than dried crumbs to fried articles.

Dried crumbs absorb more moisture, and are better for watery dishes.

Crumbs spread over the tops of dishes should be mixed evenly with melted butter over the fire; this is a better method than having lumps of butter dotted over the crumbs after they are spread.

When the sauce bubbles through the crumbs on top of a scallop dish, the cooking is completed.

Meats. Meat should not be washed. It can be cleaned by rubbing with a wet cloth, or by scraping with a knife.

Drippings are better than water for basting meats.

Meats should not be pierced while cooking.

Soak salt fish with the skin side up over night. Change the water several times.

To skim sauces, draw the saucepan to the side of the fire, throw in a teaspoonful of cold water, and the grease will rise so that it can be easily taken off.

A few drops of onion juice improve made-over meat dishes; not enough need be used to give a pronounced onion flavor.

Drippings. The skimming from soups, drippings from any beef roasts, and trimmings from any beef, serve the same uses as lard, cottolene, or butter.

Onion Juice. To extract onion juice, press the raw surface of an onion against a grater, move it slightly, and the juice will run off the point of the grater.

Chopping Suet. Chop suet in a cool place, and sprinkle it with flour to prevent its oiling and sticking together. Remove the membrane before chopping it.

Chopping or Pounding Almonds. Add a few drops of rose-water to almonds to prevent their oiling when chopped or pounded.

To loosen grated peel, or other articles, from the grater, strike the grater sharply on the table.

Mixing. When mixing a liquid with a solid material, add but little liquid at a time and stir constantly to prevent lumping.

When adding cornstarch, arrowroot, or any starchy material to hot liquid, first mix it with enough cold water, or milk, to make it fluid; pour it in slowly and stir constantly until it becomes clear.

Gelatine. Soak gelatine in a cool place for an hour in cold water or milk. It will then quickly dissolve in hot liquid and have no odor. If jellied dishes do not stiffen, add more gelatine; boiling down will not effect the purpose.

Molds. Grease molds evenly with butter or oil, using a brush. Lumps of butter on the side of molds leave an uneven surface on the article cooked or molded in them. Molds for jellies are not greased.

Invert a dish over a mold before turning it, so that the form will not break; also, place it in exactly the right spot before lifting off the mold.

Strainers. It is desirable to pass all liquid mixtures through a strainer to make them perfectly smooth.

To keep Dishes Warm. To keep dishes warm until time of serving, place the saucepan in a pan of hot water.

Flavoring. Any flavoring is added after the mixture is cooked, excepting for baked dishes. Wine increases the taste of salt, therefore, where wine is used for flavoring, very little salt should be put in until after the wine is used, when more can be added if necessary.

Dishes which are to be frozen need an extra amount of sweetening.

Raisins. Flour raisins before adding them to a mixture in order to prevent their settling to the bottom.

Baking. Never slam the oven door, or jar any rising material while it is baking.

Anything being cooked for the second time needs a hot oven.

CARE OF UTENSILS

A very essential thing in doing nice cooking is to have clean utensils. The pans of a careless cook are encrusted outside and frequently inside with dry, hard grease, which ordinary washing will not remove; the broilers are black with burned grease, and the ovens are in the same state. If one sees this condition of things, or finds a woman putting a saucepan on the hot coals, one needs no further commentary on her work. The saying “You can judge a workman by his tools” is very true in this case. No good cook will abuse her utensils, or expect to get well-flavored sauces from saucepans which are not immaculately clean. To keep utensils clean, it is necessary to wash them thoroughly, after they are used, with soda to cut the grease, and with sapolio to scour off any blackened spots. Sand or ashes may be used on the outside of iron pots. The outside as well as the inside of every utensil should be clean, and never be allowed to approach that state where only scraping will clean them. When utensils do reach that unwholesome condition, the coat of burned and blackened grease can be removed only by boiling in a strong solution of sal soda for an hour or more, using a large boiler which will hold enough water to entirely cover them. After the grease is softened, it can be scraped off, the articles then scoured with sand, ashes, or sapolio.61-* This is a good day’s work for a charwoman, which will change the aspect of things in the kitchen, and may awaken a pride for cleanliness where it has not before existed.

Tins, Sieves, Woodenware. Tins should be well dried before being put away, or they will rust. Sieves should not be washed with soap, but cleaned with a brush, using soda if necessary. Wooden ware should not be put near the fire to dry, or it will warp or crack.

Arrangement of Utensils in Closet. An orderly arrangement of utensils in the kitchen closet will greatly facilitate quick work. Everything of the same class should be in the same group: Saucepans and gridirons hung on hooks, measuring-cups, iron spoons, and strainers also hung in a place very convenient to hand. Molds and baking tins should be placed where they will not get bent or jammed. Practise strictly the system of a place for everything and everything in its place.

Supply-Closet. Order in the supply-closet is also necessary. Have a number of tin boxes, and of glass preserve-jars of different sizes, to hold everything large and small in the way of food supplies. Stand them in rows, each one plainly labeled, that no time may be lost in searching for the article needed. The cost of these receptacles is small, while their use is not only a great convenience, but also a protection from dust and insects. A closet so kept is also easily supervised. In every large and well-ordered kitchen perfect order and system prevail. Were it not so, a hopeless confusion would soon ensue. In small households the same nicety can be the rule, and if the mistress makes a weekly inspection, order will soon become a tradition of the household, and be maintained without demur. Refrigerator. The refrigerator must be kept scrupulously clean and dry to insure wholesome food, and its waste-pipe kept freely open. This should not be connected directly with the general waste-pipe of the house. Cases of diphtheria have been directly traced to this cause. There should be a free use of soda in washing out the refrigerator to keep it free from taint. As butter and milk readily absorb the flavors of other articles they should be kept by themselves, or with only the eggs, in the small compartment. Lemons or other fruit are particularly to be excluded. Fish may be laid directly on ice, the skin side down; but beefsteaks or other uncooked meats lose flavor if placed in direct contact with ice.

Coal and Range. Proper care of the range and intelligent use of the coal are also essential factors of success in cooking. If the drafts are left open too long, the greatest heat is often lost before cooking begins. If they are closed the moment the coal is kindled, the heat will remain steady for a long time. When the coals look whitish, they are becoming exhausted and beginning to fall to ashes, and this condition arrives quickly when rapid combustion takes place from open draughts. Piling the coal above the level of the fire-box is another error generally practised by ignorant cooks. The heat does not increase from the depth of coal, but from the breadth of surface. Piling up the coal, in a mound which nearly touches the top of the range, results in heating the iron red-hot, warping the lids out of shape, destroying the saucepans, and very likely burning the food. No articles cooked on top of the range require excessive heat, and are usually spoiled by too rapid cooking.

Ovens. When the ovens do not bake on the bottom or on the top, it means a layer of ashes shuts off the heat. The ashes are easily removed from the top, but to lift the plate from the bottom of the oven and clean it out requires a cold range, so this is often neglected or not understood, while the cook wonders why the bread will not bake on the bottom, and why the cake is spoiled.

61-* It can also be easily removed by soaking in a solution of Babbitt’s lye—one tablespoonful to several gallons of water.—M. R.

PART II

RECEIPTS

Chapter I

METHODS OF COOKING EXPLAINED

BOILING

Simmering. There is an erroneous impression that articles cook faster when the water is boiling violently, but this is not the case; the ebullition is caused by the escaping steam, which is lost heat, and the water at this time is at 212° (except in high elevations), however fast or slow it may be boiling. If, however, a little sugar or salt is added to the water it increases its density, and the heat rises to 224° before the steam escapes. The heat can be raised also by covering the pot and confining as much of the steam as possible. Where violently boiling water is recommended, as for rice and green peas, the object is not greater heat, but to keep the grains and peas separated by the turbulence of the water. There is waste of fuel in unnecessarily fast boiling, and economy can be easily practised here, especially where gas is used, as the boiling point, once reached, can be maintained with but little heat. Where the juices and color are to be retained, the articles are put into already boiling salted water. The albumen on the surface is then at once coagulated and the juices shut in. Where the object is to extract the juices, as for soups, they must be cut into pieces so as to expose more surface, and put into cold water, and the heat of the water gradually raised to the simmering point only. The slow, long cooking obtained in simmering water best destroys the fiber of meat, and tough pieces cooked in this way are made tender. To render tough pieces tender, the meat is first put into boiling water in order to fix the albumen on the surface, the heat then reduced, and the cooking done at the simmering point, which is 185°. Hence, water at different stages of heat is used, according to the object in view, and the result is as definite as that of the different degrees of heat in an oven, so this point should not be considered as of little importance.

The flavor of meats and vegetables is volatile, and much of it can be carried off by escaping steam, as is demonstrated by the odors which sometimes pervade the house. To prevent the latter, and also to make the article tender and retain all its flavor, the pot should be covered and the water kept at the simmering point only.

Vegetables. An exception to this rule is made in the cases of cabbage and cauliflower. These strong-flavored vegetables will be much less objectionable when cooked in rapidly boiling water in open vessels (see page 212). Green vegetables should be boiled in open vessels, as high heat destroys their color. Meat. All meats should be well tied and skewered, to keep them in good shape while boiling, and, when possible, be placed with the bone side up, so if any scum settles it will not spoil the appearance of the dish. Fish. For fish a little vinegar should be put into the water, as it hardens the meat and helps to prevent its falling apart (see page 113).

Salt water is used where the object is to keep the flavors in, fresh water where it is to draw them out as in soup, where the salt is not added until the cooking is completed. The rule of not piercing meat, thus letting out its juices, applies to boiling as well as to other methods of cooking. Fifteen minutes to the pound is the rule for mutton or tender meat, a much longer or indefinite time for tough meat.

Ham is done when the skin peels off easily.

The scum should be taken off the pot when boiling meat.

Milk boils at 196° and easily burns, therefore it is safer to use a double boiler for anything containing milk. When using a double boiler, the liquid in the inner pan is scalded when the water in the outside vessel boils.

BAKING

Asbestos paper. The baking of many articles is a more important matter than the mixing. There are no definite tests for ovens, therefore one has to learn by experience and careful watching the capabilities or faults of the ovens used. A common trouble is from not having them thoroughly cleaned of the ashes which settle under the ovens and prevent the heat reaching the bottom part. It is usual to have them hotter on the fire side. In this case it is necessary to turn frequently the articles being baked, or, where this cannot be done, to interpose a screen to protect them from burning. Asbestos paper, which is now sold at very low cost at house-furnishing stores, is a convenient thing to place against the side of the oven, or on the shelf of the oven if the excessive heat is on top. A tin, or a piece of brown paper, will, however, ordinarily serve the purpose. Directions for baking bread and cake are given at the heads of those chapters.

To lower the heat of an oven, if closing the damper is not sufficient, open the lid of the range over the oven a little way. Sometimes a pan of cold water put on the shelf of the oven will effect the purpose. When baking meats, the oven should be very hot at first, and after the meat is seared the heat should be lowered, so the cooking will be done slowly.

ROASTING

Roasting is done before the fire, and should not be confused with baking, which is done in the oven. Roasted meats have a distinctly better flavor than baked ones. The latter are likely to taste of smoke unless the oven is frequently opened for basting, as few of them are sufficiently ventilated to free them of smoke and steam. Baking is the method generally employed in small households, but where the grate of the range is sufficiently large, and the front can be exposed, it will be found no more trouble to roast than to bake the meats, and the improvement will well repay the trouble of changing a habit. Tin ovens (Dutch ovens) are made for this use, with a clockwork to turn the spit, so the only care is to baste, which has to be done in either case, and to keep the fire bright, which is done by adding a few coals at a time if necessary.

The meat should at first be placed near the coals to sear the outside, and then be drawn back where it will cook at lower heat.

BROILING

Meat cooked by broiling is exposed to a greater heat than in any other manner of cooking, and to prevent its burning, requires constant watching. Meats for broiling are cut thin, and much surface is exposed, therefore they must be at once exposed to intense heat to sear the surface and retain the juices. Frequent turning not only prevents burning, but gives slower cooking and also prevents the grease dripping into the fire, making a smoke which destroys the flavor of the meat. The rule for broiling is to have bright coals without flame, drafts open to carry off smoke, and meat turned as often as one counts ten (see broiling beefsteak, page 156). In this way the result will be satisfactory, the meat will be puffed and elastic from the confined steam of the juices, will have a seared crust, and the rest evenly cooked through and of the same color. When the puffed appearance of broiled meats begins to disappear it means the moisture is evaporating through the crust, which will leave it hard and dry.

Chops wrapped tight in oiled paper before being broiled are especially good (see page 166). The paper will not burn if turned as directed above.

Although broiling with a double wire-broiler over or under bright coals is the approved way, it can be accomplished in a hot pan when coals are not accessible. In this instance a frying-pan is heated very hot, then rubbed with suet to prevent the meat from sticking, and the meat is turned frequently as in the other method. This manner of broiling is recommended only as an expedient, as hot iron does not give the same result as hot coals.

BRAISING

Meat cooked by braising is shut in a closely-covered pot with a few slices of salt pork (laid under the meat to prevent its sticking to the pot), a mixture of vegetables, cut into dice, a little soup stock or water, and a bouquet of herbs, and cooked slowly in the confined steam. This method of cooking tough or dry meats makes them tender and of good flavor. Braised dishes are much esteemed.

FRICASSEEING

Meat cooked in this way is first sautéd to keep in its juices, then stewed until tender and served in a white or brown gravy, made from the liquor in the pot in which the meat is stewed. Toasted bread and sometimes dumplings are served with it. In the latter case it is called a pot-pie.

SAUTÉING

A little fat is put in a shallow pan; when this is hot, the articles to be cooked are laid in and browned on both sides. This manner of cooking is by many miscalled frying, and is largely responsible for the disrepute of frying, as sautéd articles are likely to be greasy and indigestible.

FRYING

Frying is cooking by immersion in very hot fat. The success of frying depends upon the fat being sufficiently hot, and enough fat being used to completely cover the articles cooked in it. A kettle for frying should be kept for that purpose alone, and started with enough fat to fill it two thirds full. Olive-oil, lard, cottolene, drippings, or any mixture of them, serve the purpose. When properly used but little fat is consumed, and the pot can be easily replenished with the right quantity for its next use. Each time, after using the fat, a slice of raw potato should be dropped in to clarify it; it should then be strained through a cloth and returned to the pot, be covered when cold, and set away until again wanted. This fat can be used for potatoes, and anything which is coated with egg and crumbs. If fish without this coating are fried in it, it will then be unsuitable for other purposes. A pot of fat will with care last for months, but should be clarified as often as necessary (see below). Heating the fat. When the fat is to be used, the frying-kettle should be placed on the range an hour before the time it is needed. It will then become gradually hot, and at the right moment can be quickly raised to the smoking heat needed for frying. It takes some time for fat to reach this temperature; and if this preparatory measure is not taken, a cook, when hurried, is likely to use it before the right heat is attained, or to place it on the open fire, which is attended with great danger. Many persons are seriously burned from this imprudence. To extinguish fire from grease. When fat boils over and takes fire, the best extinguisher is ashes. If the cook’s clothes take fire, the best thing to do is to wrap the skirts together and roll on the floor until assistance comes. With ordinary care there need be no accidents. Dropping grease on the range or clothes can be avoided by holding a tin plate under the frying-basket when removing it from the kettle. When the articles to be fried are prepared, the wire basket should be dipped into the fat to grease it, the articles laid in, a few at a time, without touching one another, the basket hung on an iron or wooden spoon, and slowly lowered into the fat. Too many articles must not be put in at the same time, or the heat of the fat will be too much reduced. Spattering. Spattering is caused by water contained in the articles being turned to steam and throwing out the fat; hence, one reason for making them very dry and of lowering them gradually into the fat. When fat is sufficiently hot it at once sears the outside of everything placed in it, and forms a crust through which the grease cannot penetrate and be absorbed by the food. Egg and crumbs are used for the purpose of thus encrusting the outside of made dishes, like croquettes. Color of fried articles. The mistake should not be made of leaving articles too long in the fat; a lemon color, which is the one desired, is quickly attained. When lifted from the fat, the basket should be held for a few minutes, or until through dripping, over the kettle, which is the hottest place to be found, the articles then placed on a brown paper without touching one another, and set in the open oven, or on the hot shelf, until perfectly dry. If so treated the grease will evaporate, and the articles become so free from it as not to leave a mark on the napkin on which they are served. Articles properly prepared and fried in this manner can be no more unwholesome than meat which is basted with drippings. The fat should be given time to again rise to the smoking heat before a second basketful of articles is immersed. When frying articles which take a little time to cook, the pot should be drawn to a cooler part of the range, after the first few minutes. The coating will then be formed, and the cooking can proceed more slowly, and the articles will not brown too much before they are cooked. Croquettes, being made of cooked meat, need to remain in the fat only long enough to color and become heated.

See caption
FRYING KETTLE AND BASKET.

1. Frying Kettle.

2. Wire Basket and Iron Spoon for lifting the Frying Basket. (See page 72.)

TO CLARIFY FAT

Bubbling fat. When fat becomes discolored and unfit for use, stir into it when melted one half teaspoonful of baking soda and a quart of water. Let it boil for a little time, take off the scum that rises, and set the pot aside until cold. Remove the cake of grease, scrape off all the impurities, put it again on the fire, where it will melt but will not be agitated, and let it remain undisturbed until all the water has evaporated and the remaining impurities have settled to the bottom; then pour off the clear grease. When fat bubbles it means there is water in it, not that it is hot.

TO TRY OUT SUET AND OTHER FATS

Cut the fat into pieces, place it in a shallow pan over moderate heat until the fat is melted, then strain it through a cloth. There will be no odor from the fat if not placed where it becomes too hot. All kinds of fats are good for frying except mutton fat, turkey fat, and fat from smoked meats; these can be used for making soap, as directed on page 259.

TO PREPARE ARTICLES FOR FRYING BY COVERING THEM WITH EGG AND CRUMBS

The Crumbs. All scraps of bread should be saved for crumbs, as directed on page 51, the crusts being separated from the white part, then dried, rolled, and sifted. The brown crumbs are good for the first coating, the white ones for the outside, as they give better color. Where a very delicate color is wanted, bread grated from a stale loaf or rubbed through a coarse sieve gives better results; the fresh crumbs need not be very fine. Cracker crumbs give a smooth surface and are better for oysters than bread crumbs, but for most things bread crumbs are preferable. For meats a little salt and pepper, and for sweet articles a little sugar, should be mixed with the crumbs. Crumbs left on the board should be dried, sifted, and kept to be used again.

The Egg. The whole egg is generally used. The white alone will serve, but not the yolk alone, as it is the albumen which is needed. The albumen quickly coagulates when put into the hot fat, and forms a coating through which the grease will not penetrate. To one egg is added one tablespoonful of water, so as to make it thin enough to run and remove the stringiness of the egg; these are beaten lightly together, but should not be foamy, as bubbles break and leave holes for the grease to enter. Where delicate color is wanted, it is better to use the white of the egg only and fresh crumbs. Turn the crumbs on to a board; roll the articles first in the crumbs to dry them well, then place them in the beaten egg one at a time, and with a spoon pour the egg over and moisten them thoroughly; return them to the board, and completely cover them with crumbs. Molding. Soft, creamy mixtures like croquettes require delicate handling, and are easier to manage if first made into a ball,—molding them into shape being left until the second crumbing, at which time they can be rolled into cylindrical form and the ends flattened by dropping them lightly on the board. They will keep their shape better if, after being prepared, they are allowed to stand an hour or more before being fried. (See croquettes, page 293.)

LARDING

Cutting lardoons. Larding is simply drawing small pieces of salt pork through the surface of meat. It is easily done, and so much improves lean, dry pieces of meat as to well repay the trouble. The pork for larding is best cut lengthwise with the rind, and that nearest the rind is the firmest. Cut it into slices, one quarter inch thick, and then into strips one quarter inch wide and two inches long. The lardoons can be made firmer by placing them on ice, but ordinarily this is not necessary. The larding needle holding a lardoon is pressed through the surface of the meat, taking a stitch about a quarter inch deep and an inch long, then drawn through, leaving the lardoon projecting on both sides. The stitches should be taken at regular intervals, so as to appear ornamental, and when all the lardoons are in they should be cut even. For birds or small pieces, the lardoons would of course be cut of a size to suit the needle used.

See caption
1. PIECE OF MEAT LARDED. 2. LARDING NEEDLES. 3. LARDOONS.

DAUBING

Daubing is cutting through the entire thickness of the meat in several places and inserting lardoons of salt pork. The cut is made with a thin, sharp knife.

BONING

Cutting the meat free from the bones, leaving the meat whole, is called boning. This is easily done with a sharp-pointed knife, and requires but little practice to accomplish successfully. Fowls. Directions for boning fowls are given on page 181. Boned fowls are usually made into galantine, but they are also good when stuffed and pressed into natural shape, or to imitate a duck or a rabbit and served hot. Meats. The butcher will remove the bones from joints of meat when requested. Boned meats make an agreeable change, and in the case of shoulder pieces make them suitable to serve as roasts (see pages 163 and 168). Chops with the bones removed, the tail ends wrapped around the meat and secured with wooden toothpicks or with small skewers until cooked, resemble in form filets mignons.

MEASURING

Measuring-cup. Exact measurements are an important factor in the success of cooking, therefore a definite understanding of what a cupful or a spoonful means is requisite. A cupful means one half pint. A tin cup holding this amount is as necessary as a quart measure in every kitchen. They can be bought for ten cents apiece in any house-furnishing store. A spoonful of butter, lard, sugar, or flour means a rounding spoonful, as much rising above the spoon as is held in the bowl. A spoonful of salt or spices means only as much as the bowl holds, the top being smoothed off with a knife.77-* One half spoonful means the half of the contents of the bowl divided lengthwise. A heaping spoonful means as much as the spoon can be made to hold. A table giving comparative weights and measures is given on page 387.

See caption
MEASURING CUP AND SPOONS.

1. Tin measuring cup holding one half-pint.

2. Spoonful of salt, pepper or spices.

3. One half spoonful.

4. Spoonful of flour, sugar, or butter.

5. Heaping spoonful. (See page 77.)

STIRRING AND BEATING

These two methods should not be confused. The object of stirring is to mix the materials. The spoon is held on the bottom of the dish, and the materials rubbed and pressed together as much as possible. It is not essential to always stir one way. The object of beating is to get air into the mixture to make it lighter, which is done by continuously lifting it up in the same way; therefore a beaten mixture must not be stirred, or the imprisoned bubbles of air will be broken and the result of the beating lost.

HOW TO STONE OLIVES

With a sharp-pointed knife cut through the olive to the stone on the blossom end and pare off the meat, turning the olive around three times, keeping the knife at not too sharp an angle close to the stone. The meat will then be in one curled piece, which can be pressed into its original shape again.

HOW TO CUT BACON

Place the bacon on a board with the rind down. With a very sharp knife slice the bacon very thin down to the rind, but do not try to cut through it. When enough slices are cut, run the knife under, keeping it close to the rind, and the slices will be free.

See caption
CUTTING BACON. (SEE PAGE 78.)

HOW TO EXTRACT ONION JUICE

Cut an onion across and press it against a coarse grater, moving it a very little; the juice will then run off the point of the grater.

CARAMEL

Caramel is used to color soup, gravies, etc., and serves also as a flavoring for desserts. It must be used with care for coloring, as it also sweetens. The flavor of caramel depends upon the degree to which the sugar is cooked before the water is added. It grows stronger as it becomes browner.

Put one half cupful of granulated sugar and two tablespoonfuls of water into a granite-ware saucepan, stir until the sugar has melted, then let it cook without stirring until it has turned dark brown, but not black, then add one half cupful of hot water, and let it simmer until the sugar is dissolved and cooked to a thin syrup.

TO MAKE ROUX

Put one tablespoonful of butter into a saucepan. When it bubbles add one tablespoonful of flour and let them cook together for a few minutes, stirring all the time. If it is to be used as thickening for a white sauce or soup, do not let it color. If for brown soup or sauce, let it become brown. This amount is sufficient to thicken one cupful of milk or of stock, to make a sauce, or to thicken one pint or more of soup.

Roux can be prepared and kept in jars ready for use. The proportion of equal quantities of butter and flour is usually taken, and is the rule, but in some cases double the flour is used. The flour cooked in this way gives a better result than when rubbed with the butter and stirred into the liquid. Cooking flour in hot fat seems to more surely burst the starch-grains, which removes the raw taste it is likely to have if cooked only in the boiling liquid.

TO MARINATE

Make a mixture in the proportion of three tablespoonfuls of vinegar to two of oil, one teaspoonful of salt, one quarter teaspoonful of pepper, one bay-leaf, one teaspoonful onion juice, and a sprig of parsley. Put it on a flat dish and lay any cooked or raw meat in the marinade for an hour or more before using, turning the pieces often. Enough flavor is absorbed to much improve meats or fish to be used for salads, fish to be fried or boiled, and other cases given in receipts. The onion juice may be omitted if desired.

SALPICON

A salpicon is a mixture of cooked meats, which are cut into dice and combined with a sauce, mushrooms, and truffles. Chicken, sweetbreads, and tongue mixed with mushrooms and truffles and moistened with a Béchamel sauce, is a combination often used. Salpicon is used in timbales, patties, and vol-au-vent. A mixture of fruits seasoned with sugar and wine is also called a salpicon.

SEASONING AND FLAVORING.

Condiments. The savoriness of a dish can often be much enhanced by adding a few drops of Worcestershire sauce, of mushroom or tomato catsup, of kitchen bouquet, by a few celery seeds, a bay-leaf, or a sprig of some dried herb. A little tarragon vinegar or a few capers will often much improve a salad.

Almonds.A half dozen chopped almonds will greatly improve a bread pudding or any other simple dessert.
Orange peel.A few shreds of candied orange peel will give a delicious flavor to puddings, sauces, and cake.

A flavor of almonds, orange- or rose-water, sherry, or maraschino, will be an agreeable change from vanilla, and much more wholesome.

Some cooks feel they are called upon to do fancy cooking if expected to use a bay-leaf or an almond; others feel a receipt is extravagant or impracticable if it calls for anything in the line of flavors beyond salt and pepper, lemon juice, vanilla, or raisins; but there is no more extravagance in using different condiments than in using always the same, or those which from habit have established themselves in the favor of every housekeeper. None of the condiments are expensive, and so little is used at a time that one bottleful lasts a long time. All the flavoring extracts are the same price, and the expense of a few almonds is only nominal, therefore it is a pity not to have a variety of such articles in the dresser, and give variety to dishes by at least the very simple means of changing flavors. A cottage pudding with a little shredded orange peel, nuts, or cocoanut in it, or with a chocolate, wine, or méringue sauce, will be an agreeable change from the plain pudding with hard sauce. The same may be said of a corn-starch or a rice pudding, of a custard, and of many other things.

CROÛTONS AND CROUSTADES

Croûtons or crusts are used in pea, bean, and all cream soups, for garnishing all kinds of stewed dishes, and for any dish with which toast would be acceptable. When cut large and filled they are called croustades.

To make croûtons or croustades, cut bread into the desired shape and sauté the pieces in hot butter, or dip them in melted butter and toast them carefully in the oven, turning frequently, so they will be evenly colored; or they may be fried in smoking-hot fat. They should be crisp and dry and the color of amber.

They are made of various sizes and shapes to suit the uses they are to serve. For soups the bread is cut into cubes one quarter inch square or into fancy shapes; for garnishing meat dishes they are cut into diamonds, squares, triangles, and circles; for sippets to eat with boiled eggs, into strips one half inch wide and four inches long; for poached eggs, into circles four inches in diameter.

For Soups. To make croûtons for soup, cut bread into slices one quarter of an inch thick, take off the crust, then cut it into strips one quarter of an inch wide and then across into even squares; or with vegetable cutters cut the sliced bread into fancy shapes.

Triangles. For triangles, cut a slice of bread one half inch thick, then into strips one and a quarter inches wide, then into pieces two or three inches long, then diagonally across.

Pyramidal Pieces. For pyramidal pieces, cut the bread into one inch squares and cut diagonally across the cube. When used for garnishing they may be moistened a little on one side with white of egg, and will then stick to the dish sufficiently to hold in place. A circle of pyramidal pieces makes a good border to inclose minced meat, creamed fish, etc.

Circles. Circles for poached eggs are cut with a biscuit cutter three inches in diameter, and may be toasted in the ordinary way if preferred.

Boxes. For boxes cut bread from which the crust has been removed into pieces two and a half inches thick, two and a half inches wide and three and a half inches long, then with a pointed knife cut a line around the inside one half of an inch from the edge and carefully remove the crumb, leaving a box with sides and bottom one half inch in thickness. The boxes may be cut round if preferred, using two sizes of biscuit cutters. They are browned the same as other croûtons, and are used for creamed spinach, creamed chicken, creamed fish, etc.

A five cent square loaf of bread cuts to good advantage.

See caption
CROÛTONS AND CROUSTADES. (SEE PAGE 81.)

1. Sippets to use with boiled eggs.

2. Pyramidal Pieces for Borders.

3, 4, 6. Bread Boxes.

5. Triangles for Garnishing.

7. Croustade for Poached Egg, Creamed Meats, etc.

8. Croûtons for Soups.

CHARTREUSE

Chartreuse is a liqueur made by the monks of the French monastery of Grande Chartreuse; but a class of dishes has also been given this name, where two or more foods are used one of which conceals the others. The story goes that on fast days the monks were thus able to indulge in forbidden food, and savory viands were hidden under cabbage or other severely plain articles. Chartreuses are made by lining a mold with rice, a vegetable, or a forcemeat, and filling the center with a different food. Two vegetables are sometimes so combined, but more often game or meats are inclosed in rice and served with a good sauce. (See illustration facing page 190.)

En Bellevue. Fruits are made into chartreuses by inclosing them in blanc-mange or puddings. When meats are molded in aspic jelly they are called “En Bellevue” as in this case they are not concealed.

See caption
SOME USEFUL UTENSILS.

1, 2. Small Pointed Knives for Vegetables, Boning, etc.

3. Fluted Knife for cutting potato straws, or cutting vegetables into fancy shapes.

4. Tuller Knife. Useful for pastry and all work done on a board.

5. Broad-bladed Knife or Spatula.

6. Saw.

7. Bread or Cake Knife.

8, 9. Small Wooden Spoons.

77-* Cooking schools have recently adopted the rule of using even spoonfuls for every spoon measurement. This ensures great exactness.—M. R.

Chapter II

SOUPS

As nothing is easier than making good soups, they should be the first lesson in cooking.

They are one of the most nutritious and inexpensive foods presented, and have a very wide range, extending from the clear, transparent soups, through many degrees of consistency, color and material, to the heavy varieties which contain enough nourishment for a meal in themselves. The pot-au-feu as managed in the families of the French peasantry furnishes their chief source of diet. The pot on the fire receives every bit of nutritious material of every kind; by slow cooking the juices and flavors are extracted, and a savory combination is made which is both pleasant to the taste and satisfying to the hunger.

The stock-pot should be on every range, and its contents ever ready to be drawn upon, not only for soup, but for sauces, and for flavoring the numerous dishes which can be enriched and improved by stock.84-*

The many kinds of soups are variations of the few kinds of stock.

Brown Stock, see page 88. The brown stock is made from beef, or from beef, veal, and fowl combined, and mixed vegetables.

White Stock, see page 99. White stock is made of veal and chicken together, or from veal alone, seasoned with onion, celery, white pepper, and salt, nothing being used which will give color.

Chicken Consommé or Broth, see page 98. Chicken stock is made from the fowl alone, and seasoned with celery, white pepper, and salt.

Cream Soups, see page 105. Cream soups are made without stock, the basis being vegetables boiled and mashed to a purée by being pressed through a colander or sieve, then mixed with cream or milk and seasoned to taste.

Soup Meats. The meats used for soups are: the lower or tough part of the round, the shin, and the neck pieces of beef, the knuckle of veal, and fowls. Mutton is not used except for mutton broth. A very little ham is sometimes used; game also gives good flavor.

Bones contain gelatine and cause the stock to jelly when cold.

Soup Vegetables. The soup vegetables are onions, carrots, turnips, and celery. They are cut into small pieces and are sometimes fried before being added to the soup pot.

The Bouquet. Parsley wrapped around peppercorns, cloves, bay-leaves and other herbs, excepting sage, and tied, makes what is called a bouquet. In this shape the herbs are more easily removed.

Proportions. The proportions are one quart of cold water to a pound of meat, and to four quarts of water one each of the vegetables of medium size, named above, two sticks of celery, and a bouquet containing one root of parsley with leaves, one bay-leaf, twelve peppercorns, six cloves,—one sprig of thyme, and sweet marjoram if desired.

The order of preparing Soups. In making good soup the first essential is a perfectly clean pot. I would emphasize the word clean. First have the pot thoroughly washed with soda and water to remove any grease, then scoured with sapolio to take off any bits of burned or hardened matter.

The meat should be wiped clean with a wet cloth and carefully examined to see if there are any tainted spots, then cut into pieces about one and a half inches square (except in the case where a round of beef is used, which is to be removed when tender and served as bouilli). The meat and bones must be put into cold water in order to extract the juices, and never be allowed to boil. Slow cooking best effects the object desired (see article on boiling, page 67). After the meat has stood fifteen minutes in cold water, put it on the fire, cover, and let it come slowly to the simmering-point, then place on the back of range to simmer for six hours or more. An hour before the cooking is completed, add the vegetables, cut into small pieces. When the soup is to be served clear, it is well to remove the scum as it rises, but this is not essential, for much of it comes off when the soup is strained, and perfectly clear soup requires clarifying in any case. The French receipts all say remove the scum, but as it is a nutrient part of the meat, unless clearness is desired, it seems better to let it remain during the period of cooking.

Removing the Grease. When the soup has simmered five or six hours, it should be strained into an earthen bowl and left to cool uncovered. Under no circumstances let it stand in the pot after it is cooked. The grease will rise to the top and form a cake which can be easily removed when cold. Any little particles which may stick to the jelly may be wiped off with a cloth wet in hot water. Where a quantity of stock is made at one time, it is well to strain it into two or even three bowls; the grease forms an air-tight cover and will help to keep it from souring. Stock should be made the day before it is to be used in order to let the grease rise and the floating particles settle, but where it is needed at once, the grease that cannot be skimmed off with a spoon can be absorbed by passing tissue paper over it carefully.

Clarifying. Soup can be made perfectly clear by taking the jellied stock from which every particle of grease and sediment has been removed, and stirring into it, while cold, the slightly-beaten white and crushed shell of one egg to each quart of stock. It must be stirred constantly until the soup is hot enough to coagulate the albumen, by which time it has thoroughly mixed with and imprisoned the fine particles which cloud the liquid. Let it boil violently for five minutes, then let it stand five minutes longer on the side of the range to settle. Strain through a fine cloth laid on a sieve. Let it drain through without pressing. In some cases a small bit of lemon rind used with the egg in clearing gives a pleasant flavor to the soup. After clearing it will ordinarily need to be heated again before serving. In high-class cooking, soups are cleared with chopped raw meat or chicken, which adds to, instead of detracting from the richness of the soup. The albumen of egg does not materially affect the quality of the soup, and is recommended for general practice.87-*

Coloring. If a deeper color is wanted, it may be obtained by adding a very little caramel (see page 78) or a few drops of a preparation called “Kitchen Bouquet.” Artificial coloring, however, is not so good as that obtained by browning the vegetables and part of the meat before adding them to the soup pot. (See brown stock, page 88.)

Names. The meat soups are called broths, bouillon, or consommé, according to their richness.

The purées are thick soups made with or without stock, the basis being mashed vegetables or meat pounded to a paste.

Meat Stock. Stock made of meat alone will keep better than where vegetables are used. In warm weather it is well to have it so prepared.

COMMON STOCK (POT-AU-FEU)

For this stock pieces of fresh or cooked meat are used, also all odds and ends, chicken bones, gravies, cooked or raw vegetables, etc. Water in which fish or vegetables (excepting cabbage or potatoes) have been boiled may or may not be used. They are put together cold and are simmered for five or six hours, then strained through a colander into an earthen bowl and left to cool uncovered. Clear soup should not be attempted with this stock, but it is good to combine with vegetables for vegetable soup, or with other mixtures like rice, bits of meat, chicken, gumbo, etc., for soup and to use for sauces and seasoning.

BEEF OR BROWN STOCK

8 lbs. of shin of beef.

8 quarts of cold water.

1 medium-sized carrot.

1 medium-sized turnip.

1 parsley root and leaves.

1 onion.

1 stick of celery.

12 peppercorns.

6 cloves.

1 tablespoonful of salt.

Rub with a wet cloth the outside of the shin of beef, which has been well broken by the butcher. Take the meat from the bones and cut it into small pieces. Put aside a half pound of the meat. Place the rest of the meat and the bones in a perfectly clean pot with the cold water, and let it stand fifteen to twenty minutes, or until the water is red; then place them on the fire and let them come slowly to the simmering point. Meanwhile, place in a sauté-pan some of the marrow from the bones, or a tablespoonful of drippings. When the fat is hot put in the half pound of reserved meat and cook it until it is well browned. When the water in the pot has begun to simmer, put in the browned meat and rinse the sauté-pan with a few spoonfuls of water so none of the value of the browned meat will be lost. This will give good color and also flavor to the soup. Place the pot where the water will simmer only, and leave it to cook for six hours, or until the meat is cooked to shreds and its nutriment fully extracted. Add the vegetables, which have been well washed, scraped, and cut into pieces, one hour before the cooking is completed, and add the salt just before removing the stock from the fire.

If a clear soup is not desired, the care to keep it below the boiling point is not essential. (See note, page 87.)

When the stock is done strain it through a close cloth or a fine sieve into an earthen bowl, and let it cool without covering.

When ready to serve, remove the grease, clear it if desired for transparent soup, add more pepper and salt to taste.

FOR MACARONI, NOODLE, VERMICELLI, VEGETABLE OR PRINTANIÈRE, JULIENNE, TAPIOCA, AND CROÛTE-AU-POT SOUPS,

Take as much of the beef stock as will be needed, allowing one half pint for each person, remove all the grease, heat it, and season to taste. Just before serving add any of the above articles, which must have been boiled separately. The soup will then have the name of the ingredient used.

Julienne. Julienne does not differ from the vegetable soup except in the form given the vegetables. For julienne, the outside or deep yellow of the carrot, turnip, and celery are cut, with a knife which comes for the purpose, into thin, thread-like pieces about two inches long. The shredded vegetables must be boiled before being added to the soup, and care used to prevent their breaking or becoming too soft to hold their form, or they may be fried in butter until tender. Green peas, asparagus tips, and flowerets of cauliflower may also be added. (See illustration facing page 92.)

Printanière. Any vegetables may be used for vegetable soup, but judgment should be shown in the combination. They may be made ornamental by being cut into fancy shapes with cutters, or into balls with a small potato scoop, or they may be cut into dice.

See caption
PRINTANIÈRE AND JULIENNE SOUP VEGETABLES. (SEE PAGE 89.)

1, 2, 3. Cutters used for cutting vegetables for Printanière Soup.

4. Vegetables prepared for Printanière Soup.

5. Knife for cutting vegetables into Julienne.

6. Julienne.

Tapioca. Pearl tapioca boiled to clearness makes a very pretty thickening to clear soup.

Croûte au Pot. Small pieces of toast or thin shavings of stale bread are added to the tureen just before serving to make the croûte-au-pot. The soup should be served before the bread dissolves or gets very soft.

For julienne, tapioca, and croûte-au-pot, the soup should be perfectly clear and a deep amber color.

Garnishes for Soups. Other garnishes which may be added to soups are: Force-meat balls (see page 92); yolks of hard-boiled eggs; egg balls (see page 92); royal custard (see page 92); fried croûtons (see page 81); noodles (see page 93); dumplings (see page 170); thin cross-cuts of celery; thin slices of lemon, one for each plate; grated Parmesan cheese (passed); macaroni cut into pieces one eighth of an inch thick, making rings; sweet potato balls (see page 94); marrow balls (see page 94); green pea timbale (see page 94); harlequin slices (see page 94); with consommé, a poached egg for each portion.

THICKENING FOR SOUPS

Roux (see page 79) makes the best thickening for soups which are not clear, using brown or white roux according to the color of the soup. Thin the roux with a little soup, so it will be smooth before adding it to the soup kettle. Roux added to pea, bean, and potato soups prevents their separating.

A thickening of eggs is made as follows: Beat two or three yolks and dilute them with a half a cupful of cream or milk or cold soup. Stir in a few spoonfuls of the hot soup to warm it. Remove the soup from the fire and stir in slowly the egg mixture, return it to the fire to cook the egg, but do not let it boil, or it may curdle.

Clear soups are sometimes thickened by using one teaspoonful of arrowroot to a quart of soup. Mix the arrowroot with a little of the cold soup, turn it into the hot soup, and cook until it becomes clear. A clear soup so thickened may be flavored with sherry.

GARNISHES FOR SOUPS

ROYALE

A CUSTARD TO SERVE WITH CONSOMMÉ

2 yolks.

1 entire egg.

⅓ teaspoonful of salt.

Dash of cayenne.

½ cupful of beef stock.

Beat the eggs well, but not to a froth. Add one third of a teaspoonful of salt and one half cupful of clear beef stock. Pour the mixture into a small pan or flat dish, so it will be about one half inch deep. Set the pan into another one containing hot water and place them in a very moderate oven, so that the custard will set without bubbles and without browning on top. Let the custard become perfectly cold. Without removing it from the pan, cut it into cubes one half inch square, or into fancy forms, with vegetable cutters.

These pieces should be placed carefully in the consommé after it is in the tureen, allowing three or four pieces to each portion of soup.

FORCE-MEAT BALLS

Chop any cooked meat very fine, season highly with salt, pepper, thyme, onion juice, lemon juice, and herbs if desired; add enough yolk of egg to moisten and bind the meat. Mold into balls one half inch in diameter, roll the balls in flour, and poach them in boiling water, or they may be fried in butter.

Force-meat balls may also be made of raw meat prepared as for timbale paste (see page 297).

See caption
RADISHES CUT TO IMITATE ROSES.

EGG BALLS

Rub to a paste, with a wooden spoon, the yolks of hard-boiled eggs; season with salt, pepper, and butter; add enough raw yolk to bind the paste; form it into balls one half the size of a natural yolk; roll them in white of egg and then in flour, and poach the balls in boiling water for a few minutes.

Three yolks will make five balls. One ball is enough to allow to each portion of soup.

NOODLES

Several dishes may be made from noodles.

To three eggs (slightly beaten) mixed with two tablespoonfuls of water and a little salt, add enough flour to make a stiff dough; work it well for fifteen or twenty minutes, adding flour when necessary. When it is smooth and elastic, cut off a small piece at a time and roll it as thin as a wafer. It can be rolled very thin by placing a cloth under it. Sprinkle the thin sheet with flour, and roll it into a rather tight roll. With a sharp knife cut it, from the end,—into threads, if for soup; if to use as a vegetable, into ribbons one quarter inch wide. Let them dry an hour or more. They will keep the same as macaroni.

See caption
NOODLES. (SEE PAGE 93.)

1. Sheet of Noodle Paste.

2. Noodles for Soup.

3. Noodles to serve as vegetable.

4. Noodle Balls.

5. Sheet of Noodle Paste Rolled.

6. Paste cut from Roll.

7. Noodle Paste cut for Balls before being fried.

NOODLES SERVED AS A VEGETABLE

Throw a few noodles at a time into boiling, salted water; boil them until they are done, separating them carefully with a fork to prevent their matting together. Skim them out when done, and keep them on a warm dish on the hot shelf until enough are cooked. Season with butter. Put them in the dish in which they are to be served, and sprinkle over them bread crumbs browned in hot butter to a golden color. This dish may be served with fish, with meat, or as a course by itself. Noodles may also be cooked like macaroni, with cheese.

NOODLE BALLS

Take some of the noodle paste made as directed above. Roll it as thin as possible, then place it on a floured napkin and roll until it is as thin as paper; fold it double, and cut it into circles one quarter inch in diameter, using a small vegetable cutter or pastry bag tube. Fry them in smoking hot fat, tossing them in the frying basket so that they will color evenly. They will puff into balls and color in one minute. Drain and place them on paper on the hot shelf. Sprinkle them on the soup after it is in the tureen, or better pass them, as they soften very quickly.

MARROW BALLS

Melt a tablespoonful of marrow and strain it through a cloth, or fine sieve, into a bowl; beat it till creamy, then add an egg and beat again thoroughly. Season with pepper, salt, and a little nutmeg. Add to this mixture as much soft bread as it will moisten. Roll it into small balls and poach in boiling water. Place them in the soup just before serving.

SWEET POTATO BALLS

Mash some cooked sweet potatoes, season with butter, salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and a little grated cheese. Moisten with beaten egg; roll into small balls and poach in boiling water. Put the balls into the soup the last thing before serving.

GREEN PEA TIMBALE FOR SOUP

Mix one half cupful of mashed green peas with one tablespoonful of soup stock and three whites of eggs; season with salt, pepper, and a little nutmeg. Beat well together and place in a small mold or flat tin. Set the mold into hot water and place in slow oven until the mixture is set. When it is firm, unmold, cut into small cubes, and put them in the soup just before serving.

HARLEQUIN SLICES

Cut into small squares some cooked carrots, turnips, and string beans. Arrange them in timbale cups, mixing the vegetables together; fill the cups up with royale mixture. (See above.) Set them into hot water and cook in slow oven until the custard is firm. Unmold when cold, and cut with a sharp knife into slices one eighth of an inch thick. Place these in the soup just before serving.

BROTHS

CHICKEN BROTH

1 fowl.

4 quarts of cold water.

½ cupful of rice.

Salt and pepper.

Clean the fowl carefully; wash it with a wet cloth; cut it into pieces and remove the fat. Place the joints in a saucepan with a quart of water to each pound of fowl. Let it simmer until the meat is tender; then remove the breast; after four hours take it off and strain it through a sieve. Let the soup stand until the grease rises; then carefully remove it, and put the soup again in the saucepan; add the breast of the chicken, cut into dice, and the half cupful of rice; salt and pepper to taste, and cook until the rice is tender.

CLAM BROTH

12 large hard-shelled clams for 1 pint of broth.

Boil the clams and juice for twenty minutes; strain and let it stand to settle; strain it again carefully into a saucepan, and let it boil up once; season with butter and pepper—no salt—and serve in cups with whipped cream on top.

To open the clams and obtain the juice, place the clams, after they have been carefully washed with a brush and clear water, in a saucepan; add two tablespoonfuls of hot water; cover and let them steam until the shells open; then strain off the liquor.

MUTTON BROTH

The neck or shoulder-pieces may be used for broth. The meat should be cut into pieces and the fat removed. To each pound of meat add one quart of cold water; simmer for four or five hours; strain it into an earthen bowl; when ready to serve, remove the grease, and add to each quart of stock one stick of celery, two tablespoonfuls of rice, salt and pepper to taste, and boil until the rice is soft.

The water in which a leg of mutton has been boiled will make a good mutton soup, but is not rich enough for a broth to be served to an invalid.

Broth Made Quickly for Invalids. Broth may be made quickly by chopping lean meat to a fine mince. To a pound of meat add one pint of cold water; let soak for fifteen minutes; then let slowly boil for half an hour; season and strain.

SOUPS

BOUILLON

(3 PINTS. TIME, 5 HOURS)

3 lbs. of beef cut from under side of round and chopped to a mince.

3 quarts of cold water.

1 onion.

½ carrot.

1 sprig of parsley.

2 sticks of celery.

1 bay-leaf.

2 cloves.

6 peppercorns.

1 teaspoonful of salt added just before taking the soup off the fire.

Take three pounds of beef cut from the lower part of round, remove all the fat, and chop the meat to a fine mince. Place the chopped meat in a saucepan with three quarts of cold water, and let it stand one hour; then put it on the fire, cover, and let it come slowly to the boiling-point, taking off any scum that rises. Then place it where it will only simmer. After it has simmered for four hours add the vegetables cut into dice, and the spices, and let it simmer one hour longer. Strain into an earthen bowl and let it cool without covering. This stock will not jelly, as no bones are boiled with it.

When ready to use remove grease, season, if necessary, with pepper and salt, and put into saucepan with three fourths of a pound of lean meat chopped fine, and the white of one egg. Stir until it boils; let it boil for fifteen minutes. Lay a fine cloth on a sieve and strain through it the bouillon without pressing. It should be perfectly clear and of the color of amber. It can be served in cups. A little sherry may be added, if liked, when served at afternoon teas.

CONSOMMÉ98-*

4 lbs. lower part round of beef.

4 lbs. knuckle of veal.

2 tablespoonfuls of butter.

6 quarts of cold water.

1 large onion.

½ carrot.

3 stalks of celery.

1 tablespoonful of salt.

2 sprigs of parsley.

15 peppercorns.

3 cloves.

1 inch square of cinnamon.

A little thyme.

A little marjoram.

A little summer savory.

2 bay-leaves.

Cut the beef into pieces one inch square. Remove the veal from the bone, and cut it also into small pieces. Put one tablespoonful of butter into a very clean soup-pot with the pieces of meat, and stir over a hot fire until the meat is browned, care being taken that it does not burn; then add one quart of water, and let it cook until a glaze has formed on the bottom of the kettle, which will take about one hour. Then add five quarts of cold water and let it come slowly to the boiling-point. Set the soup-pot back on the fire and let the soup simmer for six hours. Remove the scum from time to time as it rises. One hour before the time for removing the soup add to it the vegetables, which have been cut fine and browned in one tablespoonful of butter. Add also the herbs and spices, and one tablespoonful of salt. When it has simmered six hours, strain it through a fine cloth, laid on a sieve, into an earthen bowl, and let it cool without covering. A fowl added to this receipt will give the soup a more delicate flavor. If used it should be put in the pot at the time the five quarts of water are added. The veal-bone may also go in at this time; but the soup will not be so clear if the bone is used. If a chicken is used it may be removed from the stock when tender and used for other purposes.

OX-TAIL SOUP

2 ox-tails.

1 onion.

1 tablespoonful of drippings or of salt pork.

4 quarts of cold water.

1 stick of celery.

1 root of parsley.

3 cloves.

6 peppercorns.

1 tablespoonful of salt.

Cut the ox-tails into pieces, separating them at the joints. Sauté the onion and the ox-tails in the drippings to a delicate brown. Put the meat in the soup-pot with four quarts of cold water. Let it come to the boiling-point; add the vegetables and spices, and simmer for four hours, then add the salt. Strain, take off the grease. Select some of the pieces of ox-tail, one piece for each portion, and place them in the tureen with the soup. Ox-tails are gelatinous and make a smooth soup.

WHITE STOCK

1 knuckle of veal.

1 fowl.

Bouquet of herbs.

1 onion.

2 stalks of celery.

1 small turnip cut into dice.

1 small carrot cut into dice.

Cut the meat from the bone. Wash the skin of the fowl (see page 180). Allow one quart of cold water to each pound of meat and bone. Place all in a kettle. Cover and let simmer four or five hours. Strain into an earthen bowl, and let cool uncovered.

White stock may be made of veal alone. If a fowl is used, the breast and second joints may be removed when tender, and used for other dishes (croquettes, soufflé, imperiale, etc.). A part of the veal may also be removed, and used for veal loaf (see page 171).

WHITE SOUP

1 pint of white stock.

1 pint of milk or cream.

1 tablespoonful of butter.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Chicken, veal, or celery (cut into small dice), or rice.

1 tablespoonful of flour.

Put one pint of milk or cream into a double boiler; add to it one pint of white stock, and a white roux made of one tablespoonful of butter and one tablespoonful of flour cooked together, but not browned. Dilute the roux to smoothness with a little of the cold milk before adding it to the soup. Let it come to the boiling-point. Season to taste, and strain into the tureen; then add one tablespoonful or more of chicken breast, veal, or celery (cut into small dice), or rice. If desired, two or more of these may be used, and the yolk of a hard-boiled egg, pressed through a sieve, sprinkled over the top. This quantity gives but one quart of soup; enough to serve to four people.

CHICKEN CONSOMMÉ, OR STOCK

Place a fowl, cut into pieces, in four quarts of cold water; let come slowly to the boiling-point; then draw it to the side of range and simmer for three hours. At the end of this time add one slice of onion, two sticks of celery, one tablespoonful of salt, one saltspoonful of pepper, and simmer one or two hours longer; strain into earthen bowl, and let cool without covering.

This stock may be cleared the same as beef stock, and served in cups for luncheon. It may also be mixed with gelatine, cleared, and used for aspic, in Russian salads, jellied chicken, etc. (see page 323).

The meat from the breast and second joints may be removed from the stock-pot, when tender, and reserved for timbales, croquettes, patties, etc.

If this soup is not rich enough, it can be reduced by opening the lid of the pot, after it has simmered the required time, and allowed to boil uncovered until as rich as desired.

PLAIN CHICKEN SOUP

1 fowl.

4 quarts of water.

1 cupful of rice.

1 slice of onion.

2 sticks of celery.

1 sprig of parsley.

Place the fowl, cut into pieces, in a saucepan with four quarts of cold water; when it comes to the boiling-point, draw it aside and let it simmer for three hours; then add one thick slice of onion, two sticks of celery, one sprig of parsley, and one cupful of rice, and simmer for another hour; strain and let the soup stand until the grease can be taken off the top. Remove the meat, bones, and vegetables from the strainer, and press the rice through the sieve; stir this into the soup; season with salt and pepper, and heat again before serving; a little cream may also be added. This soup is also good thickened with a little roux or with corn-starch. For the latter, take two tablespoonfuls of the cold stock; stir into it one tablespoonful of corn-starch; then stir it into the soup, and let cook for ten minutes to take away the raw taste of the starch, and to make it clear. Pieces of the breast cut into dice may also be added.

VEGETABLE SOUP

To one quart of common stock add one pint of parboiled mixed vegetables cut into small dice. Simmer until the vegetables are tender but not pasty. Season with salt, pepper, and one teaspoonful of sugar.

Serve without straining.

TOMATO PURÉE

Put into a granite-ware saucepan a quart of canned or of fresh tomatoes; add a pint of water or of stock;—the soup will be better if stock is used;—add also one bay-leaf, a sprig of parsley, a stick of celery, six peppercorns, and a teaspoonful of sugar; simmer until the tomato is thoroughly soft. In another saucepan put a tablespoonful of butter; when it is hot add a sliced onion, and fry, but not brown it; then add a tablespoonful of flour, and cook, but not brown the flour. To this roux add enough of the tomato to dilute it, and then mix it well with the rest of the tomato, and season with salt. Pass the whole through a fine sieve or strainer. Heat it again before serving, and sprinkle over the top small croûtons.

SPLIT-PEA OR BEAN SOUP

1 cupful of split peas, or

1 cupful of dried beans.

1 tablespoonful of butter.

2 quarts of water.

½ teaspoonful of sugar.

1 tablespoonful of flour.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Let the peas or beans soak over night in three quarts of cold water. Put the soaked peas or beans into a saucepan with two quarts of water and a ham-bone, if you have it, otherwise it may be omitted. Let simmer for four or five hours, or until the peas or beans are perfectly soft. (Add more water from time to time, if necessary.) Then pass them through a sieve; add to the pulp enough stock, or milk, or water to make a soup of the consistency of cream. Put it again into a saucepan on the fire; season, and add a roux made of one tablespoonful of butter and one tablespoonful of flour cooked together; dilute the roux to smoothness with a little of the soup before adding it to the pot.

The roux will hold the particles of peas or beans in suspension. Without it they are liable to precipitate.

An onion may be boiled with the peas or beans if desired.

Serve croûtons on the soup, or pass them.

BLACK-BEAN SOUP

2 cupfuls of black beans.

Brown stock.

Brown roux.

Bouquet of herbs, made of a sprig of parsley, a sprig of thyme, one clove.

4 peppercorns, 1 onion.

Egg balls.

Thin slices of lemon.

Force-meat balls.

White of hard-boiled egg.

¼ cupful of sherry or red wine.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Soak two cupfuls of black beans over night. Put the soaked beans into a saucepan with a bouquet of herbs, and cover them with cold water. Let them boil slowly until tender, which will take several hours, adding more water if necessary. When the beans are very soft remove the bouquet, drain off the water, and pass the beans through a purée sieve. Add to the pulp enough brown stock to make a soup of the consistency of thin cream. Place it again on the fire and add a brown roux made of one tablespoonful of butter and one tablespoonful of flour, cooked together until brown; dilute it to smoothness before adding and cook it with the soup for five minutes. This will prevent the soup from separating. Season with salt and pepper. Strain it through a sieve into the tureen; then add thin slices of lemon, egg balls, and force-meat balls, allowing one of each to each portion of soup; add also the white of one hard-boiled egg cut into small dice, and one quarter of a cupful of sherry or red wine.

This resembles mock-turtle soup.

CALF’S-HEAD OR MOCK-TURTLE SOUP

Make a brown roux by putting in a saucepan one tablespoonful of butter, let it brown, add two tablespoonfuls of flour, and let that brown; then add, slowly at first, one and a half or two quarts of water in which a calf’s head has been boiled, white wine instead of vinegar being used in the boiling (see boiled calf’s head, page 175). Add three or four strained tomatoes and simmer for one half hour. Skim off any fat and season with salt and pepper. Add some pieces of boiled calf’s head cut in pieces one half inch square, a few egg balls, two or three tablespoonfuls of sherry, and a few very thin slices of lemon.

FISH STOCK

Put into the soup-pot a tablespoonful of butter or of drippings. Add a tablespoonful each of chopped onion, carrot, and turnip. Fry them without browning, then add fish-bones, head, and trimmings, a stalk of celery, sprigs of parsley and of thyme, a bay-leaf, a tomato or a slice of lemon. Cover with water, and simmer them for an hour or more. Season with salt and pepper. Strain.

When this stock is used for soup, make a roux of one tablespoonful each of butter and flour, add a cupful of milk or cream, and add this amount to each pint of the fish stock.

OYSTER SOUP

Scald a quart, or twenty-five, oysters in their own liquor. As soon as they are plump, or the gills curl, remove them (oysters harden if boiled). Add to the liquor a cupful of water. Make a roux of one tablespoonful each of butter and flour, dilute it with the liquor, and when it is smooth add a cupful of scalded milk or cream. Season with pepper, salt, if necessary, and a dash of cayenne or paprica; then add the oysters, and as soon as they are heated serve at once. In oyster houses finely shredded cabbage with a French dressing is served with oyster soup, and is a good accompaniment when served for luncheon. Oysters should be carefully examined, and the liquor passed through a fine sieve before being cooked, in order to remove any pieces of shell there may be in them.

CLAM SOUP

Remove the clams from the shells as soon as they have opened (see clam broth, page 95). Put them in a warm place, until the juice is prepared. Add a cupful of hot milk to a quart of juice, and thicken it with a roux made of one tablespoonful of butter and one tablespoonful of flour; then add the clams, chopped fine, season, and bring the soup again to the boiling-point and serve. Two spoonfuls of whipped cream served on each plateful of soup is an improvement to the dish.

CREAM SOUPS

ONION SOUP

(A VERY SIMPLE SOUP QUICKLY MADE)

Slice two or three large onions; fry them in a tablespoonful of butter or drippings until they are soft and red, then add three tablespoonfuls of flour, and stir until it is a little cooked. To this add slowly a pint of boiling water, stirring all the time, so it will be smooth.

Boil and mash three good-sized potatoes. Add to them slowly a quart of scalded milk, stirring well so it will be smooth. Add the potato and milk mixture to the onion mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Let it get very hot, and pass it through a strainer into the tureen. Sprinkle over the top a little parsley chopped very fine, and a few croûtons. The soup will be better if stock is used instead of water to dilute the onion mixture.

POTATO SOUP

Boil and mash three or four potatoes.

Make a roux of one tablespoonful of butter, one half tablespoonful of flour, and one teaspoonful of chopped onion, letting the onion cook in the butter a few minutes before adding the flour. When the roux is cooked add to it a pint of milk, making a thin, white sauce. Add this to the mashed potato and pass the whole through a strainer. Return it to the fire for a few minutes to heat and blend it. Season it with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle on the soup, when it is in the tureen, a teaspoonful of chopped parsley and a few croûtons.

If the soup is too thick, add a little more milk or a little hot water. The roux prevents the milk and potato from separating, and also gives it smoothness. The soup can be made richer by using more milk, and stirring into it, just before serving, the beaten yolks of two eggs. This soup may also be made of sweet potatoes.

TOMATO BISQUE

½ can of tomatoes.

1 quart of milk.

2 tablespoonfuls of butter.

1 tablespoonful of corn-starch.

1 teaspoonful of salt.

½ saltspoonful of pepper.

1 saltspoonful of soda.

Dash of cayenne.

Stew the tomatoes until very soft; then pass them through a fine sieve or strainer. Put the strained tomatoes into a granite-ware saucepan, and add one saltspoonful of soda; when it has ceased foaming add the butter, a small piece at a time; if put in all at once it will show an oily line; add salt, pepper, and cayenne.

Put the milk into a double boiler, and stir into it a tablespoonful of corn-starch which has been mixed with a little of the cold milk, to make it smooth; let it scald for ten minutes, or long enough to cook the corn-starch; then pour the milk into the tomatoes, beat well together, and serve at once.

It is better not to add the milk to the tomatoes until just ready to serve, for fear of curdling.

CREAM OF ASPARAGUS; CREAM OF GREEN PEAS; CREAM OF STRING BEANS; CREAM OR SPINACH; CREAM OF CORN; CREAM OF CELERY

These soups are very delicate, and are much esteemed. They are all made in the same way. The vegetable is boiled until soft, and is then pressed through a sieve. A pint of the vegetable pulp is diluted with a quart of stock (the stock may be veal, beef, or chicken broth). It is thickened with a roux made of one tablespoonful of butter and two tablespoonfuls of flour, seasoned with pepper and salt, and is then strained again, so it will be perfectly smooth. It is replaced on the fire, a cupful or a half cupful of cream added, and the whole beaten with an egg-whip to make it light, and is served at once very hot. The French thicken cream soups with egg-yolks. In this case two yolks would be used for the above quantity. The beaten yolks are diluted with the cream, and cooked only just long enough to set the egg. It would curdle if allowed to boil. Butter is needed for seasoning, and where eggs are used it should be added in small bits before the cream and eggs. Where roux is used for thickening, there is enough butter in the roux.

CREAM OF CLAMS

25 large clams.

2 tablespoonfuls of butter.

2 tablespoonfuls of flour.

1½ pints of milk.

Small slice of onion.

Dash of nutmeg.

Salt and pepper.

½ pint of cream.

Wash the clam shells thoroughly with a brush and clear water.

Put them into a pot on the fire with one half cup of boiling water; cover and let steam until the shells open; take out the clams and let the liquor settle; then strain it carefully, and set aside; remove the clams from the shells; chop them, pound them in a mortar, and press as much of them as possible through a purée sieve. Put the milk into a double boiler with the slice of onion. Put the butter into a frying-pan, and when it bubbles, stir into it the flour, and let it cook a few minutes, but not brown; add enough of the milk slowly to make the roux liquid; then add it to the milk in the double boiler, first having removed the slice of onion; add a dash of nutmeg and of pepper, then the cream; when ready to serve, stir in the clam pulp and one pint of the clam liquor; taste to see if salt will be needed. After the clams are added to the milk, leave it on the fire only long enough to get well heated; if boiled, the milk will curdle. Beat a moment with an egg-whisk to make foamy. If the mixture is too thick, it may be diluted with milk or cream.

This is good for luncheon, served in small cups, the top covered with a spoonful of whipped cream.

CREAM OF OYSTERS

Scald a quart of oysters in their own liquor. Remove the oysters; chop and pound them in a mortar, then press as much of them as possible through a purée sieve.

Make a roux of one tablespoonful of butter and a heaping tablespoonful of flour. Dilute it with the oyster juice. Add the oyster pulp; season it with pepper, salt, and paprica, and keep it hot until ready to serve. Just before serving add a half pint of whipped cream, and beat it well into the soup.108-*

SOUP À LA REINE

Put a chicken into three quarts of water. Simmer it slowly for two hours, or until the chicken is very tender. A half hour before removing it add a half pound of rice and a bouquet containing one root of parsley, one sprig of thyme, a thin slice of onion, and a stick of celery. Boil it until the rice is soft, then strain through a colander. Let the broth cool and remove the grease. Remove the white meat from the bones of the chicken, put it with the rice in a mortar, and pound both to a pulp. Pass the pulp through a purée sieve, moistening it with a little stock to make it pass through easier. When ready to serve, add the purée to the stock, season with salt and pepper, and heat it thoroughly without boiling. Just before sending it to the table add a half pint of hot cream.

If desired the soup can be thickened with a little roux, or with fifteen blanched almonds chopped and pounded to a paste, using a little cream to prevent the almonds from oiling.

BISQUE OF LOBSTER

Put into a mortar equal parts of boiled lobster meat and boiled rice; pound them to a pulp; then add enough broth to dilute it; season with salt and paprica. Pass it through a sieve. Heat it without boiling, and then add enough Béchamel sauce to make it the consistency of cream soup; lastly, add to each quart of soup a quarter of a pound of lobster butter, adding a little at a time, and stirring until the butter is melted. Instead of the lobster butter, plain butter may be used, and the coral of the lobster, dried and pounded to a powder, stirred in at the same time. Serve croûtons with the bisque.

LOBSTER BUTTER

After the meat is removed from the lobster, take all the rest (except the lady, woolly gills and intestine), including the shell, and put it into a mortar with twice its weight of butter. Pound it to a pulp; then place it in a saucepan on the fire, and cook until the butter is melted. Strain it through a cloth. Beat the strained butter until it is cold. If not a deep enough color, add a very little cochineal.

CHOWDERS

POTATO CHOWDER

6 good-sized potatoes.

¼ lb. salt pork.

1 onion.

1 tablespoonful butter.

1 tablespoonful flour.

1 pint milk or cream.

1 pint water.

1 tablesp’ful chopped parsley.

1 teaspoonful salt.

½ teaspoonful pepper.

Cut the potatoes into dice, cut the pork into small pieces, and put it with the sliced onion into a frying pan, and fry until a light brown.

Put into a kettle a layer of potatoes, then a layer of onions and pork, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and chopped parsley. Repeat this until all the potatoes, pork, onions, and parsley are in. Pour over them the grease from the pan in which the pork and onions were fried. Add one pint of water, cover, and let simmer twenty minutes. Scald the milk in a double boiler, and add it to a roux made of the flour and butter. Add this to the pot when the potatoes are tender, and stir carefully together, so as not to break the potatoes. Taste to see if the seasoning is right. Serve very hot.

This is a good dish for luncheon, or for supper in the country.

FISH CHOWDER

3 lbs. fresh fish.

3 large potatoes.

1 large onion.

½ lb. salt pork.

1 pint milk.

3 ship crackers.

Pepper and salt.

Cut the fish, the potatoes, and the onion into slices. Cut the pork into half-inch dice. Put the pork and the onion into a pan and sauté them a light brown. Place in alternate layers in a large saucepan first potatoes, then fish, then pork and onion; dust with salt and pepper, and continue in this order until all the materials are used. Cover the whole with boiling water and let the mixture simmer for twenty minutes. Scald a pint of milk or of cream, take it off the fire and add one and a half tablespoonfuls of butter and three broken ship crackers or the same quantity of water biscuits. Arrange the fish mixture in a mound on a dish, cover it with the softened crackers, and pour over the whole the hot milk.

CLAM CHOWDER

50 clams.

1 medium-sized onion.

6 oz. salt pork.

3 large potatoes.

1 teaspoonful salt.

½ teaspoonful pepper.

1 tablespoonful butter.

2 tablespoonfuls flour.

1 pint of milk or cream.

1 saltspoonful of mace.

1 saltspoonful of thyme.

3 ship crackers.

Put the clams, with their own liquor, into a saucepan on the fire. When they have boiled three minutes, remove the clams and return the liquor to the fire. Cut the pork into slices. Chop an onion and fry it with the pork until both are browned. Then stir in two tablespoonfuls of flour. When the flour is cooked, add slowly the clam liquor, a dash of mace and thyme, and salt, if necessary; then add three parboiled potatoes cut into dice, and cook until the potatoes are tender. When ready to serve add a pint of milk or cream, the clams cut into pieces, and a quarter of a pound of broken ship crackers or any hard water cracker.

84-* It is not meant to imply that the stock-pot should never be removed from the range and that articles should be added at any time. When the nutriment is extracted from one collection of materials, the stock should be strained off, the pot thoroughly cleaned, and a new stock started as soon as enough materials have again accumulated.—M. R.

87-* It will be difficult if not impossible to make a perfectly clear and brilliant soup from stock where bones have been used, if the stock has been subjected to boiling heat. Boiling dissolves the lime in the bones, and this gives a cloudiness which clarifying will not entirely remove.—M. R.

98-* This receipt gives a perfectly clear brilliant soup after it is clarified. If no bones are used it can be boiled slowly without injury instead of being simmered. The stock will not always jelly.—M. R.

108-* Any soup made of milk will be greatly improved by adding a cupful of hot cream just before serving.

A little fish stock improves clam or oyster cream soup.

Chapter III

FISH

Cooking. It is essential that fish should be perfectly fresh, thoroughly cleaned, and carefully cooked. If underdone it is not eatable; if cooked too long it loses flavor and becomes dry. The sooner it is cooked after being taken from the water, the better. Freshness. When fresh, the eyes are bright, the gills red, the flesh firm and odorless.
Dressing.Ordinarily the fishman removes the scales and draws the fish before delivering it; but if not, this should be done at once, and the fish thoroughly washed, but not allowed to soak in water, then wiped dry and put into the refrigerator, on the ice, the skin side down, but not in the same compartment with butter, milk, or other foods which absorb flavors.

Keeping Frozen Fish. Fish that are frozen should be laid in cold water until thawed, but not allowed to remain in the water after they become flexible.

Trimming. The head and tail should be left on, and the fins trimmed, of any fish which is to be served whole.

The bones. When the fillets only are to be used, the head and bones may be used for a fish soup.

To skin, bone, and remove the fillets. To separate a fish, cut through the skin all around, then, beginning at the head, loosen the skin and strip it down. By putting salt on the hand a firmer grasp may be obtained, and with the aid of a knife the skin can be removed without tearing the flesh. After the skin is taken off from both sides, slip the knife under the flesh, and keeping it close to the bone, remove the fillets. The fillets may then be cut into two or more pieces according to the size of the fish, care being used to have them of uniform size and shape.

Fillets taken from small fish and from flounders or other flat fish are sometimes rolled and held until cooked with small skewers. Wooden toothpicks serve this purpose very well.

Fish containing many bones are not suitable for fillets.

TO CARVE FISH

Run a knife down the back, cutting through the skin. Remove the fins. Then cut into even pieces on one side. When these pieces are served, remove the bone, and cut the under side in the same way.

TO BOIL FISH

Add one teaspoonful of salt and one tablespoonful of vinegar to every two quarts of water, and use sufficient water to entirely cover the fish. The salt and vinegar serve to whiten and harden, as well as to season the meat. A bay-leaf and soup vegetables in the water improve the flavor of cod and some other fish. The fish must not be put into cold water, as that extracts the flavor; nor into boiling water, as that breaks the skin and gives it a ragged appearance. Lower the fish gradually into warm water, let it come quickly to the boiling point, then draw to the side of the range, where it will simmer only, until done.

Time. Allow ten minutes to the pound after the water has begun to simmer.

The Kettle. A fish kettle, with strainer, is requisite for boiling a fish whole. A plate held in a piece of cheese cloth may be used for smaller pieces. When the fish is done the strainer should be lifted out carefully and placed across the kettle until the fish is well drained.

To boil a fish whole. A boiled as well as a baked fish is more attractive served upright as if swimming. To hold it in this position, place a carrot inside the fish to give it roundness and stability, and prop it on both sides with pieces of carrot or turnip. The head must be wrapped with cord or a strip of cheese cloth to keep it from losing shape, and the whole held in position by strings going around the strainer (see illustration). If a fish is too large for the kettle, it may be cut into halves or thirds, and when cooked laid carefully together on the dish and garnishing placed over the cuts.

See caption
FISH PREPARED TO BOIL IN UPRIGHT POSITION. (SEE PAGE 114.)

Serving. Boiled fish is served on a napkin, and garnished with parsley. This may be so arranged as to conceal any defects.

Garnishes. Slices of lemon, slices of hard-boiled eggs, chopped pickle, or capers may also be used for garnishing. Boiled potato balls may be served on the same dish.

Sauces. Boiled fish needs a rich white sauce. Drawn butter, egg, Hollandaise, or Béchamel sauces are generally used.

See caption
SLICES OF CODFISH BOILED OR SAUTÉD AND RESTED AGAINST A WEDGE-SHAPED BREAD SUPPORT AND GARNISHED WITH BOILED OR FRIED POTATO BALLS, WATER-CRESS, AND LEMON.

FISH

COURT BOUILLON

Court bouillon is used for boiling fresh-water fish or others which are without much flavor. It may be prepared beforehand, and used several times, or the vegetables may be added at the time the fish is boiled.

Fry in 1 tablespoonful of butter,

1 chopped carrot,

1 chopped onion,

1 stalk of celery.

Then add 2 quarts of hot water,

1 cup of vinegar or wine,

3 peppercorns,

3 cloves,

1 bay-leaf,

1 teaspoonful of salt.

BAKED FISH

After the fish is carefully washed and dried, put in the stuffing, and sew up the opening with a trussing needle; then cut three gashes in each side of the fish, and lay a lardoon of salt pork in each cut. Next, run a trussing needle, holding a double white cotton cord, through the head, the middle of the body, and the tail. Draw the fish into the shape of the letter S, and tie the cord firmly. In order to cook evenly, it is better to have the fish upright, and by trussing as directed it will hold that position. Dredge the fish with salt, pepper, and flour, and lay it on slices of larding pork in a baking pan. Place also over the back slices of pork. Allow fifteen minutes to each pound, and baste frequently. The pork should supply sufficient liquid for basting; if not, add a very little water. The fish can be more easily removed if a baking sheet is used in the bottom of the pan. (See illustration facing page 118.)

Serve with a brown sauce. Garnish with lemon and parsley.

Haddock, bluefish, shad, and bass are good for baking.

See caption
FISH PREPARED TO BAKE. (SEE PAGE 115.)

STUFFINGS FOR BAKED FISH

Put a large tablespoonful of butter into a saucepan. When melted stir into it

1 cupful of cracker or dry bread crumbs,

1 teaspoonful of chopped onion,

1 teaspoonful of chopped capers,

¼ teaspoonful salt,

¼ teaspoonful pepper,

1 teaspoonful of chopped parsley.

If a moist stuffing is preferred, add one quarter cupful of milk, stock or water.

BREAD STUFFING

Fry a tablespoonful of chopped onion in a tablespoonful of butter. Add a cupful or more of stale bread, which has been soaked in hot water, then pressed dry. A tablespoonful each of chopped parsley, suet, and celery, one quarter teaspoonful each of salt and pepper, and a dash of powdered thyme (if liked). When it is well mixed, remove from the fire and add an egg.

TO BROIL FISH

Fish to be broiled are split down the back. After being washed and well dried, they should be rubbed with oil or butter, or the skin floured, to keep from sticking. The broiler should be made hot and greased with a piece of salt pork before the fish is laid on. The hot wires will sear the lines which should always show on broiled dishes. The fire must be clear and hot for small fish, more moderate for large ones, so the outside may not be burned before the inside is cooked. When there is danger of this, the broiler may be laid on a pan in the oven to complete the cooking. The broiler should be turned as often as the cook counts ten, and as the skin burns easily, it must be carefully watched. When done, the wires should be carefully raised from both sides so as not to break the meat, and the fish turned on to a hot dish and spread with butter, salt, and pepper, or better, a maître d’hôtel sauce. This sauce makes a more evenly distributed mixture. A wreath of water-cresses laid around the fish makes a good garnish, and is an acceptable accompaniment to any broiled dish. Lemon is also used for garnish and flavor.

Shad, bluefish, and mackerel are most frequently cooked in this way.

TO SAUTÉ FISH

Small or pan fish, and fish cut into slices, are often sautéd. After the fish is washed and dried, dredge it with salt and pepper, and roll in flour, then dip in egg and roll in bread crumbs, cracker dust, or in corn-meal. Put into a frying-pan a few pieces of salt pork, and after sufficient grease has tried out, lay in the fish; or one tablespoonful of lard and one tablespoonful of butter may be used instead of the fat pork. Butter burns, and should not be used alone. The grease must be very hot, and only enough of it to cover the bottom of the pan one eighth of an inch deep. Turn the fish with a broad knife or pancake turner, and with care to not break the meat. When cooked an amber color it is ready to turn.

Slices of halibut should be marinated (see page 79) before being coated with flour. Lay the fish or slices overlapping each other on a hot dish. Serve with quarters of lemon, and garnish with parsley. (See illustrations facing pages 114 and 124.)

TO FRY FISH

Fish to be fried are first well washed and dried, then dredged with salt, pepper, and flour, then dipped in egg, and rolled in bread or cracker crumbs. The fish should be completely incased in the egg and crumbs, leaving no opening for the grease to enter. The same rule applies to frying fish as to other articles (see page 72). They must have entire immersion, and the fat smoking hot.

TO FRY SMELTS

Smelts, after being washed, dried, and sprinkled with salt and pepper, are dipped in egg, then rolled in bread or cracker crumbs. The head and tail pinned together with a small skewer, or wooden tooth-pick (to be removed after they are fried), makes them into rings, and is a pretty way of serving them either by themselves or for garnishing other fish dishes. Cook only as many as will cover the bottom of the frying-basket at one time (see rules for frying, page 72). Dress the smelts on a folded napkin, and serve with Mayonnaise or with Tartare sauce.

See caption
SMELTS FRIED IN RINGS. (SEE PAGE 117.)

FRIED SMELTS ON SKEWERS

Use medium sized smelts, clean carefully, and wipe them dry. Dredge them with salt and pepper; dip them in egg and roll them in crumbs. String three or four on each skewer, the skewer passing through the eyes. Place them in a frying-basket, a few at a time, and immerse in very hot fat. Prepare at a time only as many as will go in the frying-basket. The time given to rolling them is only as long as required for the fat to regain the right degree of heat. Dress on a napkin and serve with Mayonnaise, Tartare sauce, or quarters of lemon.

BROILED SMELTS

Split the smelts down the back and remove the bone. Lay them on a hot broiler, which has been rubbed with suet, to prevent sticking. Broil over hot coals for two minutes on each side. Put into a dish some Béchamel sauce, and lay the broiled fish on the sauce, or they may be spread with maître d’hôtel sauce. Serve at once while very hot.

FRIED FILLETS OF FISH

Remove fillets as directed on page 112. Dip them in salted milk, roll in flour, then in egg and fresh bread crumbs. Fry as soon as prepared in hot fat. Fillets may also be cooked by sautéing. Arrange the fillets on a napkin or hot dish, overlapping each other. Serve with Béarnaise, Mayonnaise or Tartare sauce.

WHITEBAIT

Wash the whitebait with great care, and dry well by rubbing them in a napkin. Roll them in flour, using enough to entirely cover them. Toss them on a sieve to shake off the loose flour. Place them in a fine wire basket, and immerse in smoking hot fat for one minute, or just long enough to give them a light amber color. The fish are so small, it takes but a moment to cook them, and there is danger of burning them by leaving them in the fat too long. They should be crisp and dry. Only enough to make one layer on the bottom of the basket should be fried at once. Too many will cool the fat, and also will stick together. The fat must be brought to the right degree of heat before putting in the second basketful. They should be floured only just before going into the fat. The flour becomes damp if it remains on the fish for any time, and they will then neither take color nor become crisp. Turn them on to a paper, sprinkle with salt, and keep them in a warm oven until all are cooked. Have a hot dish with a folded napkin on it standing on the warming shelf. Place the whitebait between the folds of the napkin, and serve immediately. They cool rapidly, and should not be cooked until just in time to serve. They are easily prepared, and very nice when crisp and hot, but will not be right unless care is given to the small details.

Serve with quarters of lemon.

See caption
WHITEBAIT. (SEE PAGE 118.)

BOILED HALIBUT STEAKS

Lay two chicken halibut steaks into a shallow stew pan, sufficiently large to allow them to lie side by side. Cover them with court bouillon or with hot water, and add a slice of carrot, onion, piece of celery, bay-leaf, four cloves, six peppercorns, and juice of half a lemon. Let simmer until done. Or they may be put into a baking pan, with a little water, covered with another pan or greased paper, and steamed in the oven until cooked. Lift out the slices with a skimmer and broad knife, and with care not to break them; lay them on a hot dish, one a little overlapping the other.

Garnish with boiled potato balls, and serve with egg or with Hollandaise sauce. (See illustration facing page 124.)

HALIBUT—TURKISH STYLE

(RECEIPT GIVEN AT ONE OF MRS. RORER’S LECTURES)

Place on the bottom of a baking pan two or three slices of onion, then a cutlet of halibut, and put a tablespoonful of butter cut into small bits over the top of the fish. Cut three skinned tomatoes into quarters, slice a sweet green pepper into ribbons, and put the tomatoes and pepper on the fish. Put the pan on the shelf of the oven to cook first the vegetables, but do not let it remain there long enough to discolor or change their shape; then remove it to the bottom of the oven, baste it well, and finish the cooking. When done place it carefully on a hot dish, and pour over it the juice from the pan. The fish should retain its whiteness, and the vegetables their color, giving a very pretty as well as delicious dish.

SCALLOPED FISH

2 pounds halibut or any white fish, boiled with

1 slice onion,

1 stalk celery,

1 sprig parsley,

6 peppercorns,

4 cloves,

1 bay-leaf,

Juice of one-half a lemon,

1 cupful white sauce,

Mashed potato.

Boil two pounds of fish in court bouillon until tender enough to flake. Make a white sauce of one tablespoonful butter, one tablespoonful flour, one cupful of milk, salt, pepper, and cayenne. (See white sauce, page 278.) Boil four medium-sized potatoes, mash them, and season with one half teaspoonful of salt, one quarter teaspoonful of pepper, and a little cream or milk; beat them until light, then add the whites of four eggs beaten stiff.

Fill a baking dish one half full of the flaked fish, pour over it the white sauce, and cover the top with potato, leaving the potato rough and irregular. Place in the oven for fifteen minutes, or until browned. Cream may be substituted for the white sauce, and enough used to moisten well the fish. Shells or individual cups may be used instead of a baking dish.

SCALLOPED FISH AU GRATIN

Make a Béchamel sauce (see page 279). Take some seasoned mashed potato, and mix with it one beaten egg. Make with the potato a border around a flat dish. In the center of the ring of potato spread a layer of sauce, over this a layer of flaked cod fish, then another layer of sauce and fish, cover the top with sauce, sprinkle it with bread crumbs and grated cheese (parmesan or dairy), and a few pieces of butter. Bake in a hot oven until browned, and serve in the same dish. The potato border may be made ornamental by pressing the potato through a pastry bag with tube, the same as is used for potato roses (see page 202). The potato will not hold its form unless egg is mixed with it.

White sauce may be used instead of Béchamel, but is not quite as good. One layer of fish in large flakes, covered with sauce, crumbs, and cheese, and browned with a border of boiled potato balls laid around regularly, is also a good way of serving it when a small quantity is needed.

FISH CHOPS

1 pound or 1 pint of fish.

1 teaspoonful of salt.

½ teaspoonful of pepper.

½ teaspoonful of onion juice.

1 cupful of milk or cream.

1 tablespoonful of butter.

2 rounded tablespoonfuls flour.

Yolks of two eggs.

1 tablespoonful of chopped parsley.

Put in a double boiler one cupful of cream or milk; when scalded, stir into it the butter and flour rubbed together, and cook for five minutes. Remove from the fire and mix in, stirring all the time, the beaten yolks of two eggs, put again on the fire, and stir until thickened.

Take one pound or pint of shredded boiled fish, sprinkle over it one teaspoonful of salt, one half teaspoonful of pepper, one tablespoonful of chopped parsley, ten drops of lemon juice. Mix the seasoned fish with the white sauce, then spread it on a dish and set aside for several hours to cool and stiffen. It will not be difficult to mold if it stands long enough. Take a tablespoonful of the mixture in the hands, and mold into the form of chops, round at one end and pointed at the other; roll the chops in crumbs, then in beaten egg, then in coarse bread crumbs grated from the loaf (see croquettes, page 293). After the chops are molded let them stand for a time to stiffen before frying. Place them in a basket four at a time, and immerse in hot fat until an amber color. Place on a paper to dry. When all are done pierce a small hole in the pointed end with a fork, and insert a sprig of parsley. Dress on a napkin, and serve with tomato, Béarnaise, or Hollandaise sauce. Any kind of fish may be used for the chops. (See illustration facing page 130.)

See caption
FISH CHOPS. (SEE PAGE 121.)

See caption FISH CHOPS.

FILLETS BAKED WITH CUSTARD OR TOMATOES

Remove the fillets from any white fish, dredge them with salt and pepper, and lay them in a baking pan, one on top of the other. Beat two eggs, and add to them

2 cupfuls of milk,

1 saltspoonful of salt,

1 saltspoonful of pepper,

1 saltspoonful of nutmeg,

3 soda crackers rolled to powder.

Put two tablespoonfuls of butter into the pan with the fish, and set it in the oven. When the butter is melted, add one half the milk mixture, and baste the fish with it frequently. When the custard becomes set add a little more of the milk, and continue the operation until the fish is cooked. Lift the fish carefully from the pan with a pancake turner and broad knife. Place it on a hot dish, and pile on the top the flakes of custard. Instead of the milk mixture tomato may be used if preferred.

To one half can of tomato add

1 teaspoonful of salt,

½ teaspoonful of thyme,

¼ teaspoonful of pepper,

1 slice of onion,

1 bay-leaf,

3 cloves.

The whole of the tomato mixture may be put in the pan as soon as the butter is melted.

COLD FISH

Any kind of fish which is good boiled may be served cold, and in summer is often more acceptable in this way. Bass, trout, halibut, salmon, and bluefish are recommended. Serve with cold Béarnaise, Mayonnaise, or Tartare sauce. Garnish with lettuce leaves or water-cresses, and hard-boiled eggs.

FISH PUDDING

1 pound or pint boiled halibut.

½ cupful of cream or milk.

1½ tablespoonfuls of butter.

½ tablespoonful of flour.

1½ teaspoonfuls salt.

¼ teaspoonful pepper.

½ teaspoonful onion juice.

2 eggs.

Pound the fish in a mortar until it is thoroughly mashed, then rub it through a purée sieve; season the fish pulp with salt, pepper, and onion juice. Put the butter into a saucepan when melted, add the flour, and cook for a few minutes, then add slowly the cream or milk, stirring constantly until well scalded; then add the fish pulp, take from the fire, add the beaten eggs, and mix thoroughly.

Butter well a border or ring mold holding a pint or little more; put in the mixture, pressing it well against the sides to remove any air bubbles. Cover the mold with a greased paper, and set in a pan of warm water covering one half the mold. Place in moderate oven for thirty minutes, and do not let the water boil. Place the form of fish on a hot dish, fill the center with boiled potato balls (see page 203), pour over the potato balls some Béchamel or some white sauce, sprinkle chopped parsley over the top. Serve with the fish a generous amount of Béchamel or of white sauce. This is a very good dish.

FISH TIMBALE

Cut one pound of very fresh white uncooked fish into small pieces, put it in a mortar, and pound until the fiber is well separated from the meat, then press it through a purée sieve. To every cupful of fish pulp add one tablespoonful of bread crumbs soaked in milk or cream until soft and then pressed through a sieve; add also the beaten yolk of one egg, ten drops of onion juice, one teaspoonful of salt, one quarter teaspoonful of pepper, and a dash of nutmeg. Beat all well together and for some time, to make it light; then for every cupful of pulp beat in lightly the whites of two eggs whipped very stiff. Put the mixture into a well buttered mold, filling it only three quarters full, set it into a pan of warm water, covering three quarters of the mold, cover the mold with a greased paper, and place in a moderate oven for twenty minutes. Do not let the water boil. Turn the timbale on to a hot dish, and pour around, but not over it, a Béchamel or a tomato sauce. This is a very delicate fish dish, and is particularly good when made of shad.

FISH DISH FOR A PINK LUNCHEON

Cut halibut or any firm white fish into cutlets three quarters of an inch thick, two inches wide, and three inches long. Dredge with salt, pepper, and paprica. Lay them in a pan so they do not touch, cover with salted water, cover the pan, and let them steam in the oven for ten or fifteen minutes until cooked, but remove while they are still firm enough to retain shape. Pound the trimmings of the fish in a mortar, pass it through a sieve, and to one half cupful of the fish pulp add a thickening made as follows: put a dessert-spoonful of butter in a saucepan on the fire; when it is melted add a dessert-spoonful of flour, cook for a minute without coloring, add three tablespoonfuls of cream or milk, a quarter teaspoonful of salt and a dash of pepper, remove it from the fire. Stir in the half cupful of fish pulp and one beaten egg; color it a delicate pink with a few drops of cochineal, beat the whole until light, and spread the cutlets of fish with this mixture one quarter inch thick; smooth it carefully on top and sides with a wet knife. Place the pieces in a pan, cover, set it into another pan containing hot water, and let steam in the oven for ten or fifteen minutes. Range the pieces standing on end around a socle of rice or hominy (see page 326); mask the top of the socle with prawns, or with parsley, or with water cresses, and a few pink roses or pink carnations. Serve with Hollandaise sauce, colored green or pink.

The pink cutlets may be garnished with capers, or with a thin slice of pickle cut into fancy shape with cutter.

See caption
FISH STEAKS SAUTÉD OR BOILED, GARNISHED WITH POTATO BALLS, WATER-CRESS, AND LEMON.

See caption
CREAMED FISH IN SHELLS.

ROLLED FILLETS OF FLOUNDER

Select flounders of uniform size, and large enough to make two strips about two and a half inches wide on each side, each fish giving four fillets. Marinate them, or else dredge with salt and pepper, and dip into butter. Roll them, beginning at the broad end, and fasten with a wooden tooth-pick. Egg and bread-crumb them, and fry in hot fat for seven minutes. Fry only four at a time, that the fat may not be too much cooled when they go in. Remove the skewer carefully, and serve with rémoulade, Tartare, or tomato sauce.

See caption
TURBANS, OR ROLLED FILLETS OF FISH. (SEE PAGE 125.)

SHAD

Shad may be broiled, and spread with maître d’hôtel sauce; stuffed and baked, and served with brown sauce; or it may be boiled and served with Hollandaise, Béchamel, or egg sauce.

PLANKED SHAD

Have a hardwood board one and a half or two inches thick. Split the shad as for broiling, place it on the board with the skin side down, and fasten with a few tacks; place the board before the fire, and roast until done; rub it from time to time with a little butter. The plank should be well-seasoned, and be heated before placing the shad on it, or it will impart the flavor of the wood to the fish.

A substitute for this mode of cooking is to put into a baking-pan a tablespoonful of drippings; when very hot lay in the shad with the skin side up, place it under the coals, and when the skin is puffed and blistered it is done. Turn it onto a hot dish, dredge with salt and pepper, cover with bits of butter, and serve with quarters of lemon.

BROILED SHAD ROE

Wash and dry the roe with care not to break the skin, place it on a well greased broiler, and rub it with butter once or twice during the time of broiling; cook to a nice brown, place it on a hot dish, and cover with a maître d’hôtel sauce.

Garnish the dish with a wreath of water cresses. This makes a good fish course for luncheon. Shad roe may also be cooked in a sauté-pan, using one half butter and one half drippings or lard.

SHAD ROE CROQUETTES, NO. 1

Put the roes from two fishes into boiling salted water, and simmer for fifteen minutes; when cool, remove the skin, and mash them with a fork, so the little eggs will be separated but not broken: scald one cupful of cream or milk, and stir into it one tablespoonful of butter and two tablespoonfuls of flour rubbed together. Take the paste on a spoon, and stir it in the cream until dissolved. Remove from the fire, and add the beaten yolks of two eggs and the seasoning—one tablespoonful of chopped parsley, juice of one half a lemon, dash of nutmeg, salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste. Place again on the fire, and stir until the sauce is thickened; then add the mashed shad roe, pour the mixture on a dish, and set away to cool for several hours. Form it into small croquettes, egg and bread-crumb them, using crumbs grated from the loaf; fry in hot fat until an amber color. Dress on a folded napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve with Mayonnaise, Tartare, or Béarnaise sauce.

SHAD ROE CROQUETTES, NO. 2

Put shad roes into salted boiling water, and simmer for fifteen minutes; remove with care not to break the skin, and place in cold water; when cold, dry them, and with a sharp knife cut them into pieces two inches thick; dredge them with salt, pepper, and lemon juice, dip them in beaten egg, roll in grated white bread crumbs, place in a wire basket, and fry in hot fat. Dress on a napkin, and serve with Tartare or Béarnaise sauce.

SALT MACKEREL

Soak the mackerel for twelve hours or more, with the skin side up, and change the water several times. Simmer it for fifteen or twenty minutes; and, if convenient, have in the water one teaspoonful of vinegar, one bay-leaf, one slice of onion, and a sprig of parsley. When tender, place carefully on a hot dish, and pour over it a cream sauce; or the soaked fish may be broiled, and spread with butter, pepper, lemon juice, and chopped parsley.

CREAMED MACKEREL

Soak the mackerel for twenty-four hours, then lay it in a shallow stew-pan, and cover with milk or cream. Simmer for fifteen minutes. Remove the fish carefully, and place it on a hot dish. Add to the milk or cream in the stew-pan one tablespoonful each of butter and flour rubbed together. Stir until a little thickened, and the flour cooked; add a little pepper and chopped parsley, and pour the sauce over the fish.

SALT CODFISH

Soak the codfish several hours, changing the water three times. Simmer it for 20 minutes or until it is tender. Take out carefully all the bones. Make a white sauce of one tablespoonful each of butter and flour, and one cupful of milk; add to it, off the fire, two beaten yolks. Return to the fire, and stir in one cupful of shredded codfish. Taste to see if it needs seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve it on slices of toast, or place it in center of dish, and surround it with triangular croûtons.

CLUB HOUSE FISH BALLS

Boil the quantity of codfish that will be needed, changing the water once, that it may not be too salt. While the fish is hot, pick it very fine, so that it is feathery; it cannot be done fine enough with a fork, and should be picked by hand. At the same time have hot boiled potatoes ready. Mash them thoroughly, and make them creamy with milk and a good-sized lump of butter. To three cupfuls of the mashed potatoes take one and one half cupfuls of fish. The fish should not be packed down. Beat one egg lightly, and stir into the other ingredients; season to taste. Beat the mixture well together and until light, then mold it into small balls, handling lightly, and before frying, roll the balls in flour. Fry them in smoking hot fat until a golden color.128-*

BROILED SARDINES ON TOAST

Drain sardines from the can. Lay them on a broiler over hot coals for two minutes on each side. Have ready hot toast cut the right size to hold three of the fish. Arrange them neatly on the toast, and moisten with a little heated oil from the can.

FRESH FISH BALLS

To one cupful of flaked boiled fish add a cream sauce made of one tablespoonful of butter, one tablespoonful of flour, and one half cupful of milk.

Let the sauce be very stiff, so it leaves the sides of the pan; mix it well with the fish, and when hot add two beaten eggs, pepper, and salt. Drop the mixture, which should be like thick batter, from a spoon into very hot fat.

It will puff, and be very light.

SALMON

Put salmon into hot water to preserve its color, and simmer in acidulated water or in court bouillon, as is the rule for all fish. The middle cuts are preferable where a small quantity only is needed. The head piece makes a pretty cut, but is not profitable to buy, as the head adds materially to the weight. Where a large fish is to be used for a supper or cold dish, it may be cut in halves or sections (see page 114) if too large for the fish kettle. Cold salmon can be elaborately garnished with aspic, colored mayonnaise, shrimps, gherkins, capers, etc.

CANNED SALMON

The canned salmon is very good, and makes a palatable emergency dish. It can be prepared quickly, as the fish is already cooked. It may be broiled, and spread with maître d’hôtel butter, or it can be served on toast with cream dressing; or a white sauce can be made, and the fish put in it to heat; or the fish may be heated in water, and served as cutlets with Béarnaise sauce.

SALMON CUTLETS

Prepare salmon cutlets the same as boiled halibut steaks (page 119), or cut them in half heart or chop shapes, roll them in egg and bread crumbs, and fry in hot fat. Arrange them in a circle overlapping one another, and serve with Béarnaise, Hollandaise or Tartare sauce.

BROILED SLICES OF SALMON

Marinate the slices for one hour. Broil on both sides; baste with butter, so that they will not brown. Place them on a hot dish, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, lemon juice, and chopped parsley. Serve with them a Béarnaise sauce or quarters of lemon.

SLICES OF SALMON WITH MAYONNAISE

Simmer two slices of salmon in court bouillon until done; remove carefully so as not to break them. When perfectly cold cover one side of them with a smooth layer of mayonnaise made with jelly (see page 290), and colored a delicate green. Arrange a row of sliced gherkins or of capers around the edge. Place a wedge-shaped socle of bread in the middle of a dish, and fasten it to the dish with white of egg, so that it will be firm; rest the slices against it; conceal the side of socle with garnish of fresh lettuce leaves. Place a bunch of parsley or water-cress or if convenient a bouquet of nasturtium blossoms, in the hollow center of the fish. Use hard-boiled eggs cut in halves for further garnishing.

This makes a handsome supper dish for card or theater party. It should be kept in a cool place until ready to serve.

FILLETS OF SALMON FOR GREEN LUNCHEON

Cut salmon into pieces three quarters of an inch thick and two and a half inches square, trim them carefully, and flatten with heavy knife so they will be uniform. Lay them in a baking-pan so they do not touch, cover them with salted water, and simmer them in the oven for about twenty minutes, or until well cooked, but still firm. Take them out carefully, skin and dry them, and when cold marinate them. Make a jelly mayonnaise (see page 290), using a little tarragon vinegar; color it green; cover the fillets with the green mayonnaise while it is soft enough to become perfectly smooth, and set them away in a cool, dry place. When ready to serve place the fillets on the top of a socle made of hominy, and ornamented on the sides with green beans and balls of carrot, or green peas (see illustration page 322). Arrange a macédoine of vegetables (see page 216) around the base of the socle. Serve with it a mayonnaise dressing. One pound of salmon will cut into nine cutlets.

CROUSTADE OF SHRIMPS

Make a sauce the same as for lobster filling (see page 140), and substitute potted shrimp meat for the lobster. Serve in croustades of rice. This is a good luncheon dish, and easily prepared.

SHELL-FISH, LOBSTERS, CRABS

OYSTERS

Oysters are out of season during the months of May, June, July, and August. The rule is to use oysters only in the months that have the letter r in the name.

How to serve on half-shell. When served raw, the small varieties are the best. They are left on the deep half of the shell. Six are allowed for each person. They should be arranged regularly on the plate around a little ice broken fine, the valve side toward the center of plate, and in the center of the circle a quarter of a lemon. A few sprigs of parsley or cress under the lemon makes a pretty garnish. Black and red pepper are served with raw oysters, and also very thin slices of buttered brown bread.

Precaution. Oysters served raw should be very fresh. It is therefore not desirable to use them in this way when one lives inland. To prevent the chance of any bits of shell getting into oyster dishes, they should be washed; each oyster being taken on a fork and dipped into water. As they are largely composed of water, this will not injure their flavor. The juice should be strained through a coarse sieve.

Cracker crumbs are better than bread crumbs for mixing with oysters.

Cooking. Oysters require very little cooking. They are put over the fire in their own liquor, and removed the moment they are plump or the gills are curled. More cooking than this makes them tough.

FRIED OYSTERS

Drain the oysters. Roll each one first in cracker crumbs, then in egg mixed with a little milk, and seasoned with pepper and salt, then again in the cracker crumbs. Use first the crumbs, as the egg will not otherwise adhere well to the oyster. Place them in a wire basket, and immerse in smoking hot fat. As soon as they assume a light-amber color drain, and serve immediately.

Oysters should not be fried until the moment of serving, for they are quickly cooked and it is essential to have them hot.

Pickles, chow-chow, horse-radish, cold-slaw, or celery salad are served with fried oysters, and may be used as a garnish or be served separately.

OYSTERS À LA VILLEROI

Prepare a Villeroi sauce (see page 280). Heat the oysters in their own liquor until plump, then remove and wipe them dry. Place them on a pan turned bottom side up, leaving a space around each one. With a spoon cover each oyster with the thick sauce, and set them away for several hours to cool and harden; then trim them to good shape. Take one at a time on a broad knife or spatula, and, holding it over a dish containing beaten egg, coat it well with egg; then cover it with fresh bread crumbs and draw the coating around the whole oyster. Place the rolled oysters in a wire basket, and immerse in hot fat until an amber color. Dress them on a folded napkin, and serve with a Béchamel sauce, or with the same sauce with which they are coated, diluted with stock or oyster juice. A little chopped truffle and mushrooms improve the sauce.

BROILED OYSTERS

Dry the oysters. Heat the broiler well, and grease it by rubbing it with a slice of salt pork or with suet. Dip the oysters into melted butter, or into oil, and lay them on the broiler. Broil them on both sides for a few minutes over bright coals. Have ready some toast cut into uniform shapes and moistened with oyster juice. On each croûton place three or four oysters, and pour over them a little melted maître d’hôtel sauce.

PANNED OYSTERS

Heat a baking-pan very hot. Put into it a tablespoonful of butter; then the oysters, which have been well drained. Let them cook in hot oven until browned. Have ready some toast cut into even pieces; soften them with some liquor from the pan; place three or four oysters on each piece, and pour over them the liquor from the pan, which should be reduced if too watery. Sprinkle with a little parsley chopped very fine.

ROASTED OYSTERS

Wash the shells well with a brush and cold water. Place them in a pan with the deep half of shell down. Put them into a hot oven, and bake until the shell opens. Remove the top shell carefully so as not to lose the liquor. Arrange them on plates, and on each oyster place a piece of butter and a little pepper and salt. If roasted too long the oysters will be tough.

OYSTERS À LA POULETTE

25 oysters.

1 cupful of oyster juice.

1 cupful of milk or cream.

Yolks of 3 eggs.

2 tablespoonfuls of butter.

4 tablespoonfuls of flour.

1 scant teaspoonful of salt.

1 saltspoonful of pepper.

Dash of cayenne pepper.

Dash of nutmeg.

Scald the oysters in their liquor until plump. Put into a saucepan two tablespoonfuls of butter; when melted stir in carefully the flour, and cook, but not brown. Stir in slowly the oyster juice; when perfectly smooth add the milk or cream and the seasoning. Take it off the fire, and when a little cooled stir in the beaten yolks. Place again on the fire, and stir until thickened; then pour it over the oysters on a hot dish. Place a border of triangular-shaped croûtons around the dish, and serve at once. Do not add the cream and eggs to the sauce until time to serve, so that there may be no delay, as this dish is not good unless hot, and if kept standing the sauce will curdle. The sauce should be of the consistency of cream.

SCALLOPED OYSTERS

Place in a shallow baking-dish a layer of oysters; over this spread a layer of bread or cracker crumbs; sprinkle it with salt, pepper, and bits of butter; alternate the layers until the dish is full, having crumbs on top, well dotted with bits of butter. Pour over the whole enough oyster juice to moisten it. Bake in a hot oven fifteen or twenty minutes, or until browned; serve it in the same dish in which it is baked. Individual scallop-cups or shells may also be used, enough for one person being placed in each cup.

OYSTER FILLING FOR PATTIES

For one dozen oysters,

1 tablespoonful of butter.

1 tablespoonful of flour.

1 cupful of milk or cream.

Yolks of 2 eggs.

Dash of cayenne.

Dash of mace.

Scald the oysters in their liquor; drain and cut each one into four pieces with a silver knife. Put the butter into a saucepan, and when melted add the flour; cook, but not brown; then add the milk or cream, and stir until smooth; add the seasoning, and remove from the fire. When a little cooled add the beaten yolks, stirring vigorously; place again on the fire, and stir until thickened; then add the pieces of oysters. The filling should be soft and creamy, and the patty cases should be heated before the filling is put in.

This mixture is improved by using an equal quantity of oysters and mushrooms, either fresh or canned, and should be highly seasoned. It may be served in bread-boxes (see page 82), or in crusts prepared by removing the crumb from rolls, then browning them in the oven. Minced oysters and clams in equal parts, with some of their juice used in making the sauce, also make a good filling.

The same mixture may be made into croquettes, in which case two tablespoonfuls of flour instead of one are used, also a few more oysters, and the sauce is allowed to become thicker (see croquettes, page 292).

CLAMS

Clams are served raw on the half shell during the months that oysters are out of season. Little Neck clams are best for this purpose, and the smaller they are the better. The manner of serving them is the same as for raw oysters. As many as ten or twelve are allowed for each person.

TO OPEN CLAMS

To remove clams from the shells when wanted for cooking, wash the shells well with a brush and clear water. Place them in a saucepan or pot with a very little hot water; cover the pot, and let them steam until the shells open; strain the liquor through a fine cloth, or let it cool and settle; then pour it off carefully in order to free it from sand the shells may have contained.

CREAMED CLAMS

Scald the clams in their own liquor. If opened by steaming, they are sufficiently cooked. Chop them into fine dice and measure. To each cupful of chopped clams add one cupful of thick cream sauce. For one cupful of sauce put into a saucepan one tablespoonful of butter; when melted, stir in one tablespoonful of flour; cook, but not brown it; then add slowly one half cupful of clam liquor and one half cupful of milk or cream; season with pepper, and salt if necessary. Let it cook until a smooth, thick cream, stirring all the time; add the clams only just before serving. Pour the mixture over small pieces of toast laid on the bottom of the dish.

ROASTED CLAMS

Clams are roasted in the same manner as oysters (see page 133).

CLAM FRITTERS

Mix chopped clams with fritter batter (see page 426), using clam liquor instead of water in making the batter, and have the batter quite thick. Drop the mixture from a tablespoon into hot fat, and fry until an amber color.

SCALLOPS

Scallops are dried with a napkin, then rolled in cracker dust, then in egg and crumbs, and immersed in hot fat for a minute, or just long enough to take a light color. Mix salt and pepper with the crumbs.

LOBSTERS

Lobsters are in season from March to November. They are in the market all the year, but during the off months they are light and stringy. Their size increases with their age; therefore a small, heavy lobster is better than a large one.

They are unwholesome if boiled after they are dead. If bought already boiled, their freshness may be judged by the tail, which should be curled and springy. If it is not curled up, or will not spring back when straightened, the lobster was dead when boiled, and should be rejected.

Lobsters may be killed just before being boiled by running a pointed knife into the back through the joint between the body and tail shells.

TO BOIL A LOBSTER

Have in a kettle enough water to entirely cover the lobster. Before it becomes very hot take the lobster by the back and put it into the warm water head first. This smothers instead of scalding it to death, and seems the most merciful way of killing it. A lobster treated in this way does not change position, and seems to have been killed instantly. Cover the pot. When it boils, add one tablespoonful of salt, and boil for thirty minutes. It will be tough and stringy if cooked longer.

TO OPEN A LOBSTER

After the lobster is cold, break apart the tail and body; twist off the claws; remove the body from the shell; shake out the green, fatty substance and the coral, and save them to mix with the meat. Remove the stomach, which lies directly under the head, and is called the “lady”; remove also the woolly gills; break open the body, and take out the small pieces of meat which lie under the gills; break open the claws and remove the meat. With scissors or a knife cut the bony membrane on the inside of the tail; remove the meat in one piece, and open it to remove the intestine, which runs the entire length of the tail-piece. The intestine is sometimes without color.

TO BROIL A LOBSTER

With a sharp knife cut quickly down the back, following a line which runs down the middle of the shell. The fishman will ordinarily do this, and it is as quick and merciful as any way of killing. The lobster may be killed, if preferred, by running a knife into the back as directed above, and then opened with a heavy knife and mallet. Remove the stomach, or lady, and the intestine. Lay the two pieces on the broiler, with the shell part down, and broil over a moderate fire for thirty minutes or longer. Spread a little butter over it when half done, to keep it moist; spread butter, salt, and pepper over it when done; open the claws with a nut-cracker or mallet, and serve immediately.

TO BAKE A LOBSTER

Split the lobster open in the same way as for broiling. Remove the stomach, or lady, and the intestine; lay the two pieces in a baking-pan; spread over the top of each salt, pepper and butter, and sprinkle with bread crumbs; bake about forty minutes in a hot oven; during the baking baste it twice by pouring over it a little melted butter. Baked and broiled lobsters are considered a great delicacy.

LOBSTER FARCI

2 cupfuls of boiled lobster meat.

1 cupful of milk or cream.

2 tablespoonfuls of butter.

1 tablespoonful of flour.

Yolks of 3 hard-boiled eggs.

2 tablespoonfuls of bread crumbs.

1 tablespoonful of salt.

1 tablespoonful chopped parsley.

¼ nutmeg.

Dash of cayenne pepper or of paprica.

Put into a saucepan one tablespoonful of butter; when it bubbles add one tablespoonful of flour; cook, but not brown; add one cupful of milk slowly, and stir until smooth; then remove it from the fire; add the salt, the pepper, the parsley, the yolks mashed fine, and lastly the lobster meat cut into pieces one half inch square. (Use a silver knife to cut lobster.) Be careful, in mixing, not to break the meat. Have the shell from which the meat was taken carefully washed and dried, leaving on the head; cut out neatly the inside shell of the tail-piece, and fit the two parts of the shell together. As the shell contracts in cooking, it is well to trim off a little from the sides of the body shell in order to leave an opening wide enough to admit a spoon in serving. Put the meat mixture into the shell. Cover the top with the bread crumbs, which have been moistened with one tablespoonful of butter. Place it in the oven for a few minutes to brown. If the meat of two lobsters is used, the shells of both may be used, or the two tail-shells may be fitted into one body shell, which will then hold all the meat.

See caption
LOBSTER FARCI.

LOBSTER CHOPS

The mixture for chops is prepared in the same manner as for farci, except that the meat is cut a little finer. After it is mixed with the white sauce, spread it on a platter to cool; when sufficiently cold, mold into the form of chops. Then dip in egg, roll in fresh bread crumbs (see croquettes, page 293), and immerse in hot fat until fried to an amber color. The chops will mold better if the mixture is left for some time to harden. The chops may also stand for some hours before being cooked. Tin forms are made for molding chops, but they are easily shaped without them if the mixture has stood long enough to stiffen. After they are fried, make a little opening in the pointed end, and insert a small claw.

Serve the chops on a napkin, and garnish with lemon and parsley.

See caption
LOBSTER CHOPS, SERVED STANDING.

See caption
LOBSTER CHOPS.

LOBSTER À LA NEWBURG

One and a half cupfuls of boiled lobster meat cut into pieces one inch square.

1 tablespoonful of butter.

¾ cup of Madeira or sherry.

1 cupful of cream.

Yolk of two eggs.

1 truffle chopped.

¼ teaspoonful of salt.

Dash of cayenne or paprica.

Put the butter in a saucepan; when it has melted add the lobster meat, the chopped truffle, the salt, and the pepper; cover and let simmer for five minutes; then add the wine, and cook three minutes longer.

Have ready two yolks and one cupful of cream well beaten together; add this to the lobster, shake the saucepan until the mixture is thickened, and serve immediately. This dish will not keep without curdling, and should not be put together until just in time to serve. The lobster may be prepared and kept hot. The rest of the cooking, from the time the wine goes in, requires but five minutes, so the time can be easily calculated. If the mixture is stirred the meat will be broken; shaking the pan mixes it sufficiently. This is a very good dish, and easily prepared; but it will not be right unless served as soon as it is cooked. The quantity given is enough for six people. Crab meat may be used in the same way.

LOBSTER STEW

Put into a saucepan one tablespoonful of butter and one teaspoonful of chopped onion. Before it takes color add one tablespoonful of flour, and cook, but not brown. Then add slowly one cupful of water in which the lobster was boiled, one cupful of milk, and one cupful of good stock. Add the lobster meat, and when it has become thoroughly hot remove the meat and place it on the dish on which it is to be served, arranging it in the shape of a lobster as far as possible. Cut the tail-piece into thick slices, without changing its position. Season the sauce with salt, pepper and cayenne, and pour it over the meat. Place around the edges triangular croûtons, and garnish with head, small claws, and tail.

LOBSTER FILLING FOR PATTIES

1 cupful of lobster meat cut into dice.

1 tablespoonful of butter.

1 tablespoonful of flour.

1 cupful of milk.

1 teaspoonful of salt.

¼ teaspoonful of pepper.

Dash of cayenne.

2 yolks.

Put the butter into a saucepan; when melted add the flour, and cook a few minutes, but not brown; add slowly the milk or cream, and stir until perfectly smooth. To this white sauce add the two yolks beaten, and stir them in off the fire; then add the meat, season, and replace on the fire until sufficiently thickened. Mix carefully with a wooden spoon, so as not to break the meat. The filling should be very creamy. The salpicon given below may be used for filling, if preferred.

SALPICON OF LOBSTER

1 tablespoonful of lobster meat cut into dice.

6 mushrooms.

1 truffle.

1 tablespoonful of butter.

1 teaspoonful of flour.

¼ cupful of white stock.

¼ cupful of cream.

Salt and cayenne.

Put one level tablespoonful of butter into a saucepan, and when melted add one level tablespoonful of flour; cook, but not brown; add slowly the stock, and stir until perfectly smooth; then add the cream; after it begins to thicken add the lobster meat, the chopped truffle, and the mushrooms cut into dice. Season highly with salt and cayenne or paprica. Let simmer for five minutes. This must be creamy, but not too soft. It can be served as filling for patties or potato croustades, or may be served in paper boxes. This amount makes about a cupful of salpicon, which is enough for six patties.

CRABS

Crabs are in season during the months of May, June, July, and August. They may be had at other times, but are then light and stringy. Soft-shell crabs are best in July and August. Like lobsters, crabs must be bought while alive, and boiled in the same way. Put them head first into hot water. After five minutes add one tablespoonful of salt, and boil for thirty minutes.

When cold remove the shells, the stomach, which is just under the head, the gills, and the intestine. Take out the meat carefully.

DEVILED CRABS

12 crabs.

1 cupful of cream or milk.

1½ tablespoonfuls of butter.

1 tablespoonful of flour.

1 tablespoonful chopped parsley.

1 teaspoonful salt.

½ teaspoonful paprica or dash of cayenne.

½ teaspoonful of lemon juice.

Yolks of 4 hard-boiled eggs.

To obtain enough meat to fill nine shells, use twelve crabs. After they are boiled remove the meat with care, breaking it as little as possible.

Put into a double boiler the cream; when it is scalded add to it the flour and butter, which have been rubbed together; stir until smooth and thickened; then add the mashed yolks, the seasoning, and the crab meat. Mix well together, and taste to see if more seasoning is needed. Deviled crabs need to be highly seasoned. A little mustard may be used, if desired. Have the shells carefully washed and dried, and fill them with the mixture, rounding it well on top, and pressing it close to the edges of the shells, so that in frying none of the fat may enter. Smooth the top, and let stand until cold. Beat one egg with one tablespoonful of water, and, holding a shell over this, baste it with the egg, letting it run over the whole top, including the shell; then sprinkle with white bread crumbs. Put two at a time into a frying-basket, and immerse in very hot fat. It will take but a minute to color them. They may be browned in the oven, if preferred, in which case the egging is omitted, and a few pieces of butter are placed on top of the crumbs.

STUFFED CRABS WITH MUSHROOMS

Meat of 6 crabs.

Mushrooms cut into dice the same quantity as of the crab meat.

1 cupful of cream or milk.

1 slice of onion.

1 tablespoonful of butter.

1 tablespoonful of flour.

1 teaspoonful of salt.

½ teaspoonful of paprica, or dash of cayenne.

½ teaspoonful of lemon juice.

Yolks of 4 hard-boiled eggs.

Put into a saucepan one tablespoonful of butter, and one slice of onion chopped fine; before it becomes brown, add one tablespoonful of flour; cook, but not brown; and add slowly one cupful of milk or cream. Stir until smooth and thickened; then add the mashed yolks, the seasoning, the crab meat, and the chopped mushrooms. This mixture should not be very soft. Fill the shells with it, and finish the same as deviled crabs.

SOFT-SHELL CRABS

Wash the crabs carefully; lift up the flap, and remove the sand-bag (stomach), gills, and intestine; dry them well, and dredge with salt and pepper. Roll in flour, and sauté them in butter. Have a generous amount of butter in the frying-pan, and sauté them on both sides; when done place them on a hot dish. To the butter in the frying-pan add a little lemon juice. Strain this over the crabs, and sprinkle them with parsley chopped very fine.

Soft-shell crabs may also be fried, in which case they are first dipped in milk, then covered with fine bread-crumbs, and immersed in hot fat.

They may also be broiled over a slow fire, and when done covered with maître d’hôtel sauce. The preferable way of cooking them is by the method first given.

OYSTER-CRABS

After they are carefully washed and dried, dip them in milk, then roll them in flour, and fry them for one minute in hot fat.

Serve them on a hot napkin with quarters of lemon, or they may be served in fontage cups, or in paper boxes, or in shells. (See also oyster-crabs, page 310.)

CRABS ST. LAURENT

1 cupful of boiled crab meat (6 crabs).

2 tablespoonfuls grated Parmesan cheese.

2 tablespoonfuls white wine.

1 tablespoonful of butter.

1 tablespoonful of flour.

½ cupful stock.

½ cupful cream or milk.

½ teaspoonful salt.

¼ teaspoonful pepper.

Dash of cayenne.

Put into a saucepan one tablespoonful of butter; when melted add the flour; cook, but not brown; add slowly the stock, and stir until perfectly smooth; then add the cream, and when thickened, add the salt and pepper, then the crab meat and the cheese; simmer for a few minutes, and add the wine; spread this mixture over pieces of buttered toast cut in squares or circles; sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese, and place on each piece a small bit of butter; set in the oven for three minutes; serve very hot on a napkin garnished with parsley. This dish may be prepared in a chafing-dish, in which case the mixture must be placed on the toast and served directly from the chafing-dish.

Boiled halibut may be substituted for the crab meat.

CRAB STEW

½ dozen crabs.

1 quart milk.

Yolks of 4 eggs boiled hard.

½ lemon.

1 nutmeg.

2 tablespoonfuls butter.

1 tablespoonful flour.

1 dessert spoonful mustard.

½ teaspoonful salt.

¼ teaspoonful red pepper.

Mash the hard-boiled yolks fine, and rub into them the butter, flour and mustard.

Put the milk into a double boiler; when it is scalded stir in the mixture of egg, etc.; season, and just before serving stir in the crab meat, and add one cupful of sherry. Place in bottom of a deep dish a few thin slices of lemon and turn the stew over them.

128-* This mixture can be spread on a pan, then marked into squares, and baked in the oven. This method makes it a more wholesome dish for those who are unable to eat fried preparations.—M. R.

Chapter IV

MEATS

Slow cooking. Long, slow cooking breaks down the fiber of meat, and so makes it more tender. Whatever method of cooking is employed, this fact should be remembered. Many of the tough pieces are the most nutritious ones, and can by slow cooking be made as acceptable as the more expensive cuts.

Juices. In order to shut in the juices, meat should at first be subjected to a high degree of heat for a short time. A crust or case will then be formed on the outside by the coagulation of the albumen, after which the heat should be lowered, and the cooking proceed slowly. The same rule holds for baking, where the oven must be very hot for the first few minutes only; for boiling, where the water must be boiling and covered for a time, and then placed where it will simmer only; for broiling, where the meat must be placed close to the coals at first, then held farther away.

Tough meats are better boiled, because a lower degree of heat can be maintained and slower cooking insured.

Degree of cooking. Dark meats should be served underdone or red; the white meats thoroughly cooked, but not dried.

Dry meats. Dry meats are improved by being larded.

Cleaning. Clean meat by wiping it with a wet cloth, but do not put it in water.

Seasoning. Salt and pepper draw out the juices; therefore do not put them on meat before cooking, or until after the meat is seared, unless the meat is to be covered at once with egg and crumbs, or with flour.

Do not pierce the meat with a fork while cooking, as it makes an outlet for the juices. If necessary to turn it, use two spoons.

TO ROAST BEEF

Time for cooking rib roast rare eight to ten minutes per pound; time for cooking rolled roast rare, ten to twelve minutes per pound.

To roast beef on a spit before the fire is unquestionably the best method of cooking it; but as few kitchens are equipped for roasting meats, baking them in the oven is generally practised, and has come to be called roasting. Beef should be well streaked with fat, and have a bright-red color. Place the meat to be baked on a rack which will raise it a little above the bottom of the pan. Dredge the whole, top and sides, with flour. Place in a corner of the pan a half teaspoonful of salt and a quarter teaspoonful of pepper. Do not let them touch the raw meat, as they draw out the juices. Put into the pan also two tablespoonfuls of drippings. Place it in a very hot oven for fifteen or twenty minutes, or until the meat is browned; then shut off the drafts and lower the temperature of the oven, and cook slowly until done; baste frequently; do not put water in the pan, as it makes steam, and prevents browning. A roast has a better appearance if the ribs are not too long. They may be cut off and reserved for the soup pot, or broken and doubled under.

Serve it standing on the ribs, and cut the slices in line with the ribs.

For a rolled roast, remove the bones, roll it, and tie securely into good shape; when cooked, cut the cords and run through a fancy skewer holding at the head a slice of lemon or piece of carrot cut into ornamental shape. This piece of beef stands on the dish like a cylinder, and should be cut across horizontally.

If the beef is cooked as directed it will have one quarter of an inch of seared meat; the rest will be of a uniform red color all through. If cooked in too hot an oven the center will be raw, while an inch or two of the outside will be much overdone, hard, and tasteless. (See illustration facing page 152.)

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ROLLED RIB ROAST OF BEEF GARNISHED WITH POTATOES ROASTED IN SAME DISH WITH THE BEEF. FANCY SKEWER GARNISHED WITH SLICES OF TURNIP AND CARROT, RUN INTO THE SIDE TO HOLD IT TOGETHER. (SEE PAGE 146.)

YORKSHIRE PUDDING

Put two cupfuls of flour into a bowl, and mix in one half a teaspoonful of salt. Beat up three eggs, and stir them into the flour; then add two cupfuls of milk. Stir until the mixture is smooth, then turn it into a pan containing a little of the drippings from the roast beef. Let the batter be only one inch deep in the pan. Bake thirty to forty minutes. Cut the pudding in squares, and place it around the roast beef.

ROUND OF BEEF

Ten to twelve minutes per pound.

The cut from the upper side of the round is a good roasting piece. It should be cooked very slowly after it is browned in order to make it tender. The under side of the round should be cooked à la mode, or braised.

BRAISED BEEF

Take one half cupful of salt pork, one half cupful each of carrot, turnip, onion, and celery, all cut into dice. Mix them together and spread them on a baking pan, reserving one half cupful for the top of the meat. On the bed of vegetables place a piece of beef cut from the upper or under side of the round, weighing five or six pounds. Dredge it with flour. Place it in hot oven to brown for twenty to twenty-five minutes. Then add two cupfuls of stock or water; a bouquet of herbs, consisting of parsley, six peppercorns, three cloves, one bay-leaf; spread the one half cupful of vegetables over the meat; add a half teaspoonful of salt to the pan, cover it closely with another pan, reduce the heat of the oven, and cook very slowly for four or five hours.

Double pans are made which are especially good for braising, where the steam should be confined as much as possible, and the basting is done automatically. These pans should not be used for baking meats. If very close fitting pans are not used, the water must be renewed when necessary, and basting done frequently. The success of this dish depends upon slow cooking. Strain the sauce from the pan, season with salt and pepper; pour a little of the sauce over the meat; serve the rest in a sauce-boat. It is very like a Spanish sauce. The vegetables may be served around the meat if desired. This way of cooking can be done in a pot if more convenient, and is then called a pot roast.

BEEF À LA MODE

Use six or seven pounds of the upper round of beef for this dish. (It is very good cold when properly cooked.) The success depends upon very slow cooking. The vegetables give it a distinctive flavor.

Make several deep incisions into the meat with a thin, sharp knife, or with a steel. Press into them lardoons of salt pork about half an inch square, and two or three inches long. This is called daubing, and the butcher will ordinarily do it if requested. Put trimmings of pork, or two tablespoonfuls of drippings, into the bottom of a large iron pot. When it is hot, put in the meat, and brown it on all sides by turning it to the bottom of the pot. This will take about half an hour. Next dredge it with flour, and brown that also. Then put a small plate under the beef to lift it a little off the bottom of the pot, and prevent its burning. Fill the pot with enough boiling water to half cover the meat. Add a half cupful each of sliced onions, carrots, and turnips, and a sprig of parsley. Cover the pot very tight, so the meat will cook in steam; and simmer it for four or five hours. Add more boiling water when necessary. When the meat is done, place it on a hot dish. Place some of the vegetables around and over it. Make a gravy as follows: put into a saucepan a tablespoonful of butter; when it bubbles, add a tablespoonful of flour, and stir until it is browned; then add a cupful of liquor strained from the pot in which the beef was cooked. If there is not a cupful of liquor in the pot, add enough hot water to make that quantity. Season with pepper and salt. This will resemble a Spanish sauce. It can be poured over the meat, or served separately.

BOUILLI

This dish is prepared usually from the meat used in making soup. Take a piece from the lower side of round; trim, and tie it into good shape; place it in the soup pot with cold water, allowing one quart of water to each pound of meat. Let it come slowly to the boiling point, and then let it simmer for four hours. After it has cooked two hours add a whole carrot, onion, and turnip, parsley, celery, six peppercorns, three cloves, one teaspoonful of salt. The meat will be tender if cooked very slowly, and not allowed to boil; but having been put into cold water, its juices will be extracted. Therefore the water is used as soup, and the meat will depend on a good sauce for flavor. Any rich brown sauce will do. Tomato or horseradish sauce is recommended. Cut the vegetables into fancy shapes with cutters, or into dice, and place them on the dish around the meat.

FILLET OF BEEF

Time, thirty minutes in hot oven.

The fillet is the tenderloin of beef, and is taken from the underside of the sirloin cut. Remove, taking care not to make the meat ragged, the sinewy skin and the muscle from the top, and most of the fat from the other side. Fold the thin end under, trim it into good shape. Lard it plentifully, letting the whole upper surface be perforated with fine lardoons. Place in a small baking pan thin slices of larding pork, over the pork place a layer of chopped onion, carrot, turnip and celery; lay the tenderloin on top. Pour in the pan a cupful of stock, add one half teaspoonful of salt, one quarter teaspoonful of pepper, and a bouquet of parsley, one bay-leaf, and two cloves. Bake in a hot oven for thirty minutes, and baste frequently. The fillet should be rare. Remove it when done; strain off the gravy, and skim off the grease. Put into the same pan a tablespoonful each of butter and of flour; stir until they are browned; then add slowly the gravy strained from the pan; if not enough to give a cupful, add enough stock to make that measure. Stir until it boils; then add a canful of mushrooms (which have been drained), and let them simmer for five minutes; not longer, or the mushrooms will harden. Taste to see if the seasoning is right. Add a half teaspoonful of kitchen bouquet to make it brown. The sauce should be of the consistency of cream. A half cupful of Madeira or of sherry may be used in place of the mushrooms if preferred. Spread the sauce on the serving dish, and lay the fillet on it. Arrange the mushrooms top side up, evenly around the fillet. In carving cut the fillet diagonally, instead of straight across; and put a little gravy in the center of each slice. The time for cooking is always thirty minutes, for the weight is in the length, and not in the thickness of the meat.

HOW TO BUY A FILLET

A profitable way to obtain a fillet is to buy a large cut of the sirloin, remove the tenderloin, and have the top cut into two or more roasting pieces. Beef will keep for some time, and the butcher will hold it until called for. In this way it will cost twenty-two to twenty-five cents per pound, while, if bought by itself, it would be from eighty cents to one dollar per pound.

For a moderate sized family it may seem too much beef to buy at one time; but it is the one kind of meat that can be served very often, and there is no waste. It is good hot or cold, warmed over or hashed. The suet is the best fat for frying purposes, and the bones make good soup. Part of the sirloin piece can be cut into steaks, and one of the roasting pieces rolled to give variety. The flank can be made into Hamburg steaks, or into soup. If judiciously cut there will be little left over to cook again.

COLD ROAST BEEF

Roasted and braised beef are both quite as good cold as hot, and in summer are sometimes preferable cold. Serve with cold beef a vegetable salad when it is used for dinner. Make the salad of string beans, asparagus, or a macédoine of vegetables. For a supper dish, the rolled rib roast can be made very attractive by garnishing it with aspic jelly cut into fancy forms. Place a large star of the jelly on top, and small timbale forms of jellied vegetables, and broken jelly on the dish around the meat; or a simpler garnishing can be made with lettuce leaves, tomatoes stuffed with mayonnaise, or celery, etc. Use lettuce with any of the salads. Have a fancy skewer stuck in the side.

SCALLOPED MEAT

Spread in a baking dish alternate layers of bread-crumbs, meat chopped very fine, a sprinkling of chopped parsley and onion, pepper and salt. When the dish is nearly full, pour over enough white sauce to moisten it well; cover with crumbs and bits of butter. Set in oven until browned. Soup stock or tomatoes may also be used for moistening a scallop. If uncooked meat is used, it will require longer cooking (one hour in slow oven), and more liquid used, so that it will not get too dry. The coarse ends of steak can be utilized in this way. A scallop made of raw meat and tomatoes makes a good luncheon dish.

HAMBURG STEAKS

Chop one pound of lean raw meat very fine, remove all the fiber possible. To the mince add

½ tablespoonful of onion juice.

½ teaspoonful salt.

¼ teaspoonful pepper.

Dash of nutmeg.

1 egg.

Form it into small balls, and flatten; dredge them with flour, and sauté them in butter. Place them on a hot dish, and spread with maître d’hôtel butter; or make a thick brown sauce by adding a tablespoonful of flour to the butter used in the sauté pan. Let it brown; then add slowly a little soup stock. Season with salt and pepper, and lemon juice, or Worcestershire sauce. Drop a teaspoonful of sauce on each cake without spreading it. Garnish with water-cresses. These steaks can be made from the end pieces of steaks, or from the round.

When made for invalids, the best meat is used. They are seasoned only with salt and pepper, and broiled just enough to be thoroughly heated. Another way to serve them is to make them the size of English muffins; on the upper side make a depression or hollow, broil or sauté them, and place them on a baking dish; spread them with maître d’hôtel butter, and drop an egg in the hollow top of each one. Put them in the oven just long enough to set the white of the egg. Place a dash of pepper on the center of the yolk, and serve at once very hot.

BEEF PIE

Lay in a pie dish a few thin slices of onion; then a layer of cold cooked beef cut very thin. Dredge with a little flour, pepper, and salt; fill the dish with these articles in alternate layers, and add any cold gravy there may be at hand. Scald and peel enough tomatoes to cover the top of the dish; have them of uniform size, and place them close together. Spread over them some bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and bits of butter. Place the dish in the oven, and cook until the tomatoes are tender.

Mutton or veal may be used in the same way.

WARMED-OVER BEEF (CHAFING-DISH)

Cut the beef into small thin slices, and trim off the fat. Put into a stew pan one tablespoonful of butter, and one tablespoonful of flour. When cooked, and a little browned, add slowly one cupful of stock, one teaspoonful each of Worcestershire sauce and mushroom catsup. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the slices of beef, and let them become thoroughly hot. Then place in the center of a hot dish, and pour the sauce over them. Garnish with croûtons, and serve with it farina balls (see page 223). Tomato catsup may be substituted for the Worcestershire sauce. When this dish is to be prepared in a chafing-dish, the sauce may be made beforehand; the heating and mixing only being done over the lamp, and croûtons alone served with it. Any kind of meat or fish may be used in this way.

INSIDE FLANK

Take the piece of meat called the inside flank; wipe it clean with a wet cloth; carefully remove the skin and fat and lay it flat on a board; moisten three quarters of a cupful of crumbs with stock; add one teaspoonful of salt, one quarter teaspoonful of pepper, one teaspoonful onion juice or one half onion chopped fine, one tablespoonful chopped parsley. Spread this mixture on the meat evenly; then roll and tie it with white twine; turn in the ends to make it even and shapely.

Cut into dice an onion, turnip, and carrot, and place them in a baking-pan; lay the rolled meat on the bed of vegetables; pour in enough stock or water to cover the pan one inch deep; add a bouquet made of parsley, one bay-leaf and three cloves; cover with another pan, and let cook slowly for four or five hours, basting frequently. It can be done in a pot just as well, and should be covered as tight as possible; when cooked, strain off the vegetables; thicken the gravy with brown roux and serve it with the meat. Long, slow cooking is essential to make the meat tender. If cooked too fast it will not be good.

A thin steak cut from the round may be cooked the same way, and a little ham chopped fine may be added to the stuffing. The cost of this dish is not more than eighteen to twenty-five cents, and is enough for four or five persons.

RAGOUT OF BEEF

Cut two pounds of the upper round of beef into inch squares; dredge them with salt and pepper, and roll them in flour. Put into a saucepan some butter and some drippings, or a little suet, and let it try out, using enough only to cover the bottom of the saucepan; when the grease is hot, turn in the pieces of meat, and let them cook until well browned on all sides. Watch, and turn them as soon as browned; then draw the meat to one side of the pan, and add a tablespoonful of flour; let the flour brown, and add a cupful of stock or water, and stir until it comes to the boiling-point; then add a teaspoonful of salt, a half teaspoonful of pepper, one half teaspoonful of kitchen bouquet; one carrot cut into blocks, and one tablespoonful of onion; cover the saucepan, and let it simmer (not boil) for an hour. Just before serving add two tablespoonfuls of sherry or of Madeira. Serve a border of rice around the ragout.

BEEFSTEAK

Some one has said, “There is as much difference between beefsteaks as between faces; and a man of taste can find as much variety in a dinner at the Beefsteak Club as at the most plentifully-served table in town.”

The difference between a thick and a thin steak is particularly marked—the former seems like an altogether different dish from the latter. Thickness. Some may like their steak well done, but it is not a taste to be commended. A perfect steak should be cut one and a half inches thick, and cooked so that on both sides it has a crust one eighth of an inch thick of browned meat, the rest being an even red color. It should be puffed and elastic from the confined steam of the juices. When the steak is over-cooked the steam and the juices have escaped, leaving the meat dry and tasteless. The three best sauces which are served with steak are first the maître d’hôtel and then the Béarnaise and mushroom sauces. Sauces. Tough beefsteaks can be made more tender by pounding them; but a better way is to brush them on both sides with a mixture of one tablespoonful of vinegar and two tablespoonfuls of oil or melted butter. The steak should then stand two or more hours before being cooked. It is the fiber of meat which makes it tough, and this fiber is soluble in acetic acid, which is found in vinegar. Broiling under the coals is better than over them when possible, as all smoke is then avoided.

TO BROIL A BEEFSTEAK

Time: one inch thick, eight minutes; one and a half inches thick, ten minutes.

Trim a steak into good shape, taking off the end-piece to be used in some other form, as it is not eatable when broiled; take off superfluous fat; make the surface smooth by striking it with the broad blade of knife; heat the broiler very hot. Take a piece of the fat, trimmed off the meat, on a fork and grease the broiler well; lay on the steak with the outside or skin edge toward the handle, so the fat may run on the meat. Place it close to the hot coals and count ten slowly; turn it and do the same; this is to sear the outside and keep the juices in; then hold it farther from the coals to cook more slowly, and turn it as often as you count ten, counting about as fast as the clock ticks. If turned in this way very little fat will run into the fire, and it also cooks slowly, giving an even color all through. The flame from fat does not injure the meat, but the smoke must be avoided. Wrap a napkin around the hand holding the broiler to protect it from the heat. A steak ought not to be less than an inch, but should be one and a half to one and three quarters inches thick. Allow eight to ten minutes for cooking according to the thickness. One two inches thick will take fourteen to eighteen minutes. A steak should be rare but not raw, should have a uniform red color, and be full of juice.

When done it will be puffed between the wires of broiler, and will offer a little resistance to the touch. If experience does not enable one to judge in this way, remove the broiler to a dish on the table, and make a small clean cut on one side. Do not at any time pierce the meat with a fork. Sprinkle it with salt and pepper, and spread with maître d’hôtel butter. If the steak has to stand a few minutes before serving, which should be avoided if possible, dredge it at once with salt and pepper, but do not spread with the maître d’hôtel butter until just before sending it to the table. The heat of the meat must melt the butter, and the parsley should look fresh and bright. Steak, as well as all broiled articles, should be garnished with slices of lemon and with water-cress.

Fried potato-balls, straws, puffed, or Saratoga potatoes may be served on the same dish.

CHATEAUBRIAND

The Chateaubriand is cut from the center of the fillet; but a good substitute is a tenderloin steak cut two inches thick, the bone removed, and the meat then turned so as to make a circle. Flatten it by striking with broad blade of knife or a cleaver. Broil slowly as directed above for eighteen minutes. Serve with maître d’hôtel butter, mushroom, or olive sauce, placing the mushrooms or olives on top of the steak, the sauce under it. (See illustration facing page 152.)

The Chateaubriand may also be roasted or braised.

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A BONED TENDERLOIN STEAK MADE TO IMITATE A CHATEAUBRIAND GARNISHED WITH WATER-CRESS AND LEMON. (SEE PAGE 157.)

MIGNON FILLETS

Cut slices from the end of the fillet of beef about five eighths of an inch thick. Press and trim them into circles; dredge with salt and pepper; sauté them in butter; spread Béarnaise sauce on a hot dish, and lay the mignon fillets on it, or lay the fillets on croûtons of the same size as the fillet, and place on top of each one a small spoonful of peas, string-beans, or macédoine of vegetables.

CORNED BEEF

Put corned beef into cold water; using enough to cover it well; let it come slowly to the boiling-point; then place where it will simmer only; allow thirty minutes or more to each pound. It is improved by adding a few soup vegetables the last hour of cooking. A piece from the round is the best cut, and should have a layer of fat. If cooked very slowly as directed, it will be tender and juicy.

If the piece can be used a second time, trim it to good shape; place it again in the water in which it was boiled; let it get heated through; then set aside to cool in the water and under pressure, a plate or deep dish holding a flat-iron being set on top of the meat. The water need not rise above the meat sufficiently to wet the iron. When cooled under pressure the meat is more firm and cuts better into slices.

Cabbage is usually served with hot corned beef, but should not be boiled with it. The receipt given on page 212 is recommended, and if that method is followed, there will be no odor from the cooking, and the objection to this very good dish will be removed.

CORNED BEEF HASH

Chop cooked corned beef, using some of the fat. Do not make it too fine; chop some cold boiled potatoes (not fine); mix the two together in equal proportions; season with salt, pepper, and onion juice, if liked.

Put a tablespoonful of butter in a frying-pan with as much milk, stock, or hot water as will be required to moisten the hash; add the chopped meat and potatoes; mix them together with care to not mash the potatoes; cover and cook slowly for half an hour, or until a crust has formed on the bottom of the pan; then turn it on to a hot dish, like an omelet. Hash should not be like mush, but the meat and potato quite distinct, and as both ingredients have been already cooked they need only to be well heated and incorporated with the seasoning.

HASH

Unless for brown hash, or corned beef hash, potato is not used. Chop the meat to a fine mince. Put a tablespoonful of butter into a frying-pan with one slice of onion; remove the onion when cooked, and add one tablespoonful of flour, and let it brown, thus making a brown roux, if the hash is to be made of beef or mutton. Do not let it brown if it is to be used for veal or chicken hash. To the brown roux add slowly a cupful of stock or hot water; then a cupful and a half of minced meat; season with salt and pepper; stir until well incorporated, and serve at once on toast. To a white roux add slowly a cupful of milk; then add one and a half cupfuls of veal or chicken chopped fine; season with salt and pepper. Cut toast into large circles with a biscuit-cutter. Spread them with a thick layer of mince, and on this place a poached egg, neatly trimmed to the same size as the toast. It can be cut with the same cutter, or it may be poached in a muffin-ring (see page 263).

Put a dash of pepper on the center of yolk. Garnish with parsley. This makes a very presentable breakfast or luncheon dish.

BROWN HASH

Cut lean meat into small dice; cut also cold boiled potatoes into dice of the same size; mix them together, and place in a small baking-pan; dredge with salt and pepper, and dot plentifully with bits of butter. Put into hot oven to brown; stir them often so all sides will brown alike, and do not let them become too dry.

MARROW-BONES

Have the bones cut into pieces two or three inches long; scrape and wash them very clean; spread a little thick dough on each end to keep the marrow in; then tie each bone in a piece of cloth and boil them for one hour. Remove the cloth and paste, and place each bone on a square of toast; sprinkle with red pepper and serve very hot. Or the marrow-bone can be boiled without being cut, the marrow then removed with a spoon and placed on squares of hot toast. Serve for luncheon. (See illustration facing page 152.)

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MARROW-BONES SERVED ON ROUND SLICES OF TOAST. (SEE PAGE 159.)

MUTTON

The cuts and cooking of Mutton. Mutton should be hung for some days before being used. The leg may be either boiled or roasted; the saddle always roasted; the shoulder boned, stuffed and roasted; the chops broiled, and the neck stewed. Except where it is stewed, mutton should be cooked rare. Mrs. Brugière recommends pounding the leg of mutton before cooking it. The roasted leg or the saddle are the only forms of mutton permissible to serve at a ceremonious dinner. The strong taste of mutton is in the fat. Therefore trim off a part of the fat from the outside, and when baking it in the oven set the joint on a rack in the pan, so it will not cook in the fat.

Vegetables to serve with Mutton. Certain vegetables have by experience been found to go well with certain meats. Of these turnips have been established as the accompaniment of mutton. This has been amusingly emphasized by an anecdote told of Charles Lamb. Anecdote of Charles Lamb. On an occasion when riding in a stage coach, he was much annoyed by a Scotch farmer, who was a fellow passenger, asking him questions about the crops. “And pray, sir,” asked the farmer, “how are turnips t’ year?” “Why,” stammered Lamb, “that will depend upon the boiled legs of mutton.”

Turnips and carrots cut into dice, boiled separately, then mixed and covered with white sauce, also make a good vegetable dish for boiled mutton. Caper sauce is always served with it.

Another anecdote is given as a suggestion for an expedient in case the mutton is too underdone (boiled mutton should be red, but not black). An English nobleman, on being shown a Dutch picture representing a man in a passion with his wife because the mutton was underdone, exclaimed, “What a fool the fellow is not to see that he may have a capital broil.”

With roasted mutton may be served baked turnips stuffed with seasoned bread-crumbs soaked in cream. It is a Russian dish. Bananas cut in two, rolled in egg and crumbs, and fried like croquettes, are also recommended for roast mutton. Mint sauce and green peas are usually served with spring lamb.

ROAST LEG OF MUTTON

Time ten minutes per pound (rare); fifteen minutes per pound (moderately well done).

Cut the bone short, place in a hot oven for twenty minutes; then add one cupful of hot water; baste frequently. Allow ten minutes to the pound for cooking rare. When ready to serve conceal the bone with a frill of paper, or a few leaves of parsley.

ROAST LOIN OF MUTTON

Have the joints cracked entirely through, so there may be no trouble in carving. Remove the fat and kidney. Allow nine minutes to the pound; roast the same as the leg.

ROAST SADDLE OF MUTTON

The saddle is the back of the animal. If split it would be called the loin, and when cut gives the chops. It does not furnish very much meat for a roast, so requires to be a large cut. It is esteemed for its handsome appearance, as well as for its flavor. Remove the skin from the top, also the fat and kidneys from the under side. The suet on the top can be lightly cut in points, and a little raised to make decoration. Roll the flaps under, and tie into a well rounded shape. If a large saddle is used, the tail is left on. It should be cooked in a hot oven, basted frequently, and cooked rare, allowing nine minutes to the pound. In carving cut slices the length of the saddle, and parallel to the back bone; then slip the knife under, and separate them from the rib bones. After the top is carved, the saddle is turned, and the tenderloin, which lies on the under side, is cut in the same way.

Serve currant jelly with the saddle of mutton.

ROLLED LOIN (CROWN ROAST)

Have the butcher cut a full loin, split the bone between the chops, trim the rib bones as for French chops, and chop them off to a uniform length; then roll the loin backward into a circle, and tie securely. Have a thick slice of larding pork wrapped around each bone, so it will not burn while cooking. Baste frequently while roasting, and allow nine minutes to the pound. Serve with Saratoga or other fancy fried potatoes in the basket-like top formed by the bones. Place a frill of paper on each bone.

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CROWN ROAST. A RACK OF MUTTON, THE CENTER FILLED WITH SARATOGA POTATOES. (SEE PAGE 162.)

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CROWN ROAST PREPARED FOR COOKING.

SHOULDER OF MUTTON STUFFED

Have the butcher carefully remove the blade from the shoulder, and fill the space with a mixture made of

1 cupful of bread-crumbs.

2 tablespoonfuls of butter.

1 tablespoonful chopped parsley.

1 dozen oysters.

Juice of 1 lemon.

1 teaspoonful of salt.

¼ teaspoonful of pepper.

1 egg.

Sew up the opening, roast in the oven with a little water in the pan; allow fifteen minutes to the pound, and baste frequently. Serve with the gravy from the pan, after the grease is carefully poured off. More oysters may be used, or they may be omitted altogether. A stuffing may be made of chopped meat, celery, onion, mushrooms, crumbs, egg, and seasoning of salt and pepper.

A stuffed shoulder can be pressed into a shape to resemble a fowl or a duck, and garnished so as to make an ornamental dish.

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BONED AND STUFFED SHOULDER OF MUTTON. (SEE PAGE 163.)

BOILED MUTTON

Time fifteen minutes to the pound.

Put the mutton in just enough boiling water to cover it, and put on the lid of the pot. After fifteen minutes draw it aside, and let it simmer for the required time. Thirty minutes before removing the meat add some soup vegetables. They will give flavor to the meat, and enrich the water, which may be used for soup the next day. Cut the carrot and turnip in half inch thick slices, and stamp with a fluted cutter, so the rims will be scalloped. Place the meat on a hot dish, and rub lightly over it enough of the white sauce (to be used for the caper sauce) to make the surface white and smooth. Sprinkle with chopped parsley or capers. Take the sliced vegetables, cut a hole in the center, and string them alternately on the bone, which will protrude at each end. This will give the effect of skewers, conceal the bone, and make the dish more presentable.

Serve with caper sauce.

CAPER SAUCE

Put two tablespoonfuls of butter into a saucepan; when melted, add a tablespoonful of flour; cook for a few minutes, but not brown; then add one cupful of water in which the mutton was boiled; season with salt and pepper, strain, and add one heaping tablespoonful of capers.

RAGOUT OF MUTTON OR LAMB

One and one half pounds of the neck of mutton or lamb cut into pieces one inch square.

1 tablespoonful of butter.

1 tablespoonful of flour.

1 onion.

1 carrot.

½ can of peas.

1½ cupfuls of water or stock.

1 teaspoonful of salt.

¼ teaspoonful of pepper.

Sprig of parsley.

1 bay-leaf.

1 clove.

Put the butter into a frying-pan; when melted add the flour, and let brown. Then add the carrot and onion cut into dice, and the mutton. Cook, stirring frequently, until all are browned, using care that they do not burn; it will take about twenty minutes. Then add the stock or water, and the seasoning, having the herbs in a bouquet, so they can be removed. Cover closely, and let simmer for two hours. Add the peas ten minutes before removing from the fire.

RAGOUT OF COLD BOILED MUTTON

2 cupfuls of cold boiled mutton cut in inch squares.

1 onion sliced.

1 cupful of stock or water in which mutton was boiled.

2 tablespoonfuls of butter.

½ can of peas.

1 teaspoonful of salt.

¼ teaspoonful of pepper.

1 head of lettuce.

Farina balls.

Put all the ingredients, except the lettuce and farina balls, into a saucepan together; cover closely, and simmer very slowly for one hour; stir occasionally, but with care not to break the meat or peas. When ready to serve, taste to see if the seasoning is right, and pour on a hot dish. Lay around the edge, and close to the meat, the crisp leaves of one head of lettuce, and the farina balls (see page 223). This way of utilizing cold mutton will be found very good. The garnishing makes it a presentable dish, and is a good accompaniment in place of other vegetables.

IRISH STEW

Cut the neck of mutton into pieces two and one half or three inches square. Put them into a saucepan with one tablespoonful of butter, and let them brown; stir frequently so they do not burn. When browned add enough water to cover them well, and two or three onions cut into pieces. Cover closely and let simmer two hours. Then add more water if necessary, some parboiled potatoes cut in two, and a few slices of carrot, salt, and pepper to taste; cover and let cook one hour more. A teaspoonful of Worcestershire sauce is an improvement. The gravy must be quite thick, so too much water must not be used. The potatoes should be very soft, but not broken.

MUTTON CHOPS

Loin chops should be cut one and one fourth inches thick, and the fat trimmed off, leaving them round; or the end pieces may be pared off thin, wrapped around the chops, and fastened with a skewer, making the chop into the form of a circle.

The breast chops are cut a little thinner, the bones scraped and cut into even lengths. They are called French chops when the bones are bare. Whichever kind of chops are used, they should be all of uniform size and shape.

Broil the chops over or under hot coals, turning the broiler as often as you count ten slowly, using the same method as in broiling steak. When the meat offers a little resistance and is puffy, it is done. If cooked too long the chops will be hard and dry. If properly seared at first the juices are shut in, and the inflation is caused by the confined steam from the juices. It will take eight to ten minutes to broil chops which are one inch thick. When done sprinkle over them a little salt and pepper and butter. Dress them on a hot dish in a circle, the chops overlapping.

Green peas, string-beans, or any small vegetable, or fancy-fried potatoes, such as balls, straws, Saratoga, etc., may be served on the same dish, and placed in the center of the circle, or around the chops. Spinach or mashed potato pressed into form of socle may be used, and the chops rested against it, the bones pointing up or slanting. Paper frills placed on the ends of the bones improve their appearance.

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RAGOUT OF MUTTON GARNISHED WITH FARINA BALLS AND LETTUCE. (SEE PAGE 165.)

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THREE KINDS OF MUTTON CHOPS.

1. English Mutton Chop.

2. French Chop.

3. Boned and Rolled Chop.

(See page 165.)

CHOPS IN PAPER CASES

Put into a frying-pan some slices of salt pork; when tried out, lay in neatly trimmed and seasoned lamb or veal chops; let them sauté until half cooked; remove the chops, and to the pan add a tablespoonful of onion chopped fine; when the onion is cooked add a cupful of stock and a cupful of mixture containing minced veal or chicken, a little ham, and mushrooms, chopped parsley, and truffles if convenient; salt and pepper to taste. Put a spoonful of this sauce on a well-buttered or oiled paper, cut in heart-shape; lay the chop on the sauce, and on the chop put another spoonful of the sauce. Fold the paper over, and plait the edges together so as to completely enclose the chop. Lay the enclosed chops on a buttered dish, and place them in the oven for ten minutes; serve on the same dish very hot. Chops can also be broiled in well-greased paper, and with a little care it is easily done without burning the paper. Heavy writing paper should be used; the fire should be moderate, and the chops turned frequently. They are served in the papers, and are very good, as they hold all the juices of the meat.

CHOPS À LA MAINTENON

Put one tablespoonful of butter in a frying-pan; when hot add one tablespoonful of flour; let the flour cook a few minutes; then add four tablespoonfuls of chopped mushrooms, one teaspoonful of parsley, one half teaspoonful of salt, and a dash of pepper; moisten with three tablespoonfuls of stock; mix well together and set aside to cool. Have six French chops cut one inch thick. With a sharp knife split the chops in two without separating them at the bone; spread the mushroom mixture between the opened chops; press the edges well together, and broil for eight minutes; serve with an olive sauce.

SPRING LAMB

Spring lamb is best when two months old. It must be used when fresh, and must be thoroughly cooked, but not dried. It is divided into the fore and hind quarters, the whole of either not being too much to serve at one time; the former are less expensive than the latter, but the meat is equally sweet and good. Roast it in a hot oven with a little water in the pan; allow fifteen to eighteen minutes to the pound, and baste frequently; serve with it mint sauce, and green peas or asparagus tips for vegetable.

When using a fore quarter, have the bones well cracked, so that in carving it may be cut into squares, or have the shoulder blade removed. A very good dressing may be made on the table as follows: cut around the shoulder bone; lift and place under it two tablespoonfuls of butter, the juice of one lemon, one teaspoonful of salt, one half teaspoonful of pepper. Press the pieces together, and let stand a minute to melt the butter before carving.

VEAL

The flesh of veal should be pink and firm, the bones hard. If it has a blue tinge and is flabby, it has been killed too young, and is unwholesome. Like lamb, it must be used while perfectly fresh and be thoroughly cooked. It contains less nourishment than other kinds of meat; also, having less flavor, it requires more seasoning. Veal is frequently used as a substitute for chicken. It can be made into croquettes and salads very acceptably.

ROAST FILLET OF VEAL

The fillet is cut from the upper part of the leg, and should be four to six inches thick. Only one good fillet can be cut from the leg. Press and tie it into good round shape. Lay a few slices of larding pork over the top. Place it in very hot oven for fifteen minutes; then lower the heat; baste frequently with water from the pan; allow eighteen to twenty minutes to the pound. It must be thoroughly cooked, but not dried. Remove the slices of pork from top a half hour before it is done, so it may brown. The bone may be removed from the fillet before cooking, and the space filled with stuffing made of crumbs, sweet herbs, pepper and salt, and a little chopped salt pork. Thicken the gravy in pan to serve with the fillet.

STUFFED SHOULDER OF VEAL

Twenty to twenty-five minutes per pound.

Have the blade removed, and fill the space with a stuffing made of bread crumbs, thyme, marjoram, lemon juice, chopped salt pork, salt and pepper, and an egg; also chopped mushrooms, if desired. Sew up the opening, press and tie it into good shape, and roast the same as the fillet. The stuffing may also be made of minced veal cut from the knuckle, highly seasoned.

FRICANDEAU OF VEAL

The fricandeau is the most choice cut of veal. It is taken from the upper round of the leg, and is one side of the fillet. As it destroys that cut, it commands the highest price. It should be cut four inches thick, and is usually larded and braised. Place it in a baking-pan on a layer of sliced salt pork, and chopped carrot, onion, and turnip. Add a bouquet of herbs, a cupful of stock, and enough water to fill the pan one and a half inches deep. Cover closely, and let cook in moderate oven, allowing twenty minutes to the pound; baste frequently. Remove the cover for the last half hour, so the meat may brown. Strain the gravy from the pan to serve with it.

VEAL CUTLETS

Leave the cutlet whole or cut it into pieces of uniform size and shape; dredge with salt and pepper; dip in egg and cover with bread crumbs or with flour; sauté cutlets in drippings, or in a frying-pan after slices of salt pork have been tried out. Cook until well browned on both sides; then place them on a hot dish and moisten the top with a little lemon juice; or, omitting the lemon juice, serve with them a tomato or a Béarnaise sauce, or make a gravy by adding a little flour to the grease in the pan, and diluting to right consistency, after the flour is browned, with stock or water. If the gravy is used, put it in the bottom of the dish and place the cutlets on it.

A PLAIN POT-PIE

Cut veal, chicken, or beef into pieces; put them with strips of pork into boiling water and cook until tender; season with salt, pepper, and butter. There should be enough liquid to make a generous amount of gravy. When the stew is ready cook the dumplings, and place them on the same dish around the stew. If suet dumplings are used, they must be placed in the pot as soon as it boils in order to cook them a sufficient length of time. It is better to cook either kind of dumplings in a separate pot with plenty of water, and not remove them until the stew is dished and ready to be sent to the table.

DUMPLINGS WITH BAKING POWDER

2 cupfuls of flour.

½ teaspoonful of salt.

2 teaspoonfuls of baking powder.

1 cupful of milk.

Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder well together, then stir in quickly the milk. Have the dough quite soft. Drop the batter from a spoon into the stew, or into boiling water; or, if preferred, make the dough just consistent enough to roll, and cut it into squares. The stew must not be allowed to stop simmering after the dumplings are in; and they must be served immediately after being taken from the pot, or they will fall. It will take ten minutes to cook them.

DUMPLINGS WITH SUET

1 cupful of chopped suet.

2 scant cupfuls of flour.

1 teaspoonful of salt.

½ cupful of cold water.

Mix together lightly the flour, suet and salt; then with a knife stir in quickly the water. The dough must be soft, but not sticky. Put it on a board, and roll it lightly to one inch thickness, and place it on the boiling stew in one cake. The stew must not stop boiling for a moment, or the dumpling will fall. Cook for one hour. The dough may be rolled into balls if preferred. When the dumpling is put in, draw the pot forward where it will heat quickly, and not arrest the boiling. When it is thoroughly hot, place it where it will simmer continually during the hour of cooking. If this rule is observed, it will be light and spongy. Where cooked meat is used, which does not require such long cooking, the dumplings may be boiled in water.

This mixture can be used for fruit and for roly-poly puddings (see page 443).

JELLIED VEAL

Wipe a knuckle of veal clean with a wet cloth; have it well broken. Put it in a saucepan with two quarts of water, or enough to cover it. Tie in a piece of cheese-cloth one tablespoonful each of chopped onion, carrot, and turnip, a little parsley and celery, three cloves, and a blade of mace. Put it in the pot. Boil slowly until the veal falls from the bone; then strain it, and put the liquor again in the saucepan; season it with salt, pepper, and a little lemon juice. Reduce it to one quart by boiling with the cover off the saucepan. Cut two hard-boiled eggs into thin slices, and with them ornament the bottom of a plain mold; a brick ice-cream mold, or a small tin basin will do. Put a very little of the liquor in to fix the ornament, but not enough to float the egg slices. When set add a little more of the liquor, enough to make a layer of jelly one quarter of an inch thick. When that is set fill the mold with the veal, and place slices of boiled egg between the layers of meat. Around the sides of the mold lay in slices of egg. Then pour in as much of the liquor as it will hold, and set away to harden. This makes a good cold dish to use with salad.

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JELLIED VEAL DECORATED WITH SLICES OF HARD-BOILED EGG. GARNISHED WITH LETTUCE.

VEAL LOAF

3 pounds of veal.

½ pound of ham, or

¼ pound of salt pork.

2 eggs.

1 cupful of fine bread or cracker crumbs.

1 teaspoonful of salt.

½ teaspoonful of pepper.

1 teaspoonful of onion juice.

½ teaspoonful of ground mace.

½ teaspoonful of allspice.

Chop the veal and ham very fine, mix into it the other ingredients, and mold it into a loaf; or press it into a mold or tin to form a loaf; then turn it on a baking dish. Baste it with beaten egg, and sprinkle it with bread crumbs. Cook in moderate oven for two hours, basting it several times with melted butter and water. This dish is to be served cold.

VEAL SCALLOP

Chop veal to a fine mince. Put into a baking-dish alternate layers of veal and bread crumbs, sprinkling the meat with salt and pepper, the crumbs with bits of butter. Over the top pour a white sauce made of one tablespoonful each of butter and flour, and one cupful of milk. Spread over it a layer of crumbs, and put in the oven to brown.

Rice may be used instead of the crumbs, and tomatoes instead of the white sauce.

LIVER AND BACON

Cut the liver into slices one half inch thick; lay them in boiling water for a few minutes, then dry and cover them with flour and a little pepper and salt. Lay in a hot frying-pan very thin slices of bacon. When tried out enough for the bacon to be crisp, remove it and put the slices of liver in the same frying pan. Cook until thoroughly done, but not dried. Remove the liver, and to the fat in the pan add a spoonful of flour; when the flour is brown, add enough water slowly to make a thick sauce. Pour the sauce over the liver, and place the bacon around it. Liver is generally cut thin, but it will be found much better when cut a half inch or more thick. The bacon should be cut thin, and cooked quickly; the liver cut thick, and cooked slowly.

BROILED LIVER

Slice the liver. Let it soak in hot water a few minutes to draw out the blood. Dry it, rub it with butter, and broil five to eight minutes, turning it constantly. It should not be cooked until dry. When done, spread it with butter, and serve at once.

BRAISED LIVER

Use a calf’s or lamb’s liver.

Lard it in two or three rows. Cut into dice one carrot, one turnip, one onion, a stalk of celery, and the bits left from the lardoons of salt pork; put them in a baking pan, and on this bed of vegetables place the larded liver. Add two cupfuls of stock or hot water, and a bouquet of one sprig of parsley, one bay-leaf, and two cloves. Cover with another pan, and cook in moderate oven for two hours; baste occasionally. Serve with the vegetables from the pan, on the same dish, placed around the liver. Pour over the liver a sauce made as follows: Put in a saucepan one tablespoonful of butter; when melted, add one tablespoonful of flour, and stir until browned; then add slowly the strained liquor from the pan. If there is not enough to make one cupful, add water to make that quantity. Season with salt and pepper, and add, if convenient, one tablespoonful each of Worcestershire sauce and mushroom catsup.

STEWED KIDNEYS

Beef, calf or lamb kidneys may be used. Be sure they are very fresh. Remove the fat and white center, then soak them for one hour in salted water. Cut them in slices one half inch thick, cover the slices with flour, and sauté them for five minutes in one tablespoonful of butter. Add to the frying-pan one thin slice of onion and one half cupful of water, and simmer for ten minutes, not longer. The kidneys will be tough and hard if cooked too long. Just before serving, add one quarter cupful of sherry; salt and pepper to taste. One tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce may be used instead of the sherry.

TRIPE

Soak the tripe for several hours, then scrape it thoroughly clean, put it in salted water, and simmer it for three or four hours, until it is like jelly. Drain off the water, and put the tripe aside until ready to use. Put a tablespoonful of butter in a saucepan; when hot add a tablespoonful of flour, and cook for a few minutes, but do not brown. Then add slowly one cupful of milk, and stir until smooth. Add a half teaspoonful of salt, a dash of pepper, and a half teaspoonful of onion juice; then add one cupful of the boiled tripe. Stir until the tripe is heated, and serve immediately.

CALF’S HEART

Wash the heart, but do not let it soak, or stand in water. Fill it with a stuffing made of minced meat or of bread, either one of them seasoned with onion, sage, thyme, marjoram, pepper and salt, and an egg to bind it. Bake it for two hours, basting it frequently with water from the pan. When the heart is cooked remove it, and add to the pan a tablespoonful of flour; stir until it has browned. Then, if there is not enough liquor in the pan, add to it just enough water to make a thick sauce. Strain this over the heart, and serve on the same dish some boiled and browned onions.

BEEF’S TONGUE

If a smoked tongue is used, soak it over night. Put it in cold water, and let it come to the boiling point. Then simmer for four hours, or until tender.

Boil a fresh tongue in salted water one and a half hours. A few soup vegetables may be added to the water if convenient. Before putting it in the water, trim it carefully, and skewer it into good shape. When it is boiled remove the skin. If it is to be used cold, replace the skewer, put it again in the water in which it was boiled, and let it remain there until cold; then cover it with a meat glaze colored red. If served hot, pour over it a white sauce, and garnish with parsley and sliced pickle; or serve with it a piquante sauce. Spinach is a good vegetable to serve with tongue.

HOT SLICED TONGUE

Make a piquante sauce (see page 283). Lay slices of boiled tongue cut one half inch thick into it, and let them remain until well heated. Arrange the hot slices in a circle, the slices overlapping, and pour the sauce in the center. Garnish with capers, slices of hard-boiled eggs, and gherkins; or make a form of spinach by pressing into a bowl well-chopped and seasoned spinach. Turn it on the center of a dish, and lay the slices around or against it. Serve with piquante or with pickle sauce.

COLD TONGUE

Lay thick slices of tongue in a circle, the pieces overlapping. Place in the center a bunch of nasturtium blossoms and lettuce leaves. Serve with Tartare or cold Béarnaise sauce.

JELLIED TONGUE

Cut tongue into slices. Lay them together to look like a solid piece, and place them in a square or brick-shaped mold. Sprinkle a few capers in the bottom of the mold before putting in the tongue. Have the mold only large enough for the tongue to fit in easily, but be held in place. Fill with aspic jelly (see page 321).

BOILED CALF’S HEAD

Have the head split open, and the gristle about the nose and eyes, and the eyes and ears, removed by the butcher. Wash thoroughly the head; remove the tongue and brains; parboil the brains, and set them aside with the tongue to use on another occasion (see page 307). Blanch the head by putting it into cold water; when it comes to the boiling point, pour off the hot water, and cover it with cold water. When cold, rub it with lemon. Put it into boiling water, enough to cover it; add two tablespoonfuls of vinegar or white wine, twelve peppercorns, one bay-leaf, one onion, one carrot, and a sprig of parsley. Cover the pot, and let boil for two hours, or until tender, but not ready to fall apart. When done, take out the bones carefully, and lay the meat on a baking dish in compact shape. Rub over the top with egg, sprinkle it with bread crumbs and bits of butter, and set in the oven to brown. Serve with it a Poulette or an Allemande sauce.

Put any of the meat left over after being served in this manner into a mold; fill it up with water in which the head was boiled; season to taste. This will make a jellied meat very good to use with salad.

The water from the pot will make a good soup. (See mock turtle soup.) Four separate dishes can be made from one head, viz.: boiled calf’s head, cold jellied calf’s head, mock turtle soup, tongue and brains, with white, Poulette, or Vinaigrette sauce.

CALF’S HEAD WITH VINAIGRETTE SAUCE

After the calf’s head is boiled as directed above, take it from the water, remove the meat, and press it into a square mold or tin, and let it get entirely cold. It can then be cut into uniform pieces. When ready to serve, heat some of the liquor in which the head was boiled, cut some long slices from the form of cold calf’s head, lay them in the hot liquor to become hot only. Remove them carefully, and place them on a hot dish. Pour over them a Vinaigrette sauce. (For sauce, see page 307.)

PORK

Salt pork and bacon should be kept always at hand; the former for larding, spreading in thin slices over baked meats, poultry, and birds, and various other uses as directed in many receipts. Bacon is an appetizing accompaniment to many breakfast dishes. Fresh pork is used only in cold weather, and must be thoroughly cooked.

ROAST PORK

The roasting pieces are the leg, loin, spare-rib, and shoulder. If the skin is left on cut it through in lines both ways, forming small squares. Put a cupful of water in the pan with the meat; bake in a moderate oven, allowing twenty to twenty-five minutes to the pound. Pork must be thoroughly cooked. Serve with apple sauce or fried apples.

FRIED APPLES

Cut slices one half inch thick across the apple, giving circles. Do not remove the skin or core.

Or cut the apples in quarters, leaving on the skin and removing the core. Sauté the apples in butter or drippings until tender, but not soft enough to lose form.

Serve the fried apples on the same dish with pork as garnishing.

PORK CHOPS

Cut pork chops not more than one half inch thick. Trim off most of the fat, dredge them with flour, and sauté them until thoroughly cooked, and well browned. It will take about twenty-five minutes. Serve with fried apples.

BOILED HAM

Soak the ham over night, or for several hours. Thoroughly wash and scrape it. Put it into cold water; let it come to the boiling point; then simmer, allowing twenty minutes to the pound. Pierce the ham with a fine skewer. If done the skewer can be withdrawn easily without sticking. Let the ham partly cool in the water; then remove and draw off the skin. Sprinkle the top plentifully with cracker crumbs and brown sugar, or brush it with egg. Press into it a number of whole cloves, and set it in the oven a few minutes to brown. Or the ham may be left white, and dotted with pepper, a clove stuck in the center of each spot of pepper. Soup vegetables and a bouquet of herbs boiled with a ham improve its flavor. A ham boiled in cider is especially good. Trim the meat around the bone, and conceal the bone with a paper frill or vegetable cut into shape of rose. Ornament the ham with dressed skewers, or with parsley and lemon.

See caption
COLD HAM COVERED WITH CHAUDFROID SAUCE AND DECORATED WITH TRUFFLES TO IMITATE BRANCHES—ORNAMENT ON TOP A HALF-OLIVE SURROUNDED WITH SLICES OF PICKLE—A PIECE OF THE HAM-SKIN LEFT ON THE BONE END AND THE EDGE OF THE SKIN DECORATED WITH TRIANGULAR AND DIAMOND-SHAPED PIECES OF TRUFFLE—PAPER FRILL ON HAM-BONE—DISH GARNISHED WITH LETTUCE, WATER-CRESS, OR PARSLEY.

BAKED HAM

Soak and prepare the ham as directed above. Let it simmer for two hours; then remove it and take off the skin, and bake it in a moderate oven for two hours; baste it frequently, using a cupful of sherry, two spoonfuls at a time, until all is used; then baste with drippings from the pan. When done, cover it with a paste made of browned flour and brown sugar moistened with sherry, and replace in the oven for a few minutes to brown.

BROILED HAM AND EGGS

Cut the ham very thin. If very salt, place it in boiling water for a few minutes. Then dry and broil it over hot coals for three or four minutes.

Put a few pieces of salt pork into a frying pan. When tried out, add the eggs, one at a time, from a saucer. Baste the top of the eggs with fat from the pan. Let them brown a little on the edges, but not blacken, and serve them around the slices of ham.

Boiled ham may be broiled. If so, cut it into thin, small pieces, and after broiling it, place on each piece a fried egg.

HAM AND EGGS À L’AURORE

Chop fine some cold boiled ham. Boil six or eight eggs very hard (see page 262). With a sharp knife cut them in quarters lengthwise. Remove the yolks, and press them through a coarse sieve or strainer; lay the white segments in warm water. Make a white sauce, using two tablespoonfuls of butter; when melted, add two tablespoonfuls of flour, and let cook for a few minutes; then add slowly two cupfuls of milk. Stir constantly, and when a smooth, consistent sauce, season with salt and white pepper.

Moisten the chopped ham with a little of the sauce, and place it on the fire just long enough to become well heated. Stir constantly so the sauce will not brown. Make a smooth, rounded mold of the ham in the center of a hot dish. Pour over it the white sauce. Sprinkle thickly over the top the yolk crumbs; then range evenly around it the white segments of the eggs.

BACON

Cut bacon very thin, as shown on page 78. Lay the slices on a hot frying-pan. When clear turn them over. Tip the pan a little, so the fat will run to one side. If not wanted crisp and dry, turn the slices before they look clear, and remove before all the fat is tried out.

Chapter V

POULTRY AND GAME

CHICKENS

To judge the age of a chicken, touch the end of the breastbone. If it is still cartilaginous, and bends easily from side to side, the meat of the chicken will be tender. If the cartilage has hardened to bone, the bird is over a year old, and should be used only for the purposes which fowls serve. The skin of the chicken should be firm, smooth and white; the feet soft, the legs smooth and yellow, the spurs small, the eyes bright and full, the comb red. On young chickens there are pin-feathers; on fowls, there are long hairs. The dry-picked chickens are preferable to those which are scalded. It is not easy to find all the conditions right in our markets, which are mostly supplied with frozen poultry, and one is obliged to rely very much on the honesty of the poulterer. Chicken, to be perfectly wholesome and good-flavored, should be drawn as soon as killed; but here again we are subject to the customs of our markets, and are obliged to buy poultry which has not only been killed, but undrawn, for an indefinite time. It is presumable, however, that poultry sent to market is frozen shortly after being killed, and it does not deteriorate while frozen. It should be drawn at once after it comes to the kitchen, without waiting for the time to prepare it for cooking.

TO CLEAN AND DRAW POULTRY

First, remove any pin-feathers; then singe off the hairs. This is done best over an alcohol flame. Put one or two tablespoonfuls of alcohol into a plate or saucer and ignite it. (Wood alcohol is inexpensive, and besides serving this purpose very well may be used also in the chafing-dish and tea-kettle lamps.) If alcohol is not at hand, use lighted paper, but take care not to smoke the chicken. Hold the fowl by the head and feet, and turn it constantly, exposing every part to the flame. Washing. After singeing, wash the outside of the chicken thoroughly with a cloth and bowl of water. The skin will become several degrees whiter when freed from dust and the marks of much handling. Do not place the chicken in the bowl of water, or at any time allow the meat to soak, as that will extract its flavor. After the chicken is drawn, it should only be wiped out with a wet cloth. If it is properly drawn there will be nothing unclean to wash away from the inside. After the skin of the chicken is cleaned, cut off the head, cut the skin down the back of the neck, turn it over while you remove carefully the crop and windpipe, and cut off the neck close to the body, leaving the skin to fold over the opening. Drawing the Sinews. Next take the leg, bend it back slightly, and carefully cut the skin on the joint, just enough to expose the sinews without cutting them; run a skewer or fork under them, one at a time, and draw them out; five or eight of them can be easily removed after a little practice. The one on the back of the leg is particularly large and strong. These sinews are very tough and almost bony after cooking, especially in turkeys, but if they are removed the meat of the drumstick is quite as good as that of the second joint. After the sinews are drawn, break the leg off at the joint, the sinews hanging to it. Cut a small opening under the rump; run a finger around close to the body to loosen the entrails. Do the same at the neck opening. Carefully draw them out, in one solid mass, without any part being broken; cut around the vent to free the large intestine. If by any mischance the gall or intestines should be broken, the inside of the chicken must be washed at once; otherwise only wipe it out with a wet cloth, as directed above. Cut the oil sack away from the rump. Cut the gall carefully off the liver; cut the outer coat of the gizzard and draw it carefully away from the inner sack, leaving the sack unbroken. Open the heart and wash away the clot of blood. The heart, liver, and gizzard are the giblets. All poultry and birds are dressed in the same way.

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LEG OF CHICKEN WITH SINEWS DRAWN. (SEE PAGE 180.)

TO BONE A FOWL

Wash and singe the fowl; take off the head and legs, and remove the tendons as directed for drawing. When a fowl is to be boned it is not drawn. The work of boning is not difficult, but requires care and a little practice. The skin must not be broken. Use a small pointed knife; cut the skin down the full length of the back; then, beginning at the neck, carefully scrape the meat away from the bone, keeping the knife close to the bone. When the joints of the wings and legs are met, break them back and proceed to free the meat from the carcass. When one side is free, turn the fowl and do the same on the other side. The skin is drawn tightly over the breast-bone, and care must be used to detach it without piercing the skin. When the meat is free from the carcass, remove the bones from the legs and wings, turning the meat down or inside out, as the bones are exposed, and using care not to break the skin at the joints. The end bones of the wings cannot be removed, and the whole end joint may be cut off or left as it is.

ROASTED BONED CHICKEN

Spread the boned chicken on a board, the skin side down; turn the flesh of the legs and wings right side out, and stuff them with forcemeat into shape. Equalize the meat as well as possible, placing the mignon fillets, or little strips of white meat next the bone, over the dark meat, etc.; dredge with salt and pepper. Make a roll of the stuffing or forcemeat, and lay it in the chicken. Draw the skin up, and sew it together securely. Turn it over, place the legs and wings into the position of a trussed fowl, press the body into natural shape, and tie it securely; or it may be pressed into the form of a duck or rabbit. Cover with slices of salt pork, and roast in oven, allowing twenty minutes to the pound; baste frequently. Remove the pork the last fifteen minutes, dredge with flour, and let it brown. Serve with a giblet or tomato sauce.

BRAISED BONED CHICKEN

To braise the chicken prepared as above, roll it lightly in a piece of cheese cloth, tying the ends well. Put in a saucepan the bones of the chicken, a slice of carrot and onion, a bouquet containing parsley, one bay-leaf, three cloves, twelve peppercorns, celery if convenient, and a knuckle of veal. Add enough water to cover the bed of vegetables and bones; lay in the chicken; cover the pot, and let it simmer for four hours.

JELLIED BONED CHICKEN

A braised boned chicken may be served hot, or it may be set aside to cool, then jellied as follows: Strain the water in which the chicken was braised, and let it cool; then remove the grease and clarify the liquor; season it highly. If veal has been used, and the liquor jellies, it may be used as it is. If veal has not been used, add gelatine soaked in cold water, observing the proportion of one box of gelatine to one and a half quarts of liquor. Mask a mold with jelly (see page 323); when the jelly is set, put in the chicken, and add enough liquid jelly to entirely cover it. Or, on the bottom of the mold make a decoration of either truffles, ham, capers, gherkins, or any combinations suitable; fix it with a thin layer of jelly; when hardened, add enough more to make a layer of jelly one quarter of an inch thick, and when that is hardened lay in the chicken, and surround it with the liquid jelly (see molding jellies, page 324). Garnish the dish on which the jellied chicken is served with lettuce, and serve with it a Mayonnaise, Béarnaise, or Tartare sauce.

When the chicken is to be jellied, use enough water in the braising pot to give three pints of liquor after the cooking is done.

FORCEMEAT, FOR STUFFING BONED FOWLS

Use the meat of another fowl, or veal, or pork, or a mixture. Chop them fine, and add to the minced meat one cupful of bread or cracker crumbs and, if convenient, a little chopped boiled ham or tongue, and a few lardoons of pork. Season with the following articles, and moisten the whole with stock:

1 tablespoonful of chopped parsley.

1 teaspoonful of onion juice.

¼ teaspoonful of pepper.

1 teaspoonful thyme.

1 teaspoonful of salt.

If veal is used, take it from the knuckle, and use the bone in the braising pot, as it will give a good jelly.

TO TRUSS A FOWL

When the fowl is wiped, singed, and drawn as by directions given above, put in the stuffing if it is to be used; place a little in the opening at the neck, the rest in the body, and sew up the opening. Draw the skin of the neck smoothly down and under the back, press the wings close against the body, and fold the pinions under, crossing the back and holding down the skin of the neck. Press the legs close to the body, and slip them under the skin as much as possible. Thread the trussing needle with white twine, using it double. Press the needle through the wing by the middle joint, pass it through the skin of the neck and back, and out again at the middle joint of the other wing. Return the needle through the bend of the leg at the second joint, through the body and out at the same point on the other side; draw the cord tight, and tie it with the end at the wing joint. Thread the needle again, and run it through the legs and body at the thigh bone, and back at the ends of the drumsticks. Draw the drumstick bones close together, covering the opening made for drawing the fowl, and tie the ends. Have both knots on the same side of the fowl. When cooked, cut the cord on the opposite side, and by the knots it can easily be drawn out. (See illustration.)

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TRUSSED CHICKEN. (SEE PAGE 183.)

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BACK OF TRUSSED CHICKEN.

ROASTED CHICKEN

A roasted chicken may be stuffed or not. If stuffing is used it should only half fill the chicken. Truss it as directed above, or use skewers, doubling a cord across the back and around the ends of the skewers to hold them in place. A roasted or boiled chicken is not presentable, which has not been securely fastened into good shape before being cooked. Dredge the chicken with salt and pepper, and place it on slices of salt pork in a baking pan; add a very little water, and bake in hot oven, allowing fifteen minutes to the pound; baste frequently. White meat must be well cooked, but not dried. Fifteen minutes before it is done, rub it over the top and sides with butter, dredge it with flour, and replace it in the oven until it becomes a golden brown and looks crisp. Draw out the trussing cords, and garnish with parsley. Serve with it a giblet sauce. Do not use a tough chicken for roasting; one a year old is about right. A roasting chicken may be larded if desired.

STUFFING FOR FOWLS

Moisten a cupful of bread-crumbs with a tablespoonful of melted butter; season highly with salt, pepper, thyme, chopped parsley, and onion juice; or put in a saucepan a tablespoonful of butter and fry in it one minced onion; then add one cupful of soaked bread, the water being pressed out, one half cupful of stock, one teaspoonful of salt, one half teaspoonful each of pepper and thyme, and one half cupful of celery cut into small pieces. Stir it until it leaves the sides of the pan.

CHESTNUT STUFFING

Shell a quart of large French chestnuts. Put them in hot water and boil until the skins are softened; then drain off the water and remove the skins. Replace the blanched chestnuts in water, and boil until soft. Take out a few at a time, and press them through a colander or a potato press. They mash more easily when hot. Season the mashed chestnuts with a tablespoonful of butter, a teaspoonful of salt, and a quarter of a teaspoonful of pepper. Some cooks add a tablespoonful of chopped parsley, and moisten it with a little stock. Some add, also, a few bread crumbs. The dressing is best seasoned only with butter, salt, and pepper.

GIBLET SAUCE

Boil the giblets until tender; chop them, but not very fine; add a tablespoonful of flour to the pan in which the chicken was roasted; let it brown, stirring constantly; add slowly a cupful of water in which the giblets were boiled; season with salt and pepper; strain and add the chopped giblets; serve in a sauceboat. The liver is a tidbit, and should be roasted and served with the chicken, instead of being used in the sauce.

BOILED CHICKEN

A chicken too old to roast is very good when boiled. Truss the chicken firmly. It is well also to tie it in a piece of cheese-cloth, to keep it in good shape. It may be stuffed or not. Boiled rice seasoned with butter, pepper, and salt, or celery cut in small pieces, is better to use for boiled chicken than bread stuffing.

Put the chicken into boiling salted water and simmer, allowing twenty minutes to the pound; when done, remove the cloth and cords carefully, spread a little white sauce over the breast, and sprinkle it with chopped parsley. Garnish with parsley, and serve with it egg, oyster, or Béarnaise sauce.

BRAISED CHICKEN

A fowl too old to roast may be made tender and good by braising, and present the same appearance as a roasted chicken.

Prepare it as for roasting, trussing it into good shape. Cut into dice a carrot, turnip, onion, and stalk of celery; put them in a pot with a few slices of salt pork, and on them place the fowl, with a few pieces of salt pork laid over the breast; add a bouquet of parsley, one bay-leaf, three cloves, six peppercorns, also a teaspoonful of salt, and a pint of hot water. Cover the pot closely and let simmer for three hours. If any steam escapes, a little more water may have to be added. When done, rub a little butter over the breast, dredge with flour, and place in the oven a few minutes to brown. Strain the liquor from the braising pot, season to taste, and if necessary thicken with a little brown roux; serve it with the chicken as sauce.

BROILED CHICKEN

Young spring chickens only are used for broiling. Split them down the back, remove the entrails and the breast bone, wipe them clean, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and rub them with soft butter. Place them on a broiler over a slow fire, the inside down; cover with a pan, and let cook for twenty to twenty-five minutes. Turn, to let the skin side brown when nearly done. Place them on a hot dish, and spread them with maître d’hôtel butter; garnish with parsley or watercress and thin slices of lemon.

FRICASSEE

Cut a chicken into eleven pieces: two drumsticks, two second joints, two wings, two breasts, three back pieces.

Put the pieces in a saucepan with two tablespoonfuls of butter or drippings; let them brown slightly on both sides, but use care that they do not burn; when a little colored, add enough boiling water to cover them; add a bouquet of herbs, salt and pepper, and a few slices of salt pork. Simmer until tender. Arrange the pieces neatly on a dish, using the best ones outside, and pour over them a gravy made as follows: Strain the liquor from the pot and take off the fat. Make a white roux of one tablespoonful of butter and two of flour; add to it slowly a cupful of the liquor from the pot; season to taste; remove from the fire, and when a little cool add a cupful of cream or milk beaten up with two or three yolks of eggs. Place again on the fire until the eggs are a little thickened, but do not let it boil, or they will curdle. A tablespoonful of sherry may be added, if liked, or a half can of mushrooms. A border of rice may be placed around the chicken, or softened toast used under the chicken.

To make a brown fricassee, sprinkle the pieces of chicken, after they are simmered until tender, with salt, pepper, and flour, and place them in the oven to brown. Make a brown instead of a white roux, and omit the cream or milk.

FRIED CHICKEN

Cut a tender chicken in pieces; dip the pieces in water; sprinkle them with salt and pepper, and roll them in flour; sauté them in a tablespoonful of lard or butter, browning both sides; then remove and add to the pan a tablespoonful of flour; cook it for a minute without browning, stirring all the time, and add a cupful of milk or cream; stir until it is a little thickened; strain; mix into it a tablespoonful of chopped parsley. Place the sauce on the serving-dish and arrange the pieces of chicken on it.

CHICKEN FRITTERS

Cut cold cooked chicken or turkey off the bones in as large pieces as possible; sprinkle with salt and pepper; dip them in fritter batter (see page 426), and fry in hot fat until a golden brown. Place the pieces when fried on a brown paper until all are done; dress them on a folded napkin, and serve with a Béarnaise, Mayonnaise, or Tartare sauce.

The pieces may be rolled in egg and bread crumbs instead of being dipped in batter, if preferred.

STUFFED CHICKEN OR TURKEY LEGS

Carefully remove the tendons from the drumsticks as directed in drawing (page 180); remove the bone, all but about an inch and a half at the small end, and remove any remaining sinews. Stuff the leg with a forcemeat made of chicken or veal chopped very fine, and use with it the liver and a little strip of larding pork; season it with salt, pepper, and chopped parsley, and moisten it with one egg. Draw the skin over the end and sew it closely together, keeping the shape as natural as possible. Lay the stuffed legs in a baking-pan; cover with boiling water, and simmer an hour, or until tender; remove them from the water, press them into shape, and let cool. When cold, take out the stitches, dredge with salt and pepper, roll in beaten egg and bread crumbs, and fry in hot fat until browned; or broil them on both sides four minutes, if chicken; six minutes, if turkey legs; or they may be sautéd in butter. They may be deviled by rubbing them with mustard and a little red pepper before coating with the eggs and crumbs. Serve them arranged like chops, the bones masked with paper frills.

If preferred, the bones may be entirely removed, and the leg flattened to look like a cutlet. This can be done by placing them under a weight to cool after being boiled. Serve with an olive, Béarnaise, Tartare, or any sauce preferred.

GRILLED BONES

Take the wings, second joints, and drumsticks of cold cooked chicken; dip them in melted butter, sprinkle them with salt and pepper, and broil them until they are very hot and well browned.

CHICKEN À LA VIENNE

Split a small spring chicken down the back, as for broiling; remove the breast bone; then cut it into four pieces, giving two breast and two leg pieces, cut off the pinions; marinate the pieces in oil, vinegar, pepper, and salt; then roll in flour, and fry in hot fat, one piece at a time; drain and place on paper in the open oven until all are done. They should be a light golden color. Place a paper frill on the leg and wing bones, and dress them on a folded napkin. Serve with Tartare sauce; or arrange the pieces overlapping on a dish, and garnish with four lettuce leaves holding Tartare sauce.

CHICKEN, BALTIMORE STYLE

Split a small spring chicken down the back as for broiling; remove the breast-bone and cut off the pinions. Cut into four pieces; dredge with salt and pepper; dip them in egg and fresh crumbs. Place them in a pan, and pour over each piece enough melted butter to moisten it; then roast in the oven eighteen to twenty minutes. Make a cream sauce, taking one cupful of Béchamel sauce, and adding to it a half cupful of cream and a half tablespoonful of butter. Pour this sauce on a dish, and place the pieces of chicken on it. Garnish with slices of fried bacon.

CHICKEN IMPERIAL

Cut the breast from a chicken, retaining it in shape on the bone. Remove the skin, and lard the breast on each side with four lardoons. Place it in a deep saucepan; cover with stock or boiling water, and simmer for thirty to forty minutes, or until tender. Then remove from the water, and place in oven for ten minutes to take a very light color. Make a sauce as follows:

Put into a saucepan one half cupful of the stock in which the breast was boiled, and one half cupful of cream. Let it come to the scalding point; season with salt and pepper and one tablespoonful of chopped parsley. Remove from fire, and stir in slowly two yolks and two tablespoonfuls of milk beaten together. Stir constantly until thickened, but do not let boil, or the egg will curdle. Strain and pour it around the breast. The breast should be carved diagonally, giving three pieces on each side.

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CHICKEN IMPERIALE AND STUFFED LEGS. (SEE PAGES 188 AND 189.)

CHICKEN BREASTS WITH POULETTE SAUCE

Remove the breasts from several chickens; cut them lengthwise, each breast giving four pieces. Simmer them in salted water until tender. Make a Poulette sauce (see page 280), and pour over the breasts piled on a dish. Sprinkle with parsley chopped very fine. Use a generous amount of sauce.

CHICKEN CHARTREUSE

Mix one cupful of cooked chicken minced very fine with

1 teaspoonful of chopped parsley,

½ teaspoonful of onion juice,

¼ teaspoonful of salt,

2 tablespoonfuls of tomato juice,

1 beaten egg,

Dash of pepper.

Grease well a charlotte russe or pudding mold; line it one inch thick with boiled rice. Fill the center with the chicken mixture, and cover the top with rice, so the chicken is entirely encased, and the mold is full and even. Cover and cook in steamer for forty-five minutes. Serve with it a tomato sauce; pour a little of the sauce on the dish around the form, not over it.

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CHARTREUSE OF CHICKEN GARNISHED WITH SLICE OF HARD-BOILED EGG AND PARSLEY. (SEE PAGES 83 AND 190.)

CHICKEN SOUFFLÉ

1 tablespoonful of butter.

1 tablespoonful of flour.

1 tablespoonful of chopped parsley.

1 cupful of milk.

1 cupful of minced chicken.

½ teaspoonful of salt.

3 eggs.

10 drops of onion juice.

Dash of pepper.

Make a white sauce by putting the butter in a saucepan or double boiler. When melted add the flour, and cook a moment without browning. Then add slowly the milk, and stir till smooth. Season with salt, pepper, parsley, and onion juice. There should be one cupful of the sauce. Remove from the fire, and stir in the beaten yolks of three eggs; then add a cupful of chicken chopped fine. Stir the mixture over the fire a minute until the egg has a little thickened; then set aside to cool. Rub a little butter over the top, so it will not form a crust. When time to serve beat very stiff the whites of the three eggs, and stir them lightly into the cold chicken mixture. Put it into a pudding dish, and bake in hot oven for twenty minutes. Serve at once in the same dish. This is a soufflé, so the whites of the eggs must not be added until it is time for it to go into the oven, and it will fall if not served immediately after it comes from the oven. This dish may be made with any kind of meat. Chicken soufflé may be baked in paper boxes, and served as an entrée.

CHICKEN LOAF

Boil a fowl until the meat falls from the bones. Strain, and put the liquor again in the saucepan; reduce it to one and a half pints, and add one quarter box of soaked gelatine. Lay a few slices of hard-boiled egg on the bottom of a plain mold; fill the mold with alternate layers of white and dark meat of the chicken. Season the liquor, and pour it over the meat in the mold, and set it away to harden; it will become a jelly. It is a good dish to use with salad for luncheon or supper.

CHICKEN CHAUDFROID

Cut cold cooked chicken into as neat and uniform pieces as possible; remove the skin; make a chaudfroid sauce as directed on page 281. Mix the sauce thoroughly, and let it cool enough to thicken, but not harden. Roll each piece of chicken in this sauce until well coated. Range the pieces without touching in a pan, the ends resting on the raised edge; place the pan on ice until the sauce is set. Make a socle (see page 326) of bread or rice; rub it with butter, and mask it with chopped parsley. Arrange the pieces of chicken around the socle, resting them against it; then with a brush coat them over lightly with clear chicken aspic which is cold, but still liquid. Ornament the top of socle with a star of aspic, or with a bunch of nasturtium, or other blossoms or leaves. Garnish the dish with aspic, with flowers, or leaves; or, if socle is not used, pile the pieces in pyramidal form and garnish. Serve with it a Mayonnaise, Béarnaise, or Tartare sauce; or some of the chaudfroid sauce diluted.

CHICKEN MAYONNAISE

Cut cold cooked chicken into pieces; remove the skin, and trim the pieces into good shape. Cover each piece with jelly Mayonnaise (page 290), and leave them in a cool place until the Mayonnaise has set. Trim them and dress them around an ornamented socle or a mound of salad, or lay each piece on a leaf of lettuce. Garnish with aspic or with flowers. Use a green, white, or yellow Mayonnaise; and keep in cold place until ready to serve.

ENGLISH CHICKEN PIE (COLD)

Take two tender chickens, and cut them up as for frying. Put them into a large saucepan with two and a half quarts of water; add a bouquet made of sweet marjoram, basil, parsley, three bay-leaves, sprig of thyme, and small blade of mace. Let them simmer until well cooked. Add to the pot when the chicken is about half done one half pound of bacon cut into small pieces like lardoons. Wash the bacon before adding it. A quarter of an hour before removing the chicken add the half of a small can of truffles cut into slices.

Boil eight eggs very hard, and cut them in slices. Arrange on the bottom of an earthen dish a layer of egg slices and truffles, then a layer of chicken meat; alternate the layers until the dish is two-thirds full. Return the bones and coarse pieces of meat to the pot, and reduce the liquid one third. Strain, cool, and remove the grease. Return the stock to the fire, add a quarter box or one half ounce of soaked gelatine. Pour this over the chicken. When it has jellied and is ready to serve, place on the top a crust of puff paste, which has been cut to fit the dish, and has been baked separately.

TURKEY

The rules given for dressing and cooking chickens apply also to turkeys. Turkey can be substituted for chicken in any of the receipts given. A young turkey will have smooth black legs and white skin.

General Directions. Fifteen minutes to the pound is the time allowed for roasting or boiling a young turkey; for an old one more time will be required. They should have slow cooking and frequent basting. After a turkey is trussed, wet the skin; dredge it well with salt and pepper, and then with a thick coating of flour. This will give a crisp brown crust.

TURKEY GALANTINE OR BONED TURKEY

Select a young fat hen turkey. Bone it as directed, page 181; spread the boned meat on the table, the skin side down. Equalize the meat as well as possible by paring it off at the thick parts, and laying it on the thin parts. Leave the legs and wings drawn inside; lay a few lardoons of salt pork on the meat lengthwise. Make a forcemeat of another fowl or of veal, or of both chicken and veal. Chop it to a very fine mince, and pound it in a mortar to make it almost a paste. Season it with salt and pepper, savory, marjoram, thyme, and sage—about a half teaspoonful each of the herbs—one teaspoonful of onion juice, a half cupful of cold boiled tongue cut into dice, some truffles cut into large pieces. Moisten it with stock and mix thoroughly. It will take three or four pounds of meat, according to the size of the turkey, to make sufficient stuffing. Spread the forcemeat on the boned turkey, having the tongue, truffles, and a few pieces of both the white and dark meat of the turkey well interspersed through it. Roll up the turkey, making it as even as possible, and sew it together; then roll it in a piece of cheesecloth and tie it securely at both ends and around the roll in several places.

Place the galantine and the bones of the fowl in a kettle, with an onion, carrot, celery, bouquet of herbs, and a tablespoonful of salt. Cover it with boiling water, and let simmer three or four hours; then remove it from the fire; let the galantine remain in the water for an hour; then take it out, cut the strings which bind it in the middle, draw the cloth so it will be tight and smooth, and place it under a weight until perfectly cold. A baking-pan holding two flatirons will answer the purpose. Remove the cloth carefully, set the galantine in the oven a moment to melt the fat, and wipe it off with a cloth; trim it smooth; then brush it over with glaze (see page 277), or rub it over with beaten egg and sprinkle with crumbs and brown in the oven; or, cover it with a chaudfroid sauce, and ornament it as shown in illustration. The ornament of cut truffles is applied by taking each piece on a long pin and placing it on the chaudfroid before it is quite set. When perfectly set it is brushed over lightly with a little liquid jelly. Galantine of chicken or game is made in the same way, except that in small pieces they are not flattened by being put under a weight.194-*

A galantine is always used cold. Garnish with aspic. The water in which it was boiled—strained and cleared—may be used for the aspic. Use a box of gelatine to one and a half quarts of liquor.

See caption
GALANTINE OF TURKEY COVERED WITH CHAUDFROID SAUCE AND DECORATED WITH TRUFFLES. (SEE PAGES 193, 281 AND 326.)

ROAST GOOSE

Green geese about four months old are the best, as they get very tough when much older. If there is any doubt about the age of the goose, it is better to braise than to roast it. It can be browned after it is braised, and have the same appearance as if roasted. Dress and truss a goose the same as a turkey; singe and wash the skin well; flatten the breast bone by striking it with a rolling-pin. Stuff it only partly full with mashed potato highly seasoned with onion, sage, salt, and pepper, or with a mixture of bread, apples, onions, sage, salt and pepper, and a little butter. Dredge the goose with salt, pepper, and a thick coating of flour; put a little water in the pan and baste frequently. Allow eighteen minutes to the pound for a young goose, twenty-five minutes for an older one. Serve with goose apple sauce and a brown giblet gravy.

TAME DUCKS

Prepare the same as geese. Stuff with the same mixture or with celery. Roast ducklings in a hot oven twenty minutes, if liked rare; thirty minutes if they are to be cooked through. Old ducks require an hour to cook, and should be basted frequently. Pekin ducks, a breed of white ducks raised in quantities on Long Island, are especially esteemed.

GAME

CANVASBACKS AND REDHEAD DUCKS

Carefully pick, singe, and wipe the outside. Draw them, leaving on the head, so as to distinguish them from ordinary game. Cut an opening at the neck, and through it draw the head and neck, letting the head emerge at the back between the drumsticks, and tie it securely in place. Do not wash the inside. If carefully drawn they will not need it. Cut off the wings at the second joint. Truss the ducks neatly. Sprinkle with salt and pepper inside, and a teaspoonful of currant jelly may also be put inside. Place them in a baking-pan with a little water, and bake in a very hot oven from fifteen to eighteen minutes; baste frequently.

Wild ducks should be very rare and served very hot, on hot plates. Each duck makes but two portions, as the breast only is served. Serve with duck small pieces of fried hominy and currant jelly.

The Canvasback is superior in flavor to any other species of wild duck, and is much esteemed. They have a purple head and silver breast, and are in season from September to May. The “Redhead” closely resembles in flavor the “Canvasback,” and often is mistaken for it.

SALMI OF DUCK OR GAME

Cut the game into neat pieces; put them in the oven for five minutes to start the juices. Put in a saucepan one tablespoonful of butter, one half pound of bacon or salt pork cut into dice, one tablespoonful each of chopped onion and carrot, twelve peppercorns, one saltspoonful each of salt, thyme, and sage, and any coarse pieces of the game. Cover with a greased paper and let cook to a glaze; then add a tablespoonful of flour, and let it brown; then two cupfuls of stock; simmer for thirty minutes; strain; add one quarter cupful of Madeira and the pieces of game; cover and let simmer another thirty minutes.

This dish needs long, slow cooking and careful watching. Garnish with croûtons and truffles.

The truffles should be added to the salmi a few minutes before it is removed from the fire. If cooked game is used for the salmi, simmer for ten minutes only after the pieces are added to the sauce.

POTTED PIGEONS (Dark Meat)

Unless pigeons are young they should be braised or stewed in broth. Truss them carefully; place slices of bacon on the bottom of a stew-pan; lay in the pigeons side by side, their breasts up; add a carrot and onion cut into dice, a teaspoonful of sugar, and some parsley, and pour over enough stock or boiling water to cover them. Cover the pot closely. Let them simmer until they are tender, adding boiling water or stock when necessary. Serve each pigeon on a thin piece of moistened buttered toast.

ROAST PIGEONS OR SQUABS

Do not roast pigeons unless they are young and tender. After they are well trussed, or tied into shape, tie thin slices of bacon over the breasts, and put a little piece of butter inside each pigeon. Boast them about fifteen minutes; baste them with butter.

Or split the pigeons in two through the back and breast, cover with thin slices of salt pork, and roast them in the oven. Thicken the gravy in the pan with a little cornstarch. Season and moisten with it slices of toast on which the half pigeons will be served.

PRAIRIE-CHICKEN OR GROUSE ROASTED (Dark Meat)

Grouse, like all game, should not be too fresh. Wash them on the outside only, the same as directed for chicken (page 181). Put a little butter inside each bird and truss them into good shape. Roast them in a hot oven twenty-five to thirty minutes, basting them frequently with melted butter. Five minutes before removing them dredge them with flour. Boil the liver of the grouse, pound it with a little butter, pepper, and salt to a paste; spread it over hot buttered toast moistened with juice from the pan. Serve the grouse on the toast. Prairie-chickens have dark meat, and many epicures declare that they should be cooked quite as rare as canvasback ducks and that their flavor when so served is unsurpassed. Young prairie-chickens have a much lighter meat and need not be so rare.

QUAILS ROASTED (White Meat)

Draw the birds carefully. Wipe them inside and out with a damp cloth; do not wash them more than this. Truss them carefully, letting the legs stand up instead of down, as with a chicken. Tie around each one a thin slice of pork or bacon. Bake in a hot oven fifteen to twenty minutes. Baste frequently, having in the pan a little butter, hot water, salt, and pepper. Serve on slices of toast moistened with juice from the pan.

QUAILS BROILED

Split them down the back. Broil over hot coals four minutes on each side. Baste them while broiling with a little butter. When they are done spread them with butter, salt, and pepper; place them on slices of slightly moistened toast, and stand them in the oven a few minutes to soak the butter.

SNIPE AND WOODCOCK (Dark Meat)

Draw the birds carefully. Wipe inside and out with a wet cloth, but do not wash more than this, as it takes away their flavor. Cut off the feet, and skin the lower legs, which can be done after holding them a minute in scalding water. Skin the head, and take out the eyes. Press the bird well together; draw around the head, and run the bill like a skewer through the legs and body. Wrap each one in a thin slice of pork or bacon, and bake in a hot oven for ten minutes; baste with butter. Chop or pound the hearts and livers to a paste. Season with salt, pepper, onion juice, and butter. Spread the paste on slices of toast just large enough to hold one bird. Place the croustades in the oven to become very hot. Pour over them the juice from the dripping-pan holding the birds. Place the birds on the toast, and serve at once. Garnish the dish with water-cress. The croustades are better fried than toasted.

ROASTED AND BROILED PARTRIDGE (White Meat)

Dress and truss the partridge the same as a chicken. Lard the breast, or cover it with a slice of salt pork. Put into the baking-pan with the bird one tablespoonful of butter, and two of boiling water. Roast in a hot oven about forty minutes, basting frequently.

The partridge has white meat, and so needs to be thoroughly cooked, but not dried. Place the bird on a hot dish, and around it on the same dish a border of coarse bread-crumbs, which have been thoroughly mixed in a saucepan with a tablespoonful of melted butter. Serve in a sauce-boat a white sauce or a bread sauce. If the partridge is to be broiled split it down the back, rub it well with butter, place the inside next the coals; cover and broil for twenty-five minutes. Keep it well moistened with butter, and turn it to brown on the skin side a few minutes before done. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve on buttered toast.

VENISON

Venison is prepared and cooked the same as mutton. The roasting pieces are the saddle, and haunch or leg. It should be cooked underdone, allowing ten minutes to the pound. Serve with it currant jelly sauce and salad.

VENISON STEAK

A venison steak is cooked in the same manner as a beefsteak. A little melted currant jelly is served on the same dish, or as a sauce (see page 287).199-*

194-* A rectangular-shaped galantine may be obtained by pressing it into a bread-tin to cool. It should then be trimmed and incased in aspic, using the same or a slightly larger bread-tin of the same shape. See Molding, page 323.—M. R.

199-* The steak should be moistened with the sauce so it will have a glazed appearance.

Chapter VI

VEGETABLES

General Directions. The simplest way of cooking vegetables is usually the best; but all kinds need seasoning or to be served with a sauce. They should be cooked only until tender. The time depends upon their freshness. The same vegetable sometimes takes twice the time to cook when wilted. They should be well washed in cold water to remove all dust and insects, and if wilted, should stand some time in it to refresh them. Green vegetables are put into salted boiling water, and cooked rapidly in an uncovered saucepan. This will preserve their color. Overcooking destroys both their color and appearance. When done they should be removed from the water at once and be well drained before the seasoning is added.

Serving. One vegetable only besides potato is served with a meat course, but cauliflower, stuffed tomatoes, asparagus, green corn, egg-plant, artichokes, or mushrooms may be served as a separate course.

Canned Vegetables When using canned vegetables, turn them onto a sieve or colander, and let water from the faucet run over them in order to remove the taste of the can which they sometimes have.

See caption
VEGETABLE CUTTERS.

1. Plane for cutting Saratoga Potatoes.

2. Potato Press for making potato rice.

3. Fluted knives for potato straws or fluted slices, and for potato curls.

4. Potato scoops for cutting balls.

BOILED POTATOES

Wash the potatoes well; take off only a thin paring, and drop them at once into cold water to prevent their discoloring. Have them of uniform size, or cut the larger ones into pieces the size of the small ones, so they will all be cooked at the same time, for after a potato is cooked it rapidly absorbs water and becomes soggy. If the potatoes are old or withered, put them on to cook in cold water; if fresh and firm, put them into boiling salted water, and boil slowly about thirty minutes, or until they can be easily pierced with a fork. Then at once drain off every drop of water; shake them in the pot a moment to expose all sides to the air; sprinkle with a little salt; cover the pot with a double cloth, and place it on the back of the range for a few minutes to evaporate all the moisture. If treated in this way the potatoes will be dry and mealy.

Violent boiling is likely to break the outside surface and make them ragged in appearance.

New potatoes are boiled with the skins on.

MASHED POTATOES

After the potatoes are boiled and dried as directed above, mash them at once over the fire and in the same pot in which they were boiled, so that they will lose no heat. Season them with salt, butter, and cream or milk; heat the milk and butter together; add them slowly, and beat the potatoes well with a fork or an egg-beater until they are very light and white. Turn them into a hot dish. Do not smooth the top.

POTATO CAKES

Mashed potato left over may be used for cakes. Add an egg to a cupful and a half of potato and beat them well together until light; form it into cakes or balls; roll them in flour and sauté in butter, or spread the mixture in a layer one inch thick; cut it into strips or squares and sauté; or put it into a well-buttered border mold; cover with greased paper, and bake for half an hour in a moderate oven. Let it stand in the mold for ten minutes; then turn onto a dish, and fill the center with any mince or with creamed fish. Mashed potato without egg will not hold its form when molded.

POTATO RICE

Press well-seasoned mashed potatoes through a colander or a potato press onto the center of a dish, leaving the little flakes lightly piled up. Serve chops or minced meat around the mound of potato.

POTATO SOUFFLÉ

To two cupfuls of smooth, well-seasoned, and quite moist mashed potatoes add the yolks of two eggs. When a little cooled stir in lightly the whites of two eggs beaten very stiff. Put the whole into a pudding-dish, and brown it in a quick oven.

POTATO ROSES

To two cupfuls of well-seasoned mashed potatoes, add the yolks of two eggs and white of one, and beat them well together. Place it in a pastry bag with a tube having a star-shaped opening (see illustration), and press it through. As the potato comes from the tube, guide it in a circle, winding it around until it comes to a point. The little piles of potato will resemble roses. Touch them lightly with a brush dipped in egg, and place a bit of butter on each one. Put them in the oven a moment to brown slightly. The edges touched by the egg will take a deeper color. Potato roses make a good garnish for meat dishes.

See caption
POTATO ROSES. (SEE PAGE 202.)

POTATO CROQUETTES

To two cupfuls of well-seasoned mashed potatoes add the beaten yolks of two eggs, a tablespoonful of chopped parsley, one and a half tablespoonfuls of butter (if none has been used in seasoning), a dash of cayenne and nutmeg; stir over the fire until the potato leaves the sides of the pan. When cold, form it into small croquettes, roll them in egg and bread-crumbs and fry them in hot fat to an amber color. Serve on a napkin (see frying croquettes, page 294). The croquette mixture may be made into balls enclosing minced meat. When used in this way serve with it a white sauce.

POTATO BALLS

With a potato scoop (see illustration) cut balls out of peeled raw potatoes, and drop them in cold water for half an hour. Put them into salted boiling water and boil for fifteen minutes, or until tender; drain off the water; cover with a cloth and let stand on the back of the range until dry. Serve them on a napkin, or pour over them white sauce, and sprinkle with parsley, or use them as a garnish. The pieces of potato left from cutting the balls can be boiled and mashed, so there is no waste.

POTATO OMELET

Cut cold boiled potatoes into dice a quarter of an inch square; mix them with enough white sauce to well moisten them.

Place a tablespoonful of butter in a frying-pan; when the butter is hot, put in the potatoes and sauté them until browned on the bottom, loosen them from the pan, and turn them like an omelet onto a flat dish; or this preparation may be put in a baking-dish, sprinkled with crumbs and grated cheese, then put in the oven to brown, and served in the same dish.

CREAMED POTATOES

Cut cold boiled potatoes that are a little underdone into dice or into slices one eighth of an inch thick. Put them in a saucepan with enough milk or cream to cover them, and cook until the potatoes have absorbed nearly all the milk; then to every two cupfuls of potato add one tablespoonful of butter, one half teaspoonful of salt, a dash of pepper, and, just before serving, a teaspoonful of parsley chopped very fine; or a white sauce may be made, using cream, if convenient, and the potatoes placed in it just long enough to heat them; or a cream sauce may be poured over hot boiled potatoes; then sprinkle with parsley.

BROILED POTATOES

Peel and cut the potatoes lengthwise into slices one quarter of an inch thick. Broil them on both sides over moderate heat until tender; spread each slice with butter, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve very hot.

Or, use cold boiled potatoes. Dip each slice in melted butter; sprinkle with pepper and salt and broil three minutes on each side.

BAKED POTATOES

Select large potatoes of uniform size and shape. Wash and scrub them with a brush. Bake them in a hot oven about an hour, or until soft; press them to see if done, but do not pierce them with a fork; when soft break the skin in one place, and serve at once on a napkin. They become watery if kept.

STUFFED POTATOES

Select potatoes of equal size and shape, wash and scrub them well and bake them. While they are still hot cut a piece off the top of each, and with a spoon scoop out the potato, leaving the skin unbroken. Mash and season the potato, using a little hot milk and beating it well to make it light. Fill the potato skins with the mashed potato, letting it rise a little above the top of the skin. Place a piece of butter on the top of each, and put them in the oven to get well heated and slightly brown the tops; or cut the baked potatoes in two, lengthwise, and when the skins are filled, smooth the potato even with the skin; brush them with egg and set in the oven to glaze. (See illustration.)

See caption
STUFFED BAKED POTATOES. (SEE PAGE 204.)

POTATOES BAKED WITH MEAT

Pare the potatoes, and place them in the dripping-pan with the meat one hour before the meat is to be removed. Baste them with the drippings, and turn so all sides will be browned.

LYONNAISE POTATOES

Put one and a half tablespoonfuls of butter in a frying-pan. When melted add a scant tablespoonful of chopped onion; let it slightly color, then add two cupfuls of cold boiled potatoes cut into dice. Stir until the potato has absorbed all the butter, and become slightly browned; then sprinkle with salt, pepper, and a tablespoonful of chopped parsley. Mix well, and serve very hot.

FRIED POTATOES

Cold boiled potatoes are sliced, then put into a sauté-pan with butter, and cooked until browned on both sides. If rolled in flour they will form a crisp crust. Raw potatoes are sliced or cut into any shape, and put into cold water for half an hour. They are then well dried on a napkin, and immersed in hot fat until done. Too many must not be put in the basket at once, as it cools the fat (see frying, page 72). Fry them to an amber color; then drain, and place them on a paper in the oven until all are done. Serve them at once, as they lose their crispness if kept.

FRIED POTATO BALLS AND STRAWS

To make balls use a potato scoop; press it well into the potato before turning it. To make straws cut the potato into slices lengthwise, and then into strips, making each one about one eighth of an inch thick.

Slices or strips cut with a fluted knife are good forms for fried potatoes. Fry the potatoes in hot fat, using a basket. Fancy fried potatoes are used to garnish any broiled meat dish. There are many kinds of cutters to give different shapes to potatoes.

SARATOGA POTATOES

Cut the potatoes with a plane into slices as thin as paper if possible. Let them soak in cold water for a little time to wash out the starch; then put them into fresh water with a piece of ice to thoroughly chill them. Drain a few of the slices at a time, dry them on a napkin; put them in a frying basket and immerse them in smoking-hot fat. Keep them separated, and remove as soon as slightly colored. Turn them into a colander to drain, and sprinkle them with salt. When the second lot are fried turn those in the colander onto a paper in the open oven, and so on until all are done. Saratoga potatoes should be perfectly dry and crisp. They may be used hot or cold, and will keep for some time in a dry place. If wanted hot, place them in the oven a moment before serving.

PUFFED OR SOUFFLÉ POTATOES

Peel the potatoes; cut the sides square, and trim off the corners, so as to give an oval shape. With one even cut slice them one eighth of an inch thick the length of the potato; they must be all the same size and shape. Soak them in cold water for half an hour; dry them on a napkin, and fry them in fat which is only moderately hot until they are soft, but not colored. Remove and place them on a sieve to drain and cool. Then immerse them in hot fat, when they will puff into balls. Toss the basket, and remove any that do not puff. Sprinkle with salt, and serve them on a napkin, or as a garnish. Holland potatoes best suit this purpose; it is impossible to get the same result with most of the other varieties.

SWEET POTATOES

Wash and scrub the potatoes; put them in boiling water, and cook until they can be pierced with a fork; then pour off the water. Cover the pot with a cloth, and draw it to the side of the range to let the potatoes steam for ten minutes. Peel them before serving.

BAKED SWEET POTATOES

Wash and scrub the potatoes without breaking the skin. Bake until soft; then break the skin in one place, and serve at once.

BROWNED SWEET POTATOES

Cut cold boiled potatoes into slices one quarter of an inch thick. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper; spread with butter, and sprinkle with sugar. Place them in a hot oven to brown.

SWEET POTATO CROQUETTES

Follow the rule for potato croquettes given on page 202.

SWEET POTATO PURÉE

Mash thoroughly the boiled potatoes, and season them well with salt, pepper, and butter; add enough hot milk to moisten them. Serve it the same as mashed white potato; or put it in a pudding-dish, brush the top with egg, and brown it in the oven. Serve with it a tomato sauce, and use as a luncheon dish. Either boiled or baked potatoes may be used.

STEWED TOMATOES

If fresh tomatoes are used remove the skins by placing them in boiling water a few minutes; they will then peel off easily. Cut them in pieces, and stew in a granite-ware saucepan until tender. To one quart of tomatoes add one teaspoonful each of salt and sugar, one quarter teaspoonful of pepper, and a tablespoonful of butter. Thicken with a teaspoonful of cornstarch wet in cold water, or with one half cupful of cracker or bread-crumbs.

SCALLOPED TOMATOES

Season a can of tomatoes with one teaspoonful of salt, and one quarter teaspoonful of pepper. Spread a shallow baking dish with a thin layer of bread-crumbs; pour in the tomatoes, sprinkle over them a tablespoonful of sugar, and a few drops of onion juice. Cover the top with a cupful of bread-crumbs which have been moistened with a tablespoonful of melted butter. Bake in a hot oven for fifteen minutes. Serve in the same dish.

STUFFED TOMATOES

Select large, firm tomatoes; do not remove the skins; cut a small slice off the stem end, and scoop out the inside. Fill them with a stuffing made as follows: Put one tablespoonful of butter in a saucepan; when hot add one tablespoonful of onion chopped fine. Let it color slightly; then add three quarters of a cupful of any minced meat, chicken, or livers, one tablespoonful of chopped parsley, one cupful of bread-crumbs, the pulp taken from the tomatoes, one teaspoonful of salt, one quarter teaspoonful of pepper, and also an egg if desired. Stir it over the fire until it is consistent. Dust the inside of the tomatoes with salt and pepper, and fill them, letting the stuffing rise half an inch above the tomato, and place a piece of butter on it. The above amount of stuffing is enough for eight tomatoes. Cut slices of bread one half inch thick into circles the size of the tomatoes; dip them quickly in water, and place in a baking-pan. Place a tomato on each piece of bread, and bake in oven about fifteen minutes, or until the stuffing is browned. A brown sauce may be served with this dish. The meat may be omitted from the stuffing if desired. If convenient it is better to use oil instead of butter with tomatoes.

ROASTED TOMATOES

Peel the tomatoes; cut a piece off the top, and remove a little of the pulp. Put a piece of butter or a few drops of oil in each one; dust with salt and pepper, replace the top, sprinkle it with crumbs, pepper, and salt. Put a small piece of butter or a little oil on each one, and place on a slice of bread. Bake in oven fifteen to twenty minutes.

BROILED TOMATOES

Cut the tomatoes horizontally in two; leave the skins on. Place them on a broiler with the skin side down; dust with salt and pepper, and broil, without turning, over a moderate fire fifteen to twenty minutes, or until tender. Lay them on a hot dish, and spread each piece with either butter, oil, maître d’hôtel sauce, hot Mayonnaise or Béarnaise; or the tomatoes may be cut into thick slices, covered with oil, and then broiled, turning frequently.

TOMATO FARCI

Cut the tomatoes in halves; place them in a frying-pan, the open side down, in one half inch deep of hot fat. Move them about until they are cooked a little tender. Then lift them carefully without breaking, and place them side by side in a baking-dish. Pour a little sweet oil around them; sprinkle with chopped garlic, and parsley, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Bake in hot oven fifteen to twenty minutes. Serve in same dish.

GREEN PEAS

The flavor of peas, and also the time required for cooking them, depends very much upon their freshness. Put them into salted boiling water, and do not cover the saucepan; boil ten to twenty minutes, or until soft enough to be easily mashed. Drain off the water, and season with pepper, salt, and butter. Mix in the seasoning carefully with a fork, so as not to break the peas. Sometimes a little sugar improves them. Use plenty of water in boiling, and do not let them be overcooked, as this is as bad a fault as having them underdone. When canned peas are used turn them onto a sieve, and rinse them off with cold water (this will remove the taste of the can, which they sometimes have); add the seasoning, and let them become thoroughly heated. They do not require any more cooking.

PURÉE OF PEAS

Boil the peas until very tender; mash and press them through a sieve. Place them again in the saucepan, and stir into them enough hot milk, pepper and salt, to well moisten and season them; add also some butter, and a very little sugar.

Dried peas may be used in this way, but require soaking and long boiling. The purée makes a pretty garnish pressed through a pastry bag like potato roses (see page 202), or into a fancy border around a dish.

See caption
FORMS OF PURÉE FOR GARNISHING. (SEE PAGES 209, 210, AND 217.)

STRING BEANS

Remove carefully all the strings; cut the beans into one-quarter inch pieces, laying a number together, and cutting them at one time; or cut each bean lengthwise into four strips, and lay them evenly together. Place them in salted boiling water, and boil uncovered until tender; drain off the water, and season with salt, pepper, and butter, or mix with them just enough white sauce (page 277) to coat them well.

FLAGEOLETS

If the dried beans are used soak them several hours in cold water; then throw them into salted boiling water, and boil until tender, but not soft enough to break. Use plenty of water in boiling them, and drain well. Season with butter, salt, and pepper. If cooked right the beans will be glossy. They are good also as a purée, the same as purée of peas (see page 209).

LIMA BEANS

Put them into salted boiling water, and cook until tender, then drain off the water. Moisten them with butter, and season with salt and pepper; and add, if convenient, a little hot cream, or cover with white sauce.

SPINACH

Put a half peck of spinach into cold water to freshen; pick it over carefully, removing all the wilted and yellow leaves. Pass it through five changes of water to free it from grit. Put it in a saucepan; enough water will cling to it for the cooking. Cover the saucepan; stir occasionally so it does not burn. After fifteen minutes add a tablespoonful of salt, and cook five minutes longer; then turn it into a colander to drain; when it is dry chop it very fine. Put into a saucepan one and a half tablespoonfuls of butter, and one tablespoonful of flour. After they are a little cooked add a teaspoonful of salt, dash of pepper, and the spinach. Cook five minutes; then add a half cupful of cream or milk, and cook another five minutes. Stir constantly, to prevent burning. Taste to see if the seasoning is right. Serve either in a vegetable dish, or in the center of a dish with chops around it, or in bread boxes as shown in illustration; or press the spinach into individual timbale molds, place each form on a square of toast, and garnish the top of each one in imitation of a daisy by placing in the center some of the yolks of hard-boiled eggs which have been pressed through a sieve, and around this center a circle of the whites of the eggs chopped fine; or a thick slice of hard-boiled egg may be pressed into the top of each mold.

See caption
SPINACH SERVED IN CROUSTADES OR BREAD-BOXES.

SPINACH SOUFFLÉ

Take a cupful of spinach which has been prepared as directed above (any that is left over can be utilized in this way); mix with it the beaten yolk of an egg, and stir it over the fire until the egg is set. Let it cool. When ready to serve stir into it lightly the well-beaten whites of three eggs. Fill individual china cups or buttered paper boxes half full, and place them in a hot oven for ten to fifteen minutes. Serve at once. Like any soufflé, it will fall if not sufficiently baked, or if not served very promptly.

CHARTREUSE OF SPINACH OR OF CABBAGE

Boil a large carrot and turnip; cut them into slices lengthwise three eighths of an inch thick, then into strips of the same width. Butter well a tin basin, with slightly flaring sides, or a plain mold. Ornament the bottom with hard-boiled egg, or with fancy pieces of the vegetables. Around the sides of the mold place close together alternate strips of the carrot and turnip. If the mold is well buttered they will easily hold in place. Fill the center with spinach or with seasoned chopped cabbage, and press it down so it is quite firm; smooth the top and cut off the strips of vegetable so that they are even. Heat the chartreuse by placing the mold in a pan of hot water and putting both in the oven for a few minutes. Turn the chartreuse on a flat dish to serve. A white or a vinaigrette sauce goes well with this dish. Birds, veal cutlets, chops, chicken, or sweetbreads may be placed on top of the chartreuse if desired.

See caption
CHARTREUSE OF SPINACH. (SEE PAGES 83 AND 211.)
Border of alternate strips of carrot and turnip. Top circles of carrot and turnip.

ASPARAGUS

Scrape the stalks; let them stand in cold water for half an hour; tie them again into a bundle and make them uniform in length; put them into salted boiling water and cook about twenty minutes or until tender, but not so soft as to be limp. Place the asparagus on buttered toast and remove the string. Serve with the asparagus, but separately, plain melted butter, a white, or a Hollandaise sauce. Cold boiled asparagus is served as a salad with plain French dressing (see page 375) or with cold Béarnaise sauce.

ASPARAGUS TIPS

Cut the asparagus stalks into pieces about an inch long, and as far down as tender. Cook them in salted boiling water. Drain and stir into them just enough white sauce to well coat them.

CABBAGE

Cabbage. Four vegetables are the result of the cabbage plant by cultivation. As the rose changes its character under the hand of the floriculturist, so it is with cabbage at the hand of the gardener. First is the cabbage, which is the leafy bud that stores up food for a flower the next year. Cauliflower. Second, the cauliflower, which is a cluster (corymb) of forced cabbage flowers.
Brussels sprouts. Third, Brussels sprouts. The leaves are picked off, and small buds form along the stem; and fourth, kohlrabi, which is the leaves turned into a fleshy tuberous-like vegetable.

Kohlrabi. In these results two of the phases, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts, are much esteemed, and are given rank with the best vegetables, while cabbage and kohlrabi have little favor, and are considered coarse and vulgar foods. The cabbage, however, if properly cooked, will be found an exceedingly palatable vegetable, which very closely resembles cauliflower.

BOILED CABBAGE

If this receipt is exactly followed, this much-despised vegetable will be found very acceptable, and its odor will not be perceptible through the house. Cut the cabbage into good-sized pieces, take off the outside leaves, and cut away the hard core. Wash it well in two changes of water, and place the pieces, open side down, on a colander to drain. Have a very generous amount of water in a large saucepan or pot; let it boil violently; add a tablespoonful of salt and one quarter teaspoonful of baking soda; put in the cabbage, one piece at a time, so as to check the boiling as little as possible. Let it cook for twenty-five minutes uncovered and boiling rapidly all the time. Push the cabbage under the water every five minutes. Turn it into a colander and press out all the water. Put into a saucepan one tablespoonful of butter, a heaping teaspoonful of flour, one half teaspoonful of salt and a dash of pepper; add slowly one half cupful of milk, and stir till smooth; then add the cabbage. Cut it into large pieces with a knife, and mix it lightly with the sauce. If the cabbage is free from water the sauce will adhere to it and form a creamy coating.

This receipt of Catherine Owen has been found most satisfactory.

CABBAGE WITH CHEESE

(Very Good.)

Boil the cabbage as directed above. Press out all the water and chop it. Make a white sauce of one tablespoonful each of butter and flour, one cupful of milk, one half teaspoonful of salt, dash of cayenne (see page 277). Spread a layer of cabbage on the bottom of a pudding-dish; cover it with white sauce; then add a layer of grated cheese. Make a second layer of cabbage, sauce, and cheese; cover the top with a layer of crumbs moistened with butter, and place it in the oven. When the sauce bubbles through the crumbs it is done. Serve in same dish.

SWEDISH CABBAGE

Slice the cabbage into thin shreds as for cold slaw; cook it in a generous amount of rapidly boiling water for fifteen minutes; then drain off the water; cover it with milk; add salt, pepper, and a bit of mace, and cook until tender, and until the milk has boiled away so that it only moistens the cabbage. Add a piece of butter, and serve.

HOT SLAW

Cut the cabbage into thin shreds as for cold slaw. (Use a plane if convenient.) Boil it until tender in salted fast-boiling water. Drain it thoroughly, and pour over it a hot sauce made of one tablespoonful of butter, one half teaspoonful of salt, dash of pepper and of cayenne, and one half to one cupful of vinegar, according to its strength. Cover the saucepan and let it stand on the side of the range for five minutes, so that the cabbage and sauce will become well incorporated.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS

Remove any wilted leaves from the outside of the sprouts, and let them stand in cold salted water from fifteen to twenty minutes, so that any insects there may be in them will come out. Put the sprouts into salted, rapidly boiling water, and cook uncovered fifteen or twenty minutes, or until tender, but not until they lose their shape. Drain them thoroughly in a colander; then place them in a saucepan with butter, pepper, and salt, and toss them until seasoned; or mix them lightly with just enough white sauce to coat them.

CAULIFLOWER

Trim off the outside leaves and cut the stalk even with the flower. Let it stand upside down in cold salted water for fifteen or twenty minutes to take out any insects there may be in it. Put it into a generous quantity of rapidly boiling salted water and cook it uncovered about twenty minutes or until tender, but not so soft as to fall to pieces. Remove any scum from the water before lifting out the cauliflower. If not perfectly white, rub a little white sauce over it. Serve with it a white, a Béchamel, or a Hollandaise sauce; or it may be served as a garnish to chicken, sweetbreads, etc., the little bunches being broken off and mixed with white sauce.

CAULIFLOWER AU GRATIN

Break the boiled cauliflower into small flowerets. Place them in a pudding-dish in alternate layers with white sauce and grated cheese. Cover the top with crumbs moistened with butter, and bake until the sauce bubbles through the crumbs.

EGG-PLANT

Cut the egg-plant into slices one quarter of an inch thick, after removing the skin. Sprinkle the slices with salt. Pile them one upon another on the back of a dish. Place on them a plate holding a weight; let it stand one hour to express the juice. Dip the slices in egg and crumbs, or in egg and flour, and sauté on both sides in lard or drippings.

STUFFED EGG-PLANT

Boil an egg-plant twenty to thirty minutes, or until tender. Cut it in two lengthwise, and take out the pulp, using care not to break the skin. Mash the pulp, and season it with butter, salt, and pepper; replace it in the skins; sprinkle with bread-crumbs moistened in butter, and place in the oven to brown.

STUFFED PEPPERS

Use green sweet peppers of uniform size. Cut a piece off the stem end, or cut them in two lengthwise, and remove the seeds and partitions. Put them in boiling water for five minutes to parboil. Fill each one with a stuffing made of equal parts of softened bread-crumbs and minced meat well seasoned with salt, butter, and a few drops of onion juice. Place them in a baking-dish with water, or better stock, half an inch deep, and bake in a moderate oven for half an hour. Serve them in the same dish if a suitable one is used; if not, remove them carefully to another dish.

CHESTNUT PURÉE

Remove the shells; boil ten minutes; then drain and remove the skins. Put them in boiling salted water, and cook until tender; then drain, mash, and press them through a colander. Season with butter, salt, and pepper; moisten with cream, or milk, or stock.

CELERY STEWED

Cut the celery into pieces one inch long. Boil in salted water until tender; drain and mix with a white sauce.

CELERY AU JUS

Cut heads of celery into pieces six inches long, leaving them attached to the root; remove the coarse branches, and trim the roots neatly. Parboil it for five minutes. Make a brown roux, using two tablespoonfuls each of butter and flour, one teaspoonful of salt, and one quarter teaspoonful of pepper, and dash of nutmeg. Add two cupfuls of stock when the roux is well browned; and in this, place the bunches of celery; cover and cook very slowly for twenty-five minutes. Remove the celery, and place it evenly on a dish. Strain the gravy; pour it around or over the celery.

CARROTS AND TURNIPS

Cut carrots and turnips into dice one quarter of an inch square, or with a small potato scoop cut them into balls. Boil them separately in salted water; drain and mix them carefully together. Stir lightly into them enough white sauce to moisten them well.

MACÉDOINE OF VEGETABLES

Cut a carrot and turnip into half inch dice, or with small vegetable-cutters cut them into fancy shapes or into small balls. Mix them in about equal proportions with green peas, flageolet beans, string-beans cut into half inch lengths, and small pieces of cauliflower. The vegetables should be boiled separately and well drained before being put together, and when prepared should be mixed lightly so as not to break them, and seasoned with butter, pepper, and salt, or be moistened with a Béchamel or a cream sauce. The macédoine may be used as a garnish for meat, or can be served separately in a vegetable dish. This mixture of vegetables may also be used for a salad. Sometimes the vegetables, instead of being mixed together, are placed in separate piles around the meat or on a flat dish, and then give a good effect of color.

DRIED BEANS

BOILED, BAKED, PURÉE, CROQUETTES

Wash the beans, and soak them over night. Boil them slowly until tender, changing the water several times. They are improved in flavor by boiling with them a small piece of salt pork, a bay-leaf, and onion. If they are to be baked remove them from the water when the skin will break easily; put them in a pipkin or bean pot, bury in them a piece of salt pork with the rind scored; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour over them a tablespoonful of molasses, and enough salted water to cover them. Cover the pot closely, and place it in a slow oven to cook for six to eight hours.

For a purée, boil the beans until tender; mash them through a colander. Season with butter, salt, and pepper; and add enough cream or stock to make them the right consistency. This is called “Purée Bretonne.” To use it for a garnish, press it through a pastry bag into forms like potato roses (see page 202), or put it into small fontage cups (see page 300), or on thin pieces of toast the size of a silver dollar. To make croquettes add a beaten egg to the purée, form it into small croquettes, roll them in egg and crumbs, and fry in hot fat.

BEETS

Wash beets well, but do not break the skin, or they will lose their color in boiling. Cook for one hour if young, for two to three hours if old. When done throw them into cold water, and remove the skins. Season with butter, salt, and pepper. Serve them whole if small; cut into slices if large.

SUMMER SQUASH

Wash; cut into small pieces; cook in salted boiling water for twenty minutes, or until tender. Drain thoroughly; mash, and press out all the water. Season with butter, pepper, salt, and cream if convenient.

PARSNIPS

Boil the parsnips one hour, or until tender; throw them in cold water, and remove the skins. Cut them in slices lengthwise one quarter of an inch thick. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Dip in melted butter; then roll in flour, and sauté on both sides until browned. Or mash the boiled parsnips; season, and stir into them one tablespoonful of flour and one egg to bind them; form into small cakes, and sauté in drippings until browned on both sides.

CUCUMBERS

BOILED, STUFFED

Boiled: Peel the cucumbers, and cut them lengthwise into quarters. Boil them in salted water until tender. Make a white sauce (page 277), using cream instead of milk, if convenient. Place the well-drained cucumbers in the sauce, to be heated through; then sprinkle with chopped parsley, and serve.

Stuffed: Select large cucumbers of uniform size. Cut them in two lengthwise. With a spoon remove carefully the seeds, and fill the place with a stuffing made of equal parts of minced chicken, or any meat, and soft crumbs, seasoned, and moistened with one egg and a little stock. Round it over the top, and sprinkle with crumbs. Place the pieces in a pan with enough stock to cover the pan one half inch deep. Cook in a moderate oven one hour, or until the cucumbers are tender; replenish the stock in the pan if necessary. Remove them carefully to a hot dish. Thicken the gravy in the pan with a little cornstarch, and pour it around, not over them. This dish can be served as an entrée.

LETTUCE STEWED

Wash the lettuce carefully to remove the dust and any insects. Take off the wilted leaves, and cut the root even with the head. Tie the top together. Lay the heads side by side in a baking-pan; add enough stock to cover the pan one and a half inches deep. Cover, and place in a moderate oven to simmer for one half hour, or until the lettuce is soft; renew the stock if necessary. Lift the lettuce out with a fork, putting it under the middle; let it drain, and lay it double, as it will be over the fork, in a row on a hot dish. Season the gravy in the pan with butter, salt, and pepper; thicken it with cornstarch, or with a beaten egg, and serve it with the lettuce.

ONIONS

Put them in salted boiling water, and cook until tender; drain, and pour over them a white sauce, or melted butter, pepper, and salt. If browned onions are wanted for garnishing place them, after they are boiled tender, in a pan; sprinkle with salt, pepper, and a little sugar; and put them in a hot oven to brown.

STUFFED SPANISH ONIONS

Peel the onions. Scoop out from the top a portion of the center. Parboil them for five minutes, and turn them upside down to drain. Fill them with a stuffing made of equal parts of minced chicken, or meat, and soft bread-crumbs, chop fine the onion taken from the center, and add it to the mixture. Season it with salt and pepper, and moisten it with melted butter. Fill the onions heaping full, and sprinkle the tops with crumbs. Place them in a pan with an inch of water; cover, and let cook in an oven for an hour, or until tender, but not so long as to lose shape. Take off the cover the last five minutes, so they will brown very slightly.

CORN ON THE EAR

Strip off the husk and silk. Put into boiling water; cover, and boil ten to fifteen minutes. Do not salt the water, as it hardens the hull.

CORN MOCK OYSTERS

Cut down through the center of the grains, each row of green corn on the ear and with the back of a knife press out the pulp, leaving the hulls on the ear. To a pint of the pulp add two beaten eggs, one teaspoonful each of butter and salt, a dash of pepper, and enough flour to bind it. Roll it into small cakes, and sauté them in butter; or it may be dropped from a spoon into hot fat, making fritters. These may be made of canned corn, in which case use a little milk and sugar.

CANNED CORN

Turn it into a sieve, and let a little water run over it from the faucet. Put it into a shallow baking dish; add to one canful of corn one tablespoonful of butter, one half cupful of cream or milk, one half teaspoonful of salt, and a dash of pepper. Place in the oven to brown the top, and serve in the same dish.

SUCCOTASH

Mix equal parts of corn, cut from the ear, and any kind of beans; boil them separately; then stir them lightly together, and season with butter, salt, and pepper and add a little cream if convenient.

ARTICHOKES

Cut the stems off even with the leaves; remove the hardest bottom leaves, and cut off the top ones straight across, leaving an opening. Take out the inside, or choke. Wash well, and place upside down to drain. Put them into boiling water for half an hour, or until the leaves pull out easily; drain well, and serve on a napkin. They should be cut with a sharp knife into halves or quarters, and served with white, Béchamel, or Hollandaise sauce. The bottom and the base of the leaves only are eatable.

ARTICHOKE BOTTOMS

Remove all the leaves and choke. Trim the bottoms into good shape. Boil them in salted water until tender. Serve with Béchamel or Hollandaise sauce. Or cut the leaves close to the bottom, and divide it into quarters. Cook, and serve the same way.

Canned artichoke bottoms can be procured, which are very good.

Chapter VII

FARINACEOUS FOODS USED AS VEGETABLES

RECEIPTS FOR MACARONI AND CEREALS

TO BOIL RICE

Wash the rice well, and drain it. It must be washed in several waters, and until the floury coating, which is usually on rice, is all removed. This flour makes it pasty, and holds the grains together. Have a large saucepan of salted boiling water. Place it on the hottest part of the range, so it will boil violently. Sprinkle in the rice slowly, so as not to stop the boiling, and let it cook for fifteen to twenty minutes uncovered. At the end of fifteen minutes take out a few grains. If they are soft when pressed between the fingers, they are done. Then drain off every drop of water; sprinkle with salt; cover the pot with a napkin, using one thickness only—and set it on the side of the range to steam and become perfectly dry. Or the rice may be turned into a colander to drain, then placed in the open oven to dry. Use a large amount of water in proportion to the rice. Have it violently agitated all the time to keep the grains separated. Do not cook it too long, and do not stir or touch it while cooking. The cloth will not prevent the moisture escaping, and will help to keep it warm while it is drying. If these simple rules are observed, each grain will be separate and dry. Do not cover the dish in which it is served. Rice cooked in this way can be served in the place of potatoes.

RICE AND TOMATO

To a cupful of boiled rice add a half cupful of strained tomato sauce, which has been well seasoned with butter, salt, pepper, and bay-leaf. Toss them together, or mix lightly with a fork so as not to mash the grains. Serve as a vegetable.

PARCHED RICE

Boil rice as directed above, so each grain will be separate. Let it get cold, then separate the grains lightly with a fork on a flat dish. Put into a frying-pan just enough butter to cover the bottom of the pan; when it is hot add a little of the rice at a time, and sauté it to a delicate color. Shake the pan constantly to keep the grains separated. Remove the rice as it is done, and spread on a paper to dry in an open oven. The rice should not be greasy when served. This makes a good rice dish to serve as a vegetable with broiled meats.

FARINA BALLS

½ cupful of farina.

2 cupfuls of milk.

½ teaspoonful of salt.

Dash of cayenne.

5 drops of onion juice.

Yolk of 1 egg.

Cook the milk and farina in a double boiler for twenty to thirty minutes. Wet the farina with a little cold milk before stirring it into the boiling milk, so it will be smooth; add the salt, and cook to stiffness, or until the milk has evaporated, then add the cayenne, onion juice, and beaten yolk of egg. Stir well to mix, and to cook the egg; pour it onto a dish. When cold roll it into balls one inch in diameter; roll the balls in crumbs, then in egg (the white and yolk with one tablespoonful of water, beaten only enough to break), and again in white crumbs. Fry them in hot fat for one minute, or to a light amber color. Be sure the balls are completely coated with egg and crumbs, or they will break in frying. Any cold cereals can be used in this way. They make a very pretty dish. Serve on a napkin, or to garnish a meat dish.

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FARINA BALLS. (SEE PAGE 223.)

FRIED HOMINY

Cut cold boiled hominy into slices one half inch thick, then into pieces of uniform size. Roll in flour, and sauté on both sides, or dip them in egg and crumbs, and fry in hot fat.

FRIED CORN MUSH

Pour well-boiled cornmeal mush (page 228) into a bread-tin or dish with straight sides, so it will cut in even slices. Make the mush the day before it is to be used, so it will have time to harden. Cut it in pieces one half inch thick, and into any shape desired, but have the pieces uniform. Roll each one in egg and flour, and fry in hot fat; or they may be rolled in milk, then in flour, and sautéd in butter. They should have a crust on both sides. It is good served as a vegetable with game, or as a breakfast dish with or without syrup.

MACARONI

General directions. The best macaroni is smooth, has a fine, close grain and clear yellow color. It is made of flour and water only, and when cooked needs the seasoning of a good sauce. It is generally mixed with cheese, but tomato, cream, or Béchamel sauces make at good combination. When macaroni is to be boiled in long pieces to be used for timbales, hold the pieces in a bunch, and lower them gradually into hot water. They will quickly soften, and can be turned into a circle in the saucepan. They must be removed when tender, and not cooked until they lose form. When done drain off the hot water, and pour on cold water for a few minutes; then lay them straight on a cloth.

SPAGHETTI

How to serve. Spaghetti is a small and more delicate form of macaroni. It is boiled until tender in salted water and is combined with cheese and with sauces the same as macaroni, and is usually left long. It makes a good garnish.

BAKED MACARONI, WITH CHEESE

Take as much macaroni as will half fill the dish in which it is to be served. Break it into pieces two and a half to three inches long. Put it into salted boiling water, and boil twelve to fifteen minutes, or until the macaroni is perfectly soft. Shake the saucepan frequently to prevent the macaroni from adhering to the bottom. Turn it into a colander to drain; then put it into a pudding-dish with butter, salt, and grated cheese. If much cheese is liked, it may be put into the dish in two layers, alternating the seasoning with the macaroni. Cover it with milk, and bake until the milk is absorbed and the top browned. A tablespoonful or more of melted butter should be used to a half pound of macaroni. The macaroni called “Mezzani,” which is a name designating size, not quality, is the preferable kind for macaroni dishes made with cheese.

MACARONI AU GRATIN

Boil the macaroni as directed above. Drain it in a colander; then return it to the saucepan with butter and grated cheese. Toss over the fire until the butter is absorbed and the cheese melted. Serve at once before the cheese has time to harden.

A mixture of Parmesan and of Swiss cheese is often liked; the former strings when melted; the latter becomes liquid.

MACARONI WITH TOMATO OR OTHER SAUCES

Boil the macaroni as directed above; drain it in a colander; then return it to the saucepan, and mix it with tomato sauce, with cream sauce, or with Béchamel sauce; toss until they are well mixed; serve in a vegetable dish or as a garnish.

MACARONI WITH MINCED MEAT

Mix boiled macaroni with minced chicken or any meat, and moisten with white or brown sauce. The meat should be minced very fine. This makes a good luncheon dish.

RECEIPT FOR MACARONI

(FROM MRS. MASPERO.)

Put the macaroni into salted boiling water, and cook it twelve to fifteen minutes, or until it is tender. Do not let the water boil violently, as this breaks the macaroni. When it is cooked, drain off all the water, and cover the hot macaroni with grated cheese (Parmesan and Gruyère mixed). With two forks mix lightly the cheese with the macaroni. Turn it into the hot serving-dish, and pour over it the sauce given below. Serve at once.

SAUCE FOR MACARONI, FOR RISSOTTO, AND FOR POLENTA

Put into a saucepan one and a half tablespoonfuls of butter. Add a small onion chopped fine and a half clove of garlic. Cook until all are browned; then add three tablespoonfuls of water in which the macaroni was boiled, and a teaspoonful of beef extract. Add, also, three or four soaked mushrooms, and let it simmer for five minutes.

This amount of sauce is enough for a pound of macaroni.

The mushrooms given in this receipt are the dried cèpes, which can be bought by the pound at Italian groceries. They are the best, after the fresh mushrooms, to use for sauces. They should not be cooked longer than five minutes to give their best flavor.

SAUCE FOR MACARONI No. 2

(MRS. MASPERO.)

Make a sauce as directed for No. 1, using in place of the beef extract a cupful of chopped round of beef, and a cupful of tomatoes.

SAUCE FOR MACARONI No. 3

(MRS. MASPERO.)

When roasting an upper round of beef stick into it six cloves, a clove of garlic, and a few lardoons of pork. Sprinkle it well with salt and pepper. After the beef is roasted, turn the juice from the pan over the macaroni and cheese.

POLENTA

(MRS. MASPERO.)

Make a cornmeal mush; boil it for a long time, until it is firm and hard. Cut it in slices or leave it in one piece. Pour over it sauce No. 1 given above.

RISSOTTO

(MRS. MASPERO.)

Boil rice until tender, but not soft. The Italian rice must be used, as it does not get soft like the Carolina rice; when the rice is done, drain off the water and steam it dry; then add, while the rice is still on the fire, some mixed grated Parmesan and Swiss cheese. Turn them together lightly until the cheese has softened, then put it into the hot serving-dish, and cover with sauce No. 1 given above.

CEREALS

OATMEAL PORRIDGE

Oatmeal is ground in different grades of coarseness, and some brands are partly cooked before they are put up for sale; therefore the time for cooking varies, and it is better to observe the directions given on the packages. Oatmeal requires to be cooked until very soft, but should not be mushy. The ordinary rule is to put a cupful of meal into a quart of salted boiling water (a teaspoonful of salt), and let it cook in double boiler the required time. It is well to keep the pan covered until the oatmeal is cooked, then remove the cover and let the moisture evaporate until the oatmeal is of the right consistency. It should be moist enough to drop but not run from the spoon. It should be lightly stirred occasionally to prevent its sticking to the pan, but carefully so as not to break the grains.

If carefully cooked, the sides of the pan will not be covered with burned oatmeal, and so wasted.

Oatmeal is very good cold, and in summer is better served in that way. It can be turned into fancy molds or into small cups to cool, and will then hold the form and make an ornamental dish.

CRACKED WHEAT

Add to three cupfuls of water a half teaspoonful of salt; when it boils add a half cupful of cracked wheat, and let it cook uncovered until the water is nearly evaporated; then add three cupfuls of hot milk; cover and cook until the wheat is soft; then uncover and cook to the right consistency. It should be quite moist. Stir it carefully from time to time while it is cooking, but with care not to break the grains.

Turn into molds to harden, and serve cold with sugar and milk.

CORNMEAL MUSH

Sprinkle with the hand a pint of cornmeal into rapidly boiling salted water, stirring all the time. Cook for half an hour; or mix the cornmeal with a pint of milk and teaspoonful of salt and turn it slowly into a quart of boiling water; cook for half an hour, stirring constantly. This may be eaten cold or hot, with milk, with butter and sugar, or with syrup. When cold it can be cut into slices and browned on both sides in a sauté-pan, and used as a vegetable dish, or as a breakfast dish, and may be eaten with syrup.

Chapter VIII

A GROUP OF RECEIPTS FROM A NEW ENGLAND KITCHEN

(SUPPLIED BY SUSAN COOLIDGE)

Many of the receipts in this little “group” have never before appeared in print. They are copies from old grandmother and great-grandmother receipt-books, tested by generations of use, and become, at this time, traditional in the families to which they belong. They are now given to the public as examples of the simple but dainty cooking of a by-gone day, which, while differing in many points from the methods of our own time, in its way is no less delicious.

SPLIT PEA SOUP

Soak one quart of split peas in lukewarm water for three hours. Pour off the water and boil the peas in three and a half quarts of salted water till they are thoroughly soft. Rub through a colander, and throw away whatever does not pass through. This will keep several days.

Take out the quantity needed for dinner (allowing a generous quart to three persons); boil in it a small piece of pork, onion, and a little white pepper and salt; strain and serve very hot, with small cubes of fried bread dropped into the tureen.

BLACK BEAN SOUP

1 quart of black beans.

4 quarts of water.

The bone of a boiled ham.

6 cloves.

4 peppercorns.

Boil on the back of the range for twelve hours; rub through a colander and set away to cool.

This should make soup for two dinners for a family of six. When served, add a glass of wine to each tureenful, two or three slices of lemon, and cubes of bread fried in butter.

CLAM SOUP

Boil a quart of clams in their own liquor till they are tender; then chop them fine and return to the broth.

Stir together until smooth two tablespoonfuls of butter and one and a half of flour, and with them thicken the soup. Add very carefully a pint of milk, stirring to avoid curdling, and add two tablespoonfuls of butter, with pepper and salt, after taking the mixture from the fire.

CLAM CHOWDER

Cut one half pound of salt pork into slices, and fry them brown; chop two small onions, and cook them with the pork. Stew separately a quart of tomatoes, canned or fresh, and a quart of sliced potatoes. When all are done, put them together with one quart of clams and their juice. Add three pints of water, salt, pepper, a little thyme, a very little flour for thickening, and a handful of small whole crackers. Stew all together for half an hour, and serve very hot.

FISH CHOWDER

Three pounds of fresh codfish well boiled and the bones carefully removed. Two onions chopped fine and fried with half a pound of salt pork, cut into small dice. Six potatoes cut small, a pint of water, a little salt and white pepper. Stew for twenty minutes, thicken slightly with a little flour; add a pint and a half of milk, and let all boil up once, stirring thoroughly. Put a handful of oyster crackers into a hot tureen, and pour the mixture over them.

BROWNED OYSTERS

Take thirty large oysters (about three pints); wash them in their own liquor. Add to one pint of milk three tablespoonfuls of the oyster liquor, well strained, a very little mace, and a bit of butter about the size of an English walnut, and make the mixture scalding hot. Rub two tablespoonfuls of flour perfectly smooth with a little of the milk; pour in and stir until the whole is thick. Then drop in the oysters; cook five minutes or so, till they are well plumped out, and add a little salt, white pepper, and a tablespoonful of Worcestershire sauce. Serve on a platter on slices of buttered toast.

FISH AND OYSTERS

Make a pint or more of white sauce, with flour, butter, and hot milk, carefully stirred till smooth and thick. Pick to fine bits two quarts of cold boiled codfish, and add one pint of oysters chopped fine. Fill a well-buttered pudding-dish with alternate layers of the fish and oysters and white sauce, sprinkling a little salt over the layers of cod. Cover the top of the dish with fine bread-crumbs and small bits of butter; baste with a little cold water, and bake till the top is browned.

SCALLOPED OYSTERS

Three pints of oysters; a quart of sifted bread-crumbs. Place a layer of crumbs in the bottom of a rather deep baking-dish, then a layer of oysters, and sprinkle with salt and white pepper. Repeat the process till the dish is filled. Cover the top with crumbs and a layer of soft bread broken into bits and placed round the edge of a circle of small oyster crackers. Wet the whole with half a pint of soup stock and a quarter of a cup of oyster liquor. Cover the top generously with butter cut into fine bits. Pour over the whole a glass of sherry, and bake an hour.

PICKLED OYSTERS

Scald the oysters in their own liquor, with a little water added, till they are plump. Skim them out, and drop into a bowl of cold water; rinse well and put them in glass jars.

Scald an equal quantity of the liquor and vinegar with whole peppers, mace, and salt, and when perfectly cold fill the jars up with it. These will keep two or three weeks.

FRICASSEED OYSTERS

Drain a quart of large oysters from their liquor, and place them in a covered saucepan with a quarter of a pound of good butter. Set them on the back of the range, and let them simmer gently till the oysters are well plumped out.

Put the oyster liquor in another saucepan with three tablespoonfuls of powdered cracker, and a little pepper. When the oysters are done, remove them from the butter with a fork, and place them on toasted crackers on a hot platter. Add the butter in which they have been cooked to the oyster broth. Let it boil up once. Stir in half a pint of cream, and pour over the oysters.

STEWED LOBSTER

Cut a boiled lobster weighing four pounds into small pieces. Thicken a half pint of milk with a teaspoonful of flour and a tablespoonful of butter; add a teaspoonful of dry mustard, and a little salt and pepper. Stew the lobster in this till it is quite tender, and lastly add a tablespoonful of vinegar.

FISH BALLS

MAINE

Soak over night three quarters of a pound of boneless codfish.

In the morning shred the fish (uncooked) very carefully with a silver fork till it is fine. Add to it a dozen potatoes of medium size, freshly boiled, mashed, and rubbed through a sieve, two beaten eggs, a tablespoonful of butter, a little hot milk or cream, and a sprinkling of white pepper.

Mold into round balls, and drop into very hot fat.

CODFISH AND CREAM

Shred two thirds of a bowlful of salt codfish, wash it several times with fresh water, drain off the water, and put it into a saucepan with a pint of sweet cream and half a pint of sweet milk. Let it come nearly, but not quite, to the boiling point. Beat together one egg, a tablespoonful of flour, and two tablespoonfuls of sweet milk; add it to the fish, and stir continually until it is done. Put the mixture in a hot dish, and add a large spoonful of butter, stirring it thoroughly.

OYSTERS ON A CHAFING-DISH

Put into the chafing-dish four or five tablespoonfuls of the oyster liquor; add salt, white pepper, and a tablespoonful of butter, and stir till it is scalding hot. Drop the oysters in, a dozen at a time, and cook till they are plump and tender; then skim out and place on slices of hot buttered toast; add more oysters as required.

PILAU

One half pint of rice; one pint of stock; one half can of tomato. Soak the rice in cold water for an hour. Pour off the water, and put the rice, with the stock and one quarter of a white onion, in a double boiler. Stew till the rice absorbs the stock.

Stew the tomato thoroughly, and season with butter, salt, and pepper. Mix it with the rice.

Sauté in butter to a light color jointed chicken, slightly parboiled, or slices of cold cooked chicken or turkey. Make a hole in the rice and tomato, put in the chicken and an ounce of butter, and stew all together for twenty minutes. Serve on a platter in a smooth mound, the red rice surrounding the fowl.

SPICED SHAD

Scale the fish, cut off the heads and tails, and divide them into four pieces.

Chop four or five small onions, and sprinkle a layer on the bottom of a stone jar; on this place a layer of fish, packing closely. Spice with black and cayenne pepper, cloves, allspice, whole peppers, and a little more onion. Then add another layer of fish, and so on till the jar is full. Arrange the roe on top, spice highly, and fill the jar with the strongest vinegar procurable. Place thick folds of paper on the jar under the cover, and bake for twelve hours. The vinegar will dissolve the bones, and the fish can be sliced for a tea-table relish.

PORK AND BEANS

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Soak a pint of small white beans over night.

In the morning pour off the water, pour on a pint of cold water, and set at the back of the range to simmer slowly for three quarters of an hour.

Place the beans in a bean-pot with half a pound of scored salt pork in the middle, half a teaspoonful of dry mustard, salt, white pepper, and a half pint of white sugar. Add water from time to time, as it grows dry, and bake twelve hours.

See caption
BEAN POT.

A RÉCHAUFFÉ OF COLD MUTTON

Have the mutton cut very neatly and carefully into slices.

Add to a half pint of gravy or stock a little white pepper, a quarter of a teaspoonful of dry mustard, a quarter of a teaspoonful of curry powder, and three large tablespoonfuls of currant jelly. When this is scalding hot, add a glass of sherry. Have ready a hot platter with slices of toast. Put the sliced mutton into the sauce long enough to heat through, but not to cook for a moment. Take the slices out with a fork, and place them on the toast; last of all pour the boiling gravy over all, and serve instantly. This preparation will be found delicious—it robs the second-day-of-the-mutton of its terrors.

CORNED BEEF

If a round of corned beef is to be eaten cold, as is often the case, it should be carefully and slowly boiled, and left in the pot till the next day. The soaking in the water in which it has been boiled has the effect of making the beef delightfully delicate and tender, and a little less salt in its flavor. No one who has tried this method will be content with any other.

If the beef is to be served hot, what is left can be reheated, and left to cool for the next day’s use in the liquor.

A BEEFSTEAK PIE

CONNECTICUT

Three pounds of lean rump steak cut thick. Cut it into strips three inches long, and an inch wide. Put it to stew in enough boiling water to not quite cover the meat, and simmer very slowly for half an hour. Add a tablespoonful of parsley chopped fine, a large teaspoonful of sweet thyme, half a teaspoonful of white pepper, and a quarter of a pint of sliced onions. Stew together till the meat is perfectly tender. Rub smooth a tablespoonful of corn starch, and stir it with the gravy until it becomes of the consistency of cream; add a little salt and a tablespoonful of Worcestershire sauce. Place the meat in a deep pudding-dish with alternate layers of cold ham sliced thin and sliced hard-boiled eggs—seven or eight eggs will be required. Add a little grated nutmeg; cover with paste, and bake half an hour.

EASY CHICKEN SALAD

Take a two-pound can of Richardson & Robbins’s compressed chicken; remove the skin, and cut the chicken into small dice.

Add twice as much celery cut into small pieces, salt to taste, and marinate the whole with a mixture of three tablespoonfuls of vinegar to nine of oil. Have it very cold, and just before serving pour over it a Mayonnaise made by the following receipt. This quantity is enough for twenty-five persons.

CREAM DRESSING

Rub together in a china bowl a large tablespoonful of butter, four tablespoonfuls of vinegar, a half teaspoonful of salt, and a half teaspoonful of dry mustard.

Place the bowl in a saucepan full of boiling water over a spirit lamp, or on the range. Stir the mixture carefully till very hot, to prevent the butter from oiling. When hot add two well-beaten eggs; stir till thick, then pour in a half pint of cream, stir, remove from the fire, and allow it to get perfectly cold.

Cold sweet-breads are excellent served with this cream Mayonnaise.

MACARONI À L’ALBI

Break a dozen stems of large macaroni into pieces four inches long, and stew carefully, till tender, in consommé or white soup stock.

Place in a dish layers of the macaroni sprinkled with salt, pepper, and of Gruyère cheese grated fine. Cover the top with a thick layer of grated cheese, on that a layer of fine bread-crumbs, and on that bits of butter cut fine. Bake just long enough to brown the top thoroughly.

CORN PUDDING

Scrape with a knife two dozen ears of green corn, cutting each row through the middle. Add one pint of milk, half a pound of butter, three eggs, the whites and yolks beaten separately, a little salt, and white pepper. Stir the yolks into the milk and corn, pour into a baking-dish, stir in the whites, and bake an hour and a half.

THIN INDIAN BREAD

VERMONT

Mix together two cupfuls of meal, a tablespoonful of lard, and a teaspoonful of salt; scald with boiling water. Thin it with a large cupful of cold milk and two well-beaten eggs. Spread thin on a large buttered pan, and bake till brown in an oven only moderately hot.

GRAHAM GEMS

One pint of milk.

One pint of graham flour.

Place on top of the range a frame of “iron-clad” gem-pans to get very hot. Stir the milk and meal together lightly, not trying to make the batter very smooth. Drop a bit of butter into each hot pan, and while it sizzles pour in the batter, and instantly set in the oven; bake twenty minutes. The heat raises the batter to lightness, and the butter gives a savory crust to the little cakes.

COLONIAL HOE-CAKES

CONNECTICUT

Stir Indian meal and water together into a thickish paste. Spread thickly on a new wooden spade, or on the top of a new barrel, and set on end before an open fire to slowly toast, turning the cake when the outer side is brown. No preparation of Indian meal has quite the flavor of this.

RHODE ISLAND JOHNNY-CAKE

For this, Rhode Island meal, ground between stones, is required. Take one pint of meal and one teaspoonful of salt, and scald thoroughly with boiling water till it is a stiff, smooth batter. Thin with cold milk till about the consistency of sponge-cake batter, and drop in tablespoonfuls on a hot buttered griddle. When the under side is brown, turn the cakes and brown the other side. Eat with butter.

BOSTON BROWN BREAD

One pint of yellow cornmeal, scalded with a small quantity of boiling water, just enough to wet it thoroughly. Let it stand ten minutes. Then add enough cold water to make a soft batter. Add one quarter pint of brewer’s yeast, one quarter pint of molasses, one pint of rye meal, one half teaspoonful of salt, and one saltspoonful of soda. Beat it well together, and set it to rise over night. When light, stir it thoroughly, put it into a buttered tin, sprinkle a little flour over the top, and set it to rise again. Bake about two hours. It is excellent cut into slices and toasted.

DABS

CONNECTICUT

A pint of cornmeal, thoroughly scalded with hot water. Rub into it a dessertspoonful of butter, two eggs beaten very light, a wineglassful of cream or milk, and a little salt. Butter a tin pan, and drop the mixture from a spoon upon it. Bake in a moderate oven.

CREAM OATMEAL

Boil oatmeal for an hour as for breakfast use. Rub it through a fine sieve, add a little milk, and cook it very slowly in a double boiler for half an hour longer. When perfectly smooth, add a little salt and cream.

This is the most delicate preparation of oatmeal that an invalid can take.

ZEPHYRS

Prepare a thin mush of Indian meal, water, and salt, and boil till smooth. Drop this batter into iron-clad pans, made very hot and buttered, and bake till brown.

SQUASH PIES

Pare and cut into pieces a Hubbard squash, and steam it till, thoroughly soft; then rub it through a coarse sieve.

To a quart of the squash, which should be as thick and dry as chestnuts when prepared for stuffing, add three quarters of a pint, heaping full, of granulated sugar, the peel and juice of a large lemon, half a nutmeg grated, a tablespoonful of powdered ginger, about as much powdered cinnamon, a small teaspoonful of salt, six drops of rose-water, half a pint of cream, and four beaten eggs. Stir thoroughly, and add about three pints of scalded milk. The mixture should be tasted, and a little more sugar, or lemon, or spice added if required.

Line a deep tin pie-dish with paste, lay a narrow strip around the edge, and fill the dish with the mixture. Bake till the filling is set. This quantity will make four pies.

PUMPKIN PIES (About Four Pounds)

MASSACHUSETTS

Pare a small pumpkin, about four pounds, and take out the seeds. Steam till soft, and strain through a colander.

Beat in three eggs, three tablespoonfuls of molasses, two tablespoonfuls of ground cinnamon, one of ginger, two teaspoonfuls of salt, and two quarts of hot milk. If more sweetening is needed add a little sugar. Bake with an under crust only. This receipt will make five pies.

EASY PIE-CRUST

Three quarters of a pint of lard, three quarters of a pint of butter, three quarters of a pint of iced water with a teaspoonful of salt dissolved in it, a pint and a half of flour sifted twice through a fine sieve.

Put the lard and flour into a bowl (leaving out a little flour for rolling), and very lightly rub them together with the tips of your fingers. Pour in the salted water, and stir with a knife till the flour and lard are well mixed. Pour out onto the paste-board (over which a very little flour should be sifted), and beat the mixture with a rolling pin, doubling and folding, and putting the dry particles in the middle, till the whole becomes a smooth, firm paste.

Roll this into a narrow oblong, as far as possible rolling from you. Divide the butter, which should be very cold and hard, into three parts, and put one third on the paste with a knife, cutting it into little bits. Fold the sheet of paste over into a roll, and again roll out into an oblong. Add the second third of butter in the same way. Roll once more, put on the last third of butter, again fold into a roll, and cut the paste in two, putting one half on top of the other half.

Cut portions off from the end of the double roll, and with them line the pie dishes, rolling them very thin. This quantity of paste will make four or five pies. Care should be taken not to increase the quantity of flour. The pie-crust will be found tender and delicate, though not so elegant as puff-paste; and to make it ready for use in the pie-dishes should not take more than a quarter of an hour.

A BOILED INDIAN PUDDING

CONNECTICUT

One quart of milk.

One pint of meal.

Five tablespoonfuls of West India molasses.

Two tablespoonfuls of suet chopped fine.

Scald the milk, and pour it over the meal; add the other ingredients. Put the pudding into a mold or bag, and boil four hours.

Hot maple molasses and butter are eaten with this pudding.

A BAKED INDIAN PUDDING

Three and a half quarts of sweet milk.

Three heaping tablespoonfuls of cornmeal.

One half pint of molasses.

One teaspoonful of salt.

Ginger to taste.

Boil one quart of the milk; add to it molasses, butter, salt, and spice, and lastly the meal stirred smooth with a little cold milk; scald the whole together, and turn into a well-buttered baking-dish. When it begins to crust over, stir it all up from the bottom, and add a pint of cold milk. Repeat the process every half hour, or oftener if the pudding browns too fast, till the five pints are used; then let it bake till done—six hours in all. Serve hot with a sauce of grated or granulated maple sugar stirred into rich cream, and kept very cold till needed.

ORANGE INDIAN PUDDING

CONNECTICUT

Put four heaping tablespoonfuls of Indian meal in a bowl, and mix in half a pint of molasses and a teaspoonful of salt. Boil three pints of milk; pour it scalding hot on the meal, stirring carefully till perfectly smooth and free from lumps. Butter a deep pudding-dish; cover the bottom thickly with fragments of dried orange-peel; pour in the mixture, and, last of all, pour gently over the top a tumblerful of cold milk. Bake four hours and a half in a hot oven. Eat with thick cream.

BLUEBERRY PUDDING

RHODE ISLAND

Line a deep pudding-dish with slices of buttered bread. Fill this with alternate layers of whortleberries or blueberries, and granulated sugar. Squeeze the juice of a lemon over the whole. Cover the top with slices of bread buttered on both sides. Place a plate over the dish, and bake for an hour and a half, setting the dish in a pan of hot water.

Take the pudding from the oven, spread over the top a meringue of white of egg beaten lightly with sugar in the proportion of a tablespoonful of sugar to one egg, and return it to the oven just long enough to lightly brown the meringue. The pudding should be eaten hot with hard wine sauce.

A PEACH PUDDING

Line the bottom of a deep pudding-dish with thick slices of stale sponge cake soaked in sherry. Fill the dish with fresh peaches, sliced, and well sprinkled with sugar. Spread over the top a meringue similar to that described for whortleberry pudding, and leave it in the oven just long enough to brown.

Set the dish on the ice, and serve very cold. It is eaten with cream.

CHERRY BREAD

Fill a deep pudding-dish with alternate layers of buttered bread and sour cherries, stoned, and stewed with sugar.

Pack the dish in ice, and half freeze the mixture, which will become a semi-jelly. It is eaten with thick cream.

LEMON RICE PUDDING

Boil a half pint of rice in a quart of milk till very soft. Add to it while hot the yolks of three eggs, three large tablespoonfuls of sugar, the grated rind of two lemons, and a little salt. If too thick, add a little cold milk. It should be a little thicker than a boiled custard. Turn it into a pudding-dish.

Beat the whites of the eggs very stiff with eight tablespoonfuls of sugar and the juice of the two lemons, and brown the top delicately in the oven. Set on ice and eat very cold.

BERMUDA PUDDING

Weigh two eggs, and allow the same weight in sugar and flour, and the weight of one egg in butter. Beat the butter and sugar to a cream, add the eggs beaten to a froth, and lastly the flour, in which half a teaspoonful of Royal Baking Powder has been mixed. Stir till perfectly smooth; then add a heaping tablespoonful of orange marmalade; pour into a buttered mold; cover with buttered paper, and steam gently for an hour and a half. Serve with wine sauce.

RICE AND ORANGE-MARMALADE PUDDING

Simmer a quarter of a pint of rice in a quart of milk till it is very soft and thick. Add a teaspoonful of salt, four tablespoonfuls of sugar, a little cream, and let all cool together a few minutes. Pour into a pudding-dish and bake till set.

Spread over the pudding a thick layer of orange marmalade, and over that a meringue, and return to the oven till the top is lightly browned. Serve it cold.

MOLASSES PIE

This is a genuine New England dainty, dear to the hearts of children. Mix half a pint of the best molasses with a tablespoonful of flour, and add the juice of a large lemon, and the rind and pulp chopped fine. Bake with an under and an upper crust.

PRUNE JELLY, WITH ALMONDS

One pound of prunes. One half box of Coxe’s gelatine. Soak the prunes over night, and stew till tender in the water in which they have soaked. Remove the stones, and sweeten to taste.

Dissolve the gelatine in a little hot water, and add to the prunes while hot. Lastly, add the juice of a lemon and two tablespoonfuls of blanched almonds. Pour the jelly into molds and set it on the ice to harden. Eat with cream.

CLARIFIED APPLES

Melt two cupfuls of crushed sugar over the fire, adding a little water to keep it from burning, and dropping in a few bits of lemon-peel.

Pare eight large greening apples, and slice them very thin. Have a saucepan full of boiling water ready, and into this put the apples and let them cook till they are parboiled, but not soft enough to break. Skim them out, and drop them into the boiling syrup, shaking them continually over a slow fire till they are done. If properly prepared the slices will be almost transparent.

LEMON ICE

One quart of milk. One tumblerful of sugar. Mix the two, and half freeze in an ice cream freezer. Then add the juice and pulp of four large lemons; stir thoroughly, and freeze firm. This is the simplest and cheapest of frozen preparations, and for use in the country, where materials are hard to come by, it is invaluable.

APPLE SAUCE

Pare, core, and quarter enough Baldwin or greening apples to fill a small stoneware jar. Add three quarters of a pint of sugar and a quarter of a pint of water; cover tightly. Set this in the oven of the range as soon as the last meal of the day—dinner or supper, as it may be—is served, and let it remain till breakfast next morning. The long, slow cooking gives the apples a deep red color and a flavor quite different from other preparations.

STEWED PEARS

Prick hard baking pears with a fork in half a dozen places, and with them fill a small stoneware jar. Add half a pint of sugar, half a pint of water, and a heaping teaspoonful of molasses. Cover tightly, and bake all night as directed above.

CRANBERRY JELLY

Stew four quarts of cranberries in a porcelain kettle with water enough to float them, till they are thoroughly soft and broken. Rub them through a coarse sieve. Allow to each pint of the marmalade-like mixture resulting a pound of sugar. Put the fruit on the fire till it boils hard. Stir in the sugar, and as soon as it jellies, which will be in a few minutes, remove from the fire and pour into glasses. The advantage of this preparation of cranberries is that it keeps perfectly for six weeks or two months, losing nothing in quality or flavor during the time.

HARTFORD ELECTION CAKE

4½ pounds of flour.

2½ pounds of sugar.

2¼ pounds of butter.

½ ounce of nutmeg.

½ pound of sliced citron.

½ ounce of mace.

A cupful of brandy and sherry mixed.

2 pounds of raisins.

4 eggs.

At noon, or early in the afternoon, begin making this cake. Cream the butter and sugar, add a quart of lukewarm milk, half of the flour, and either a half pint of brewer’s yeast or a cake and a half of compressed yeast. Beat the mixture well, cover the pan with a thick towel, and set it in a warm place to rise.

At night, when it is very light, add the flour, spices, and eggs. Set the pan in a moderately warm place for a second rising. Early next morning add the fruit, the wine, the grated peel of a lemon, and half a teaspoonful of extract of rose. Pour into pans lined with buttered paper. Let them stand an hour or until light. This receipt makes seven loaves, which require to bake from an hour to an hour and a half, according to oven.

A half teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a little warm water, and stirred into the batter just before it is put into the pans, is an improvement.

INSTANTANEOUS FROSTING

To the white of an unbeaten egg add a cupful and a quarter of pulverized sugar, and stir until smooth. Add three drops of rose-water, ten of vanilla, and the juice of half a lemon. It will at once become very white, and will harden in five or six minutes.

Chapter IX

Part I

DISTINCTIVELY SOUTHERN DISHES

The dishes in which the South excel, and which may be called distinctive to that section, are those made of cornmeal, of gumbo or okra, and those seasoned with sassafras powder or twigs. The Cornmeal. The cornmeal used in the South is white and coarse-grained (it is called there water-ground), and gives quite a different result from that which is finer in grain and yellow in color, which is usually sold at the North. The Hoe. The hoe used for baking corn-cakes is an article made for the purpose, and not the garden implement usually associated with the name.

PONE

Sift a quart of white cornmeal, add a teaspoonful of salt; pour on enough cold water to make a mixture which will squeeze easily through the fingers. Work it to a soft dough. Mold it into oblong cakes an inch thick at the ends, and a little thicker in the center. Slap them down on the pan, and press them a little. These cakes, they say, must show the marks of the fingers. The pan must be hot, and sprinkled with the bran sifted from the meal. Bake in a hot oven for about twenty minutes.

HOE-CAKE No. 1

Make the same mixture as for pone. Spread it on the greased hoe, or a griddle, making a round cake one quarter inch thick. Bake it on the top of the range, turning and baking it brown on both sides.

HOE-CAKE No. 2

Use for these cakes, if possible, coarse water-ground white meal. Add to a quart of meal a teaspoonful of salt; pour over it enough boiling water to make it a soft dough; add also a little milk to make it brown better. Let it stand an hour or longer, then work it together with the hand. Form it into little cakes an inch thick, and bake on a greased griddle till browned on both sides. Serve very hot. They are split and spread with butter when eaten.

KENTUCKY CORN DODGERS

Mix a teaspoonful of salt with a cupful of white cornmeal. Scald it with just enough boiling water to dampen it; then add enough cold milk to enable you to mold it. Stir it well together, and form it into cakes three quarters of an inch thick in the middle and oblong in shape. Use a tablespoonful of dough for each cake. Bake them on a greased pan in a hot oven for twenty-five minutes.

MARYLAND BEATEN BISCUIT

Add a teaspoonful of salt and tablespoonful of butter to a quart of flour. Rub them together, then add a cupful of milk, and, if necessary, a little water, making a stiff dough. Place the dough on a firm table or block, and beat it with a mallet or rolling-pin for fully half an hour, or until it becomes brittle. Spread it half an inch thick; cut it into small circles, and prick each one with a fork. Bake them in a hot oven about twenty minutes.

SOFT CORN-BREAD

Mix a tablespoonful of butter with two cupfuls of hot boiled hominy or of rice; add two or three well-beaten eggs, and then add slowly two cupfuls of milk, and lastly a cupful of white cornmeal and a dash of salt. Turn the mixture, which should be of the consistency of pancake batter, into a deep dish, and bake about an hour. Serve it with a spoon from the same dish in which it is baked.

SOUTHERN WAY OF COOKING RICE

Wash the rice thoroughly through several waters, using the hand. Put it into a saucepan with a pint of water and a half teaspoonful of salt to each cupful of rice. Let it boil covered until the water has boiled away; then draw it to the side of the range, open the cover a little, and let it steam until thoroughly dry. Do not touch the rice while it is cooking. This receipt is furnished by a Southern negro cook.

GUMBO FILÉ

(A NEW ORLEANS DISH)

50 oysters.

1 fowl cut into pieces.

½ pound of veal cut into pieces.

½ pound of ham cut into pieces.

3 tablespoonfuls of tomato.

1 tablespoonful of drippings.

2 onions.

½ teaspoonful of salt.

¼ teaspoonful of pepper.

¼ teaspoonful of powdered thyme.

¼ teaspoonful of marjoram.

Dash of cayenne.

2 tablespoonfuls of sassafras powder.

Wash well the outside of a fowl (see page 180), and cut it into pieces. Cut the veal and the ham into small pieces, and dredge all of them well with flour.

Put the onions, sliced, into a pot or large saucepan with one tablespoonful of fat or drippings, and fry until brown; then add the pieces of chicken, veal, and ham. Turn them often, so all will brown evenly; this will take about twenty minutes. When the meat is browned, add two quarts of hot water; cover the pot, and let simmer for two hours. After the first hour add the salt, pepper, thyme, marjoram, and tomatoes. At the end of two hours, if the meat is tender, add the oysters and the oyster juice, and let remain on the fire only long enough to ruffle the gills of the oysters. Take from the fire, and add two tablespoonfuls of sassafras powder, and stir until a little thickened (do not add the sassafras until the pot is removed from the fire).

Serve in a meat-dish with a border of boiled rice. This is a dish much used in the South. It may be served as a chowder, with the meat and liquor together, or may be served separately, using the liquor as a soup.

Powdered sassafras leaves may be obtained at the grocer’s.

CHICKEN GUMBO

Cut a chicken into pieces; roll the pieces in flour; put them into a pot with a few slices of salt pork and one sliced onion. Sauté them a light brown; then add four quarts of hot water, and simmer it until the chicken is nearly cooked; then add two slices of boiled ham, two quarts of sliced okra, one half can of tomatoes, and one pod of red pepper. Continue to cook until everything is tender. Season with salt and pepper, and just before serving stir in one teaspoonful of sassafras powder. If sassafras twigs can be had they are better than the powder, and should be added with the vegetables.

This is a favorite Southern dish. It resembles a chowder, and is so hearty as to almost constitute a dinner in itself.

Part II
VERY INEXPENSIVE DISHES

Cost of living. The following receipts are furnished by a lady who for many years solved the problem of providing nourishment for a family of three persons upon a very small income. The average expenditure each day for three meals did not exceed twenty cents per capita, or four dollars and twenty cents a week for the family; and great care was taken to secure for this sum the greatest possible amount of nourishment. In families where meat is not considered a daily necessity, this price might be further reduced.

Care required in cooking cheap cuts of meat. It is, of course, very much easier to supply coarse qualities of food for a low sum than refined and dainty dishes, but, after all, it is more a matter of the care given to the preparation than of the food itself which produces refined results; for instance, beef, which is very nourishing, is least suited to these requirements, because the less expensive portions, which often contain the most nutriment, cannot be served as daintily as either veal or mutton without a large amount of care and trouble; this it is often difficult to give personally, and almost impossible to secure in a low-priced cook. Still, it is worth while for any housekeeper desirous of obtaining the maximum nourishment at minimum cost, to try the following receipts for using the most inexpensive portion of beef that can be bought, i. e., the shin, which costs about eight cents a pound.

TO PREPARE SHIN OF BEEF

Take a slice about one inch thick, cut toward the smaller end of the shin, so that the little round bone in the center is quite small. This is fairly manageable, and can by careful cooking be rendered as tender as a sirloin steak. Place the slice in a stewpan, cover it with water, add salt, and set it upon the far end of the grate for three hours, never allowing it to boil. If by that time it is fairly tender, cover it with vegetables cut in very small dice—carrots, turnips, and one large onion; advance the pot nearer to the fire, and let it simmer another hour. Push aside the vegetables, take the meat out carefully, and lay it on the dish; pile the vegetables upon its center, then carefully thicken the liquor, and if necessary brown it with a drop or two of burnt sugar, and pour this gravy over the beef.

ANOTHER WAY

Take about two and a half pounds of the thicker part of the shin, place it in an iron pot with two tablespoonfuls of drippings. Turn it as it browns. When brown enough put it in a stew-pan; add enough water to cover it, a large onion stuck full of cloves, and half a carrot cut into slices. Let it simmer four hours, remove the meat and onion and carrot, thicken the liquor, and serve in a dish large enough to allow plenty of gravy. If, after removing the meat, the liquor appears too rich, pour off the fat before thickening.

Round Steak. Round steak can be used instead of shin for both these receipts, but costs just double the price. It requires far less cooking and calls for less care, and if carefully and slowly stewed for one hour makes a very appetizing dish.

Another very appetizing dish, much used by people of small means in England, is beefsteak pudding, for which it is also possible to use the shin, by stewing it beforehand, and cutting it up when perfectly tender into small pieces; but it is usually made of round steak as follows:

BEEFSTEAK PUDDING

Line a pudding-basin with a plain crust made of chopped suet and flour mixed with water, and simply rolled out once an inch thick; cut up a pound of round steak, and sprinkle with flour, pepper, and salt; chop a small onion fine, put all into the lined basin, add a cup of water, cover over with the suet crust, and tie it in a well-floured cloth. Have a saucepan full of water boiling rapidly, and put the basin in, the opening downwards; leave the lid off the saucepan, and let it boil two and one half hours, adding water if it boils away. A sheep’s kidney cut up small adds richness to the gravy.

Menus. Sometimes, where great economy must be practised, and the sum allowed for the entire meal for three people is only sixty cents, it is difficult to remember just such accessories in the way of vegetables as are as inexpensive in their way as the meat, and for this reason the following very modest menus are offered as samples of what can be accomplished in the way of very inexpensive dinners.

DINNER No. 1

POTATO BALLS, SCOTCH BROTH, TURNIPS WITH WHITE SAUCE, TAPIOCA AND APPLES

This is an excellent winter dinner.

Scotch Broth.—Buy for four persons one pound or one and a quarter pounds of scrag of mutton; chop it into pieces, and put it into an iron pot with one quart of water, one large onion cut into slices, and a small cupful of pearl barley. Let it simmer for two hours, adding a little water if it becomes too thick. Serve boiling hot with the mutton in it.

This is very inexpensive. The scrag of mutton costs from eight to ten cents; the barley is eight cents a pound—about two cents’ worth is sufficient; the onion may be reckoned as one cent. It can be made a little more costly by buying what is called the best end of the neck. Six or eight chops would weigh the pound and a quarter required, and would cost perhaps twelve to fourteen cents. The chops look somewhat better than the chopped-up scrag, but the nourishing quality is as good in the latter.

Potato Balls.—Choose large potatoes, and with a scoop cut out small balls; boil these and serve them sprinkled with chopped parsley.

Turnips.—Cut into small dice, boil until tender, throw away the water, and serve with a white sauce made of milk, flour, and a teaspoonful of butter. Two turnips are sufficient for a dish.

Tapioca and Apples.—Apples are cheap early in the winter. Three or four at a cent apiece should be pared and cored, and placed in a low baking-dish with two dessertspoonfuls of tapioca, and enough water to cover the whole. Bake in a slow oven. By soaking the tapioca over night a less quantity will do, say, one and a quarter spoonfuls.

N. B.—Both sago and tapioca are very economical because, when soaked over night, they swell greatly, and they can both be cooked with water, instead of milk, with good results.

DINNER No. 2

STUFFED POTATOES, VEAL WITH WHITE SAUCE, PURIFIED CABBAGE, RENNET CUSTARD

Buy one and a quarter pounds of leg of veal at ten cents a pound; cut the meat into dice, and place it in a stew-pan with a piece of mace and a pint of milk. Place it back of the fire so that it will not burn, and thicken it before serving with a teaspoonful of flour.

Stuffed Potatoes.—Bake four large potatoes until nearly done; then cut in half, remove the insides, beat them up with milk, replace in the skins, and serve in a pyramid.

Purified Cabbage.—Cut a cabbage into thin strips as if for salad; boil it in salted water, but every time the water comes to the boiling point throw it away for three successive times; after the third boiling use milk instead of water, and add a little nutmeg. If nicely cooked in this way, cabbage is as palatable and as digestible as cauliflower.

DINNER No. 3

STEWED CARROTS, CHOPS WITH PARSLEY SAUCE, CREAM POTATOES, APPLE DUMPLINGS

Chops cut from the shoulder of mutton are cheaper than either neck or loin chops, and are as good, perhaps better, for boiling. Put the chops on in enough cold water to cover them; let them simmer for half an hour, and at the end of that time come just to a boil; pour off the liquor into the stock-pot, and lay the chops on a hot dish; make some white sauce of one ounce of butter, one teaspoonful of flour, and a cup of milk; add chopped parsley, and pour over the chops.

To stew carrots cut them in very thin rounds, lay them in a stew-pan with enough water to more than cover. Let them boil till tender, about one quarter of an hour; then thicken the liquor with flour, and add a tiny bit of butter.

DINNER No. 4

BOILED ONIONS, CURRY, RICE, STEWED PRUNES

Curry can be made of a variety of materials. The best for the purpose are the white meats, veal, pork, or chicken; and although curried cooked meat is a satisfactory substitute for hash, it is not on the whole commendable. The Indian receipt for ordinary curry is as follows:

Cut the fowl or meat into joints or fair-sized pieces; dip each piece in curry powder, or sprinkle freely with it; cut up a large onion, and have a clove of garlic. Put all together in a frying-pan, the bottom of which is covered with melted butter (drippings or lard will do); fry until thoroughly brown, turning continually. When brown, remove meat into a stew-pan; make a gravy with flour and water (or stock) in the frying-pan from which the meat was taken; strain it over the meat, and then add a few drops of lemon, or a little Worcester sauce—and set the stew-pan on the side of the stove and let it simmer for two hours. The meat should be so tender that it can be readily separated by a fork. A knife should never be used. Eggs make a delicious curry. Boil them hard, shell, and cut in halves; make a curry gravy as above, and pour over them. Serve with rice around the dish.

Rice.—The proper way to serve rice with curry is perfectly dry, and this is best secured by throwing a cupful (for an ordinary dish) into water which is already boiling hard. Let it continue to boil rapidly until the water has all boiled away, leaving the lid off. The rice will then be almost tender, and by removing to the side of the stove the evaporation will continue, and the rice drying off will be easily separable grain from grain, which is the proper way. The success of this method depends upon having plenty of water in the first instance.

Madras curry is differently made, and is served dry. For it, proceed as for the other curry by frying all the ingredients together in butter or drippings, but when brown continue to fry until the meat is done; then at the last moment add a sprinkling of curry powder, shake the pan, and turn all the contents onto a hot dish. Serve with rice.

DINNER No. 5

BRUSSELS SPROUTS, LIVER SAUTÉ, POTATOES, RICE PUDDING

Calf’s liver can be so cooked as to be both delicate and easily digested. The German method is a very good one. Remove any outer skin, and cut the liver into very thin slices. Have a pan with salted boiling water and throw in the liver. It will require only about five minutes’ cooking if the slices are thin enough. Take them out, lay them on a hot dish, and make a gravy by frying a cut-up onion and when brown pouring in the liquor used to boil the liver, thickening with flour and browning if necessary. Add at the last moment one half a large spoonful of vinegar.

Liver balls may be made by using the liver left over, chopping it very fine with an onion, some sage, or thyme (as may be preferred), bread-crumbs and a beaten egg, and frying in hot lard.

Liver should be accompanied by a green vegetable, for which reason Brussels sprouts are suggested. They should be cooked in salted water, drained, and served with white sauce, flavored with nutmeg.

DINNER No. 6

FRIED SWEET POTATOES, BREAST OF MUTTON, CAPER SAUCE, STRING-BEANS (TEN CENTS A CAN), APPLE PIE

Breast of mutton is the cheapest of all mutton, and being very fat, is considered unprofitable, but by care it can be made both palatable and economical. Buy about three pounds of breast; place it in a pan over a slow fire until a good deal of the fat has melted, but avoid letting it brown; pour away the fat as it melts, and when fairly free of it place the meat in a stew-pan with an onion cut up, and enough water to cover it, and a little thyme. Let it cook very slowly, only simmering for two hours; then lay on a hot dish, and pour caper sauce over it. If it is still fat skim often while simmering.

SOME CHEAP SOUPS

Tomato.—Turn a can of tomatoes into a stew-pan, and let come to a boil; fry some bread in dice, place them at the bottom of a soup tureen, and rub the tomatoes through a colander over them; put the pulp left in the colander back into the stewpan; add water, let it boil up, and strain again into the tureen; stir in a teaspoonful of butter, season with pepper and salt, and serve.

Carrot.—Boil half a dozen large carrots until quite tender; then rub them through a colander into a saucepan; add a pint and a half of water to the pulp, and boil; thicken with a little flour, and add a teaspoonful of butter, pepper and salt.

Potato.—Boil half a dozen large potatoes; rub them through a sieve (coarse hair is the best) into a saucepan in which there have been placed a shredded onion, some chopped parsley, and about a cupful of milk. Stir in the potato pulp, and thin with water. Season with pepper and salt.

Bean.—Soak some beans over night, boil for one hour; add an onion when nearly soft, rub them through a colander into a tureen in which have been already placed some onions fried in butter or lard, and add water if too thick.

Celery.—Take the cast-off leaves and hard ends of a bunch of celery, and let them boil until perfectly shredded; then strain the water into some thickened milk, and let it all come to the boiling point, but not boil. Season with butter, pepper and salt. It is a very good addition to this soup to break an egg into the tureen, and pour the soup upon it.

Stock can be used in any of these soups instead of water.

PART III
MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS

STERILIZED MILK

The subject of bacteria in foods has of late become a matter of careful scientific study, and the fact has been established that milk is one of the most subtle of disease-carriers. Hence every careful mother, before giving it to her children, subjects it to the sterilizing process, which is simply raising it to the degree of heat which destroys the germs. It is found, however, that this does not kill the spores or seeds of the bacilli, and so the operation is but a partially successful expedient. (To render it really sterile requires heating several times on successive days.) It has also been found that sterilizing milk robs it of its antiscorbutic qualities, and that children fed entirely upon it are subject to bleeding gums and other symptoms of scurvy. Milk should be fresh as possible, as the longer it stands the greater will be the number of bacteria, and less rich the milk in the substances on which they feed. The first point to emphasize in the simple process of sterilization is perfect cleanliness. Rounded bottles should be used, as they are easier to clean. They should be well rinsed as soon as emptied, and left to soak in soda and water, and before use they should be subjected to a good scrubbing with scalding water and a piece of cloth tied onto a stick or wire. The brushes made for cleaning bottles should be avoided, as they are more than likely to be full of germs themselves. Turn the fresh milk into the bottles as soon as cleaned. Fill them to within an inch of the top, and stop them with antiseptic cotton. The sterilizing is effected by keeping the bottles in boiling water or in live steam for at least half an hour. The water in the boiler should be cold at first, and the heat raised gradually. This, as well as not letting the bottles rest on the bottom of the kettle, will prevent their breaking. Sterilizers are made which are both cheap and convenient, but any kettle well covered will answer the purpose. The time for cooking should be counted from the moment the water boils. Let the bottles remain in the water until cooled, and do not remove the stopper until the milk is to be used.

DEVONSHIRE CREAM, No. 1

(RECEIPT OBTAINED IN ENGLAND.)

Put a panful of milk in a cold place for twenty-four hours, or in summer for twelve hours. Then place it on the fire, and let it come very slowly to the scalding-point, but do not let it boil. Put it again in a cool place for six or twelve hours, and then take off the cream, which will be firm and of a peculiarly sweet flavor.

DEVONSHIRE CREAM, No. 2

Put the fresh milk on the fire, and let it very slowly come to the scalding-point, but do not let it boil. Leave it on the fire for about half an hour, then remove to a cold place, and let it stand for six hours, or until the cream has all risen.

Devonshire cream is thick and clotted, and is used on fruits, mush, etc. It will keep for some time, and is particularly delicious.

FRESH BUTTER

The French use for table butter that which is freshly made and without salt. One soon learns to prefer it to the best salted butter. It is very easy to make fresh butter, but not always easy to buy it, for it keeps only a day at its best, and therefore the surest way of having it good is to make it. Take a half pint of double cream; turn it into a bowl, and with a wire whip beat it until the butter forms. This will take but a few minutes, if the cream is of the right temperature (65°). (If very cold, it will whip to froth as it is prepared for whipped cream.) Turn off the milk; add some ice water, and work the butter until it is firm and free from milk; then press it into pats, and keep it in a tight jar on the ice until ready to use.

This amount of cream, which costs ten cents, will, if rich, give a quarter of a pound of butter. Put some fresh grass or some clover blossoms in the jar with the butter, and it will absorb their flavor. (See illustration facing page 256.)

See caption
BUTTER PATS AND MOLDED BUTTER. (SEE PAGE 258.)

1. Shells made with No. 5.

2. Balls made with No. 7.

3. Small pats made with No. 6.

4. Rolls made with No. 7.

TO MAKE WHITE HARD SOAP

Save every scrap of fat each day; try out all that has accumulated, however small the quantity. This is done by placing the scraps in a frying-pan on the back of the range. If the heat is low, and the grease is not allowed to get hot enough to smoke or burn, there will be no odor from it. Turn the melted grease into lard-pails and keep them covered. When six pounds of fat have been obtained, turn it into a dish-pan; add a generous amount of hot water, and stand it on the range until the grease is entirely melted. Stir it well together; then stand it aside to cool. This is clarifying the grease. The clean grease will rise to the top, and when it has cooled can be taken off in a cake, and such impurities as have not settled in the water, can be scraped off the bottom of the cake of fat.

Put the clean grease into the dish-pan and melt it. Put a can of Babbitt’s lye in a lard-pail; add to it a quart of cold water, and stir it with a stick or wooden spoon until it is dissolved. It will get hot when the water is added; let it stand until it cools. Remove the melted grease from the fire, and pour in the lye slowly, stirring all the time. Add two tablespoonfuls of ammonia. Stir the mixture constantly for twenty minutes or half an hour, or until the soap begins to set.

Let it stand until perfectly hard; then cut it into square cakes. This makes a very good, white hard soap which will float on water. It is very little trouble to make, and will be found quite an economy in a household. Six pounds of grease make eight and a half pounds of soap.

FLOOR POLISH

4 ounces of beeswax.

1 quart of turpentine.

Piece of resin size of hickory nut.

Cut up the beeswax and pound the resin. Melt them together. Take them from the fire and stir in a quart of turpentine. Rub very little on the floor with a piece of flannel; then polish with a dry flannel and a brush.

Chapter X

EGGS

There is a best way of doing everything, even if it be to boil an egg.—Emerson.

The variety of purposes which eggs serve, the many ways of cooking them, their value as a highly concentrated, nutritious, and easily-digested food, make them one of the most useful articles of food. To have them fresh and rightly cooked is within the power of the simplest household. They hold the principal place as a breakfast dish, and although the original methods of cooking them may be limited to boiling, baking, poaching, etc., each one of these can be varied in an indefinite number of ways, giving a menu of eggs unlimited in extent, and thus securing always a new way of presenting them, if desired. Urbain Dubois has recently published a book giving 300 ways of preparing eggs. The varieties are attained mostly by the sauces and garnishings. It is not generally understood that sauces can be served with poached, hard-boiled, and scrambled eggs, and also with omelets.

To judge of freshness and how to preserve eggs. A fresh egg should feel heavy, sink in water, and when held to a bright light, show a clear round yolk. If old, a part of the substance will have evaporated through the pores of the shell, leaving a space filled with air, which will cause it to float on water. It will also contain dark specks. To preserve eggs it is necessary to stop the pores of the shells with a coating of fat or gum or wax. This will prevent the air from entering and decomposing the nitrogenous elements of the egg. How to pack. They should be packed standing on the small end, and kept in a cool, dark place. Another way of preserving them is to immerse them in a saturated solution of lime.

BOILED EGGS

Soft-boiled eggs should have the albumen creamy, not hard. To obtain this, slow heat is required. Hence receipt No. 1 is recommended. No. 2 gives a soft egg, but the time is difficult to determine exactly. No. 3 gives satisfactory results. To have eggs hard boil them for twenty-five minutes. The yolks will then be dry and mealy. When done, place them in cold water for fifteen minutes. Then roll them lightly on the table to crush the shells, which can then be peeled off easily, leaving the surface smooth and white. Use a sharp, thin knife for cutting them so the pieces will be clean and smooth.

No. 1

Place the eggs in warm water to heat the shells so they will not crack when put into boiling water. Let the water in the saucepan boil violently; put in the eggs carefully, and when the water again bubbles, remove it from the fire; cover and let the eggs remain in it for five minutes.

No. 2

Put the eggs into boiling water and cook for three minutes, the water boiling all the time.

Place the eggs in cold water on the fire, and remove as soon as the water boils.

POACHED EGGS, No. 1

The white of a poached egg should be a white, translucent, jelly-like mass. To obtain this result, which makes it an easily digested food, it must cook very slowly, the water never reaching the boiling-point. Place in a shallow pan as many muffin-rings as you have eggs to poach. Turn in enough boiling water to just cover the rings; add a little salt. When the water boils, draw the pan to the side of the range, and break an egg into each ring. It should take at least ten to fifteen minutes to cook the eggs to the translucent state desired. Have ready even pieces of toast one half inch thick, cut into rounds a trifle larger than the muffin-rings. Moisten them with hot water, and spread with a little butter. Remove the eggs carefully on a skimmer or pancake turner, and place one on each round of toast; then lift off carefully the rings, and place a spot of pepper in the center of each yolk. Arrange them symmetrically on a dish, and garnish with parsley.

FRENCH POACHED EGGS, No. 2

These eggs, when properly cooked, are in the shape of balls, and are used for fancy egg-dishes. Have in a deep saucepan a generous amount of water; add a little salt and vinegar; the salt to raise the heat of the water, the vinegar to harden the white of the egg. When the water is violently boiling, crack the shell of the egg, and holding it close to the water, drop the contents quickly on the point of greatest ebullition. The egg should drop all at once, not drain into the water. The mass will then be whole, and the violently agitated water will toss it about, giving it a round form. When sufficiently firm to hold, remove with a skimmer and place carefully on the bottom of an inverted tin to drain. Poach but one egg at a time, and remove it before the yolk hardens.

POACHED EGG, No. 3

Add a dash of salt to the white of an egg and whip it to a froth. Place this in a deep saucer or cup, and place in the center the whole unbroken yolk. Set the dish in a pan of boiling water; cover and let cook for two minutes. This is a good way to serve an egg to an invalid.

See caption
POACHED EGG. NO. 3. (SEE PAGE 263.)

FRIED EGGS

Place a little butter in a very clean frying-pan. When it bubbles, turn in the eggs, one at a time, and keep the pan where the heat is not sufficient to blacken the butter. If the eggs are wanted hard, turn and fry them on both sides like a pancake.

SCRAMBLED EGGS

Beat the eggs lightly with a fork, just enough to break them. To four eggs add two tablespoonfuls of milk, one half teaspoonful of salt, and a dash of pepper. Put into a very clean frying-pan one half tablespoonful of butter. When it begins to bubble, turn in the eggs, and stir them constantly over a slow fire until they begin to set; then remove them from the fire and continue to stir until they are of the right consistency. The heat of the pan will be sufficient to finish the cooking, and there will not be danger of their being overcooked. They should be firm only, not hard. If the pan is perfectly clean, and the butter is not allowed to burn, they will have a bright clean color. Scrambled eggs may be varied the same as omelets, by mixing with them any other thing desired. The extra material should be added when the pan is taken from the fire, and stirred with the egg until it has finished cooking. A teaspoonful of parsley, chopped fine, gives a good flavor and simple change. A little purée of tomatoes added makes a good combination. With minced chicken, veal, ham, fried bacon, mushrooms, or sweetbreads, it makes a good luncheon dish. Any pieces left over will serve the purpose, as very little is required. Garnish the dish with croûtons and parsley.

PLAIN FRENCH OMELET

An omelet is the most difficult to prepare of any egg dish. It requires some practice to give it the right shape (which is high in the center and pointed at the ends), to have it soft inside, to give it a smooth, slightly browned surface, a texture like scrambled eggs, and to have everything perfect. The first essential is to have a perfectly clean and smooth pan. It is difficult to make a smooth omelet in a pan used for other purposes; so it is well to have one kept for this use alone. The French do not wash the omelet-pan, but scour it smooth with salt and vinegar when it sticks, and at other times rub it clean with a dry cloth. Before using the pan scour it well with dry salt to give it extra smoothness.

It is better to make several small omelets than one large one, using not more than three or four eggs for each one. Beat the eggs just enough to break them. The rule is twelve beats. To three eggs add a half teaspoonful of salt, a dash of pepper, and a half teaspoonful of butter broken into small bits. A teaspoonful of milk may be used or not. Have the pan evenly heated and hot, but not scorching. Put in a half teaspoonful of butter and let it run evenly over the pan, but not brown; turn in the eggs. With a knife or fork break the cooked surface in several places quickly, so the egg from the top may run to the bottom and cook, or press the egg away from the sides, letting the uncooked part run under. This must be done in the beginning so as not to make the surface uneven. When the egg is cooked, but yet quite soft on the top, lift the pan on one side, slip the knife under, and carefully roll the omelet to the center. Let it cook a moment to set any egg that has run out, and if the color is not right add a little butter, and let it run under and slightly color the omelet. Place a hot dish over the pan and turn them together so the omelet will fall in the right place; press it into good shape, doubling it under on the ends if necessary. Garnish with parsley and serve at once. Have everything ready before beginning to cook an omelet, as it will not bear being kept while the dish is heated, and the garnishing found.

VARIATIONS OF THE OMELET

No. 1. Sprinkle a little parsley, chopped fine, over the top.

No. 2. Turn tomato, Béchamel or mushroom sauce on the dish around the omelet; sprinkle the top with chopped mushrooms, if that sauce is used. Garnish with pointed croûtons.

No. 3. Green omelet. Mix chopped parsley with the egg mixture before cooking the omelet, and do not brown the surface.

No. 4. Aux Fines Herbes. Chop parsley, chives, chervil, and tarragon very fine. Mix them with the egg mixture before cooking. When the omelet is turned out, rub over it a little maître d’hôtel butter (see page 286).

No. 5. With Peas or Tomatoes. Before turning a plain omelet, spread it with a few green peas or tomatoes cooked and seasoned. Asparagus or any other vegetable may be used in the same way.

No. 6. With Ham. Spread the plain omelet with ham, chopped fine, before turning it. Any other cooked meat may be used in the same way.

BEATEN OMELET

Beat very light the yolks and whites of three eggs separately. Season the yolks with salt and pepper and one tablespoonful of milk; then fold in lightly the whipped whites. Put a half teaspoonful of butter in a hot frying or omelet pan. Let it run over the bottom and sides of the pan, but do not let it brown. Turn in the egg mixture, spread it lightly and evenly over the pan, and let it cook until it forms a very light crust on the bottom; then place it in the oven about three minutes, or until the egg is cooked through, but not hard; fold it once, and turn it onto a hot dish. This omelet may be used the same as the French omelet in combination with other things. Spread anything so used on the omelet before turning it. For a sweet omelet add sugar to the yolks, and omit the pepper. Serve at once.

SHIRRED EGGS

(SUR LE PLAT ... AU MIROIR ... COCOTTE.)

For this dish (sur le plat) individual china dishes are generally used, although a dish holding several eggs will do. Butter the dishes; break into each one an egg; sprinkle a little salt on the whites, but not on the yolks. Place them on the shelf of the oven so the heat will be greatest on top; baste the yolks several times while baking with a little hot butter. This will give them a glaze. As soon as the glaze appears remove them from the oven, and if not sufficiently cooked, stand them for a minute on the top of the range. Care must be used not to dry the eggs.

Several eggs cooked together in this way in a large dish, then cut into circles with a biscuit cutter, and placed on broiled ham, stewed kidneys, minced meat, tomato purée, or other things, are called eggs au miroir. When baked in individual dishes, they may be varied by sprinkling in the dish before the egg is added a little chopped ham, chicken, mushrooms, or tomato purée, etc. When baked in little pot-shaped dishes in the same way they are called cocottes. These may be varied by lining the dishes with a thin layer of forcemeat or minced meat, the eggs then dropped in and poached by standing the dishes in a pan of water in the oven. When done, a little cream or Béchamel sauce or tomato purée is turned over the top, and sprinkled with parsley. Serve eggs sur le plat and cocotte in the dishes in which they are baked.

See caption
1. SHIRRED EGG. 2. COCOTTE. (SEE PAGE 266.)

MOLDED EGGS

(À LA POLIGNAC)

Butter well some individual timbale molds; chop some parsley very fine, and powder the inside of the buttered molds with it. To do this, place a teaspoonful of the parsley in a buttered mold, cover it with the hand and shake it well; then invert the mold, and strike it on the table to free it of all that is loose. Break into each mold an egg, letting it go in slowly from the side so no air bubbles will be held, as they make holes and uneven surface in the cooked egg. Sprinkle the top with salt and butter. Place the molds in a pan of hot water, half covering them, and poach in a moderate oven eight to ten minutes, or until firm enough to stand, but not very hard. Serve them on a flat dish with a spoonful of white, Béchamel, or tomato sauce under each form. This is a very simple way of preparing eggs, and makes a good luncheon dish.

See caption
MOLDED EGGS À LA POLIGNAC. (SEE PAGE 267.)

MOLDED HAM AND EGGS

Mince some boiled ham very fine. Moisten it with white sauce and raw egg, just enough to make a consistent paste. Line individual buttered timbale molds with a thin layer of the ham paste. Break an egg in the center of each one, and poach them in the oven eight to ten minutes, as directed for eggs à la Polignac. Place a little white or Béchamel sauce on the serving dish; turn the eggs onto it, and put a spoonful of sauce on the top of each one, letting it run over, and partly mask them, as the color of the ham is not attractive. Garnish with parsley. Another receipt for ham and eggs is given on page 178. Any other meat may be used in the same way.

POACHED EGGS ON ANCHOVY TOAST

(A SUPPER DISH)

Cut toasted bread into circles; spread them with anchovy paste, and place on each piece a poached egg prepared as directed in receipt No. 1.

POACHED EGGS WITH ANCHOVY

(AN ENTRÉE FOR LUNCHEON)

Cut bread into circles and toast them; spread them lightly first with anchovy paste, then with a layer of ham or tongue chopped very fine, seasoned well, and a little moistened with stock or white sauce. Cover the top with whipped white of egg; place a raw yolk in the center of each one. Bake them in the oven for one minute, or just long enough to well heat the egg.

POACHED EGG WITH TOMATO

Cut bread into slices three quarters of an inch thick, then into circles. With a smaller cutter cut half way through the bread, and remove the center, leaving a form like a patty case. Fry them in hot fat to an amber color; fill the centers with well seasoned tomato purée, and place on the top of each one a French poached egg.

EGGS À LA VILLEROI

This dish is served as an entrée for luncheon, and is a particularly good as well as mysterious dish, for having a soft egg inside a croquette seems a difficult thing to get. Poach the eggs French style (page 263), using care to have them round and just firm enough to hold in shape. Lift them carefully on a strainer, and place them on the bottom of an inverted pan, leaving a space between them. When they are cold trim them, carefully removing any ragged ends of white, and wipe them dry. Make a Villeroi sauce as directed (page 280). When it is partly cooled, pour it with a spoon over the eggs. It should form a thick coating. When it is cold and well set, trim each egg neatly again, cutting away any of the sauce that has run over the pan. Have some soft, white crumbs, grated from the loaf or rubbed through a coarse sieve, and mixed with grated cheese. Lift an egg on a broad knife, and place it on the crumbs. Cover it with as many crumbs as will adhere. Lift it again on the knife into a dish containing beaten egg, and with a spoon moisten it well with the egg. Then place it on fresh, white crumbs that are not mixed with cheese, and cover it completely. It can now be handled with care and turned into good shape in the crumbs. Let the breaded eggs stand until just ready to serve, then place three or four at a time in a wire basket, and plunge them in smoking hot fat (see frying, page 72) to take a delicate color. Do not let them become deeper than lemon color. Place a spoonful of Villeroi sauce on each plate, using the sauce left from coating the eggs and thinning it with stock; place an egg on the sauce and serve at once. Chopped truffles mixed with the sauce improves it.

EGGS À LA BOURGUINONNE

Poach eggs in the French style, letting them be as soft as possible. Butter a flat baking-dish; sprinkle it with bread crumbs and grated cheese. Place on them carefully the poached eggs. Cover them with Béchamel or Allemande sauce (see page 279), and sprinkle over the top grated Parmesan cheese. Place in a hot oven to melt the cheese, and lightly brown the top.

EGGS À L’AURORE

Take six hard-boiled eggs, and press the yolks through a colander. Cut the whites into half-inch dice, mix them with a well-reduced white or Béchamel sauce, and turn them into a flat baking-dish. Cover the top with the mashed yolks, dot it with small bits of butter, and place in a hot oven for a few minutes to heat, but not brown. This may be served in individual cups or shells if desired. Chopped mushrooms mixed with the sauce makes a good variation of the dish. Another way of serving it is to cut the whites lengthwise into quarters or eighths, and place them in a circle on the dish; pour the sauce in the center, leaving the points of one end uncovered, and sprinkle over the sauce the mashed yolks. In order not to have the dish cold when served in this way, keep the cut whites in hot water until ready to serve. Have the dish hot, and put all together quickly at the moment of serving. (See illustration.)

See caption
EGGS À L’AURORE. (SEE PAGE 270.)

GOLDEN CREAM TOAST

Cut bread into even pieces; toast and butter the pieces, and moisten them with hot water. Boil six eggs hard. Separate the whites from the yolks; chop the whites, and press the yolks through a colander or sieve. Make a white sauce, using one tablespoonful each of butter and flour cooked together, and then add a cupful of cream or milk. When it is well thickened add the chopped whites, and season with pepper and salt. Spread this mixture on the slices of toast, and cover the top with the mashed yolks. Sprinkle the yolks evenly over the pieces, so they look very yellow. Serve very hot.

CURRIED EGGS

Boil the eggs hard; remove the shells carefully as directed (page 262), and drop them in hot water to keep warm until ready to use. Mold some boiled rice into a form resembling a nest. Have the rice boiled so each grain is distinct (see page 222). Place it on the hot shelf to keep warm. Place a teaspoonful of chopped onion in a saucepan with a tablespoonful of butter, and cook until the onion is a light yellow, but not brown. Add an even tablespoonful of corn starch, mixed with a half tablespoonful of curry powder and diluted with a little cold milk or stock, then stir in slowly one and a half cupfuls of white stock or milk. Let it cook until the corn starch is clear; add pepper and salt to taste, and strain it. The sauce should be a bright yellow color, perfectly smooth, and not very thick. Wipe the eggs dry, roll them in the sauce to get evenly coated with color, and place them in the nest of rice. Pour in enough sauce to moisten the rice without discoloring the outside or top edge of the rice around the eggs. (See illustration.)

See caption
CURRIED EGGS IN A NEST OF RICE. (SEE PAGE 271.)

STUFFED EGGS No. 1

Cut hard-boiled eggs in two lengthwise. Take out carefully the yolks, mash them, and mix them with some chicken or other meat minced fine. Season the mixture with pepper and salt. Moisten it with a little of any kind of sauce or gravy, and add a little raw egg. Chopped truffles and mushrooms may be added to the stuffing if convenient. Fill the spaces in the whites of the eggs with the mixture; smooth it even with the top; rub a little raw white of egg over the pieces, and press two halves together. Roll the stuffed eggs in egg and crumbs, and fry in hot fat to a lemon color. Serve the eggs on a napkin, and pass with them a white, Béchamel, tomato, or any other sauce.

STUFFED EGGS No. 2

Cut hard-boiled eggs in halves. Take out the yolks, leaving two cup-shaped pieces. Mix the yolks with an equal quantity of softened bread; season with salt, pepper, and parsley. Add a little raw egg to bind the mixture, and fill the spaces from which the yolks were taken. Round it on top to give the appearance of a whole yolk. Cut a little slice off the bottom of the egg, so it will stand firm. Place them in the oven just long enough to heat, and serve standing, on a dish covered with white sauce.

EGG CROQUETTES

Cut some hard-boiled eggs into quarter-inch dice. Mix with them some chopped mushrooms. Stir them carefully into a well-reduced Béchamel or white sauce made as directed for croquettes (page 293). Turn the mixture onto a cold dish to cool and stiffen. Mold into croquettes, and fry in hot fat. See directions for croquettes (page 293).

OTHER WAYS OF SERVING HARD-BOILED EGGS

(LUNCHEON DISHES)

No. 1. Cut hard-boiled eggs in two lengthwise. Arrange them symmetrically on a flat dish, and pour over them a giblet sauce made of chicken or turkey gravy.

No. 2. Cut hard-boiled eggs into quarters. Make a ring form of boiled rice; fill the center with the eggs; pour over them some Béchamel sauce. Sprinkle the whole with bread-crumbs and grated cheese. Moisten the top with melted butter, and place in the oven to brown. Serve on the dish in which they are browned.

TOMATOES STUFFED WITH EGGS

Select round tomatoes of uniform size; remove the skins. Cut a slice off the tops, and take out the seeds and soft pulp. Drop into each one a raw egg, and replace the cover. Set the tomatoes into a buttered pan or into a baking-dish which can be sent to the table, and place in the oven for about ten minutes, or until the egg has set. Serve on the same dish and with a brown or a Béchamel sauce.

EGGS À LA REINE

DOWN TOWN CLUB

Make croustades, three inches in diameter and half an inch thick, from stale American bread. Dip them in good melted butter, put them on a pan in the oven until they are a nice light-brown color; then take out the center of each croustade and fill with foie gras. On the top of each put a poached egg; then pour over a cream sauce, sprinkle with truffles chopped fine, and serve immediately.

EGGS LIVINGSTON

DOWN TOWN CLUB. (FOR SIX PERSONS)

Take twelve raw eggs, half a pint of rich cream; beat well together, add salt and pepper. Put the mixture in a flat saucepan well buttered, and scramble; then add three quarters of a pint of well-cooked tomato meat and three truffles hashed (not too fine). Dress on toast covered with pâté de foie gras. Serve very hot.

EGGS AU BEURRE NOIR

Poach or fry the number of eggs desired and place them on a flat dish. Pour over them enough brown butter sauce to well moisten them. (See page 291.)

SPANISH OMELET

Make a plain French omelet, using four eggs (see page 264). Just before it is done place in the center a veal kidney, which has been well soaked, then cut into half-inch dice and sautéd until tender in a tablespoonful of butter. Do not cook the kidney too long or it will toughen.

Fold the omelet and turn it onto a dish. Pour around the omelet a tomato sauce (see page 285). Spread over the top of the omelet a sweet green pepper, which has been boiled until tender and then cut into narrow strips.

The sauce, the kidney and the pepper should be prepared first, as the omelet must be served as soon as the eggs are cooked.

Chapter XI

SAUCES

“There are many sauces besides hunger.”

General directions. The basis of most sauces is butter and flour cooked together, which makes a roux or thickening. If for a white sauce, the flour is not colored; if for a brown sauce, the flour is cooked until brown. To this basis are added the flavor and seasoning suited to the dish with which it is to be served. For meats, it is the flavor of meat, vegetables, spices, and herbs; for entrées, it is the flavor of meat or chicken, and cream; for vegetables it is butter, cream or milk, and eggs; for fish, the same, with a little lemon-juice or vinegar to give piquancy. The basis of pudding sauces is butter and sugar.

Uses and variations of the white sauce. Sauces are easily made, and greatly improve the dishes they accompany. Many dishes depend upon sauces to make them palatable, and many made-over dishes are very acceptable when served with a good sauce. The first and most simple one to learn is the white sauce, and this is used for very many dishes. It is made by melting a tablespoonful of butter, and then adding a tablespoonful of flour. To this roux is added a half pint (one cupful) of milk for white sauce, or of cream for cream sauce. If a cupful of stock (or half stock and half milk) is used it becomes a Béchamel sauce; then, if a couple of egg-yolks are added, it makes a poulette sauce, which is the one generally used with chicken, sweetbreads, oysters, etc.

The superiority of French cooking is largely in the variety of their sauces, to the preparation of which much care is given. It cannot be too strongly urged that every housekeeper will give attention to this important branch of cooking.

Stock for sauces. Every kitchen can produce a stock made from odds and ends unsuitable for other purposes than the stock-pot, and this stock is most useful in preparing sauces, giving a flavor not obtained in specially prepared stock.

A French cook keeps at hand the different essences required to combine in sauces, such as a Mirepoix (vegetable flavor), which is made by cutting into dice an onion, carrot, and turnip, celery, parsley, bay-leaf and bits of meat, frying them in fat pork or butter, then adding a little water, and simmering an hour, or until the flavor of the vegetables is extracted; a Spanish sauce, made by adding stock instead of water to the fried vegetables; a veal or white stock; a brown and a white roux, and glaze.

General directions. The flavor of vegetables can easily be obtained by frying them in the butter used in making the roux, before the flour is added. In preparing sauces with milk, use a double boiler, or set a small saucepan into a larger one containing water. The milk will be scalded when the water boils in the double boiler. Brown sauces need long slow cooking to blend the flavors. If the butter rises to the top add a little more stock or milk; stir it well until it boils, and it will then become smooth again. Do this just before serving. Have always a small strainer at hand, and strain sauces so there will be no lumps in them. If stock is not at hand, substitute beef extract, which comes in jars, using it in the proportion of one teaspoonful of extract to a cupful of hot water. In this case fry vegetables in the roux.

GLAZE

Glaze is much used in high-class cooking. It gives to meats a smooth and polished surface. Cold meats to be garnished for suppers are much improved in appearance by being glazed. Glaze is also added to sauces to give them richness and flavor.

To make glaze: Take good consommé of beef (or a white stock, when it is to be used for fowls or white meat), clear it, and reduce it to one quarter (or one quart of stock to one cupful). It will quickly boil down in an open saucepan and become like a thick paste. It will keep some time if closed in a preserve jar and kept in a cool place. When used, heat it in a double saucepan and apply it with a brush.

ROUX FOR SAUCES

One tablespoonful of butter; one tablespoonful of flour.

Roux is used for thickening, giving body to sauces, etc. It is made by cooking together an equal quantity of butter and flour for about five minutes, or until the flour has lost the raw taste. When the roux is cooked, draw the saucepan to a cooler part of the range, and add the liquor (stock or milk) slowly, in the proportion of one cupful of liquor to one tablespoonful each of butter and flour, and stir until smooth. If the roux is for white sauce do not let the flour color. If for brown sauce, let it cook until brown, but be careful that it does not burn. If more flavor is wanted, fry a few slices of onion or other vegetables in the butter before adding the flour. Sauces thickened in this way are much better than those in which uncooked flour is used. In making roux do not use more butter than flour. Where more butter is required in a sauce, add it, in small pieces at a time, after the other ingredients are mixed with the roux. This will prevent an oily line forming.

WHITE SAUCE

1 tablespoonful of butter.

1 tablespoonful of flour.

1 cupful of milk.

½ teaspoonful of salt.

¼ teaspoonful of pepper.

Put one tablespoonful of butter in a saucepan. When it bubbles add one tablespoonful of flour, and cook, stirring constantly, for five minutes, but do not let it color; draw it to a cooler part of the range and add very slowly, stirring all the time, one cupful of cold milk, and stir until perfectly smooth and a little thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Most of the white sauces are simple variations from this sauce. Water may be used instead of milk, and it is then called drawn-butter sauce. It can be made richer by adding a little more butter, in small pieces, one at a time, after the milk is in; also by adding the beaten yolk of an egg. If the egg is added remove the pan from the fire and let it cool a little before adding the egg; then cook for a minute, but do not let it boil, or the egg will curdle.

The secret of making a good white sauce is in cooking the flour until the starch grains have burst, which removes the raw and pasty taste one finds where this care is not used. There is no difficulty in making it smooth if the milk is turned in slowly, as directed above. A common way of making this sauce is to rub the butter and flour together, and then stir them into the boiling milk, but this does not give as good a result as when a roux is made. The intense heat of frying butter cooks the flour quickly, while milk boiled long enough to cook the flour is changed in flavor. When this sauce is used as the basis of other sauces, the amount of salt and pepper must be varied to suit the requirements of the other ingredients.

WHITE SAUCE FOR FISH

Make a white sauce, using with the milk two tablespoonfuls of the water in which the fish is boiled. Boil in the water with the fish five cloves, three bay-leaves, one onion, eight peppercorns, and two tablespoonfuls of salt. This will give flavor to the fish and to the sauce.

EGG SAUCE FOR BOILED FISH

To a pint, or two cupfuls, of white sauce, add three hard-boiled eggs cut into slices or small dice, and, if liked, a teaspoonful of chopped parsley.

CAPER SAUCE

(BOILED MUTTON)

Add to two cupfuls of white sauce four tablespoonfuls of capers. See also page 164.

OYSTER SAUCE

(BOILED FISH OR FOWLS)

Scald the oysters in their own liquor until the edges curl. Make a white sauce using oyster-liquor instead of milk, or use half milk and half oyster-liquor. Add the oysters just before serving. One dozen oysters are enough for one pint of sauce.

CELERY SAUCE

(BOILED FOWLS)

Cut one half cupful of celery into small pieces. Boil it in salted water until tender. Add the cooked celery to one cupful of white sauce.

LOBSTER SAUCE

Chop the meat of a lobster into coarse pieces. Add it to a pint of white sauce. Add also a little of the coral (which has been dried and pounded to a powder), and a little paprica.

VELOUTÉ AND ALLEMANDE SAUCES

(FISH AND VEGETABLES)

Make a white sauce (page 277), using chicken or veal stock instead of milk.

Allemande. Remove the Velouté from the fire; add two yolks beaten with one half cupful of cream or milk, one tablespoonful of chopped parsley, and a dash of nutmeg. Put on the fire a moment to thicken, but do not let it boil. Continue to stir for some moments after removing from the fire.

BÉCHAMEL SAUCE

Make a white sauce, using for liquor one half each of rich white stock and milk, or use stock alone. A slice of onion, carrot and turnip should be fried in the butter before the flour is added. A richer Béchamel is made by adding a little cream and chopped mushrooms.

POULETTE SAUCE

(FOR CHICKEN-BREASTS, SWEETBREADS, AND OTHER ENTRÉES)

Take a pint of white sauce made with chicken or veal stock instead of milk. Beat four yolks with a cupful of cream. Remove the sauce from the fire, and add it slowly to the eggs and cream, stirring all the time. Put it again on the fire a moment to thicken; but do not let it boil, or it will curdle. Add one tablespoonful of butter slowly, a small piece at a time, the juice of half a lemon, a tablespoonful of chopped parsley, and a dash of nutmeg. Serve at once. Do not put the sauce together until it is time to serve, as it is likely to curdle after the eggs and lemon-juice are in. Stir constantly, and for a moment after removing from the fire.

VILLEROI

(TO USE FOR EGGS VILLEROI, AND FOR COATING COLD MEATS THAT ARE TO BE HEATED AGAIN)

Put in a saucepan one tablespoonful of butter and a slice of onion; fry for a few moments, but not brown. Remove the onion, and add two tablespoonfuls of flour; cook but do not brown the flour. Dilute with two cupfuls of stock, and boil, stirring constantly until the sauce is very thick. Season with one half teaspoonful of salt, one quarter teaspoonful of pepper, a dash each of cayenne and nutmeg; remove from the fire, and add the yolks of four eggs beaten with one half cupful of cream or milk. Place again on the fire, and let thicken until quite stiff and elastic. Do not let it boil after the eggs are added, or it will curdle; stir constantly. When it is beginning to cool pour it over the articles it is to coat, or roll the articles in it as the receipts direct. Chopped parsley, truffles, and mushrooms may be mixed with this sauce, if desired. The thick sauce left from coating the articles may be diluted with stock or milk, and served with them. This amount of sauce is sufficient to coat and to give diluted sauce for a dozen eggs villeroi.

HOLLANDAISE

(BOILED FISH, ASPARAGUS, CAULIFLOWER)

In a saucepan or bowl rub to a cream one half cupful of butter; add the yolks of four eggs, and beat well together; then the juice of half a lemon, one half teaspoonful of salt, and a dash of cayenne; then add slowly one cupful of hot water; mix well, and set it into a saucepan of hot water. Stir constantly until the sauce becomes like a thick cream. Do not let it boil. Remove from the fire, and continue to stir for a few minutes. It should be creamy and consistent. It is one of the best sauces to use with fish. It is also good cold with cold fish or meats.

CHAUDFROID SAUCE

(FOR COVERING COLD CHICKEN OR MEATS WHICH ARE TO BE SERVED COLD)

Put two tablespoonfuls of butter into a saucepan; when it bubbles add two tablespoonfuls of flour. Let it cook well, but not brown; stir all the time. Add two cupfuls of chicken or of veal stock, and stir until it is well thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Then add a half box, or one ounce, of gelatine which has soaked an hour in a half cupful of cold water. Stir until the gelatine has dissolved. Strain the sauce, and let it just begin to stiffen before using it. Put a little on ice to see if it will be of the right firmness. If it is too stiff add a little more stock; if not hard enough add a little more gelatine. It needs to be only firm enough to hold its place well without running.

A yellow color can be given it by adding the yolks of three eggs just before removing it from the fire. A brown chaudfroid, which is used for game and dark meats, is made by browning the roux, diluting it with beef stock; and a deeper color can be obtained with a few drops of kitchen bouquet. This sauce, poured over boned chicken or other meats, gives them a smooth, even surface. They can then be elaborately decorated with truffles, making ornamental cold dishes for suppers. Before covering a galantine with chaudfroid fill any irregularities on the surface of the meat with a little of the sauce which has been placed on ice to set. The surface can in this way be made perfectly even, so when the sauce is turned over it the galantine will be smooth. (See picture, page 192.)

BROWN SAUCE

Put a tablespoonful of chopped onion and a tablespoonful of butter in a saucepan on the fire. Let them both become brown; then add a tablespoonful of flour, and brown that also. Stir all the time. Add a cupful of beef or brown stock, and cook until the sauce is a little thickened. Season with pepper and salt. Strain it to remove the onion. A sauce poivrade is made by adding to the brown sauce, at the same time that the stock is put in, a cupful of claret, two cloves, a bay-leaf, a little thyme and parsley. In place of claret, a teaspoonful of mustard, the juice of half a lemon, and a teaspoonful of tarragon vinegar gives a Robert sauce.

ESPAGNOLE

(CHOPS, CUTLETS, CROQUETTES, AND SEASONING FOR OTHER SAUCES)

2½ cupfuls of stock or consommé.

1 tablespoonful of gelatine.

4 tablespoonfuls of butter.

4 tablespoonfuls of flour.

2 tablespoonfuls of chopped onion.

1 tablespoonful of chopped lean ham.

1 tablespoonful each of chopped carrot and celery.

1 bay-leaf.

3 cloves.

1 piece of parsley.

1 piece of mace.

1 teaspoonful of salt.

½ teaspoonful of pepper.

Soak the gelatine in a half cupful of stock. Put the butter in a saucepan; when hot add the chopped vegetables and ham, and let them brown; then add the flour, and let that brown. Stir constantly so it will not burn. When well browned add slowly the stock, then the herbs, spices, salt, and pepper, and let cook for five minutes. Cover the saucepan. Set it into a larger one containing hot water. Draw it to the side of the range to simmer slowly for two hours. Then stir in the soaked gelatine, and let stand another half hour. When ready to serve skim off the fat and strain. If a stock made with knuckle of veal is used, the gelatine will not be needed. It is used to give smoothness. This is the richest of the brown sauces, and in French cooking is used as the basis, or seasoning, for them all. If too thick dilute with stock.

CHAMPAGNE SAUCE (HAM)

Put in a saucepan one cupful of champagne, two cloves, six peppercorns, one bay-leaf, one teaspoonful of sugar. Let them infuse for five minutes over the fire; then add a cupful of Espagnole or of brown sauce, and a little mushroom liquor if convenient. Let it simmer for ten minutes and strain.

Any white wine may be used instead of champagne.

PIQUANTE SAUCE

(BAKED FISH, ROAST AND BROILED MEATS)

2 cupfuls of brown stock.

4 tablespoonfuls of butter.

2 tablespoonfuls of flour.

4 tablespoonfuls of vinegar.

Dash of cayenne.

1 tablespoonful of chopped onion.

1 tablespoonful of chopped capers.

2 tablespoonfuls of chopped pickle.

1 teaspoonful of sugar.

½ teaspoonful of salt.

1 teaspoonful of tarragon vinegar.

Put the butter in a saucepan, and when it begins to brown add the flour, and stir until it is well browned, but do not let it burn. Draw to a cooler place on the range, and slowly add the stock, stirring constantly, add salt and cayenne, and let simmer for ten minutes. In another saucepan boil the vinegar, onion, and sugar rapidly for five minutes; then add it to the sauce, and at the same time add the capers, pickle and tarragon vinegar. Stir well, and let cook for two minutes to heat the pickle. If the sauce becomes too thick dilute it with a little water. For piquante sauce No 2, to two cupfuls of Espagnole sauce add capers and pickles.

SOUBISE SAUCE

(FOR CHOPS)

Fry three or four onions until soft in a tablespoonful of butter; press them through a strainer, and mix with a cupful of brown sauce.

HORSERADISH SAUCE

(ROAST OR BOILED BEEF)

Mix together two tablespoonfuls of soft white crumbs of bread and two tablespoonfuls of grated horseradish. Cover them with cream or milk, and let soak for two hours. Then rub them through a sieve, and add one quarter teaspoonful of salt, one quarter teaspoonful of sugar, and two tablespoonfuls of vinegar. Enough milk should be used to give it the consistency of cream. This sauce will keep in a cool place for several days.

MUSTARD SAUCE

(CORNED BEEF, BROILED AND ROASTED MEATS)

Make a roux of one tablespoonful of butter and one teaspoonful of flour. Add to it

1 cupful of stock.

1 tablespoonful of French mustard.

1 tablespoonful of vinegar.

A dash of cayenne.

1 teaspoonful of dry English mustard.

½ teaspoonful salt.

1 teaspoonful of sugar.

Cook slowly for ten minutes.

CURRY SAUCE

(FOR EGGS, CHICKEN, ETC.)

Put a tablespoonful of butter in a saucepan. When it bubbles add a teaspoonful of onion-juice, and a tablespoonful of curry powder mixed with two tablespoonfuls of flour. Let it cook a few minutes, and add slowly two cupfuls of milk. Stir constantly.

OLIVE SAUCE

(DUCKS)

1 dozen stoned olives.

1 cupful of brown stock.

1 tablespoonful of butter.

1 tablespoonful of flour.

1 tablespoonful each of chopped onion and carrot.

1 clove.

1 teaspoonful of salt.

Dash of pepper.

Put the butter in a saucepan; when it bubbles add the chopped onion and carrot and let them brown; then the flour and let that brown. Then add slowly the stock; season with salt, pepper and one clove; let simmer for twenty minutes and strain. Stone the olives, leaving the meat in one piece; boil them in a little water for half an hour. Add the cooked olives to the strained sauce, and cook for five minutes; or, dilute a cupful of Espagnole sauce with a cupful of brown stock, and add the cooked olives. If brown sauce is not at hand, use extract of beef from jar (one teaspoonful of extract to one cupful of hot water). If the sauce gets too thick dilute it with a little stock.

TOMATO SAUCE

(MEATS, CROQUETTES AND ENTRÉES)

2 tablespoonfuls of butter.

1 tablespoonful of flour.

1 tablespoonful each of carrot and onion.

½ can of tomatoes.

Parsley.

1 bay-leaf.

3 cloves.

½ teaspoonful of salt.

¼ teaspoonful of pepper.

Put one tablespoonful of butter in a saucepan; add the chopped onion and carrot, and let slightly brown; add the flour and cook five minutes, stirring constantly. Then add the tomatoes, cloves, bay-leaf, salt and pepper. Cook slowly for half an hour, or until the tomatoes are soft and reduced to right consistency. Then add a tablespoonful of butter (a small piece at a time to prevent an oily line); strain; add more salt and pepper if necessary.

MUSHROOM SAUCE

(USING CANNED MUSHROOMS)

Make a brown roux, using one tablespoonful each of butter and of flour; add a cupful of stock and a half cupful of liquor from the can of mushrooms. Cook for five minutes, stirring all the time; then add one can of drained mushrooms, a teaspoonful of lemon-juice, a half teaspoonful of salt and a quarter teaspoonful of pepper. Let the mushrooms become well heated; then remove from the fire and stir in the yolk of one raw egg rubbed with a teaspoonful of butter. Stir the hot sauce until the egg is set; add a teaspoonful of chopped parsley and serve; or a half teaspoonful of kitchen bouquet may be used and the egg and parsley omitted.

This sauce may be served on the same dish with beefsteaks, fowls, etc., and the mushrooms laid evenly, top side up, around the meat as a garnish.

It may be made a white sauce by making a white roux, using white stock and leaving out the kitchen bouquet. The mushrooms are sometimes cut into halves or quarters.

MAÎTRE D’HÔTEL SAUCE

(BROILED FISH AND STEAKS)

2 tablespoonfuls of butter.

1 tablespoonful of chopped parsley.

1 tablespoonful of lemon juice.

½ teaspoonful of salt.

½ teaspoonful of pepper.

Rub the butter to a cream; add salt, pepper, and parsley chopped very fine; then the lemon-juice slowly. Spread it on broiled meat or fish; let the heat of the meat melt the butter. The dish must not be put in the oven after the sauce is spread, or the parsley will lose its freshness and color. This sauce, which greatly improves as well as garnishes broiled meat, can be mixed and kept for some time in a cool place. Soften a little before using so it will spread evenly, and be quickly melted by the hot meat.

MINT SAUCE

(SPRING LAMB)

1 bunch of mint; 1 tablespoonful of sugar; ¾ cupful of vinegar. Rinse the mint in cold water; chop it very fine. Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar; add the mint and let stand for an hour, to infuse before using. If the vinegar is too strong, dilute it with cold water. If the sauce is wanted hot, heat the vinegar and sugar, and stir in the chopped mint just before serving.

BREAD SAUCE

(PARTRIDGES, QUAIL, GROUSE)

Sift two cupfuls of dry bread-crumbs. Put on the fire a pint of milk and a small onion sliced. When the milk is scalded remove the onion, and add enough of the fine crumbs to thicken it. Season with a tablespoonful of butter, a half teaspoonful of salt, a dash of pepper and of nutmeg. Put the coarse crumbs into a pan with a tablespoonful of butter and sauté them a light brown, stirring all the time; add a dash of paprica; serve the fried crumbs on the dish with the game; serve the sauce in a boat.

JELLY SAUCE

(GAME AND MUTTON)

Melt in a saucepan one tumblerful of currant or of grape jelly; add slowly one tablespoonful of butter. Let boil one minute; remove, and just before serving add one tablespoonful of sherry or of red wine.

CRANBERRY SAUCE

(ROAST TURKEY, CHICKEN, MUTTON)

1 quart of cranberries.

2 cupfuls of sugar.

2 cupfuls of water.

Pick over the berries carefully and wash in cold water. Put them in a porcelain-lined or granite-ware saucepan, with enough water to cover them. Cook until tender; then add the sugar, and remove as soon as the sugar is dissolved. It may be served hot or cold. If thoroughly cooked the skins improve the sauce. If strained and put in a mold to cool, it becomes a jelly. If the berries are carefully selected, and boiled slowly without being stirred, they will retain their shape, and the sauce will be clear and transparent.

APPLE SAUCE

(GOOSE AND PORK)

Peel, quarter, and core six tart apples. Put them in a porcelain-lined or granite-ware saucepan, and cover with water. Boil until tender, then press them through a colander; add a teaspoonful of butter, a dash of nutmeg or cinnamon, and sweeten to taste. When used with meats apple sauce should be tart.

BÉARNAISE

This is a very good sauce to use either hot or cold with meats and fish. It is very like Mayonnaise.

Yolks of 4 eggs.

½ teaspoonful of salt.

Dash of cayenne.

4 tablespoonfuls of salad oil.

1 tablespoonful of hot water.

1 tablespoonful of tarragon vinegar.

Beat the yolks; add the oil and water; stand the bowl in boiling water and stir until the eggs thicken; remove and add salt, pepper, and vinegar. It should be creamy and of the consistency of Mayonnaise. A few chopped capers, olives, and gherkins make it a good Tartare sauce; and a little tomato purée will make it a red Mayonnaise to use with cold boiled fish.

MAYONNAISE

Yolk of 1 egg.

½ teaspoonful of salt.

Dash of cayenne.

1 cupful of salad oil.

1½ teaspoonfuls of lemon-juice.

Let the oil and egg be thoroughly chilled before beginning to make Mayonnaise. In summer it is well to stand the soup-plate in which the dressing is being mixed in a dish of cracked ice; stir constantly with a silver fork or a wooden spoon. Have the yolk entirely free from any white of the egg; add drop by drop the oil. The success depends on adding the oil slowly at first. It is well to spend half the time in incorporating the first two spoonfuls of oil; after that it can be added in larger quantities. After the dressing has become a little thick, alternate a few drops of lemon-juice or of vinegar with the oil; a little tarragon vinegar gives good flavor. If mustard is liked, add one quarter teaspoonful of dry mustard. Add the salt and pepper last. If the sauce curdles, take another yolk, and add slowly the curdled Mayonnaise. A few drops of ice water or a small bit of ice added to the mixture when it begins to curdle will sometimes bring it back.

This dressing will keep for some time in a closed jar in the ice-box. The proportions given are right, but it is usually desirable to make a larger quantity. With care more oil can be added to the egg, which will give more sauce.

A very safe mixture, and one recommended for summer, is made by using the yolk of a hard-boiled egg with a raw yolk. With this the dressing is more quickly made and seldom curdles. Lemon-juice makes a whiter dressing than vinegar, but it also makes it a little softer.

WHITE MAYONNAISE

Just before serving add to the above quantity of Mayonnaise one half cupful of very stiff whipped cream, or the white of one half an egg whipped very stiff.

GREEN MAYONNAISE

Take some green herbs, such as chervil, tarragon, chives, parsley, a leaf of spinach, lettuce or watercress, and pound them in a mortar with a little lemon-juice. Express the juice and add it to the Mayonnaise. It is then called Ravigote sauce. Mashed green peas may be used to give color and also more consistency to the sauce when it is to be used to cover cold fish. A little vegetable green coloring can be added if the color is not sufficiently deep, but a delicate color is preferable.

RED MAYONNAISE

Dry some lobster coral; pound it to a powder and rub it through a sieve; mix it with a little lemon-juice and add it to the Mayonnaise. Use a little carmine color if deeper shade is wanted. Or, color with well-strained tomato purée.

JELLY MAYONNAISE

Instead of yolks of eggs, use aspic jelly as a medium to hold the oil; mix the sauce the same as the ordinary Mayonnaise. Or, to a cupful of aspic jelly (see page 321) or chicken aspic add a cupful of oil, one tablespoonful of vinegar (one half being tarragon if convenient), a few drops of lemon-juice, salt, pepper, and cayenne; stir together all at once, the jelly being warmed enough to be liquid. Place it on ice and stir until it begins to set; keep it in a cool place. This jelly softens easily. It is used to coat fish or meats, and should be put on when a little soft. It will then make a smooth and polished surface. Keep the meats coated with the jelly on ice until ready to serve. It is used also for salads in forms, or Russian salads (see receipts).

MAYONNAISE WITH ARROWROOT

Smooth a tablespoonful of arrowroot in cold water; stir it over the fire until it becomes smooth, clear and firm like starch; when a little cooled, add salt, pepper, mustard, and two or three yolks, and beat until smooth; when cold add oil as in regular Mayonnaise. This mixture will not curdle.

TARTARE

(FISH AND COLD MEATS)

To a cupful of Mayonnaise made with mustard, add one tablespoonful of capers, three olives, and two gherkins, all chopped very fine; also the juice expressed from some pounded green herbs, as in green Mayonnaise or Ravigote (see above); or chop the herbs fine and mix them in the dressing. A good Tartare sauce can be made by using tarragon vinegar and a little onion-juice when mixing the Mayonnaise, and adding parsley and capers, both chopped very fine, just before serving it.

AGRA DOLCE

(SOUR SWEET)

(AN ITALIAN SAUCE USED WITH VENISON, SWEETBREADS, CALF’S-HEAD, AND MUTTON)

Mix together two heaping tablespoonfuls of brown sugar, one quarter bar of grated chocolate, one tablespoonful each of shredded candied orange and lemon-peel, ten blanched almonds shredded, one half cupful of currants, and one cupful of vinegar. Let them soak for two hours. Then pour it over the cooked meat, and simmer for ten minutes.

This receipt was obtained in Florence, where it is a well-known and favorite sauce.

BEURRE NOIR OR BROWN BUTTER SAUCE

(EGGS, CALF’S HEAD, CALF’S BRAINS, FISH)

Put a quarter of a pound of butter in a saucepan and let it cook slowly until it has browned, then add three tablespoonfuls of hot vinegar, one tablespoonful of chopped parsley, and a dash of pepper and of salt.

Chapter XII

ENTRÉES

Entrées are the dishes served between any of the regular courses.

CROQUETTES

GENERAL DIRECTIONS

Croquettes are simply minced meat mixed with a thick sauce, then rolled into shape and fried. Any kind of cooked meat, fish, shell-fish, hard-boiled eggs, and some kinds of vegetables may be served as croquettes. Croquettes may be plain, using one kind of meat alone, or made richer by combining with it sweetbreads, brains, mushrooms, truffles, etc. Whatever meat mixture is used, the rules for sauce, molding, and frying are the same. Shape. The croquettes may be shaped like cylinders, pyramids or chops. The meat should be chopped very fine. (An “Enterprise Chopper” is recommended.) They should be very soft and creamy inside, and should be fried to a light golden color only. How to serve. Serve them on a napkin and garnish with parsley.

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CROQUETTES. (SEE PAGE 292.)

THE ENTERPRISE CHOPPER

This simple machine minces meat very fine, and is useful in making croquettes, forcemeat for stuffings, etc. Where meat having much fiber is put in the chopper, it soon becomes clogged. The end piece can then be taken off, and the fiber clinging to it, which stops the holes, be removed. In making timbales the meat put through the chopper in this way, and then pounded, will sometimes do without being passed through a sieve.

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ENTERPRISE CHOPPER.

SAUCE FOR CROQUETTE MIXTURE

(To this amount of sauce add two cupfuls of meat.)

1 tablespoonful of butter.

2 tablespoonfuls of flour.

1 cupful of milk or cream.

1 egg.

1 teaspoonful of onion-juice.

1 teaspoonful of salt.

¼ teaspoonful of pepper.

Dash of cayenne.

Dash of nutmeg.

Put the cream or milk in a double boiler and scald it. Rub the butter and flour together. Take this paste on a spoon and stir it in the scalding milk until it is dissolved from the spoon, and the sauce has become thickened and consistent. Add the seasoning; then remove from the fire and stir in a beaten egg (the egg may be omitted if desired). Place it again on the fire for a minute to cook the egg, but do not let it boil, and add two cupfuls of meat minced very fine.

Pour this mixture on a flat dish, and set it away for two or more hours. It will then be stiffened and can be easily molded. If a mixture is used which absorbs the sauce, add more than the quantity given in receipt. The softer the mixture, the more creamy, and therefore the better will be the croquettes, and if allowed to stand long enough the molding will not be difficult.

TO MOLD CROQUETTES

Take a tablespoonful of the mixture (this will make a croquette of the right size; large ones are likely to crack open in frying); roll it lightly between the hands into a ball. Have a plentiful supply of bread-crumbs spread evenly on a board; roll the ball lightly on the crumbs into the shape of a cylinder, and flatten each end by dropping it lightly on the board; put it in the egg (to each egg add one tablespoonful of water, and beat together), and with a spoon moisten the croquette completely with the egg; lift it out on a knife-blade, and again roll lightly in the crumbs. Have every part entirely covered, so there will be no opening through which the grease may be absorbed. Where a light yellow color is wanted, use fresh white crumbs grated from the loaf (or rubbed through a purée sieve) for the outside, and do not use the yolk of the egg. Coarse fresh crumbs are used for fish croquettes, which are usually made in the form of chops, or half heart shape. A small hole is pricked in the pointed end after frying, and a sprig of parsley inserted. For lobster croquettes a small claw is used instead of the parsley. Cracker-crumbs are used where a smooth surface is wanted. Have all the croquettes of perfectly uniform size and shape, and lay them aside on a dish, not touching one another, for an hour or more before frying. This will make the crust more firm.

The white of an egg alone may be used for egging them, but not the yolk alone. Whip the egg with the water, just enough to break it, as air-bubbles in the egg will break in frying, and let the grease penetrate.

TO FRY CROQUETTES

Let the fat become smoking hot; then test it with a piece of bread. If the bread colors while you count forty (twenty seconds), it is right. It is well to put the frying-pot on the fire an hour before it is needed, so it will be hot, and ready to be raised quickly to the right degree. After dipping the frying-basket in the fat to grease it, lay in it four croquettes so that they do not touch one another, and immerse them in the fat. Cook only long enough to attain a delicate color. Let them drain a moment over the hot fat; then lift them from the basket with the hand (if done quickly the hand will not be burned) and place on a brown paper on the hot shelf or in the open oven until all are ready. Do not fry more than four at one time, as more would reduce the heat of the fat too much. Let the fat become smoking hot before each immersion of croquettes. Hang the basket on a long iron spoon so the hand will not be burned by the spattering fat.

MATERIALS USED FOR CROQUETTES

CHICKEN CROQUETTES

Chop the chicken very fine, using the white meat alone, or the dark meat alone, or both together. Season with salt, pepper, onion-juice, and lemon-juice. Chopped mushrooms, sweetbreads, calf’s brains, tongue, ham or truffles are used with chicken, and a combination of two or more of them much improves the quality of the croquettes.

VEAL CROQUETTES

Veal is often mixed with chicken, or is used alone as a substitute for chicken. Season in same manner and make the same combinations.

SWEETBREAD CROQUETTES

Cut the boiled sweetbreads into small dice with a silver knife. Mix with mushrooms, using half the quantity of mushrooms that you have of sweetbreads. Use two eggs in the sauce.

OYSTER CROQUETTES

Scald the oysters; cut them into small pieces with a silver-plated knife.

LOBSTER CROQUETTES (see page 138)

FISH CROQUETTES (see pages 121 and 126)

MEAT AND BOILED HOMINY CROQUETTES

Equal proportions.

MEAT, RICE, AND TOMATO CROQUETTES

Equal proportions of meat and boiled rice: moisten with tomato purée.

MACARONI CROQUETTES

Boil the macaroni in salted water until tender; let it cool; then cut into pieces one quarter inch long, forming rings. To a cupful of the rings add one tablespoonful of grated cheese.

The sauces to serve with croquettes are brown, Béchamel, Poulette, and Tomato.

TIMBALES

General directions. Timbales are forms of pastry or of forcemeat filled with salpicon. They are made in individual, border, or cylinder molds. The receipts below give the rules for making the pastry, forcemeat, and salpicon, and the combinations. For forcemeat, the raw meat is used, and may be used alone or mixed with panada: in the latter case it is called Quenelle forcemeat. Cut the meat or fish in pieces (excepting chicken, which is scraped), and pound it in a mortar to separate the flesh from the fiber, then press it through a purée sieve. Do not chop the meat, as the fiber is not then so easily separated. If the meat pulp is mixed with panada, press it through the sieve again so the paste will be perfectly smooth and fine. Truffles are used in decorating the molds and in the salpicon. The little bits left from the decoration are chopped and used in the salpicon or in a sauce.

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PURÉE SIEVE AND MORTAR.

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HINGED MOLD AND INDIVIDUAL TIMBALE MOLDS.

TRUFFLES

Truffles can be bought in tins, and as very little is used at a time they are not as expensive as at first appears. To preserve truffles left over in an opened can, drain them from the liquor and roll them in melted paraffine or in melted suet. With the air-tight covering which either of these things gives, the truffles can be kept in the refrigerator for an indefinite time.

CREAM CHICKEN FORCEMEAT

Cut the breast from a chicken or turkey, also the white meat from the wings; remove the skin and fat, and with a knife scrape the meat so as to free it from the sinews. Place the scraped meat in a mortar and pound it to a paste; incorporate into it gradually, while pounding, the white of an egg; this will moisten it a little so it will pass more easily through the sieve. After it is thoroughly macerated, take a little at a time and with the pestle or spoon rub it through a sieve; it passes through better when a little is worked at a time. Put the pulp in a bowl, season it with salt, pepper, and a dash of nutmeg. Set the bowl on cracked ice and stir in slowly (as you add oil to Mayonnaise) one or one and a half cupfuls of thick cream—some mixtures take more cream than others; stir continually, using a wire whip if convenient. When it is a consistent paste, try it by dropping a half teaspoonful in hot (not boiling) water and let it poach; if it is too thick add more cream, if too thin add a little beaten white of egg. The sample should poach for ten minutes, and when cut should be smooth and firm, but not tough.

CREAM FORCEMEAT, No. 2.

To one half pound of meat pulp add five ounces of butter, one whole egg, and four yolks, or the whites alone of four eggs if used with white meat; beat very thoroughly together; pass again through the sieve; place on ice and beat in slowly one pint of whipped cream—three quarters of a cupful of cream will make about the right amount after being whipped.

FISH CREAM FORCEMEAT

Scrape, pound, and pass through a sieve one pound of firm white fish. Put the pulp in a bowl, season with salt, pepper and cayenne; whip into it the whites of two eggs, and add slowly, beating all the time, about one and a half cupfuls of cream. Poach a small piece to see if right: if too thick add more cream, if too thin add more white of egg. A pretty decoration for fish timbale, especially when made of salmon, is lobster coral, dried and pounded to powder, and sprinkled on the buttered mold. Fish timbale is usually made in a solid piece and served as a fish course. With white fish serve a tomato sauce; with salmon a Poulette or a cream sauce, or Mayonnaise.

QUENELLE FORCEMEAT

To one cupful of meat-pulp, after it is rubbed through the sieve, add one half cupful of panada, one quarter cupful of butter, yolks of three eggs, salt, pepper, and dash of nutmeg. Stir well together and pass again through the sieve. Place on ice and add slowly one cupful of cream. Try by poaching a small piece to see if it is of the right consistency. A good white sauce or tomato purée may be substituted for the cream in some cases. This forcemeat is used the same as cream forcemeat.

BREAD PANADA

Soak the crumb of bread; express the water and place the bread in a saucepan on the fire. Stir it to a paste with milk or stock, and continue to stir until it leaves the sides of the pan.

FLOUR PANADA

Put a little water, milk or stock in a saucepan; add a little butter and salt, and stir in as much flour as will absorb the liquid. Stir constantly until it leaves the sides of the pan.

TO MOLD AND COOK TIMBALES

Rub the mold well with butter; ornament it with truffle, tongue, ham, or hard-boiled egg. Cut the truffle, or other article used for the decoration, in very thin slices and stamp it into fancy shapes with a cutter, or cut it with a knife. Arrange the pieces in some design on the mold; they will stay in place if the mold is well buttered. Put in the forcemeat carefully with a knife, press it well against the sides to force out any air-bubbles, and have a care not to displace the decoration. If the timbale is to be filled with salpicon, make a layer of the forcemeat from a quarter to three quarters of an inch thick, according to the size of mold, using enough to give stability to the form when unmolded; make it a little thicker at the base than at the top and leave a smooth surface inside; fill it with the salpicon and cover the top with forcemeat, pressing from the sides towards the center; draw the knife across the top so it will be smooth and even, and stand straight and firm when unmolded. Stand the mold or molds in a pan of water, covering them one half or a little more. Cover them with a greased paper and let them poach in a slow oven ten to fifteen minutes for small, and twenty minutes for large molds. If the center feels firm to the touch they are done. The water must not be allowed to boil; slow cooking is necessary to have them tender. Let the molds stand a minute in the water, then invert on a cloth to let the moisture drain off, and unmold them on the dish on which they are to be served.

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INDIVIDUAL TIMBALES.
TIMBALES OF ANY FORCEMEAT; DECORATION OF TRUFFLES.

SALPICON

Cooked veal, chicken, game, sweetbreads, calf’s brains, livers, fish, oysters, lobster, mushrooms, truffles, tongue, etc., when cut into dice and mixed with a rich sauce is called salpicon. It is used for filling timbales, vol-au-vent, patties, croustades, etc. It may also be served in paper boxes, or shells, or fontage cups. It may be made of one kind of meat, but is usually a mixture of two or more, with mushrooms and truffles. The meats are cut into small dice and warmed with a sauce which goes well with the meats used. The sauce must be reduced until quite thick, and enough of it used to make the mixture very creamy. For dark meat use an Espagnole, brown or mushroom sauce; for white meat, Béchamel, Allemande or Poulette sauce.

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CHICKEN TIMBALE—FILLING OF SALPICON; DECORATION OF TRUFFLES.

FONTAGE CUPS

(USED FOR OYSTER-CRABS, SALPICON, CREAMED SWEETBREADS, ETC.)

Make a batter of one half cupful of flour, yolk of one egg, one quarter teaspoonful of salt, one tablespoonful of salad oil, and enough milk or water to make the batter thin. Let it stand for an hour or two. Beat it well together, and have the batter very smooth; strain it if there are any lumps. Have a pot of hot fat; place the fontage iron in the fat until it is thoroughly hot, then dip it in the batter, and hold it there a moment until a coating of batter has adhered; place it again in the hot fat until the cup is cooked a delicate color, and can be detached from the iron. Repeat the operation until all are made, and keep them in a warm dry place until used. This amount of batter will make twelve cups.

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FONTAGE IRON AND CUPS. (SEE PAGE 300.)

PAIN DE VOLAILLE

Make a chicken cream forcemeat (see page 297). Butter individual timbale molds, decorate them with truffles, fill with forcemeat, and poach ten to fifteen minutes in slow oven. Serve with an Allemande sauce.

Or, line the molds with forcemeat; fill them with salpicon made of the dark meat of the chicken and mushrooms; mix with Espagnole or a good brown sauce; cover the top well with forcemeat, and poach as directed.

Or, use a charlotte russe mold; line it a half inch thick with forcemeat, and use the same salpicon, adding small egg balls or quenelles, a few pieces of tongue, and a truffle chopped very fine.

Or, use a border mold for the forcemeat, and fill the center of the ring, when unmolded, with the salpicon.

QUENELLES

These are quenelle forcemeat formed into small balls, the balls rolled in flour and poached, then used in salpicon; or, with two tablespoons, the forcemeat may be molded into egg-shaped pieces, poached in hot salted (not boiling) water, and ranged on a socle; or they may be placed on a dish in a circle. The two latter forms of quenelles are served with a sauce as an entrée. Fish quenelles with tomato sauce make a very good dish. Large quenelles for decorating dishes may be made by molding the forcemeat into fancy shapes with a knife on buttered white paper (the paper will become detached while they are poaching). The quenelles may be ornamented with truffles or tongue, using white of egg to make the decoration adhere. Use salted water for poaching them, and do not let it boil.

PALMETTES

Press forcemeat into rings or cutlet molds; partly poach them. Unmold, roll in egg and crumbs, and fry in hot fat. Serve with a sauce.

CELESTINES À LA MAINTENON

Take some quenelle forcemeat (see page 298). Add to it a little juice from a can of truffles, one truffle chopped fine, two tablespoonfuls of mushrooms chopped fine, and a few bits of ham, or tongue. Mix well together, and stir in enough cream to make it quite soft. Butter some cutlet molds, or some rings. Fill them with the mixture; smooth them with a knife, and place them on the bottom of a large saucepan. Pour enough boiling water to cover them carefully on the sides of the pan, so it will go into the pan without defacing the forcemeat; let them poach for five minutes without the water boiling. The cutlets will leave the molds, and rise to the top. Lift them out with a skimmer, and place on an inverted pan to cool. When perfectly cold, dry them lightly with a napkin, and cover each one with Villeroi sauce (see page 280). Set aside to let the sauce harden. Sprinkle with bread-crumbs; moisten with egg and cover with fresh crumbs grated from the leaf. Use a broad knife to handle them with when crumbing. Fry in hot fat, like croquettes, to an amber color. Serve with Béchamel or Poulette sauce.

BOUDINS ROUENNAIS

Line well-buttered individual molds with a cream forcemeat made of veal or chicken; fill the center with a forcemeat made of duck or any game. Cover the top with a white forcemeat, and smooth it off even with the mold. Poach them for ten minutes. Unmold, and let them cool; then cover with egg and fresh bread-crumbs, and fry in hot fat to an amber color. Serve with them an Espagnole or a brown sauce.

MACARONI TIMBALE

Cook until tender in salted water long pieces of spaghetti, or fine macaroni. Put it into the water slowly, and it can then be turned so it will not break. Lay the pieces straight on a napkin to cool. Butter well a dome-shaped mold. Wind the spaghetti around the mold, holding it in place, as you proceed, with a layer of forcemeat. Fill the center with boiled macaroni and cheese, mixed with a well-reduced Béchamel sauce; or fill the timbale with a salpicon of sweetbreads and mushrooms. Make the layer of forcemeat thick enough to give the timbale stability. Cover it with a greased paper, stand it in a pan of hot water, and poach in a slow oven for thirty minutes. This timbale may also be made in individual molds.

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MACARONI TIMBALE. (SEE PAGE 302.)

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SPAGHETTI TIMBALES. (SEE PAGE 302.)

HONEYCOMB TIMBALE

(A VERY SIMPLE LUNCHEON DISH)

Boil in salted water large-sized macaroni. When cold cut it into pieces one quarter of an inch long, making rings. Butter a plain dome-shaped mold, and cover it with the rings. Fill the mold with minced uncooked chicken, turkey, or veal, mixed with cream sauce. Add three or four eggs to the creamed mince just before putting it into the mold. Unless the eggs are added, it will not have stiffness enough to hold in shape. Cover the mold with a greased paper. Place it in a pan of hot water, and poach in a slow oven for thirty minutes.

This timbale may also be made of any cooked meat as follows: Put the meat through an “Enterprise” chopper. Make a sauce, using two tablespoonfuls each of butter and flour, a cupful of milk, and a cupful of stock. After the liquid is added to the roux put in a slice of onion and two dried mushrooms, one teaspoonful of salt, and one quarter teaspoonful pepper. Let it cook until a little thickened. Add half the strained sauce to the minced meat. Stir it over the fire until the meat is heated; remove from the fire, add two beaten eggs, and turn it into a a quart timbale mold, which is lined with macaroni in any of the forms given in illustrations. Cover the mold with a greased paper. Place it in a pan of hot water, and poach for twenty minutes. Serve the rest of the sauce with the cooked timbale.

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HONEYCOMB TIMBALE. (SEE PAGE 302.)

A SIMPLE TIMBALE OF HALIBUT

Take a half pound of uncooked halibut. Cut it into fine pieces, pound it in a mortar, and pass it through a sieve. Mix a cupful of white bread-crumbs with a half cupful of milk, and stir until it makes a smooth paste; remove it from the fire, add the fish pulp, a half teaspoonful of salt, and a dash of paprica. Then beat in lightly, a little at a time, the whipped whites of five eggs. Fill buttered timbale molds with the mixture, and place them in a pan of hot water in a moderate oven for twenty minutes. This will fill a quart mold, or eight individual molds. Serve with a white or with a tomato sauce.

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FISH TIMBALE DECORATED WITH SLICES OF CUCUMBER PICKLE.

PASTRY TIMBALE

Make a paste, using to one pound of flour three quarters of a pound of butter, four yolks, one half teaspoonful of salt, and one and a half cups of water. Work it well, roll it one quarter of an inch thick, cover, and set it aside for one hour. Butter a timbale-mold, and line it with the paste. If ornamentation is wanted, cut some noodle paste into fancy forms. Arrange the pieces in some design on the bottom and sides of the mold, and brush them with a little water before putting in the paste. With a cutter or knife stamp out a circle in the paste on the bottom of the mold, but do not remove it. Then with a buttered paper cover the whole inside surface of the paste. Fill the center with flour. Cover the top with buttered paper, buttered side up; then a layer of paste, and press it to the paste of the sides. Set it aside for half an hour. Bake it in a hot oven for fifty minutes. Unmold, take off the circle which was cut in the paste; remove the paper and flour. Brush the timbale all over, inside and out, with yolk of egg, and place it in the oven to brown. Fill it with salpicon.

POTATO AND FISH TIMBALE

(FOR LUNCHEON OR BREAKFAST)

Butter a plain mold. Sprinkle it with white bread-crumbs. Fill it with mashed potato which has been seasoned and mixed with two or more egg yolks and some grated cheese. Bake it for forty minutes in a moderate oven. With a pointed knife cut around the top one and a half inches from the edges; lift off the piece, and with a spoon scoop out the potato, leaving a lining one and a half inches thick. Brush the inside with egg, and place it again in the oven to dry and brown. Fill the center with creamed fish; replace the top piece, and fill the cut with potato so as to confine the fish. Place a dish over the top, invert the mold, and let it stand a few minutes. It will then come out of the mold. Serve with a white sauce.

VOL AU VENT

Prepare a puff paste (see page 458). Roll it one and a half inches thick. Cut a circle six to six and a half inches in diameter, using as guide a pie-tin or cardboard, if a regular cutter is not at hand. Place it with care on a baking-tin, and cut a smaller circle around the top, one and a half inches from the edge, and two thirds through the paste. Paint over the top with yolk of egg, and bake it in a hot oven for thirty minutes. Do not open the oven door for the first fifteen minutes. When baked, lift off the inside circle. Cut out the uncooked paste, paint it over with white of egg, and place it again in the oven to brown. Keep the crust hot until ready to serve. Then fill with salpicon, and replace the cover, or small circle of paste.

PATTIES

Prepare patty shells as directed in puff paste receipt (page 460). Fill them with oysters (see page 134), with lobster (see page 140), or with any salpicon.

RISSOLES

Roll puff paste one eighth of an inch thick. Place on it at intervals of three inches from the edge and five inches apart, a teaspoonful of salpicon, or of creamed minced meat. Moisten with a wet brush the paste, and fold it over the balls of meat. With the finger press the paste together lightly around the meat, inclosing it like a small pie. Then with a patty or biscuit-cutter stamp out the rissoles in shape of half-circles, the ball of meat being on the straight side, and a border of paste an inch or more wide on the rounded side. Egg and bread-crumb them or not, and fry in hot fat. Serve on a folded napkin.

TO PREPARE SWEETBREADS

Soak the sweetbreads in cold water for an hour or more. Change the water several times, so that all the blood will be extracted, and leave the sweetbreads very white. Put them on the fire in cold water, and simmer (not boil) for twenty minutes. Then immerse them again in cold water. This is to parboil and blanch them. Remove all the pipes, strings, and fibers it is possible to do without breaking the sweetbreads to pieces. When half cold tie each one in a piece of cheese-cloth, drawing it tightly into an oval form, and place them under a light weight until cold. They will then be smooth and a uniform shape, and may be larded with fine lardoons if desired. Use a silver knife for cutting sweetbreads.

BAKED SWEETBREADS

Take parboiled larded sweetbreads, and place them on slices of salt pork in a baking-pan. Add enough stock to cover well the pan. Cook them in a hot oven for twenty minutes, basting frequently. Serve with a brown or with a mushroom sauce.

BRAISED SWEETBREADS

Place in a baking-pan a bed of vegetables cut in small dice, and a few pieces of salt pork. Lay parboiled sweetbreads on it. Add enough water or stock to cover the vegetables. Close the pan tight, and cook for forty to forty-five minutes. Uncover the pan the last fifteen minutes to let the sweetbreads brown. Paint them with glaze. Strain the liquor from the pan; thicken it with a brown roux, and serve it on the dish under the sweetbreads.

SAUTÉD SWEETBREADS

Cut the parboiled sweetbreads in slices and sauté them in butter; serve with green peas.

FRIED SWEETBREADS

Roll the sweetbreads (either whole or cut in slices) in egg and crumbs; let them stand for a time, then fry in hot fat; dress them on a folded napkin and serve with them a Béchamel sauce. They may also be dipped in fritter batter and fried.

SWEETBREADS À LA POULETTE

Simmer the sweetbreads for thirty or forty minutes; blanch them, then cut or break them in pieces and place them on a dish. Pour over them a Béchamel or a Poulette sauce. Mushrooms and chopped truffles may be added if desired.

CHAUDFROID OF SWEETBREADS

Simmer the sweetbreads until cooked; blanch and tie them in cloth as directed above, or place them in muffin-rings under pressure until cold; cover them with a Chaudfroid sauce (see page 281). Place fancy bits of truffle on the top lightly, and when the sauce has set, paint it over with liquid aspic. Arrange them on a socle or on a mound of salad, and serve with them a Mayonnaise sauce and lettuce.

CALF’S BRAINS

Soak the brains for an hour in cold water; then simmer in water containing a tablespoonful of vinegar for twenty minutes; an onion, thyme, bay-leaf, salt and peppercorns in the water also will improve the flavor of the brains; place again in cold water to blanch; remove the skin and fibres, and cook by any of the receipts given for sweetbreads. The boiled brains may also be served with any of the following sauces poured over them: a plain white sauce; a white sauce with chopped mushrooms; a white sauce seasoned with mashed yolks of hard-boiled eggs, a little mustard, tarragon vinegar and chopped parsley, and a tablespoonful of chopped pickle added just before serving; a Vinaigrette sauce; a Hollandaise sauce; a tomato sauce; or a sauce made of browned butter and a dash of vinegar.

MARINADE OF BRAINS

Boil the brains; remove the skin and veins; cut them into pieces the size of half an egg; let them stand an hour in a marinade of oil, vinegar, onion, pepper and salt; then wipe and dip them into fritter batter and fry in hot fat. Arrange them on a napkin and serve with tomato sauce.

CALF’S HEAD À LA VINAIGRETTE

Place pieces of hot boiled calf’s head in the center of a dish; split the tongue in two and lay it across two sides of the dish, and the brains on the opposite sides; garnish with parsley and serve with a Vinaigrette sauce, or with a Piquante sauce.

Vinaigrette Sauce (Cold): Three tablespoonfuls of oil, one tablespoonful of vinegar, one teaspoonful each of grated onion, chopped parsley, and capers, one saltspoonful each of salt and pepper.

FALSE TERRAPIN

Cut boiled calf’s head (see page 175) into pieces one inch square; break into pieces the boiled brains. Make a brown roux; add to it water in which the calf’s head was boiled, in the same proportion as for white sauce; season with salt, pepper, and cayenne, and add a cupful of cream; then put in the pieces of meat, three or four chopped hard-boiled eggs, a few small egg balls, and a glass of sherry; serve very hot; there should be a half more sauce than meat.

CALF’S HEAD À LA POULETTE

Cut boiled calf’s head into pieces one inch square; heat them in hot water; drain and pile them in the center of a hot dish; sprinkle over them a few small egg balls, and pour over the whole a Poulette sauce, using for the sauce water in which the calf’s head was boiled in the place of chicken stock.

OYSTER CASES

Line buttered paper cases, or china individual cups, with a layer of fish quenelle forcemeat (page 298), or with the fish preparation given in receipt for fish pudding (page 123); scald some oysters in their own liquor until the gills curl; cut each oyster into four pieces and fill the center of the cup with them; pour over them a tablespoonful of Béchamel sauce, made with oyster-liquor in place of stock; cover the top with forcemeat, brush it over with butter and bake in a moderate oven for fifteen minutes.

Cases of other combinations may be made in the same way; using mashed potato for the lining and any creamed meat for filling; or use hominy or rice with chicken, mushrooms, etc.

LIVER LOAF, OR FALSE PÂTÉ DE FOIE GRAS

Cut a calf’s liver in pieces; pound it in a mortar and press it through a sieve; add to one cupful of liver pulp one quarter cupful of flour panada, one teaspoonful each of butter and salt; one half teaspoonful of pepper; dash each of cayenne and of nutmeg and allspice, and two eggs. Mix well together and pass it again through the sieve. Put the mixture into a well-buttered pint mold; place it in a pan of hot water in the oven for forty-five minutes or more. An ice-cream brick-mold makes a loaf of convenient shape. It may be served hot with a brown sauce; but is better cold with salad, or used like pâté de foie gras. A loaf of any game may be made in the same way. The loaf may be made very ornamental by decorating it with pieces of truffle, ham, and white of hard-boiled eggs cut into diamond shapes and fitted together to look like blocks. To arrange this decoration use two molds of the same size; butter one of them and apply carefully the decoration; line the other with thin slices of larding pork and cook the liver or game mixture in it; when it is cold remove the pork, and this will leave it small enough to fit into the decorated mold. Fill the space between them with aspic jelly and let it become well set before unmolding the form.

CHICKEN LIVERS

Cut the gall carefully off the livers; dry them with a cloth and cut them in two or more pieces. Place them in a frying-pan with a tablespoonful of butter, and sauté until cooked, or about five minutes. Turn them often, so they will not burn, and dredge them with a little flour; add one cupful of Espagnole, or of brown sauce, and one half cupful of Madeira; season with salt and pepper and let simmer slowly for ten minutes. If the color is not dark enough, add a few drops of caramel or of kitchen bouquet; serve with croûtons around the dish, or in a croustade, or in fontage cups.

STUFFED MUSHROOMS

Take off the stalks from one pound of fresh mushrooms, peel the cups, using a silver knife, and drop them into cold water to keep them white (if exposed to the air they discolor). If they have to stand for some time put a little lemon-juice in the water; scrape the stalks, chop them and put them into a saucepan with one tablespoonful of butter and one half onion sliced; cook slowly for ten minutes, then add one tablespoonful of flour and cook that five minutes; add one cupful of stock and one half cupful of bread crumbs; season with salt, pepper, and a dash of cayenne. Fill the cups of the mushrooms with this mixture; sprinkle with crumbs and place them on circles of toasted bread one quarter of an inch thick and the size of the mushroom. Bake in moderate oven for fifteen minutes.

CHICKEN PURÉE

Chop cooked chicken very fine; pound it to as much of a paste as possible; season with salt and pepper; mix it with half its quantity of Chaudfroid sauce (see page 281). Coat a mold with jelly (see page 323), and fill it with the mixture, which must be cold and beginning to set; when it has hardened, turn it onto a dish; garnish with lettuce and serve with it a Mayonnaise or a Béarnaise sauce. Game may be used in the same way. Ornamented individual timbale cups may also be used for molding the purée.

OYSTER-CRABS

Put into a saucepan two tablespoonfuls of butter and a gill of water, one teaspoonful of lemon-juice, a little salt and white pepper. When the liquid is warm, put a few of the crabs in at a time and cook until they begin to whiten, then skim them out and keep them in a warm place until all are cooked. The liquid must only simmer; if it is too hot the crabs will break open. The crabs should be just moistened with the sauce in which they are cooked. Serve in croustades, or in fontage cups (see page 300).

ENTRÉE OF OYSTER-CRABS

Use for this entrée individual shirred-egg dishes. Cut slices of bread one inch thick; with a biscuit-cutter stamp it into circles one inch smaller than the egg dish, and with a smaller cutter stamp out the center, making rings of the bread one inch thick, one inch wide, and one inch smaller than the egg dishes. Place the bread rings in the dishes and moisten them with cream; fill the space outside the rings with oyster-crabs cooked as directed above; spread one layer of crabs in the center of each ring and on them break an egg. Cover the whole with Béchamel sauce and sprinkle the top with grated Parmesan cheese. Place this in a hot oven just long enough to set the egg.

TERRAPIN, FROGS’ LEGS

TERRAPIN

Counts. Terrapin measuring six inches or more across the bottom shell are called “counts.” The largest do not exceed ten inches; the average size is seven inches, and weight three to five pounds. The counts vary in price from seventeen to eighty dollars a dozen, according to size and weight.

Diamond backs. The terrapin which are most esteemed, and which command the highest price, are the “Diamond Back,” from the Chesapeake Bay. Probably it is the wild celery of this region which gives the especially prized flavor to the terrapin as well as to the Canvasback ducks taken there. Good terrapin, however, are taken in Long Island waters and all along the sea-coast.

Season. Terrapin burrow in the mud as soon as cold weather approaches and remain there until May, during which time they grow fat. They are caught during their season of hibernation, and are kept in cool, dark places packed in sea grass until wanted; the season for eating them being from December to April. Terrapin taken during the summer are rank in taste and unfit for food, and are confined in pens and fed on celery.

The female terrapin is the most prized on account of its eggs, terrapin-eggs, as served in the stew, being considered a great delicacy.

Cooking. The Maryland style of cooking terrapin is one of the most esteemed. A simple way is that of the Southern negro, who places the “bird,” as he calls it, over hot coals or in the oven until cooked, when the under shell comes off, and, removing only the gall, he eats the whole of the contents from the inverted upper shell, seasoning with butter, pepper, and salt. Before hibernating, the terrapin empties the stomach and is consequently clean, but a fastidious taste prefers to have the terrapin thoroughly washed, and the entrails and lights as well as the gall-sack removed.

The gall. It is of the greatest importance that the gall should be very carefully removed, for, if the sack be punctured or in any way injured, so that the liquid touches the liver or meat, its disagreeable bitter taste will infect the entire dish.

TO PREPARE TERRAPIN

Drop the live terrapin into hot water, and let it remain until the skin can be removed from the head and feet. Then remove, wash in several changes of water, take off the skin from the head and feet by rubbing it with a cloth, and return it to fresh scalding water to cook until tender. This is shown by pressing the feet between the fingers. They should be done in forty-five minutes to an hour. If a longer time is required, the terrapin is probably not a good one, and the meat will be stringy. Remove as soon as tender. When cold, cut off the nails, remove the shells, take out very carefully the gall-sack from the liver, the entrails, lights, heart, head, tail and white muscles. Separate the pieces at the joints, divide the meat into pieces an inch and a half long, and do not break the bones. Place the meat, cut into pieces, the terrapin eggs and the liver in a pan, cover with water, and boil again until the meat is ready to drop from the bones.

STEWED TERRAPIN, MARYLAND STYLE

Mash the yolks of eight hard-boiled eggs and mix them with two tablespoonfuls of best butter, rubbing them to a smooth paste. Put a pint of cream in a double boiler; when it is scalded, stir in the egg and butter until smooth; season with salt, white and cayenne pepper, a dash of nutmeg and allspice. Add a quart of terrapin prepared as directed above, and simmer for ten minutes, or until the terrapin is well heated. Just at the moment of serving add two tablespoonfuls of sherry or madeira; serve very hot. Terrapin is often served in individual metal cups made for the purpose, so as to insure its being hot; but with care to have all the dishes hot, the stew need not be allowed to get cold when served in ordinary deep plates.

TERRAPIN À LA NEWBURG

Put in a saucepan one quart of terrapin (prepared as directed, page 312), a half pint of cream, and a tablespoonful of best butter. Let it cook a few minutes; then draw it aside, and add the yolks of five eggs beaten with a half pint of cream. Stir until the eggs are thickened; but do not let it boil, or it will curdle. Season with salt, white pepper and paprica. At the moment of serving, add two tablespoonfuls of sherry. Like all Newburg dishes this must be prepared only just in time to serve, or it will curdle.

FRIED FROGS’ LEGS

Dip the skinned frogs’ legs in milk; sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roll them in flour. Immerse in smoking hot fat until cooked to a delicate color. Serve on a napkin.

FROGS’ LEGS À LA POULETTE

Sauté the skinned frogs’ legs in butter; cook some fresh mushrooms in the pan at the same time if convenient. Place on a hot dish with the mushrooms, and pour over them a Poulette sauce (see page 280).

MUSHROOMS

(SEE ALSO PAGE 45)

When one has learned to distinguish a few varieties of the edible fungi, a delicious acquisition to the menu will be enjoyed.

The author will not assume the responsibility of instructing how to distinguish the esculent mushrooms. There are books and colored charts which give explicit and reliable descriptions, and with these one can easily learn to know a few of them. Accidents are usually the result of carelessness or recklessness, many of the poisonous mushrooms being so attractive in appearance as to invite favor.

Mushroom hunting is akin in pleasure to botanizing, geologizing, or the gathering of any natural history specimens. It is not always easy to reject the many unfamiliar kinds.

How to gather. In gathering mushrooms they should be cut, not pulled, and laid in the basket with the gills up, so the spores will not be lost. If the stem is perforated with fine holes it means that worms have bored it, and it should be rejected.

The three most common varieties. The most common varieties are the Agaracini—those having gills; the Boleti—those having pores; and puff-balls (Lycoperdaceæ). All the puff-balls are edible, and those of the Boleti which have no tinge of red on the pore surface; but especial care must be used with the Agaracini, for it is said that all deaths from mushroom-poisoning have come from the Amanita, which is a genus of the gilled species, and is very common and abundant.

The safeguard to other species of poison varieties is their bitter and acrid taste. The Amanita. This warning the poisonous Agaric does not give, but it has the distinguishing feature of a cup or volva at the base of the stern. This cup is some times below the ground, and should be carefully sought; and where any doubt is felt, the specimen should be rejected. Antidote to poison. The antidote to this poison, as given by Mr. Gibson, is one sixtieth grain doses of atropine in hypodermic injections.

Authorities on mushrooms advise the amateur to first acquaint himself with the Amanita family.

“Dr. W. A. Curtis found in North Carolina thirty-eight edible species of Agaricus, eleven of Boletus, nine of Polyporus, seven of Hydnum, and thirteen of Clavaria.”

The popular tests of the cap peeling, or the mushroom blackening a silver spoon when cooking, are worthless.

Freshness. Mushrooms are very short-lived, and are quickly attacked by insects and worms, and so rendered unfit for use. They also decay quickly, and should be rejected if not entirely sound. Many cases of illness are the result of this unfit condition. The same would be the case if unwholesome meat were eaten, but good meat is not condemned on that account. Nourishment in. Mushrooms contain the same nutritive value as meat, and rank second to it in nitrogenous elements. They vary in flavor and in delicacy as much as vegetables.

COOKING MUSHROOMS

The simplest way of cooking mushrooms is usually the best, and this may be broiling, sautéing in butter, or stewing in a little cream sauce. These simple ways may be varied by seasoning with sherry, Madeira, or lemon-juice. Any meat stock may be used to stew them in, but many of the mushrooms are very juicy, and their flavor must not be lost by diluting them with too much liquor. They may be cut in pieces when used for sauces. When dried and powdered they make an excellent seasoning for sauces. Dried cèpes may be bought at grocers', and are very useful to stew in sauces.

It is better to cook mushrooms as soon as they are peeled, and to rinse them only as much as is necessary, as they lose some flavor by soaking. When they are to be used for garnishing, they are thrown into water with lemon-juice, one tablespoonful of juice to a quart of water, and are afterward boiled in the same water; this keeps them white. The water they are boiled in should be saved to use in sauces. Again, they may be put into a saucepan with butter and lemon-juice, and cooked (stirring frequently) for about five minutes. They are then covered to keep them moist and white until ready for use. Lemon-juice keeps them white, but the flavor of the mushroom is somewhat destroyed by it, and so it is not recommended for general practice. The French peel the caps with a fluted knife to make them more ornamental, but it is a difficult operation, and does not repay the trouble.

“Mr. George Augustus Sala, in a discourse on ‘Dinners Departed,’ refers to the famous à la mode beef, served in the days of old at the ‘Thirteen Cantons,’ in Blackmore Street, Drury Lane, and of which Soyer was very fond. The dish was remarkable for its rich sauce, the concoction of which was a close secret. However, the former proprietor of the old eating-house confided the receipt to Mr. Sala. Thus: ‘It was simply made from a particular mushroom, which he called “morella,” and which I infer was the Morchella esculenta, described in botanical works. These mushrooms were gathered in the fields round about the metropolis, dried, reduced to powder, and then used to thicken the sauce and enhance the flavor of à la mode beef.'”

THE FAIRY RING CHAMPIGNON

(MARASMIUS OREADES)

This is one of the most common and easily recognized mushrooms, and in their season enough for a sauce may be gathered in almost any dooryard. The difference between the real and the false fairy is easily distinguished, the former having the gills wide apart, and a little mound rising in the center of the cap, while the “false” have the gills close together and usually a depression in the center of the cap.

If the “fairies” are dry when gathered soak them in water for a little while, and then sauté or stew them. Put a tablespoonful of butter in a saucepan; when it bubbles add a teaspoonful of flour, and cook the flour a few minutes, but not brown it; then add a half cupful of water or of milk, stir until smooth, and add a pint of the “fairies.” Simmer for fifteen minutes, season with salt and pepper. Pour this over softened buttered toast or over meat; use water to make the sauce if they are used with meat, and milk if served on toast; or cook them by sautéing them in a little butter, and serve them on softened toast.

THE AGARICUS CAMPESTRIS

This mushroom is one and two third inches in diameter; has a white or cream colored cap and purplish pink gills, the gills becoming brown at a later stage. When once learned they are unmistakable. It is a highly esteemed variety, and grows abundantly in meadows and pastures, but never in the forest. It is the mushroom generally found for sale in the markets.

Cut off the stem near the cup, peel them, and lay them with the gills up on a dish and sprinkle them with salt. After a little time they will be quite moist; then stew them in a sauce, the same as given above for the “fairies.” They may also be sautéd in butter, or be broiled. To broil, lay them on a fine wire broiler; turn the gills first to the coals for a few minutes; then turn the other side, and place a piece of butter on each one. Serve on toast. The fire for broiling mushrooms should not be very hot or bright.

AGARICUS PROCERUS

Remove the scurf spots, and broil the same as given above. Use plenty of butter. Serve on a dish with meat or on toast, as preferred.

AGARICUS RUSSULA

This mushroom is of various colors. It is found in woody paths and clearings. It is particularly subject to the attack of worms, and must be carefully scrutinized. The noxious Russulas have a bitter taste, and in appearance resemble closely the esculent ones, so care is required to discriminate them. Wash them well, peel, and broil as directed for the Campestris. Lay them under a broiled steak, so they will absorb the juices of the meat.

COPRINUS COMATUS AND COPRINUS ATRAMENTARIUS

These grow in masses in barnyards, gardens or any rich earth, and in decomposition become a soft black paste. They should be gathered at the white or pink stage. Fry them in butter or stew them with butter and a little milk or cream. They are very juicy, and do not need much liquor added to stew them.

THE BOLETI

This species is of a distinctly different character from the Agaracini or gilled mushrooms. The cap is more solid, being filled with a mass of vertical tubes or pores. Some Boleti are as large as six to eight inches in diameter, one of them making a meal for several people. Any of this class which have any tinge of red on the under surface should be rejected.

Remove the skin and pores, and either sauté the caps in butter, or dip them in fritter batter, or egg and crumb them, and fry in smoking-hot fat. They may also be stewed in a white sauce, but they are very juicy, and need but little extra liquor. These mushrooms must be carefully examined for insects, as they are quickly attacked.

PUFF BALLS

All are edible when gathered at the white stage. Cut them in slices one half inch thick. Either sauté them in butter, or dip them in beaten egg, and fry in hot fat or cook on a griddle. Season with pepper and salt.

MORCHELLÆ ESCULENTÆ

These mushrooms resemble none but those of the same genus, and all of them are edible. They are hollow, the exterior resembles a honey-comb, and they are found in open woods and at the base of trees on lawns. Great use is made of all the Morels in the French kitchen, and they are much prized by epicures.

Morels are usually stuffed with chicken, veal, or other meat, chopped very fine and highly seasoned. The stem is opened to admit the forcemeat, then pressed together again. Lay them on slices of bread, and bake in a moderate oven for ten minutes, or until tender; baste them with butter while cooking, and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Wash the Morels well before stuffing them.

HYDNUM CAPUT MEDUSÆ

Cut the fungus into pieces, and simmer it in a little water; season with butter, salt, and pepper, and add a little cream. When cooked, pour the mixture over croûtons, or sauté the pieces in butter; add a little sherry just before removing from the fire, and serve on softened toast.

CLAVARIA

Separate the branches, and stew in white sauce; or sauté them in butter, seasoning with lemon-juice, salt, and pepper.

TO DRY MUSHROOMS

Place them in a saucepan, and cook with gentle heat until the moisture they give is evaporated; then place them on a hot shelf until they are thoroughly dry. Pound them to powder in a mortar, and place the powder in well-closed preserve jars.

SCALLOPED MUSHROOMS

Make a roux of one tablespoonful each of butter and flour. Add two cupfuls of chicken broth or of white stock; add the chopped stalks of a pint of mushrooms; reduce the sauce one half; add a tablespoonful of chopped parsley, pepper, and salt. Turn this sauce into a shallow baking-dish. Press into it as many mushrooms as will fit into the dish, placing them close together, with the gills up. Put a piece of butter on each one; sprinkle the top with crumbs, and place in the oven for five to eight minutes. Serve in the same dish.

MUSHROOMS À LA POULETTE

Stew the mushrooms in a little water with a tablespoonful of butter; season with pepper and salt. When ready to serve, add a little milk or cream; remove from the fire, and stir in the beaten yolks of two eggs; replace on the fire for a minute to thicken the eggs, and serve at once.

Chapter XIII

ASPIC JELLY, FANCY MOLDING, SUPPORTS

Uses. Aspic is very useful in the preparation of cold dishes, and much care should be given to having it perfectly clear and well flavored. The second one of the two receipts given below is so simple that the most inexperienced cook can easily make it. With aspic, cold meats and salads can be made into most attractive dishes; and it is well worth while to learn and ornamenting with it. (See opposite pages 326, 328.)

ASPIC

1 fowl.

1 shin of beef.

1 knuckle of veal.

4 cloves.

1 bay-leaf.

2 onions.

1 carrot.

1 stock of celery.

1 turnip.

½ package Cox’s gelatine.

1 cupful of sherry or Madeira.

Put the chicken, beef, and veal in a pot. Cover them well with cold water, and let simmer for five or six hours, with the pot covered closely. An hour before removing from the fire, add the carrot cut into dice, the cloves, and bay-leaf. Fry in butter the onions and celery (cut into pieces) to a dark brown, and add them to the stock at the same time. Remove from the fire, strain, and add one half package of gelatine (which has been soaked for an hour in one cupful of water) and one cupful of sherry or Madeira. Stir until the gelatine is dissolved. Set away until the next day. There should be two quarts of jelly. If it is not solid enough to stand, more gelatine may be added at the time of clearing. Boiling down jelly will not make it more firm.

TO CLEAR ASPIC

Remove all the grease from the top of the jelly, and wipe it off with a cloth wet in hot water, so every particle of grease will be removed. Stir into the cold jelly the beaten whites and the shells of three eggs (do not froth the egg). Put it on the fire, and continue to stir until it boils. Let it boil for five minutes; then strain it through a double cloth. If not perfectly clear, strain it a second time. Let the jelly drain through the cloth without pressure.

QUICK ASPIC

Put into a saucepan one and a half cupfuls of cold water, a tablespoonful each of chopped carrot and celery, a slice of onion, sprig of parsley, one bay-leaf, and three cloves; add also one teaspoonful of beef extract (obtained in jars) dissolved in one cupful of hot water. Cover, and let simmer for half an hour; then add one half box of Cox’s gelatine, which has been soaked in one half cupful of cold water for one hour. Stir until the gelatine is dissolved. Season with salt and pepper. A tablespoonful of sherry improves the flavor. If a deeper color is wanted add a few drops of kitchen bouquet or of caramel. Strain through a double cloth. If it is for molding it can be used at once, as there is no grease to be removed. If for garnishing, turn it into a shallow pan to set. It can be stamped or cut into fancy shapes more easily if cooled in layers of the right thickness. Gelatine added to a good, clear consommé will give the same results. Observe always the proportion of one box, or one and a half ounces, of gelatine to one and a quarter quarts (five cupfuls) of liquor. This simple method of making aspic is very quick, and is entirely satisfactory.

CHICKEN ASPIC OR JELLY

Boil a fowl as directed for chicken stock (page 100), or boil a chicken or knuckle of veal, as directed for white stock (page 99). Let the stock cool, take off the grease, then clarify the stock. If veal has been used, no gelatine will be needed. If chicken only has been used in making the stock, add to each quart of hot clarified stock three quarters of a box of Cox’s gelatine which has been soaked one hour in a half cupful of cold water. Stir until the gelatine is dissolved. This will make a very clear, light-colored jelly, good for molding, salads, chicken, etc.

ASPIC CROÛTONS

When jelly is to be used for garnishing, pour it into a square shallow pan one and a half inches deep. When it has thoroughly set, turn it onto a slightly dampened napkin spread on a board in a cool place. Dip a knife into hot water. Wipe it dry, and cut the jelly in strips the same width as the thickness of the jelly, then cut it straight across, making squares, or diagonally across, making diamonds, or into triangles. These croûtons will stand upright, and can be used for borders. If it is to be laid flat on the dish the strips need be cut only one quarter of an inch thick, and can be stamped with cutters into fancy shapes. Small molds may also be used for getting fancy forms of aspic. (See illustration facing page 328.)

See caption
ASPIC CUT INTO ORNAMENTAL SHAPES FOR GARNISHING COLD DISHES.

TO CHOP JELLY

Place the jelly on a cold plate, and with a knife cut it very slowly until it is of the right size. The chopped jelly is used to cover the top of meats, or to place like a wreath around it on the dish. It may be either fine or coarse, but each piece should be separate and distinct, and can be kept so if cut slowly in a cool place, and not allowed to become warm.

TO MOLD JELLY

(SEE ILLUSTRATIONS)

Where the mold is to be only coated with jelly, first paste a piece of paper over the top of the mold; when it is firm, cut an opening in the paper, and pour in some cold, but liquid, jelly; and turn the mold on ice slowly, so that every part may be coated. Pour off any of the jelly that has not adhered to the sides; remove the paper, and lay in the material which is to fill the center of the mold. This method is employed where only a thin coating of jelly is required. Where it is to be an inch or more in thickness it is better to use a double mold as explained below.

When molding jelly have a pan of cracked ice, and set the mold into it. The jelly will then quickly harden. The mold must be perfectly firm and upright, or the jelly will not stand straight when unmolded. Do not oil or grease a mold used for jelly. (See illustrations facing pages 326 and 386.)

See caption
1. SMALL MOLDS FOR ASPIC. 2. MOLD WITH PAPER PASTED OVER THE TOP FOR COATING THE MOLD. (SEE PAGE 323.)

TO UNMOLD JELLY

Dip the mold quickly into warm (not hot) water; wipe it dry, place the dish over the top of the mold, and turn them over together. If the jelly fails to slip out, rub the mold with a cloth wrung out of hot water. It takes only a low degree of heat to melt jelly, and if too much is used the fine points and edges will be destroyed. Do not unmold jelly until it is time to serve it. Do not shake the mold in trying to get it free, or the jelly is liable to break.

TO ORNAMENT MOLDS

Lay whatever fancy pieces are used for the decoration carefully in place on the bottom of the mold. With a spoon add only enough jelly to moisten them; if too much is used, the pieces will float out of place. Let the jelly harden and fix the decoration; then add as much as will make a layer one half inch thick; let that set; then place the material which is to fill the center. If it is a bird, or anything in one piece, add a little jelly to fix it in place; then fill up the mold. If the material is a soft substance, set in the double mold (see below); or, if one is not at hand, add a few spoonfuls at a time of the filling, leaving a space of one half an inch around the sides, and fill this with jelly. Proceed in this way until the mold is full, having the top covered with jelly, so that when unmolded it will form a complete case. If ornament is used on the sides of the mold, arrange the decoration when the mold is filled to the right height, dip the pieces in jelly to make them adhere, and cover them very slowly at first, so they will not float off. When the filling is to be in alternate layers with jelly, proceed in the same way, adding one layer at a time, and letting each one harden before the next is placed. The mold should not be moved while being filled; one layer should not become too hard before the next one is added, and no dampness must settle on them. Any of these causes will make the jelly liable to separate when unmolded. If the mold is placed on ice, as directed, the jelly hardens quickly, and the filling is soon accomplished.

DOUBLE MOLDS

For salads, and also in many cases for sweet jellies, it is easier to use a double mold. If one is not at hand two Charlotte Russe molds may be substituted, or any two molds or tins of the same shape, one of which is an inch smaller than the other. Place the larger one on ice, and pour into it enough jelly to make a layer on the bottom the same thickness as the width of space between the two molds. When it is set, place the smaller mold, filled with ice, on it; and fill the space between the two with jelly. When that has set, remove with a spoon the ice from the small mold, and pour in carefully a little warm water. It can then be easily lifted out. Be careful not to have the water too warm. Fill the space left by the small mold with the material to be used, leaving a space on top to cover with jelly—to encase it. Another way of molding jellies double, besides using the double mold and the method given above in ornamenting molds, is to fill the mold entirely with jelly, and when it has hardened, scoop out with a teaspoon, heated in hot water and wiped dry, enough of the center to give the space desired. This has to be done very carefully, as there is danger of the sides falling in. (See page 386.)

DECORATIONS FOR MEAT JELLY

DAISY DESIGN

Cut a hard-boiled egg into slices one eighth of an inch thick. With a pastry-bag tube or a small round vegetable-cutter stamp circles from the yolk. Cut the white strips diagonally, so they form diamond-shaped pieces. Lay a round piece of yolk in the mold, and the white pieces around it to simulate a daisy; place small pieces of parsley beside it, and use the stem of parsley for the stem of the daisy. This decoration fits very well in a Charlotte Russe mold, or in individual molds. Make two or three daisies on the large mold, only one on the small ones.

See caption
DAISY DESIGN FOR ASPIC JELLY FORMS. (SEE PAGE 326.)

1. Yolk of hard-boiled egg.

2. White of hard-boiled egg.

3. Parsley leaves.

4. Parsley stems.

See caption
SLICE OF WHITE OF HARD-BOILED EGG CUT INTO PETALS.

See caption
SLICES OF TONGUE IN ASPIC (EN BELLEVUE). (SEE PAGE 83.)
DECORATED WITH HARD-BOILED EGG IN DAISY DESIGN. (SEE PAGE 326.)
DISH GARNISHED WITH OLIVES CUT IN HALVES.

BERRY DESIGN

Use capers, grouped like berries, along the stem. Use water-cress for leaves and parsley for stems. This design, being dark, looks well in chicken or veal jelly.

See caption
BERRY DESIGN FOR ASPIC. (SEE PAGE 326.)

1. Capers.

2. Parsley or water-cress.

3. Parsley stems.

TO DECORATE WITH TRUFFLES

Slice the truffles very thin; stamp them into any form desired. Take each piece on a long pin, and place it in a well-buttered mold; or for jelly molds dip them in cold jelly, and they will then adhere to the sides of the mold. Arrange the pieces symmetrically in any design. If the truffle is cut in strips, make geometrical forms. Some dishes may be ornamented after they are unmolded by dipping the pieces of truffle in cold but liquid jelly, and then applying them. The latter is the method used for chaudfroid dishes, which are usually much ornamented. (See illustration facing page 320.)

Green peas, carrots, beets, pickles, string-beans, radishes, parsley, etc., in combinations, can be made into various designs.

See caption
VEGETABLES AND TRUFFLES CUT AND ARRANGED IN DESIGNS FOR DECORATING MOLDS, MOLDED DISHES, OR CHAUDFROID DISHES. (SEE PAGE 326.)

1. Vegetables.

2. Truffles.

SOCLES

Socles are stands on which to raise birds, chops, or other articles above the dish to give them a better appearance, and allow more garnishing. They are also used as supports against which to rest larger pieces of meat, fish, tongue, etc., to keep them in place. Elaborate socles of various shapes are made of tallow by caterers, but these are not practicable for ordinary cooks to undertake, and they are also in questionable taste. The simple supports given below are easily made, and well repay the trouble, especially for cold dishes. They should be stuck to the dish with white of egg, so they will be firm. The simplest way of making a socle is to take a loaf of stale bread, remove the crust, and cut the crumb to the desired shape. Then spread it with butter, and cover it with parsley chopped very fine. If to be used for a hot dish, immerse the bread in hot fat until it takes a golden brown. Another simple socle can be made of hominy. Fill a well-buttered cake-tin or plain mold with boiled hominy. When cold it will retain the form of the mold. If desired, the sides of the mold can be ornamented with vegetables of different colors cut into fancy shapes. (See picture.)

See caption
SOCLES OR SUPPORTS FOR CHOPS, BIRDS, ETC.
FORM MADE OF RICE, HOMINY OR WHITE CORN MEAL MOLDED IN A TIN BASIN. (SEE PAGE 326.)

1. Green string beans.

2. Balls of carrot or beet cut in halves, or slices stamped into small rounds.

3. Parsley stalk.

4. Balls of carrot, large green peas or capers.

5. Slices of string beans.

See caption
BLOCKS OF BREAD FOR SUPPORT OF MEAT, POULTRY, FISH, GAME, ETC.

See caption
BONED BIRDS IN ASPIC AROUND SOCLE.
The boned birds are molded in fluted individual molds and decorated with hard-boiled egg in daisy design as directed on page 326. Dish garnished with parsley.

See caption
BONED BIRDS IN ASPIC, THE SAME AS PRECEDING CUT, SERVED ON FLAT DISH AND GARNISHED WITH PARSLEY.

RICE SOCLE OR CASSEROLE

Boil rice with three times its quantity of water, and a little butter, until it is very soft; then mash or pound it in a mortar until it becomes a smooth, elastic paste. Press the paste into a plain buttered mold or pan of the size desired for the socle, and place a weight on it so it will be compact and firm when cold. Unmold, and with a pointed knife, a turnip cut wedge-shape, and a butter-stamp, mold the sides to fancy form. Brush it over with yolk of egg, and place a moment in the oven to brown; or it may be ornamented the same as the hominy supports, with vegetables cut into fancy shapes. (See illustrations.) If wanted for a casserole, scoop out carefully a hollow in the center, and fill with chicken or any creamed meat, or with vegetables.

POTATO CASSEROLE

To a quart of seasoned mashed potato add four or six egg yolks. Stir it over the fire to dry it well; then with the hands or a knife mold it into a hollow cylinder or into a cup-shaped form; brush it over with yolk of egg, and place it a moment in the oven to brown. Fill the center just before serving with any minced meat, or with birds, chops, sweetbreads, or any creamed dish. The casserole may also be formed by pressing the potato into a mold which opens (see illustration), or any mold with fluted or plain sides, which, when buttered, will let the potato slip out; then egg and brown as before.

A POTATO SUPPORT FOR HOT MEATS

Add slowly to two cupfuls of well-mashed sweet or white potato, beating all the time over the fire, one cupful of hot milk, a tablespoonful of butter, one quarter of a teaspoonful of pepper, a teaspoonful of salt, and lastly, three beaten eggs. Butter well a plain mold of the shape desired; sprinkle over it as many bread-crumbs as will stick to the butter; turn in the purée of potatoes, place the mold in a pan of water, and bake for thirty minutes. Turn the molded potato in the centre of a dish, and arrange chops or birds around and against it.

CROUSTADES OF BREAD

Take a loaf of bread two days old, which was baked in a round or a square tin; pare off the crust, and carve it with a sharp-pointed knife into vase or cup-shape. Fry it in hot fat to gold color. Paint the inside with white of egg to prevent its soaking up the sauce of the filling. Fill with mushrooms, chicken livers, creamed chicken or any salpicon. Do not put the filling in until ready to serve, and heat the croustade before adding it.

ROLL CROUSTADES

Cut off the tops of rolls, or of home-made biscuits of any size. Remove the crumb from the inside; butter the rolls inside and out, and set in the oven to brown. Fill with any creamed meat or salpicon.

Chapter XIV

CHAFING-DISH RECEIPTS

CHAFING-DISH COOKING

The chafing-dish, although a time-honored utensil, has recently had a renaissance. To-day it is not more valued for the convenience than for the fun of it. Amateurs and epicures alike find pleasure in brewing and stewing over the alcohol lamp; in preparing a luncheon dish, or a novelty for “tea;” but, best of all, at the midnight hour the chafing-dish does its best though most disastrous service, for matutinal headaches have been called the desserts, and just deserts of late suppers.

Kind of chafing-dish to use. The chafing-dish with double pan (the lower one to hold hot water) is the preferable one, because dishes may be kept warm in the hot water, and also because articles cooked with milk are liable to burn if cooked directly over the flame.

For safety from fire and staining, the chafing-dish should stand on a large metal tray, and the lamp should not be filled too full. Wood alcohol, which is much cheaper than high-proof spirits, answers just as well the purpose of heating, but has an unpleasant odor.

Russian bowls. The various articles to be used in the preparation of the dish should be put into Russian bowls, and the bowls placed on a Japanese tray. These bowls are of wood, and are made of all sizes. They do not break, they make no noise, and are ornamental: the last is a consideration which recommends them, other things being equal, where fancy work is being done. The preliminary preparation of the foods should be done in the kitchen, rather than before the party assembled to assist in the cooking operation with their advice, praise, and appetite.

Wooden spoons. Wooden spoons, which come in all sizes, are also desirable to use, as they do not become hot, do not scratch the dish, and are noiseless. Articles prepared in the chafing-dish are served directly from it, therefore garnishing has no part, but toast or croûtons go well with most of the preparations, and these can be toasted or reheated on an asbestos pad placed over the flame. The water-pan containing hot water should be placed under the cooking-pan as soon as the flame is extinguished. It will keep the dish warm, and serve as a bain-marie (the utensil employed in large kitchens for keeping dishes hot until time for serving). Two chafing-dishes are almost a requisite where no other fire than the lamp is to be called upon, but with this batterie de cuisine a supper can be easily and quickly prepared without one half of it spoiling while the other half is being made ready—the toast and hot water, for instance.

Dishes suitable for chafing-dish. The dishes most suitable for chafing-dish cooking are stews, eggs, and cheese. Stews can be modified in a great variety of ways, the barbecue being a favorite one. The simplest way of cooking in a chafing-dish is to put a little butter in the dish, and when it bubbles add oysters, mushrooms or any article which makes its own liquor; this lacking, a little water or milk is added, and seasoning to taste.

Canned chicken, tongue, salmon, crabs, and shrimps make good dishes and are easily prepared. Paprica, a kind of red pepper, is especially good for use in chafing-dish cookery instead of cayenne.

PANNED OYSTERS

For twenty-five oysters, put in a chafing-dish one tablespoonful of butter. When it is melted, add the juice of half a lemon and one teaspoonful of chopped parsley. Then add the oysters, which should be well drained. Cook, stirring carefully, until they are plump and the gills a little frilled—no longer. Season with salt and pepper, and serve at once on toast. The oysters exude enough juice to soften the toast. Or let the butter brown in the chafing-dish, then add the oysters and cook until plump or the gills are curled. Then add a wineglassful of sherry or Madeira. Season with salt and pepper and serve at once. When wine is used, omit the lemon and parsley, and do not season until after the wine is added, as wine augments the flavor of salt. Have ready some toasted bread and pour the oysters over it; or cut the toast into small squares, stir them into the oysters and serve directly from the chafing-dish.

OYSTER STEW

Put a tablespoonful of butter in the chafing-dish; add a heaping tablespoonful of flour, and cook a few minutes, stirring all the time so it will not color. Add a cupful of milk slowly and stir until it begins to thicken; then add the oyster liquor (have the liquor strained so it will be free from pieces of shell), and lastly the oysters; season with salt and pepper and a little celery salt if liked. As soon as the edges of the oysters curl they are done, and the cooking must be arrested, or they will become tough.

CREAMED OYSTERS AND CLAMS

See receipt for creamed clams (page 135). This receipt can easily be prepared in the chafing-dish. Also oysters à la Poulette given on page 133.

BARBECUE OF FISH

Marinate one pound of any cold boiled white fish in one tablespoonful of oil, one tablespoonful of vinegar, one slice of onion, pepper and salt. Leave the fish in as large pieces as possible. Put in a chafing-dish three tablespoonfuls of tomato catsup, three tablespoonfuls of sherry, three tablespoonfuls of butter. Put the butter in first, and when melted add the catsup and wine and then the fish. Baste the fish with the liquor until it is thoroughly heated, and it is then ready to serve. Thin slices of cooked cold beef, veal, or ham may also be cooked in this way.

EGGS WITH TOMATOES

Put into the chafing-dish a cupful of canned tomatoes, and cook until they begin to soften; then season with one tablespoonful of butter, salt and pepper to taste. Add two beaten eggs, and stir constantly until they begin to thicken. Then extinguish the flame, and the heat of the dish will be sufficient to complete the cooking. Stir constantly until they are of the consistency of scrambled eggs. Serve at once, or they will separate.

TOMATOES AND RICE

Put into a chafing-dish a half cupful of tomatoes; add a bay-leaf, a few drops of onion-juice, pepper and salt to taste. Let them cook until tender, then remove the bay-leaf and stir in as much boiled rice as can be well coated and moistened with the tomatoes. Serve with cracker biscuits.

CREAMED DISHES

(EGGS, CHICKEN, OR VEAL)

Use the double pan with water. Make a white sauce by putting in the chafing-dish one tablespoonful of butter; let it bubble, then stir in one tablespoonful of flour; let it cook a few minutes, but not brown; then add a cupful of milk slowly, stirring all the time until it is a little thickened. Season with pepper and salt. Lay in carefully thick slices of hard-boiled egg. As soon as they are heated, place them on slices of toast softened with hot water, and pour the thickened sauce over them. For chicken or meat, season the sauce with a few drops of onion-juice, a little chopped celery if convenient, salt, pepper, and paprica. Have the chicken in good-sized pieces, or meat in thin slices, and leave them in the sauce only long enough to become well heated; canned chicken or turkey may be used. Any kind of meat can be minced and used in this way, in which case the sauce should be made with half milk and half stock. If stock is not at hand extract of beef (one teaspoonful to a cupful of boiling water) may be substituted. With chicken or oysters, the yolk of an egg is added just before it is removed, which makes it “à la poulette.”

DISHES À LA NEWBURG

These are favorite chafing-dish preparations, and may be made of lobster, crabs, shrimps, soft-shelled clams, chicken, or cold boiled halibut. Lobster: Take the meat of one boiled lobster, put it in a chafing-dish with a tablespoonful of butter, a teaspoonful of salt, a dash of cayenne or of paprica. Stir lightly with a fork for three minutes, or until the lobster is well heated; then add a wineglassful of sherry or of Madeira, cook for another three minutes, and then add the beaten yolks of three eggs, diluted with a half pint of cream. Stir the mixture constantly for a minute, or just long enough to set the egg. If cooked too long it will curdle; serve at once. Prepare the dishes à la Newburg with a double pan. For soft-shell clams use only the soft half of the clam. For chicken use the white meat cut into inch squares. For halibut leave the pieces large, and break them as little as possible.

TERRAPIN

The prepared terrapin which comes in cans is the best for the chafing-dish, and needs only to be heated and seasoned to taste.

CHICKEN LIVERS WITH MADEIRA

Put a tablespoonful of butter in the chafing-dish; add the livers cut into pieces; cook them directly over the flame, turning them constantly, and dredge them while cooking with a tablespoonful of flour. It will take about five minutes to cook them; add a cupful of stock, and a few drops of kitchen bouquet. Then place the pan in the double pan containing water already hot; add to the livers a half cupful of Madeira and a few stoned olives; season with salt, pepper, and paprica after the wine is in; cover and let it simmer for ten minutes. Serve with croûtons.

CRAB TOAST

Put into the chafing-dish a tablespoonful of butter; when it is melted, add a tablespoonful of chopped celery, a teaspoonful of flour, a half cupful of cream or milk, and a canful of crab meat. Stir until the moisture is nearly evaporated; add a tablespoonful of sherry, salt and pepper, and paprica to taste; spread on toasted biscuits, or on thin slices of toast.

SMELTS À LA TOULOUSE

12 smelts.

½ cupful of white wine.

3 tablespoonfuls of liquor from the mushroom can.

1 tablespoonful of butter.

1 tablespoonful of flour.

1 dozen canned mushrooms.

1 truffle.

Cut down the back of the smelts, and remove the bone; close the fish, and lay them in the chafing-dish with the wine and mushroom liquor taken from the can. Cook until done, which will take five or six minutes. Remove and place the smelts on a hot dish. Mix with the liquor in which they were boiled one cupful of stock; rub together the butter and flour, and stir this in also, leaving it on the spoon until by stirring it is dissolved. (This method prevents its getting lumpy.) Then add the chopped mushrooms and chopped truffle. Season with salt and paprica or a dash of cayenne. Cook, stirring all the time until the sauce is creamy; then pour it over the fish. Serve with croûtons.

This is a good supper dish.

MEATS

VENISON

Put a tablespoonful of butter in a chafing-dish. When it is very hot, lay in a piece of venison steak; let it cook a minute on both sides. Use spoons for turning the meat, so as not to pierce it. When the surfaces are seared, add a glassful of currant jelly, and baste the venison constantly with the liquid jelly until cooked rare. Extinguish the flame, and cut and serve the meat from the chafing-dish.

MUTTON

Lay a slice of mutton cut from the leg into a hot chafing-dish; turn it constantly, using two spoons, until it is cooked rare. Extinguish the flame, and cover the meat with a maître d’hôtel sauce (page 286). If preferred, spread it with currant jelly or with plum sauce; or prepare it the same as venison, with a little butter, and, instead of jelly, add a half canful of tomatoes, and finish the cooking in the same way. Season with a little onion-juice, pepper, and salt.

BEEF

A small steak can be pan-broiled in the same way. For beef a maître d’hôtel sauce must be used. A Delmonico steak or a small porterhouse steak, with the bones removed, are the best cuts to use.

Any meat cooked in the chafing-dish should have all the fat trimmed off, so that there will be less odor.

WELSH RAREBIT AND GOLDEN BUCK

Receipts for Welsh Rarebit and Golden Buck are given on pages 371 and 372.

FONDUE

BRILLAT-SAVARIN

Savarin gives this receipt, which he says is taken from the papers of a Swiss bailiff. He says: “It is a dish of Swiss origin, is healthy, savory, appetizing, quickly made, and, moreover, is always ready to present to unexpected guests.”

He relates an anecdote of the sixteenth century of a M. de Madot, newly appointed Bishop of Belley, who at a feast given in honor of his arrival, mistaking the fondue for cream, eat it with a spoon instead of a fork. This caused so much comment that the next day no two people met who did not say: “Do you know how the new bishop eat his fondue last night?” “Yes; he eat it with a spoon. I have it from an eye-witness.” And soon the news spread over the diocese.

RECEIPT

“Weigh as many eggs as you have guests. Take one third their weight of Gruyère cheese, and one sixth their weight of butter. Beat the eggs well in a saucepan; add the cheese, grated, and the butter. Put the saucepan on the fire and stir until the mixture is soft and creamy; then add salt, more or less, according to the age of the cheese, and a generous amount of pepper, which is one of the positive characters of the dish. Serve on a hot plate. Bring in the best wine, drink roundly of it, and you will see wonders.”

PINEAPPLE CANAPÉS

Split in two some square sponge-cakes, which can be bought at the baker’s for two cents each. Put a little butter in the chafing-dish. When it is hot put in the slices of cake, and brown them a little on both sides. Lay the slices on a plate, and spread each one with a layer of canned chopped pineapple. Turn the juice from the can into the chafing-dish. Moisten a teaspoonful of arrowroot with cold water, stir it slowly into the hot juice, and continue to stir until it becomes thickened and clear. Pour the sauce over the slices of spread cake. If more than a cupful of juice is used, add more arrowroot in proportion. Any kind of fruit, and slices of sponge cake or of brioche, can be used instead of the square individual cakes. Strawberries, raspberries, or peaches make good sweet canapés.

CHOCOLATE MADE WITH CONDENSED MILK

Fill the cups to be used about one third full of condensed milk; add a heaping teaspoonful of instantaneous chocolate, which is chocolate ground to a fine powder. Mix them well together; then fill the cup with boiling water, and stir until the chocolate and milk are dissolved. No sugar is needed, as the milk is sweetened to preserve it.

Chapter XV

BREAD

The yeast plant. Yeast is a minute plant, and like other plants must have the right conditions of heat, moisture, and nourishment in order to live or to nourish. It will be killed if scalded, or if frozen, as any other plant would be; therefore, as we depend upon the growth of this little plant for raising our bread, we must give its requirements as much care as we do our geraniums or our roses. The yeast plant takes its nourishment from sugar. This is found in flour. It converts this sugar into carbonic acid gas and alcohol, and the pressure of this gas causes the mixture in which it is generated to become inflated, or to “rise.”

See caption
FORMS OF GROWTH OF THE YEAST PLANT.

Making bread. In mixing bread, we put the yeast into warm (not hot) water; this we mix with flour, thus supplying the moisture and nourishment required. We put this mixture in a warm place to force the growth of the plant. When the dough has become sufficiently inflated we put it into the oven and raise the heat to a degree which kills the plant and fixes the air cells, and our bread is done.

Yeast. In cities, where fresh compressed yeast can be obtained, it is not worth while to prepare one’s own. Where this cannot be had, the dry yeast-cakes often give satisfactory results, but are not as reliable as a liquid yeast, which in the country it is often necessary as well as desirable to make.

DICK BENNET’S RECEIPT FOR YEAST

Peel nine good-sized potatoes, and boil them with a large handful of loose hops tied in a thin muslin bag. Use enough water to cover them well. When the potatoes are tender strain off the water. Mash the potatoes, return them to the water in which they were boiled, and mix them well together. Add two tablespoonfuls of flour, one half cupful of granulated sugar, and one tablespoonful of salt. Cook it for a few minutes, adding sufficient flour to make a thin batter. Set it aside until lukewarm; then add a yeast-cake, or a cupful of liquid yeast. Mix it well and place in a stone jar. Let it stand for twelve hours in a warm place. Stir it three times during this period. Place a weight on the lid of the jar, and set it in a cool place.

YEAST RECEIPT No. 2

6 grated raw potatoes.

1 cupful of brown sugar.

½ cupful of salt.

2 quarts of flour.

Mix these together, and add enough water to make a batter as thick as that used for griddle cakes.

Pour two quarts of boiling water on as many hops as one can hold in the hand. Let them boil for five minutes. Strain off the water, and while hot add it to the batter. When it is lukewarm add a cupful of yeast, or a yeast cake. Let it stand several hours in a warm place until it rises, or the top is covered with bubbles. Then place in glass preserve jars, and keep in a cool place. Use a granite-ware saucepan and a wooden spoon when making yeast, in order to keep a good color.

WHAT TO DO WHEN YEAST IS NOT OBTAINABLE TO START THE FERMENTATION IN MAKING YEAST

Mix a thin batter of flour and water, and let it stand in a warm place until it is full of bubbles. This ferment has only half the strength of yeast, so double the amount must be used.

PROPORTIONS OF RAISING MATERIALS TO USE, AND OTHER ITEMS

One cake of compressed yeast is equal to one cupful of liquid yeast.

Baking-powder is a mixture of soda, cream of tartar, and cornstarch, or rice flour.

Use one level teaspoonful of baking-powder to each cupful of flour.

Use one even teaspoonful of soda and two full teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar to a quart of flour.

When sour milk is used, take one even teaspoonful of soda to a pint of milk, and omit the cream of tartar.

When molasses is used, omit the cream of tartar, and use one teaspoonful of soda to each cupful of molasses.

Mix powders with the flour, and sift them together, so as to thoroughly mix them.

Mix dry materials in one bowl and liquids in another; combine them quickly, and put at once into the oven.

The oven for baking bread should be hot enough to brown a teaspoonful of flour in five minutes. For biscuits it should brown in one minute.

Rolls brushed with milk just before baking will have a brown crust.

Rubbing the crust with butter just before it is taken from the oven will make it crisp.

GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING BREAD

Time required for making bread. Bread is often mixed the night before it is to be baked, and left to rise from eight to ten hours; but the whole process of bread-making, from the mixing to the serving, can be done in two and a half hours if sufficient yeast is used. In hot weather it is desirable to complete the work in a short time, in order to prevent fermentation or souring, which occurs if left too long a time. Four hours and a half is ample time for the whole process, using the ordinary amount of yeast; two hours for the mixing and rising of the sponge or dough; one half hour for the kneading and molding; one hour for the loaves to rise in the pans, and one hour for the baking.

Raising the bread. A thin batter called a sponge may be made at night, and the rest of the flour added in the morning, or the dough may be mixed and kneaded at night and only molded into loaves in the morning; but a better way, especially in summer, is to set the bread early in the morning and have it baked by noon. It needs to rise twice, once either in the sponge or in the dough, and again after it is molded into loaves. The old way of letting it rise three times is unnecessary, and increases the danger of souring. If the dough gets very light before one is ready to work it, it should be cut away from the sides of the pan and pressed down in the center with the knife. This liberates some of the gas and retards the fermentation. This can be done several times. If it rises too high it will collapse, which means souring, but before that it loses its best flavor, and so should not be allowed to more than double its bulk.

Proportions of materials. The proportions of flour, liquid, and yeast cannot be exactly given, as flour of different qualities and degrees of dryness will absorb more or less liquid, and the amount of yeast to be used depends both upon the time allowed and the temperature.

Two cupfuls of liquid will take six to seven cupfuls of sifted flour, and this will make two small loaves. One half a compressed yeast cake will raise this amount in two hours if kept in a warm place. The other ingredients for this quantity are one teaspoonful of salt, one tablespoonful of sugar, and one tablespoonful of butter, lard, or cottolene, if shortening is desired.

Bread made with milk instead of water, and with shortening, is more tender than when water alone is used. Boiled potatoes are sometimes added, and give a more moist bread.

Mixing. Dissolve the yeast in a part of the tepid water; in the rest of the water mix the salt, sugar, and butter, add the dissolved yeast, and then stir in enough flour to make a soft dough which will not stick to the hands. If the flour is cold warm it. If milk is used, scald it, then allow it to become tepid before mixing it with the yeast. Place the pan in a warm place free from draughts. When the dough is to be made into rolls or fancy forms, it needs to be a little stiffer than for loaves.

Making a sponge. A sponge is a thin batter made by mixing only a little flour with the other ingredients. This is left to stand until filled with large bubbles. The rest of the flour is then added, to make the dough.

When bread is to be made in a short time, it is better to set a sponge instead of making a dough at first; for in this way the second rising will be a little quicker.

The crust on dough. When a dough is mixed and set aside to rise, cover the pan with several thicknesses of cloth to exclude the air and so prevent a crust forming on the top. It helps also to keep the dough at an even temperature. If a crust forms it is difficult to mix it in so thoroughly that it does not leave hard spots and lines in the bread. There is a bread-pan made with close-fitting cover, which is recommended.

Kneading and molding. When the dough is made, it should be kneaded for twenty to thirty minutes. Turn it from the pan onto a board, and work it by drawing it forward with the fingers and pushing it away with the balls of the hands, turning it all the time. This stretches the gluten and changes it from a sticky paste to a smooth, elastic substance. Use as little flour on the board as possible, and work it until it no longer sticks. The more it is worked the finer will be the grain, and the less flour used the better will be the bread.

Baking. When dough is made at the first mixing, return it to the pan after it is kneaded and let it rise to double its size (not more), and then work it down, mold it into loaves, and let it rise a second time in the baking-pans. When a sponge is made, knead the dough when the flour is added to the sponge, and put it at once into the baking-pans.

Divide the dough evenly and shape it to the pans as well as possible, filling the pans only half full. Cover and set them in a warm place free from draughts. When they have doubled (not more) in size, put them in the oven. The loaf rises a little more in the oven. If it is too light, it is likely to fall, which means it has soured, and for this there is no remedy. The loaf in the pan should rise in one hour.

Care in baking is even more essential than care in mixing and raising the bread. Test the oven by putting in a teaspoonful of flour. If it browns the flour in five minutes the heat is right. The fire. Have the fire prepared so it will not need replenishing during the hour required for the baking. The bread rises after it goes in the oven, and is likely to rise unevenly if the oven is hotter on one side than the other; therefore it should be watched and turned carefully if necessary. At the end of ten to fifteen minutes the top should be browned, and this will arrest the rising. If the oven is too cool, the bread is likely to rise so much as to run over the pan, or to have a hole in the center. If the oven is too hot it will make a crust too soon, the centre be underdone, and the crust be too thick. Time. One hour is the time required for baking the ordinary sized loaf.

When the bread is taken from the oven turn it out of the pans and support the loaves in such a way that the air will reach all sides. Care of bread after it is baked. If the loaves stand flat the bottom crust will become moist. If wrapped in cloth it will do the same and give a soft crust, which, however, some prefer to have. It should not be put in the bread-box until entirely cold.

Baking bread rolls. For baking rolls the rule is different from that for bread. Rolls should rise, to be very light, more than double their original size, and the oven be hot enough to form a crust at once. It should brown flour in one minute and bake the rolls in fifteen to twenty minutes.

Flour. The ordinary white flour of best quality is nearly all starch, the nourishing parts of the wheat having been mostly all removed by the bolting to make it white. The whole wheat flour makes a much more nourishing and health-giving bread, and when the habit of eating it is once formed, bread made of the white flour is no longer liked.

Pans. There is a variety of bread-pans giving loaves of different shapes to be used for different purposes. Besides the square tin which gives the ordinary square loaf, there is a sheet iron rounded pan open at the ends. The dough for this pan is made into a long roll a little thicker in the middle than at the ends. It gives the shape of the Vienna loaf. After the bread has risen cut it across the top in three diagonal slashes with a sharp knife; when it is nearly baked brush over the top with a thin boiled cornstarch, and it will further resemble the Vienna loaf. For dinner bread, there is a pan a foot long of two flutes, about two inches each across and open at the ends; for this roll the dough long and round, or make two smaller rolls and twist them together; bake in a hot oven like biscuits. This gives a long, round crusty loaf like the French bread. A pan of small flutes is used for dinner sticks or finger rolls, giving a pencil of bread three quarters of an inch thick and five inches long. Different shapes for variety. Bread made in different shapes gives a pleasant variety and often seems like a different article when baked so as to give more or less crust.

See caption
BREAD AND ROLL TINS.

WATER BREAD No. 1

TWO SMALL LOAVES)

2 cupfuls of tepid water.

1 teaspoonful of salt.

½ compressed yeast cake.

6 to 7 cupfuls of flour.

For mixing, kneading, and baking, see general directions given at head of chapter.

WATER BREAD No. 2

(TWO SMALL LOAVES)

2 cupfuls of tepid water.

½ cake of compressed yeast.

1 teaspoonful of salt.

6 to 7 cupfuls of flour.

1 tablespoonful of sugar.

1 tablespoonful of butter, lard, drippings, or cottolene.

For mixing, kneading, and baking, see general directions given at head of chapter.

MILK BREAD

Make the same as Water Bread No. 2, but use milk in place of the water, or use half milk and half water.

POTATO BREAD

Add one medium-sized mashed boiled potato to the sponge of any of the foregoing receipts. Potato gives a more moist bread, which retains its freshness longer.

RECEIPT FOR ONE LOAF OF BREAD OR ONE PAN OF BISCUITS TO BE MADE IN TWO HOURS

1 cupful of scalded milk.

¼ cupful of butter.

3 yeast cakes.

1 tablespoonful of sugar

½ teaspoonful of salt.

White of one egg.

3 to 4 cupfuls of flour.

Make a sponge; let it stand in a warm place in a pan of warm water until full of bubbles; then add the flour, knead it for twenty minutes, mold into loaf, and let it rise in the baking-pan until double in size, and bake.

BREAD MADE WITH BAKING-POWDER

Add to four quarts of flour a teaspoonful of salt and six teaspoonfuls of baking-powder. Sift them three times so as to thoroughly mix them, and then add slowly a quart of cold water, or enough to make a dough of the right consistency. Mold it quickly into four loaves, and put at once into a moderate oven for one and a quarter hours.

BREAD MADE OF WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR

Dissolve a yeast cake in two tablespoonfuls of tepid water. Put into a bowl a pint of milk; add to it a pint of boiling water, and let it stand until it is lukewarm; then add the dissolved yeast, a teaspoonful of salt, and enough whole wheat flour to make a thick batter. The batter should drop, but not run off the spoon. Beat this batter with a spoon for fifteen minutes. It becomes quite soft and liquid by beating. Add enough more flour to make a dough; turn it onto the board and knead it a few minutes; return it to pan, and let rise for three hours, or until light. Mold it into small loaves; let it rise again, and bake in moderate oven thirty to forty-five minutes.

GRAHAM BREAD

Dissolve a half teaspoonful of soda in a cupful of lukewarm water. Put a tablespoonful of butter into a tablespoonful and a half of molasses, and let them warm until the butter is melted. Add to it the dissolved soda and water, and a half teaspoonful of salt. Stir this mixture into a cupful of light white bread sponge, and add enough Graham flour to make a stiff batter, or very thin dough. Turn into a greased pan. Let it rise until even with the top of the pan, and bake in a moderate oven an hour or an hour and a quarter. Use a spoon, and not the hands, for mixing Graham flour. A little white flour may be mixed with the Graham flour if a lighter colored and dryer bread is preferred.

GLUTEN BREAD

Pour a pint of boiling water into a pint of milk; add a teaspoonful of butter and a teaspoonful of salt. Let it stand until it is lukewarm; then add a well-beaten egg, a quarter of a yeast-cake dissolved, and enough gluten to make a soft batter. Cover and stand in a warm place to rise; then add enough gluten to make a soft dough, and knead it well. Form it into four loaves, and let rise again. Bake for one hour.

Gluten bread requires less yeast and less time to rise than ordinary bread.

BOSTON BROWN BREAD

2 cupfuls of white cornmeal.

2 cupfuls of yellow cornmeal.

2 cupfuls of Graham flour or of rye meal or of white flour.

1 cupful of molasses.

2 cupfuls of milk (one of them being sour milk, if convenient).

2 cupfuls of boiling water.

1 teaspoonful of salt.

1 teaspoonful of soda.

Mix well the flour, meal, and salt; add to them the boiling water. Mix the sweet milk and molasses together, and add them to the scalded meal. Dissolve the soda in the sour milk, and add it last. Turn the mixture into a covered cylindrical mold or into a covered pail, and steam it for three hours; then uncover and bake in the oven for half an hour. Slices of this bread toasted, buttered, and covered with cream make a good breakfast or luncheon dish.

TOAST

Cut the bread in even slices one quarter of an inch thick. Cut off the crust and trim the pieces into even and uniform shape. There is no waste in this, as the scraps of bread can be dried and crumbed. If the bread is fresh, let it dry a few minutes in the oven. Place it on a wire toaster, and turn often until well dried through; then hold it over the coals a minute to take an even golden color. Toast requires careful watching, or it will burn or be unevenly colored. Toast should not be served until the moment it is required. A few pieces only should be served at a time, and the plate should be hot. If wrapped in a napkin, or piled up, it quickly becomes damp and loses its crispness. If a soft toast is wanted, color the bread at once without drying it; the center will then be only heated. Toast used under game or meats is made dry, buttered, and sprinkled with salt; then softened with a little boiling water.

MILK TOAST

Make a dry toast; spread it with butter, and sprinkle it with salt. Place it in the dish in which it is to be served, and pour over it a little boiling water; cover it, and place in the oven a few minutes to steam and soak up the water. It should have enough water to entirely soften it, but not lose its shape. Put one teaspoonful of butter in a saucepan. When it bubbles, stir in a teaspoonful of flour, and let it cook a minute without coloring. Add slowly, stirring all the time, one cupful of milk. Cook until it is slightly thickened; add a saltspoonful of salt. Pour this thickened milk over the softened toast just before serving. Bread for milk toast should be cut in even slices one half inch thick, thoroughly dried in toasting, evenly colored, and steamed until tender. When cream is used, it is scalded and poured over the softened toast.

PANADA

Split Bent’s water biscuits in two; sprinkle salt or sugar between them, and place together again; or, use two large soda biscuits, or pilot bread, or Passover bread. Place them in the dish in which they will be served; pour over enough boiling water to cover them. Cover the dish, and place it in the open oven, or on the hot shelf, until the biscuits have become soft like jelly; pour off any water that has not been absorbed, using care not to break the biscuits. Sprinkle again with salt or sugar. A little cream or hot milk can be added if desired.

PULLED BREAD

Break off irregular pieces of the crumb of fresh bread, and dry it in a very slow oven until lightly colored. The inside of fresh biscuits left over can be treated in this way, and will keep an indefinite time. They should be heated in the oven when served, and are good with chocolate, or coffee, or bouillon. The crusts of the biscuits may be used as cups for creamed meats or vegetables, or for eggs.

ZWIEBACK

Cut rusks into slices one half inch thick, and dry them in a very slow oven until dried through, and of a deep yellow color. Slices of Vienna bread can be used in the same way.

BREAD FRITTERS

Take pieces of raised bread-dough the size of an egg, drop them into smoking hot fat, and fry to a gold color, the same as doughnuts. Drain and serve on a napkin for breakfast, or sprinkle them with powdered sugar and ground cinnamon mixed, and serve them for luncheon.

BREAD ROLLS

For one panful of biscuits take as much raised bread-dough as will make one loaf of bread. Use any kind of bread-dough, but if no shortening has been used, add a tablespoonful of butter to this amount of dough. Add also more flour to make a stiffer dough than for bread. Work it for ten minutes so as to give it a finer grain. Cut it into pieces half the size of an egg, roll them into balls, and place in a pan some distance apart. If enough space is given, each roll will be covered with crust, which is the best part of hot breads. If, however, the crumb is preferred, place them in the pan near enough to run together in rising. Let the biscuits rise to more than double size, and bake in a quick oven twenty to thirty minutes.

When removed from the oven rub the crusts with a little butter, and wrap the rolls in a cloth until ready to serve. This will give a tender crust. If a deep color is liked, brush the rolls with milk or egg before placing them in the oven. A glaze is obtained by brushing them with sugar dissolved in milk when taken from the oven, then replacing them in the oven again for a moment to dry.

CRESCENTS

Add to bread-dough a little more sugar, and enough flour to make a stiff dough. Roll it to one eighth inch thickness. Cut it into strips six inches wide, and then into sharp triangles. Roll them up, commencing at the base; the point of the triangle will then come in the middle of the roll. Turn the points around into the shape of crescents. Place on tins to rise for half an hour, brush the tops with water, and bake until lightly colored. When taken from the oven brush the tops with thin boiled cornstarch water, and place again for a minute in the oven to glaze.

BRAIDS AND TWISTS

Take any bread- or biscuit-dough. Roll it one inch thick, and cut it into strips one inch wide. Roll the strips on the board to make them round. Brush the strips with butter. Braid or twist the strips together, making them pointed at the ends, and broad in the middle. Let them rise a little, but not so much as to lose shape, and bake in a quick oven. Glaze the tops the same as directed above for crescents.

CLEFT ROLLS

Make the dough into balls of the size desired. After the rolls have risen cut each roll across the top with a sharp knife about an inch deep. If cut twice it makes a cross roll. Glaze the tops as directed for crescents, or brush them with milk and sugar.

LUNCHEON AND TEA ROLLS

2 quarts of flour.

3 cups of boiled milk.

3 tablespoonfuls of sugar.

1 teaspoonful of salt.

½ cupful of butter.

Whites of 2 eggs.

½ yeast cake.

Boil the milk, dissolve in it the sugar and salt, and add the butter to melt it. When this mixture becomes tepid, add the beaten whites of the eggs and the yeast, dissolved in two tablespoonfuls of water; then stir in the flour, and knead it for twenty to thirty minutes; cover it well, and put it aside in a warm place free from draughts to rise over night. If to be used for breakfast, mold the rolls to any shape desired; let them rise to more than double their size, and bake for thirty minutes. If they are to be used for luncheon, cut down with a knife the raised dough in the morning, and keep it in a cool place until an hour and a half before the time for serving the rolls; then mold, raise, and bake them. If they are to be used for tea, do not set the dough until morning. In summer allow four and a half hours for the whole work, the same as directed for bread on page 340.

PARKER HOUSE ROLLS

2 quarts of flour.

2 tablespoonfuls of butter, or lard, or cottolene.

1 teaspoonful of salt.

1 pint of milk.

⅓ compressed yeast cake.

½ cupful of sugar (scant).

Put the salt into the flour, and work in the shortening thoroughly. Dissolve the yeast in one cupful of warm water. Scald the milk, and dissolve the sugar in it after it is taken off the fire. When the milk is lukewarm, mix the yeast with it. Make a hollow in the center of the flour, and pour into it the milk and yeast mixture. Sprinkle a little of the flour over the top. Cover the pan well, and leave it to rise. If this sponge is set at five o’clock, at ten o’clock stir the whole together thoroughly with a spoon. Do not beat it, but stir it well, as it gets no other kneading. In the morning turn the dough onto a board, work it together a little, and roll it evenly one half inch thick. Lift the dough off the board a little to let it shrink all it will before cutting. Cut it into rounds with a good-sized biscuit-cutter. Place a small piece of butter on one side, and double the other side over it, so the edges meet. Let them rise for two hours, and bake in a quick oven for twenty minutes. If the rolls are to be used for luncheon, cut down the dough in the morning and keep it in a cool place until the time for molding them. If for tea, set the sponge in the morning, using one half cake of compressed yeast.352-*

TEA BISCUITS MADE WITH BAKING POWDER

4 cupfuls of sifted flour.

3 teaspoonfuls of baking-powder.

1 teaspoonful of salt.

1 tablespoonful of butter.

Add the salt and baking-powder to the flour and sift them. Rub in the butter well. With a fork stir in lightly and quickly sufficient milk to make a soft dough. The dough must be only just stiff enough to roll. Flour the board well, turn the dough onto it, and lightly roll it to a half inch thickness. Cut it into small circles, brush the tops with milk, and bake in a quick oven for twenty to thirty minutes.

BISCUITS MADE WITH SOUR MILK

1 quart of flour.

1 teaspoonful of soda.

1 teaspoonful of salt.

1 tablespoonful of butter or lard.

Milk.

Mix the soda and the salt with the flour, and sift them several times so they will be thoroughly mixed. Rub in the butter evenly. Stir in lightly with a fork enough sour milk to make a dough just stiff enough to roll. The dough can be left very soft if the board is well floured and the rolling-pin is used very lightly, patting the dough rather than rolling it. Roll it out quickly an inch thick. Cut it into small rounds. Bake in a quick oven twenty to thirty minutes. The dough can be rolled half an inch thick, and two rounds placed together with a small bit of butter between. They are then called twin biscuits. These biscuits may be made of sweet milk, in which case two rounding teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar must be used with the soda and mixed with the flour.

CORN BREAD No. 1

2 cupfuls of flour.

1½ cupfuls of cornmeal (yellow or white).

½ cupful of sugar.

1 saltspoonful of salt.

3 teaspoonfuls of baking powder.

1⅔ cupfuls of milk.

1 tablespoonful of butter or lard melted.

2 eggs.

Mix the flour, meal, salt, and baking-powder together thoroughly. Beat together the eggs and sugar; add the butter, then the flour mixture, and lastly mix in quickly the milk and turn into a flat pan to bake. Sour milk can be used instead of sweet milk, in which case a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a quarter of a cupful of hot water is used, and baking-powder is omitted.

CORN BREAD No. 2

1 cupful of fine cornmeal sifted.

1½ cupfuls of milk.

2 eggs.

1 tablespoonful of butter.

1 teaspoonful of baking-powder.

1 teaspoonful of sugar.

Scald the milk and pour it onto the sifted meal. Let it cool, then add the melted butter, salt, sugar, baking-powder, and yolks of the eggs. Stir it quickly and thoroughly together, and lastly fold in the whites of the eggs beaten to a stiff froth. Bake in a flat pan in a hot oven for thirty minutes.

PUFFS OR POP-OVERS

2 cupfuls of milk.

2 cupfuls of flour.

2 eggs (whites and yolks beaten separately).

1 teaspoonful of salt.

Mix the salt with the flour. Mix the beaten yolks with the milk, and add them slowly to the flour to make a smooth batter. Lastly fold in the whipped whites. Put the batter at once into hot greased gem-pans, filling them half full, and put into a hot oven for thirty minutes. Serve at once, as they fall as soon as the heat is lost.

GRAHAM GEMS

2 cupfuls of Graham flour.

1 cupful of milk.

1 cupful of water.

2 eggs.

½ teaspoonful of salt.

1 tablespoonful of sugar.

Mix the dry ingredients together; beat the eggs separately. Mix the milk with the salt and sugar; add the water, then the flour, and lastly fold in the whipped whites, and put at once into very hot greased gem-pans, filling them half full. Bake in a hot oven thirty minutes.

CORN GEMS

(MADE OF CORN FLOUR)

2 eggs.

1 cupful of corn flour.

½ cupful of white flour.

1 tablespoonful of butter.

1 cupful of milk.

1 teaspoonful of salt.

1 teaspoonful of baking-powder.

Break the yolks of the eggs; add to them milk, salt, and melted butter; mix them well together, then add the two kinds of flour. Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth; when they are ready, add the baking-powder to the flour mixture and then fold in lightly the whipped whites. Turn at once into warm gem-pans, a tablespoonful of batter into each one, and bake in a hot oven for fifteen minutes. This receipt can be used for any kind of flour.

MUFFINS No. 1

2 cupfuls of flour.

1 cupful of milk.

1 level tablespoonful of butter.

2 eggs (beaten separately).

½ teaspoonful of salt.

2 even teaspoonfuls of baking-powder.

Mix thoroughly the baking-powder and salt with the flour. Stir the milk and yolks together; add the butter, melted; then the flour, and lastly fold in the whipped whites. Turn into hot gem-pans, and bake at once in a very hot oven for fifteen to twenty minutes. Serve immediately.

RAISED MUFFINS

1 pint of milk, scalded.

½ compressed yeast-cake.

2 tablespoonfuls of butter.

1 tablespoonful of sugar.

1 teaspoonful of salt.

About 2½ cupfuls of flour.

Scald the milk, and add the butter, sugar and salt. When it has become lukewarm, add the yeast dissolved in a quarter cupful of lukewarm water. Stir in enough flour to make a drop batter, cover it well, place it in a warm place free from draughts, and let rise over night. In the morning stir it down, grease some muffin-rings, place them on a hot greased griddle, fill the rings half full of batter. It will rise to the top. Turn the muffins with a pancake turner and bake them on both sides until a thin brown crust is formed. Two eggs may be added to the batter in the morning if desired. If so, beat the yolks and whites separately and add the whites last.

ENGLISH MUFFINS OR CRUMPETS

Use the receipt for raised muffins, omitting the sugar and eggs. Do not bake them so much. Turn them before the crust becomes brown. When cold, pull them apart and toast them.

SALLY LUNN

This is the same as the receipt for Muffins No. 1, using three eggs instead of two, and baking it in a cake-tin instead of gem-pans. In this form it is served for luncheon or for tea.

WAFFLES

2 cupfuls of flour.

1 teaspoonful of baking-powder.

1¼ cupfuls of milk.

1 tablespoonful of butter, or lard, or cottolene.

½ teaspoonful of salt.

3 eggs beaten separately.

Mix the flour, baking-powder, and salt thoroughly together. Mix the yolks with the milk; then the melted butter, the flour, and lastly the beaten whites. Have the waffle-iron very clean; let it be thoroughly heated on both sides. Rub it over with a piece of salt pork, or with a piece of butter tied in a clean rag. Close the iron, and turn it so the grease will cover every part. Put enough batter into each section of the iron to fill it two-thirds full. Shut the iron, and cook the waffles a minute or longer on each side. Serve the waffles hot, using with them syrup or powdered sugar mixed with ground cinnamon.

HOMINY CAKE

Stir into one cupful of boiled hominy while it is still hot a teaspoonful of butter, one saltspoonful of salt, and the yolks of two eggs well beaten; add slowly a cupful of milk, and then a half cupful of fine cornmeal; lastly, fold in the whipped whites of two eggs. Bake in a flat tin in a hot oven for twenty to thirty minutes. Cold boiled hominy left over can be used for this dish by heating it with enough water to moisten it.

OAT CAKE

Mix oatmeal, which is ground fine, with a little salt and enough water to make a stiff dough. Roll it on a floured board to one eighth inch thickness, and bake it in one sheet in a slow oven without browning, until dry and hard. It should be gray in color. When done, break it into irregular pieces. This is a Scotch dish, and in Scotland is made with a fine oat flour, which is difficult to obtain in this country.

BRAN BISCUITS

1 pint of bran.

½ pint of flour.

½ pint of milk.

6 tablespoonfuls of molasses.

1 even teaspoonful of baking soda.

Mix the bran, flour, and soda together, mix the molasses and milk together, and add the flour mixture. Bake in gem-pans. Two of these biscuits eaten at each meal act as a laxative and cure for constipation. The receipt is furnished by a physician.

BREAD STICKS

Any bread-dough may be used, though that with shortening is preferred. After it is kneaded enough to be elastic, cut it into pieces half the size of an egg, roll it on the board into a stick the size of a pencil and a foot long. Lay the strips on a floured baking-tin or sheet. Let them rise a very little, and bake in a moderate oven, so they will dry without browning. Serve them with bouillon or soups, or with tea.

RUSKS

1 cupful of milk scalded.

2 tablespoonfuls of butter.

3 tablespoonfuls of sugar.

2 eggs.

½ cake of compressed yeast.

½ teaspoonful of salt.

Flour.

Make a sponge (see directions at head of chapter), using the milk, salt, and yeast. When it is full of bubbles, add the butter, sugar, and well-beaten eggs. Stir in enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead it for twenty minutes. Let it rise to double its bulk; then mold it into balls the size of half an egg. Place them rather close together in a baking-tin, and let them rise until very light. When they are ready to go into the oven, brush over the tops with sugar dissolved in milk, and sprinkle the tops with dry sugar. Bake in a hot oven about half an hour. Rusks must be well kneaded and be very light before being baked. A part of the dough set for bread may be made into rusks by adding to it an egg, sugar, and butter.

DRIED RUSKS

Cut rusks that are a day old into slices one half inch thick, and dry them in a slow oven until a fine golden color.

BATH BUNS

4 cupfuls of flour.

1 cupful of milk.

½ cupful of sugar.

¼ cupful of butter.

½ teaspoonful of salt.

½ nutmeg grated.

½ compressed yeast-cake.

3 eggs.

Mix the salt, sugar, and grated nutmeg with the flour. Scald the milk and melt the butter in it. Dissolve the yeast in a quarter cupful of lukewarm water. When the scalded milk has become lukewarm, add to it the dissolved yeast and the eggs, which have been well beaten, the yolks and whites separately; then add the flour. Use more flour than given in the receipt, if necessary, but keep the dough as soft as possible. Knead it on a board for twenty minutes. Let it rise over night in a warm place, well covered. In the morning turn it on to the molding-board, roll it and rub it lightly with butter, then fold it several times, cut it into pieces the size of a large egg, and mold it into balls. The folding is to make it peel off in layers when baked, but may be omitted if desired. Press into the side of each bun, after it is molded, a piece of citron and lump of sugar wet with lemon-juice. Place the buns in a baking-tin and let them rise to more than double their size. Brush the tops with egg diluted with water to give a brown crust. Bake in a moderate oven for half an hour. When baked, brush over the tops with sugar dissolved in milk, and return to the oven for a few minutes to glaze. Sprinkle a little powdered sugar over the tops as soon as they are removed from the oven.

COFFEE CAKE

Take two cupfuls of bread sponge, add one egg well beaten, a half cupful of sugar, a tablespoonful of butter, and a cupful of tepid water. Mix them well together, then add enough flour to make a thin dough. Let it rise until double in size. Turn it on a board, and roll it out an inch thick. Place it in a baking-tin, cutting it to fit the tin, and let it rise again until light. Just before placing it in the oven, spread over the top an egg beaten with a teaspoonful of sugar. Sprinkle over this some granulated sugar, and a few split blanched almonds. If preferred, the dough may be twisted and shaped into rings instead of being baked in sheets. This cake, which is a kind of bun, is, as well as bath buns, a good luncheon dish to serve in place of cake; or either of them, served with a cup of chocolate, makes a good light luncheon in itself.

BRIOCHE

Brioche is a kind of light bun mixture much used in France. It has many uses, and is much esteemed. It will not be found difficult or troublesome to make after the first trial. The paste once made can be used for plain brioche cakes, buns, rings, baba, savarins, fruit timbales (see page 406), cabinet puddings, etc.

1 cake of compressed yeast.

¼ cupful of lukewarm water.

1 quart of flour.

7 eggs.

¾ pound of butter.

½ teaspoonful of salt.

2 teaspoonfuls of sugar.

Dissolve the yeast-cake in a quarter of a cupful of lukewarm water. Stir it so it will be thoroughly mixed, then add enough flour to make a very soft ball of paste. Drop this ball into a pan of warm water (the water must not be hot, or it will kill the yeast plant). Cover, and set it in a warm place to rise, which will take about an hour. This is for leaven to raise the brioche. The ball of paste will sink to the bottom of the water at first, but will rise to the top later, and be full of bubbles.

Put the rest of the flour on a platter, and make a well in the center of it. Into this well put the butter, salt, sugar, and four eggs. Break the eggs in whole, and have the butter rather soft. Work them together with the hand, gradually incorporating the flour, and adding two more eggs, one at a time. Work and beat it with the hand until it loses its stickiness, which will take some time. When the leaven is sufficiently light, lift it out of the water with a skimmer, and place it with the dough. Work them together, add one more egg, the last of the seven, and beat it for a long time, using the hand. The longer it is beaten the better and the finer will be the grain. Put the paste in a bowl, cover, and let it rise to double its size, which will take four to five hours; then beat it down again, and place it on the ice for twelve or twenty-four hours. As beating and raising the paste require so much time, the work should be started the day before it is to be used.

After taking the paste from the ice, it will still be quite soft, and have to be handled delicately and quickly. It softens more as it becomes warm.

TO MAKE A BRIOCHE ROLL WITH HEAD

Take up carefully a little of the paste, and turn it into a ball about three inches in diameter; flatten it a little on top, and with a knife open a little place on top, and lay a small ball of paste into it. Let it rise to double its size, and bake in a moderate oven for twenty to thirty minutes. If a glazed top is wanted, brush it over with egg yolk diluted one half with water, before putting it in the oven. Serve hot or perfectly fresh.

TO MAKE A BRIOCHE CROWN OR RING

Roll the paste into a ball, roll it down to a thickness of half an inch, keeping the form round. Cut it several times through the middle, and twist the paste into a rope-like ring. Let it rise, brush the top with egg, and bake in a well-heated oven for about half an hour.

TO MAKE BUNS

Roll the paste into small balls, glaze the tops when ready to go into the oven, and bake about twenty minutes.

BRIOCHE FOR TIMBALE, OR CABINET PUDDINGS

When the brioche is to be used for timbales, or cabinet puddings, turn the paste into a cylindrical mold, filling it half full. Let it rise to the top of the mold, and bake in a hot oven for about half an hour.

PANCAKES

The batter for pancakes should be smooth, and thin enough to run freely when turned onto the griddle. In order to have all the cakes of the same size an equal quantity of batter must be used for each cake. It should be poured steadily at one point, so the batter will flow evenly in all directions, making the cake perfectly round. An iron spoonful of batter makes a cake of good size; but if a larger one is wanted, use a ladle or cup; for if the batter is put on the hot griddle by separate spoonfuls, the first becomes a little hardened before the second is added, and the cake will not be evenly baked, or have so good an appearance. Lastly, the baking is of great importance. The cakes must be well browned on both sides, the color even and uniform on every part. To effect this the griddle must be perfectly clean and evenly heated. A soap-stone griddle is the best, as it holds the heat well, and as it requires no greasing. The cakes baked thus are by some considered more wholesome. The griddle should stand on the range for some time before it is needed in order to get thoroughly and evenly heated. Where an iron griddle is used, it should also be given time to become evenly heated, and while the cakes are baking it should be moved so the edges may in turn come over the hottest part of the range. It must be wiped off and greased after each set of cakes is baked. A piece of salt pork on a fork is the best thing for greasing, as it makes an even coating, and too much grease is not likely to be used. An iron griddle is often allowed by careless cooks to collect a crust of burned grease around the edges. When in this condition, the cakes will not, of course, be properly baked. The griddle should be hot enough to hiss when the batter is turned onto it. Serve the cakes as soon as baked, in a folded napkin on a hot plate. Two plates should be used, so while one is being passed the next griddleful may be prepared to serve.

PLAIN PANCAKES

Stir two cupfuls of milk into two beaten eggs; add enough flour to make a thin batter. Add a half teaspoonful of salt and a heaping teaspoonful of baking-powder. Sour milk can be used, in which case omit the baking-powder and add a half teaspoonful of soda. The baking-powder or soda should not be put in until just before beginning to bake the cakes. The cakes will be lighter and better if the eggs are beaten separately, and the whipped whites added the last thing.

FLANNEL CAKES

1 tablespoonful of butter.

1 tablespoonful of sugar.

2 eggs.

2 cupfuls of flour.

Milk.

1 teaspoonful of baking-powder.

Rub the butter and sugar to a cream, add the beaten eggs, then the flour, in which the baking-powder has been sifted. Add enough milk to make a smooth, thin batter.

RICE PANCAKES

Make the same batter as for plain cakes, using half boiled rice and half flour. Any of the cereals—hominy, oatmeal, cracked wheat, etc.—can be used in the same way, utilizing any small quantities left over; a little butter is sometimes added.

BREAD PANCAKES

Soak stale bread in hot water until moistened; press out the water. To two cupfuls of softened bread, add two beaten eggs, a teaspoonful of salt, a half cupful of flour, and enough milk to make a thin, smooth batter; add, the last thing, a teaspoonful of baking-powder, or use soda if sour milk has been used in the batter.

CORNMEAL PANCAKES

Pour a little boiling water on a cupful of cornmeal, and let it stand half an hour. Add a teaspoonful of salt, a tablespoonful of sugar, one egg and two cupfuls of flour. Add enough milk to make a smooth batter, and a teaspoonful of baking-powder just before baking. Instead of white flour rye meal may be used: one cupful of rye to one of cornmeal, a tablespoonful of molasses instead of the sugar, and soda in place of baking-powder.

BUCKWHEAT CAKES

Scald a cupful of yellow meal in a quart of boiling milk. Add a half teaspoonful of salt; when cold add a quarter of a compressed yeast-cake, and enough buckwheat flour to make a soft batter. Beat it well together. Let it rise over night. In the morning stir in a tablespoonful of molasses and a teaspoonful of soda. Although the above method is the old and better way, these cakes can be made in the morning, and baking-powder used instead of yeast; in which case divide the batter, and add the baking-powder, one half at a time.

ADIRONDACK PANCAKES

Bake several pancakes as large as a plate. Butter, and cover them with maple syrup. Pile them one on another, and cut like a pie.

352-* Place the rolls far enough apart in the pan to give room for them to rise without running together.

Chapter XVI

SANDWICHES

SANDWICHES AND CANAPÉS

Sandwiches are usually the chief reliance for cold lunches, and are always acceptable if well made and attractively served. Where they are to be kept some time, as in traveling, they should be wrapped in oiled or paraffin paper, for this will keep them perfectly fresh.

Sandwiches may be made of white, Graham, or brown bread, or of fresh rolls, and may be filled with any kind of meat, with fish, with salads, with eggs, with jams, or with chopped nuts.

Shapes. They may be cut into any shapes, the square and triangular ones being the usual forms, but a pleasant variety may be given by stamping them with a biscuit-cutter into circles, or by rolling them, and these forms are recommended for sandwiches made of jams or jellies, as it gives them a more distinctive character.

How to prepare the meat. The meat used in sandwiches should be chopped to a fine mince, seasoned with salt and pepper, mustard, if desired, and moistened with a little water, stock, cream or milk, or with a salad dressing, using enough to make the mince spread well. Fish can be pounded to a paste, then seasoned. Potted meats can also be used. Slices of anything that has a fibrous texture make the sandwich difficult to eat, and as knives and forks are not usually at hand when sandwiches are served, it is desirable to make the primitive way of eating as little objectionable as possible.

Butter. The butter for sandwiches should be of the best, and should be soft enough to spread easily without tearing the bread. The butter may sometimes be worked into the meat paste. What are called “sandwich butters” are frequently used. They are made by rubbing the butter to a cream, combined with anchovy paste, with mustard, with chopped parsley and tarragon, with pâté de foie gras, etc.

These butters are used to spread the bread for meat sandwiches, using with the butter any flavoring that will go well with the meat.

See caption
BREAD-AND-BUTTER SANDWICHES.
Made of White, Graham, and Boston Brown Bread. (See page 364.)

Rolls. When rolls are used for sandwiches, they should be very fresh, should be small, and have a tender crust. The finger rolls are good for the purpose, also Parker House rolls, when made in suitable shape. Graham bread makes excellent sandwiches.

How to prepare the bread. Bread for sandwiches should be of fine grain and a day old. A five-cent loaf cuts to good advantage. The crust should be cut off, and the loaf trimmed to good shape before the slices are cut. The crusts and trimmings can be dried for crumbs, so they are not wasted, and no butter is lost in spreading bread which will afterward be trimmed off. When the bread is ready, the butter should be spread on the loaf, and then a slice cut off evenly one eighth of an inch thick. The next slice will have to be cut off before being spread, in order to have it fit exactly the preceding piece. After the first slice is covered with the filling, lay the second slice on it. In many cases the second slice of bread does not need spreading with butter. Cut the sandwich to the desired shape. One cut across the loaf will make two square, or four triangular, sandwiches.

Meat sandwiches. Poultry, game, ham, beef, and tongue can be prepared as directed above, or they may be mixed with a French or a Mayonnaise dressing. Chicken pounded to a paste, then well mixed with a paste made of the yolks of hard-boiled eggs mashed, a little milk or cream, and a little butter, then seasoned with salt, pepper, and a few drops of onion-juice, makes a delicious chicken sandwich.

Fish sandwiches. Anchovies, sardines, or any fresh boiled fish may be used for sandwiches. It is better pounded to a paste. Moisten sardines with a little lemon-juice.

Fresh fish should be well seasoned with salt and pepper, and moistened with a white or any other sauce, or with Mayonnaise. A little chopped pickle may be added. Shad roe, mashed with a fork to separate the eggs, and seasoned in the same way, makes excellent sandwiches.

Note.—Sandwiches of any kind which are left over are good toasted, and can be served at luncheon.—M. R.

EGG SANDWICHES

No. 1. Cut hard-boiled eggs into slices; sprinkle with salt and pepper plentifully, and spread the bread with butter mixed with chopped parsley.

No. 2. Lay the sliced eggs between crisp lettuce leaves, and spread the bread with butter, then with Mayonnaise.

No. 3. Chop the hard-boiled eggs fine. Mix with Mayonnaise and spread on the buttered bread, or mix them with well-seasoned white sauce.

SALAD SANDWICHES

No. 1. Lay a crisp lettuce leaf sprinkled with salt between buttered thin slices of bread; or spread the bread with Mayonnaise, then with lettuce or with water-cress.

No. 2. Chop chicken and celery together fine; mix it with French or with Mayonnaise dressing.

No. 3. Chop lobster meat; mix it with any dressing; cut lettuce into ribbons; cover the bread with the lettuce; then a layer of lobster; then with lettuce again.

No. 4. Mix chopped olives with Mayonnaise; serve with afternoon tea.

SPANISH SANDWICHES

Spread buttered Graham bread with mustard; then with a layer of cottage cheese; and then with a layer of chopped olives mixed with Mayonnaise.

CHEESE SANDWICHES

No. 1. Cut American cheese in slices one-eighth of an inch thick, or about the same thickness as the bread. Sprinkle it with salt, and have the bread well buttered.

No. 2. Cut Gruyère cheese in thin slices. Lay it on the bread, sprinkle it with salt and pepper; then add French mustard.

No. 3. Grate any cheese. Rub it to a paste with butter, and spread the bread; dust with salt and pepper. Cut into strips and serve with salad.

No. 4. Mock Crab. Rub to a smooth paste one tablespoonful of butter, two tablespoonfuls of grated cheese, a saltspoonful each of salt, paprica, and dry mustard, a little anchovy paste, and a teaspoonful of vinegar. Spread between thin slices of dry toast.

RAW BEEF SANDWICHES

Scrape the raw beef; spread it between thin slices of plain bread. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the sandwiches on a toaster, and hold them over the coals until well heated. Serve them hot.

SWEET SANDWICHES

No. 1. For Æsthetic Sandwiches, see chapter “Five O’clock Tea,” page 33.

No. 2. Spread thin slices of bread with any jam, or with fruit jelly, or with any preserved fruit, or with chopped canned fruit. Cut them into circles, or roll them as directed above.

No. 3. Spread very thin buttered slices of Boston brown bread with chopped walnuts, or with chopped almonds, or with both mixed, or with salted nuts chopped.

CANAPÉS

Canapés are slices of bread toasted or fried in hot fat, or dipped in butter, and browned in the oven. The slices are then covered with some seasoned mixture. They are served hot, and make a good first course for luncheon. The bread is cut a quarter of an inch thick, then into circles two and a half inches in diameter, or into strips four inches long and two inches wide. They are sometimes used cold, and are arranged fancifully with different-colored meats, pickles, eggs, etc.

CHEESE CANAPÉS

Cut bread into slices one quarter inch thick, four inches long and two inches wide. Spread it with butter, and sprinkle it with salt and cayenne or paprica. Cover the top with grated American cheese, or with grated Parmesan cheese, and bake in the oven until the cheese is softened. Serve at once, before the cheese hardens.

HAM CANAPÉS

Cut bread into slices a quarter inch thick, then with a small biscuit-cutter into circles; fry them in hot fat, or sauté them in butter. Pound some chopped ham to a paste; moisten it with cream or milk. Spread it on the fried bread; dust with cayenne, sprinkle the top with grated Parmesan cheese, and place in a hot oven until a little browned.

ANCHOVY CANAPÉS

Spread strips of fried bread with anchovy paste. Arrange in lines, on top, alternate rows of the white and yolks of hard-boiled eggs chopped fine.

SARDINE CANAPÉS

Spread circles of fried bread with a layer of sardines pounded to a paste. Arrange on top, in circles to resemble a rosette, lines of chopped hard-boiled egg and chopped pickle.

CANAPÉ LORENZO

2 tablespoonfuls of butter.

2 tablespoonfuls of flour.

1 slice of onion.

1 cupful of stock.

1 cupful of crab meat.

1 tablespoonful of milk.

2½ tablespoonfuls of grated Parmesan cheese.

2½ tablespoonfuls of Swiss cheese.

Salt, pepper, and cayenne.

Put in a saucepan one tablespoonful of butter, and fry in it one slice of onion chopped fine, but do not brown; then add one tablespoonful of flour and cook, but do not brown; add the stock slowly, and when smooth add the cooked crab meat. Season highly with salt, pepper, and cayenne, and let simmer for six or eight minutes.

Put into another saucepan one tablespoonful of butter; when melted, add one tablespoonful of flour and cook, but not brown; then add the milk and stir in the cheese, and let cook just long enough to soften the cheese. Remove from the fire and let cool; then form the cheese mixture into six balls. Have ready six slices or circles of buttered toast, or bread fried in butter, and cover them with a layer of the crab mixture, and in the center of each piece place a ball of the cheese. Place in a hot oven for five minutes.

This is a good supper dish, and may be made of lobster, fish, or chicken.

Serve with water-cress.

CHEESE AND CHEESE DISHES

Varieties. Among the best cheeses are Stilton, Cheshire, Camembert, Gorgonzola, Rocquefort, Edam, Gruyère, and Parmesan. The Parmesan is a high-flavored, hard Italian cheese, and is mostly used grated for cooking. Our American dairy cheeses are much esteemed, and are largely exported to foreign markets; but as they have no distinctive names, it is difficult to find a second time any one that is particularly liked. The Pineapple cheese is the only one that differs radically from the other so-called American cheeses. The foreign cheeses are, nearly all of them, very successfully imitated here. Cheese is served with crackers, wafer biscuits, or with celery after the dessert, or with salad before the hot dessert. Any of the cheese dishes, such as soufflé, ramekins, omelets, etc., are served before the dessert. Cheese straws are used with salad. Serving. Cheeses small enough to be passed whole, like Edam, Pineapple, etc., have the top cut off, plain or in notches, and are wrapped in a neatly plaited napkin. The top is replaced after the service, so as to keep the cheese moist. A Stilton or Chester cheese is cut in two, and one half, wrapped in a napkin, served at a time. Rocquefort and Gorgonzola are served in the large slice cut from the cheese and laid on a folded napkin. American dairy cheese is cut into small uniform pieces. The soft cheeses, Brie, Neuchâtel, etc., are divested of the tinfoil and scraped before being passed. They are placed on a lace paper. Fresh butter, wafer biscuits, and celery are passed with cheese.

CHEESE SOUFFLÉ

2 tablespoonfuls of butter.

1 heaping tablespoonful of flour.

½ cupful of milk.

½ teaspoonful of salt.

Dash of cayenne.

3 eggs.

1 cupful of grated cheese.

Put into a saucepan the butter; when it is melted stir in the flour and let it cook a minute (but not color), stirring all the time; add one half cupful of milk slowly and stir till smooth, then add salt and cayenne. Remove from the fire and add, stirring constantly, the beaten yolks of three eggs and the cupful of grated American or Parmesan cheese. Replace it on the fire, and stir until the cheese is melted and the paste smooth and consistent (do not cook too long, or the butter will separate). Pour the mixture on a buttered dish and set away to cool. When ready to use, stir into it lightly the well-beaten whites of the three eggs; turn it into a pudding-dish and bake in a hot oven for twenty to thirty minutes. Do not open the oven door for ten minutes; do not slam the oven door; do not move the soufflé until after fifteen minutes; serve it at once when done. Like any soufflé, it must go directly from the oven to the table, or it will fall.

CRACKERS AND CHEESE

Split in two some Bent’s water biscuits; moisten them with hot water and pour over each piece a little melted butter and French mustard; then spread with a thick layer of grated cheese; sprinkle with paprica or cayenne. Place them in a hot oven until the cheese is soft and creamy.

CHEESE CANAPÉS

Cut bread into slices one half inch thick; stamp them with a biscuit cutter into circles; then, moving the cutter to one side, cut them into crescent form; or, if preferred, cut the bread into strips three inches long and one and one half inches wide; sauté them in a little butter on both sides to an amber color. Cover them with a thick layer of grated cheese; sprinkle with salt, pepper, and dash of cayenne. Fifteen minutes before the time to serve, place them in the oven to soften the cheese. Serve at once very hot; or, cut some toasted bread into small triangles; spread with a little French mustard; dip in melted butter; then roll in grated cheese; sprinkle with salt, pepper, and dash of cayenne, and place in a hot oven for a few minutes to soften the cheese. Serve at once on a hot dish.

WELSH RABBIT

1 pound of cheese.

½ cupful of ale or beer.

Dash of cayenne.

½ teaspoonful of dry mustard.

½ teaspoonful of salt.

Slices of toast.

Grate or cut into small pieces fresh American cheese. Place it in a saucepan or chafing-dish with three quarters of the ale. Stir until it is entirely melted; then season with the mustard, salt, and pepper, and pour it over the slices of hot toast, cut in triangles or circles. Everything must be very hot, and it must be served at once, as the cheese quickly hardens. Some use a scant teaspoonful of butter (more will not unite), a few drops of onion-juice, and the beaten yolks of two eggs, added just before serving. The egg makes it a little richer and prevents the cheese hardening so quickly. Milk may be used instead of ale to melt the cheese, in which case the egg should also be used. If any of the cheese fondu is left, it can be heated again with the rest of the ale for the second helping.

GOLDEN BUCK

Make Welsh rarebits as directed above, and place on each one a poached egg (see page 263).

CHEESE STRAWS

Mix with one cupful of flour one half cupful of grated Parmesan cheese, a dash of cayenne, one half teaspoonful of salt, and the yolk of one egg; then add enough water to make a paste sufficiently consistent to roll. Place it on a board and roll to one quarter inch thickness. Cut it into narrow strips and roll so each piece will be the size and length of a lead pencil. Place them in a baking-tin and press each end on the pan so they will not contract. Bake to a light brown in a moderate oven. Serve with salad. These straws will keep for several days, and should be heated just before serving.

CHEESE STRAWS No. 2

Take bits of puff paste; roll them to one half inch thickness; cut them into strips one inch wide and three inches long; sprinkle them with grated cheese and bake; or, the pastry may be rolled to one quarter inch thickness; then spread with cheese, doubled over, and then cut into strips, leaving the cheese between two layers of paste.

CHEESE PATTIES

Make some small round croustades as directed (page 82). Dip them in butter and toast them in the oven to a delicate color. Fill the centers with a mixture of two ounces of grated cheese, one half tablespoonful of butter, one tablespoonful of milk, a little salt and pepper. Place the croustades again in the oven to melt the cheese. Serve very hot.

COTTAGE CHEESE

Place a panful of milk which has soured enough to become thick, or clabbered, over a pan of hot water. Let it heat slowly until the whey has separated from the curd; do not let it boil, or the curd will become tough; then strain it through a cloth and press out all the whey; stir into the curd enough butter, cream, and salt to make it a little moist and of good flavor. Work it well with a spoon until it becomes fine grained and consistent, then mold it into balls of any size desired.

FONDUE

See page 335.

Chapter XVII

SALADS

Drying the salad. Nearly all the meats, vegetables, and fruits may be served as salads. The essential thing is to have the salad fresh and cold; and if green, to have the leaves crisp and dry. If any water is left on leaves, the dressing will not adhere to them, but will run to the bottom of the dish, and both the salad and the dressing will be poor. All greens should be carefully washed in cold water to free them from dust and insects, and to make them crisp. After they have stood fifteen to twenty minutes in cold or ice water, free them from moisture by swinging them in a wire basket, or dry, without bruising, each leaf carefully with a napkin. The dressing is added only at the moment of serving, as the salad wilts if allowed to stand after the dressing is added. The green salads are the most simple of any, and are especially worthy the little care required to make them perfect.

Cutting the meat. Meat of any kind used for salads should be cut into dice, but not smaller than one half inch, or it will seem like hash. It should be marinated before being mixed with the other parts of the salad. Meat mixtures are usually piled in cone-shape on a dish, the Mayonnaise then spread over it, and garnished with lettuce, capers, hard-boiled eggs, gherkins, etc.

Marinating. To Marinate.—Take one part of oil and three of vinegar, with pepper and salt to taste; stir them into the meat, and let it stand a couple of hours; drain off any of the marinade which has not been absorbed, before combining the meat with the other parts of the salad. Use only enough marinade to season the meat.

French dressing is used with green vegetable salads, and either Mayonnaise or French dressing with potato and tomato salads.

Fish salads. Lettuce, water-cress, fetticus, sorrel, or other leaf salads are better with French dressing. A boiled fish can be served whole as a salad for suppers or luncheons, or in hot weather as a fish course for dinner. It may be covered, all but the head and tail, with a thick coating of green or red jelly Mayonnaise (see page 290), and elaborately decorated with capers, olives, gherkins, hard-boiled eggs, and lettuce. Salmon, blue fish, bass, or any firm fish, serves this purpose. Fish may also be cut into cutlets of equal size and shape, and covered with jelly Mayonnaise garnished in the same way.

Nasturtium blossoms make a good garnish, and also add a good flavor to green salads.

MAYONNAISE

The receipts for Mayonnaise are given on pages 288-290. White Mayonnaise, instead of that having the color of the eggs, is the fancy of to-day. The yolks will whiten by being stirred before the oil is added, and lemon-juice, used instead of vinegar, also serves to whiten the dressing; so it is not always necessary to add whipped cream, although the cream gives a very delicate and delicious Mayonnaise. The jelly Mayonnaise is used for molded salads, and will be found very good, as well as useful, for the class of salads served at suppers, etc.

FRENCH DRESSING

This dressing is the most simple, and the best one to use with green salads for dinner. The proportions are one tablespoonful of vinegar to three of oil, one half teaspoonful of salt, and one quarter teaspoonful of pepper. Mix the salt and pepper with the oil; then stir in slowly the vinegar, and it will become white and a little thickened, like an emulsion. Some like a dash of paprica or red pepper. When intended for lettuce salad it is much improved by using a little tarragon vinegar with the wine vinegar. More oil may be used if preferred, but the mixture should be so blended as to taste of neither the oil nor the vinegar.

LETTUCE SALAD

Use only the tender leaves. Let them stand half an hour in cold water to become crisp. Rub the inside of the salad bowl lightly with an onion. Wipe the lettuce leaves perfectly dry without bruising them, and arrange them in the bowl in circles, the heart leaves in the center. Sprinkle over them a teaspoonful of mixed tarragon, parsley, and chives, chopped fine; pour over the French dressing, and toss them lightly together. French lettuce salads always have chopped herbs mixed with them, and they are a great improvement to the salad. If all of them are not at hand, any one of them may be used alone. The salad should be put together only just before being served, or its crispness will be lost. Nasturtium blossoms, small radishes cut into flowers, or a few white chicory leaves may be used with plain lettuce salad.

WATER-CRESS AND APPLES

Prepare the water-cress the same as lettuce, letting it become crisp in cold water, then drying it thoroughly. Mix it with French dressing. A few thin slices of sour apple with water-cress makes a good salad to serve with ducks.

A chopped hard-boiled egg sprinkled over the top of water-cress is a good garnish, and improves the salad.

See caption
SALAD OF WATER-CRESS GARNISHED WITH RADISHES CUT TO RESEMBLE ROSES.

CELERY SALAD

Wash and scrape the tender stalks of celery, cut them into one quarter inch pieces, or into straws two inches long, or cut them in pieces one and a half inches long, and slice them in small strips nearly to the end; place them in ice-water for a few minutes to curl them. Mix the celery with either French or Mayonnaise dressing, and garnish with lettuce leaves or celery tops.

CUCUMBER AND TOMATO SALAD

Slice cucumbers and tomatoes into pieces of equal thickness, and lay them alternately around a bunch of white lettuce leaves. Pass separately either a French or Mayonnaise dressing, or both.

CUCUMBER SALAD TO SERVE WITH FISH

Peel the cucumbers, and place them in cold water to become crisp. Do not use salt in the water, as is sometimes recommended, as it wilts and makes them indigestible. Cut the cucumbers in two lengthwise, and lay them, with the flat side down, on the dish on which they are to be served. Slice them without destroying their shape, and pour on them a French dressing.

CUCUMBERS CUT IN HALVES LENGTHWISE AND THEN SLICED TO SERVE WITH FISH.
CUCUMBERS CUT IN HALVES LENGTHWISE AND THEN SLICED TO SERVE WITH FISH.

STRING-BEAN SALAD

Cut each bean in four strips lengthwise; lay them evenly together and boil in salted water until tender. Remove them carefully and drain. When they are cold and ready to serve, pile them on a flat dish, trim the ends even, and pour over them slowly a French dressing. Garnish with parsley, white chicory leaves or nasturtium leaves.

See caption
STRING-BEAN SALAD.

BEAN SALADS

Boiled navy beans, flageolets, or Lima beans may be mixed with French or Mayonnaise dressing, and garnished with hard-boiled eggs and parsley.

CAULIFLOWER SALAD

Break the vegetable into flowerets; season with salt, pepper, and a little vinegar and oil. Pile them in a pyramid on a dish, and pour over them a white Mayonnaise. Arrange around the base a border of carrots or beets, cut into dice or fancy shapes, to give a line of color. Place a floweret of cauliflower on the top of the pyramid.

MACÉDOINE SALAD

This salad is composed of a mixture of vegetables. The vegetables are boiled separately; the large ones are then cut into dice of equal size. The salad is more attractive when the vegetables are cut with fancy cutters or with a small potato-scoop. Peas, flageolets, string beans, flowerets of cauliflower, beets, celery roots, asparagus points, carrots, and turnips—all, or as many as convenient, may be used. Mix them lightly with French dressing or with Mayonnaise. If the latter, marinate them first. Be careful not to break the vegetables when mixing them. Arrange lettuce leaves like a cup, and place the macédoine in the center.

POTATO SALAD

Boil the potatoes with the skins on; when cold remove the skins and cut them into slices three eighths inch thick, or into dice three quarters inch thick, or cut the potatoes into balls with a scoop; sprinkle them with a little grated onion and parsley, chopped very fine. Turn over them a French dressing. They will absorb a great deal. Toss them lightly together, but do not break the potatoes, which are very tender. A Mayonnaise dressing is also very good with marinated potatoes. A mixture of beets and potatoes with Mayonnaise is also used. Garnish with lettuce, chopped yolk of hard-boiled egg and capers. In boiling potatoes for salad, do not steam them after they are boiled, as they should not be mealy. New or German potatoes are best for salad.

COLD SLAW

Shred a firm cabbage very fine. Mix it with a French dressing, using an extra quantity of salt, or put into a bowl the yolks of three eggs, one half cupful of vinegar (if it is very strong dilute it with water), one tablespoonful of butter, one half teaspoonful each of mustard and pepper, and one teaspoonful each of sugar and salt. Beat them together, place the bowl in a pan of boiling water, and stir until it becomes a little thickened. Pour this while hot over the cabbage, and set it away to cool.

HOT SLAW

Place shredded cabbage in a saucepan with enough salted boiling water to cover it. Boil it until tender, but not so long as to lose shape; turn it onto a sieve and drain it well in a warm place. Pour over the drained cabbage a hot Béarnaise sauce.

Cabbage salads are good to serve with fried oysters, meat fritters, or chops.

The boiled cabbage, cold, may be used with French dressing.

TOMATO SALADS

To remove the skins from tomatoes, place them in a wire-basket, and plunge them into boiling water for a minute. This is better than letting them soak in the water, which softens them if left too long.

No. 1.

Select tomatoes of the same size and shape; peel, and place them on ice until ready to use; then cut each one in two and place on each piece a teaspoonful of Mayonnaise. Dress them on a bed of lettuce leaves; or, slice the tomatoes without breaking their form, place each one on a leaf of lettuce, cover the tomato with Mayonnaise, and sprinkle over a little parsley chopped fine; or scoop out a little of the center from the stem end and fill it with dressing.

An attractive salad is made of the small yellow tomatoes which resemble plums. Remove the skin carefully; let them get thoroughly cold; then pile them on a dish the same as fruit, garnish with leaves of lettuce, and pour over them a French dressing.

No. 2. STUFFED TOMATOES

Select round tomatoes of equal size; peel and scoop from the stem end a part of the center. Place them on ice until ready to serve; then fill them with celery cut fine and mixed with Mayonnaise. Let it rise above the top of the tomato. Put a little Mayonnaise on small lettuce leaves, and place a stuffed tomato on the dressing in the center of each leaf. Arrange them in a circle on a flat dish. Tomatoes may be stuffed in the same way with chopped veal, celery and veal or chicken, celery and sweetbreads, or chopped hard-boiled eggs and shredded lettuce.

TOMATOES STUFFED WITH CELERY AND MAYONNAISE STANDING ON LETTUCE LEAVES.
TOMATOES STUFFED WITH CELERY AND MAYONNAISE STANDING ON LETTUCE LEAVES.

No. 3. TOMATOES AND EGGS

Prepare the tomatoes as above; partly fill them with Mayonnaise, and press into each one the half of a hard-boiled egg, letting the rounded top rise a little above the tomato. Serve on lettuce as above.

No. 4. MOLDED TOMATOES

Select small round tomatoes. Stuff them in any way directed above, but do not let the filling project beyond the opening. Place individual molds on ice. Small cups will do; pour in one eighth of an inch of clear aspic or chicken aspic (see page 323); when it has set, place in each one a tomato, the whole side down; add enough jelly to fix the tomato without floating it. When that has set, add enough more to entirely cover it (see Fancy Molding, page 323). Turn each molded tomato onto the plate on which it is to be served, and arrange around it a wreath of shredded lettuce. Pass Mayonnaise dressing separately.

No. 5. TOMATO JELLY

½ can or 2 cupfuls of tomatoes.

3 cloves.

1 bay-leaf.

1 slice of onion.

½ teaspoonful of thyme.

1 teaspoonful of salt.

1 teaspoonful of sugar.

¼ teaspoonful of pepper.

¼ box or ½ ounce of Cooper’s gelatine, soaked in ½ cupful of water.

Boil together the tomatoes, spices, and onion until the tomato is soft; then add the soaked gelatine, and stir until the gelatine is dissolved; then strain and pour it into a border or ring-shaped mold to set. Serve with the center of the jelly-ring filled with celery cut into pieces, into straws, or curled, and mixed with Mayonnaise. Form outside the ring a wreath of shredded lettuce.

This jelly may also be molded in a solid piece and surrounded by the celery. (See illustration opposite page 384.)

See caption
TOMATO JELLY MOLDED IN RING, THE CENTER FILLED WITH CURLED CELERY AND MAYONNAISE—LETTUCE CUT INTO RIBBONS AROUND THE OUTSIDE. (SEE PAGE 381.)

CELERY AND WALNUT SALAD

Mix with the celery, cut into small pieces, one third the quantity of English walnut meats broken in two, and enough Mayonnaise to well moisten it. Garnish with lettuce.

SWEETBREADS WITH CELERY

Cut cold cooked sweetbreads into dice and mix with an equal quantity of celery. Cover with Mayonnaise and garnish with lettuce.

EGG SALAD No. 1

Cut hard-boiled eggs (see page 262) into thick slices or into quarters. Use a sharp knife so the cuts will be clean. Arrange each portion on a leaf of lettuce partly covered with Mayonnaise, and arrange the lettuce in a circle on a flat dish, the stem of the leaf toward the center of the dish. Place a bunch of nasturtium flowers or a bunch of white chicory leaves in the middle. (See illustration.)

See caption
SALAD OF SLICED HARD-BOILED EGGS ARRANGED ON LETTUCE LEAVES, THE STALK ENDS OF THE LEAVES MEETING IN THE CENTER OF THE DISH.

No. 2

Cut hard-boiled eggs in two, making the cut one third from the pointed end. Remove the yolks without breaking the whites; mash them and mix with chicken, chopped fine, and enough Mayonnaise to bind them. Fill the large half of the egg with the mixture, rounding it on top like a whole yolk. Invert the small pieces of white. Cut the pointed ends of both pieces flat, and stick them together with raw white of egg. Place the vase-shaped eggs on a flat dish, and fill the spaces with shredded lettuce. Pass Mayonnaise, as that put in the yolks will not be sufficient. (See illustration.)

See caption
SALAD OF STUFFED EGGS GARNISHED WITH LETTUCE CUT INTO RIBBONS. (SEE PAGE 381.)

ORANGE SALAD

Use for this salad sour oranges; if these cannot be obtained, strain over sweet oranges after they are sliced a little lemon-juice. Cut the oranges in thick slices, remove the seeds carefully, arrange them in rows, and turn over them a dressing made of one tablespoonful of lemon-juice to three of oil, with salt, and cayenne, or paprica to taste. Serve with game.

Grape fruit may be used the same way, and walnut meats used with either.

CHICKEN SALAD

Cut cold cooked chicken into dice one half inch square, or into pieces of any shape, but not too small. Use only the white meat, if very particular as to appearance, but the dark meat is also good. Veal is sometimes substituted for chicken. Wash and scrape the tender stalks of celery. Cut them into small pieces, and dry them well. Use two thirds as much celery as chicken. Marinate the chicken as directed at the head of chapter. Keep it in a cold place until ready to serve; then mix with it the celery, and add lightly a little Mayonnaise. Place the mixture in a bowl, smooth the top, leaving it high in the center; cover it with Mayonnaise. Garnish with hard-boiled eggs, the whites and yolks chopped separately; also with sliced pickle, stoned olives, capers, lettuce-leaves, celery-tops, etc. Arrange any or all of these in as fanciful design as desired. Shredded lettuce may be used instead of celery if more convenient.

LOBSTER SALAD

Cut the boiled lobster into one inch pieces or larger. Marinate it, and keep in a cool place until ready to serve; then mix with it lightly a little Mayonnaise. Place it in the salad bowl; smooth the top, leaving it high in the center. Mask it with a thick covering of Mayonnaise. Sprinkle over it the powdered coral of the lobster. Place on top the heart of a head of lettuce, and around the salad a thick border of crisp lettuce-leaves, carefully selected.

Shad roe, canned salmon, or any firm white fish mixed with Mayonnaise, and garnished with lettuce, may be served as a salad.

OYSTER SALAD

Scald the oysters in their own liquor until plump and frilled. Drain, and let them get very cold and dry. If large oysters, cut each one with a silver knife into four pieces. Just before serving mix them with Mayonnaise or Tartare sauce, and serve each portion on a leaf of lettuce. Celery may be mixed with oysters, and served the same way.

BOUILLI SALAD

Cut beef that has been boiled for soup into half-inch dice. Marinate it, using a little grated onion with the marinade. Mix it lightly with some cold boiled potatoes cut into half-inch dice, and some parsley chopped fine. Pour over it a French dressing, or Mayonnaise. Garnish with hard-boiled eggs and lettuce.

RUSSIAN SALAD

Fill the outside of a double mold with clear aspic jelly (see page 321), and the center with a macédoine of vegetables, or with celery, or with any one vegetable. Marinate the vegetables; then mix them with Mayonnaise made with jelly instead of eggs (see page 290). Cover the top with jelly so the vegetables will be completely enclosed (see directions for double molding, page 325). Turn the form of salad on a flat dish, and garnish with shredded lettuce.

See caption
RUSSIAN MACÉDOINE SALADS WITH ASPIC. PINK AND WHITE OUTSIDE, CENTER FILLED WITH CELERY, PEAS AND BEANS, MIXED WITH CHICKEN ASPIC.

1. Turnip.

2. Beet.

3. Truffle.

4. Red beets.

5. Slices of hard-boiled egg.

6. Olives.

7. Turnip.

8. Beet.

9. Turnip.

INDIVIDUAL RUSSIAN SALADS

Ornament the bottom of small timbale-molds with carrot cut into fancy shape in the center, and a row of green peas around the edge. Add enough clear aspic or chicken jelly to fix them, then fill the mold with jelly; when it has hardened, scoop out carefully with a hot spoon some of the jelly from the center, and fill the space at once with a macédoine of vegetables mixed with jelly Mayonnaise as above. Serve each form on a leaf of lettuce. Pass Mayonnaise separately.

Note.—Molds of salad in aspic may be elaborately decorated with rows of different-colored vegetables, or they may be arranged in layers like the aspic of pâté.

Individual salads, when served for suppers, buffet lunches, etc., may be placed around graduated socles in a pyramid. Decorations of capers and parsley, also of truffles and tongue, are suitable for Russian salads.

See caption
INDIVIDUAL SALADS.

1. Pâté de foie gras and aspic jelly in layers. Daisy decoration made of hard-boiled egg.

2. Russian Salad decorated with green peas or capers.

ASPIC OF PÂTÉ EN BELLEVUE

Ornament the bottom of individual timbale molds with a daisy design made of hard-boiled egg as directed, page 326; fix it with a little jelly; then add a layer of jelly one quarter inch thick, and a layer of pâté de foie gras alternately until the mold is full. Any forcemeat may be used in the same way. Turn the molds onto a flat dish and surround them with shredded lettuce, or place them on an ornamented socle. Pass Mayonnaise. (See illustration facing page 328.)

See caption
PÂTÉ DE FOIE GRAS EN BELLEVUE. SLICES OF PÂTÉ ALTERNATING WITH ASPIC—MOLDED IN INDIVIDUAL TIMBALE MOLDS. FORMS STANDING ON RICE SOCLE DECORATED WITH TONGUE AND PICKLE—GARNISHED WITH BUNCH OF RED CARNATIONS.

CHICKEN ASPIC WITH WALNUTS

Make a clear chicken consommé (see page 100). To one and one half cupfuls of the consommé add one half box of Cox’s gelatine soaked for one half hour in one half cupful of cold water. Ornament the bottom of a quart Charlotte mold with a daisy design with leaf, as given page 326. Add a layer of jelly one quarter inch thick, and then fill the outside of double mold with jelly. (See double molding, page 325.) Fill the center with one and a half cupfuls of celery cut rather fine, and one half cupful of English walnuts, broken to same size as the celery. Mix them with a dressing made of

3 tablespoonfuls of melted chicken jelly.

2 tablespoonfuls of oil.

1 teaspoonful of salt.

1 teaspoonful of vinegar.

½ teaspoonful of tarragon vinegar.

¼ teaspoonful of pepper.

Cover the top with jelly, so as to completely enclose the celery mixture. Turn it onto a flat dish, and place around it a wreath of shredded lettuce. This is a very delicious salad, and well repays the trouble of preparation.

BIRD’S-NEST SALAD

Rub a little green coloring paste into cream cheese, giving it a delicate color like birds’ eggs. Roll it into balls the size of birds’ eggs, using the back or smooth side of butter-pats.

Arrange on a flat dish some small well-crimped lettuce leaves; group them to look like nests, moisten them with French dressing, and place five of the cheese balls in each nest of leaves. The cheese balls may be varied by flecking them with black, white, or red pepper.

The nests may be made of shredded lettuce if preferred.

Chapter XVIII

COLD DESSERTS

UTENSILS

Illustration No. 1, Egg-beaters.—No. 1, Dover beater; Nos. 2 and 3, Wire Whips; No. 4, Daisy beater.

No. 1. EGG WHIPS.
No. 1.
EGG WHIPS.

1. Dover Beater.

2. Wire Spoon.

3. Wire Whip.

4. Daisy Beater.

Illustration No. 2, Jelly Molds.—No. 1, Two Charlotte Russe molds to use for double molding; No. 2, cylindrical mold for Charlottes, Bavarians, cornstarch, etc.; Nos. 3 and 4, ring molds.

No. 2. JELLY MOLDS.
No. 2.
JELLY MOLDS.

1. Two Charlotte Molds for double molding.

2. Cylindrical Mold.

3, 4. Ring Molds.

Illustration No. 3.—No. 1, jelly mold packed in ice ready to be filled; No. 2, smaller mold to fit inside for double molding.

See caption
No. 3.
JELLY MOLDS.

1. Mold packed in ice for fancy molding.

2. Smaller Mold of same shape to fit into No. 1 for double molding.
(See page 325.)

Illustration No. 4.—Pastry bag and tubes.

See caption
No. 4.
PASTRY BAG AND TUBES.

Illustration No. 5.—Paper for filtering fruit juices.

See caption
No. 5.
PAPER FOR FILTERING FRUIT JUICES.

Illustration No. 6.—No. 1, lace papers to use under cake, puddings, jellies, individual creams, bonbons, etc.; also for timbales; No. 2, paper boxes and china cups to use for individual soufflés, biscuits, glacé oranges and grapes, creamed strawberries, and cherries; also for creamed chicken, and fish, salpicon, etc.

See caption
No. 6.
LACE PAPERS, PAPER BOXES, AND CHINA BOX.

The china cups are useful for the latter purposes.

The rectangular paper boxes are easily made. For boxes 3¼ x 1¾ inches, cut heavy unruled writing paper into pieces 5¾ x 7¼ inches; fold down an edge two inches wide all around; fold it back again on itself, giving a border one inch broad. Cut the corners at the black line, as shown in diagram, and fold the box together. The ends will fit under the folds, and hold the box in shape. A little more stability may be given the box by taking a stitch at each corner, and letting the thread run around the top of the box under the flap.

Drawing showing where to fold the paper

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

4 gills
=
1 pint.

2 pints
=
1 quart.

4 quarts
=
1 gallon.

16 ounces
=
1 pound

½ kitchen cupful
=
1 gill.

1 kitchen cupful
=
½ pint or 2 gills.

4 kitchen cupfuls
=
1 quart.

}2 cupfuls of granulated sugar
2½ cupfuls of powdered sugar
=
1 pound.

1 heaping tablespoonful of sugar
=
1 ounce.

}1 heaping tablespoonful of butter
Butter size of an egg
=
2 oz. or ¼ cupful

1 cupful of butter
=
½ pound.

}4 cupfuls of flour
1 heaping quart
=
1 pound.

8 round tablespoonfuls of dry material
=
1 cupful.

16 tablespoonfuls of liquid
=
1 cupful.

PROPORTIONS

5 to 8 eggs to 1 quart of milk for custards.

3 to 4 eggs to 1 pint of milk for custards.

1 saltspoonful of salt to 1 quart of milk for custards.

1 teaspoonful of vanilla to one quart of milk for custards.

2 ounces of gelatine to 1¾ quarts of liquid.

4 heaping tablespoonfuls of cornstarch to 1 quart of milk.

3 heaping teaspoonfuls of baking-powder to 1 quart of flour.

1 even teaspoonful of baking-powder to 1 cupful of flour.

1 teaspoonful of soda to 1 pint of sour milk.

1 teaspoonful of soda to ½ pint of molasses.

MATERIALS

Gelatine. Cooper’s gelatine costs eight cents a box, holding two ounces. Unless perfectly transparent jelly, without clarifying, is required, it serves as well as the more expensive brands. Cox’s gelatine costs fifteen cents a box, containing one and one half ounces. It is clear, and needs only to be strained to make a transparent jelly.

Isinglass comes in thin sheets, is very clear, and makes a brilliant jelly. It costs ten cents an ounce, and there are eight and one half sheets of the white, thirteen sheets of the red, to an ounce.

For dissolving and proportions, see page 412.

Chocolate. Unsweetened chocolate costs about thirty-eight cents a pound. It is usually divided into squares weighing one ounce each. Sweetened chocolate costs about fifty cents per pound, and is usually divided into bars, each weighing a little less than one and a quarter ounces.

To melt chocolate. Break the chocolate into pieces, and put them into a dry pan on the fire, where the heat is moderate. The chocolate melts quickly, and must be carefully watched, or it will burn. Add a few spoonfuls of milk to melted chocolate to dissolve it before adding it to custards.

To whip eggs. Do not let a particle of the yolk get into the whites. Add a little salt, and they will whip more quickly. The “daisy beater,” with the handle bent, as shown in illustration, is an excellent one for whipping eggs. Hold it flat, and whip with an upward motion.

Sweetening. One tablespoonful of powdered sugar to the white of one egg is the right proportion for sweetening meringue. Add but one spoonful of sugar at a time, place it on the side of the dish, and beat it in gradually from below. This will destroy the air-cells less, and leave the egg lighter than sprinkling the sugar over the top.

To whip cream. To whip cream, see page 408.

Milk. Milk is scalded when the water in the outside double kettle boils.

Raisins. Raisins are more easily stoned if soaked a few minutes. Roll raisins and currants in flour before adding them to cake or puddings. If added the last thing they will then hold in place, and not sink to the bottom.

Thickening. Use arrowroot to thicken fruit juices. It cooks perfectly clear, and does not destroy the color or cloud the transparency of the fruit.

Flavoring. Where essences or wine flavorings are used they are put in the last thing, and after the mixture is cooked. For cold desserts the mixture should be partly or entirely cold before adding them.

Molding. In molding mixtures be careful that bubbles of air do not form on the sides of the molds, as they leave holes and destroy the smoothness and beauty of the form. This can be prevented by pouring the mixture very slowly into the center of the tin.

FLAVORS

Vanilla has long held first place in American cooking as flavoring, but is no longer highly esteemed, and by many it is considered injurious. The essences of fruits, flowers, and nuts are preferable. They cost twenty cents per bottle of two ounces.

Liqueurs. Cordials or liqueurs give by far the most delicate and pleasant flavor to jellies, creams, and many other desserts. They are rich syrups of different flavors, and contain only enough spirits to preserve them. Maraschino has the flavor of bitter cherry, curaçao of orange-peel, noyau of peach-kernels or nuts. They cost about $1.50 per bottle, holding nearly a quart, and last so long a time that the expense of using them is really not greater, if as much, as for vanilla, which costs twenty-five cents for two ounces.

Wines. Kirsch, rum, and sherry are also much used in high-class cooking, and, like the liqueurs, need not be excluded from use on the score of temperance. The slight flavor they impart to cooked dishes does not suggest the drink or create a taste for liquors. Wine augments the flavor of salt, and so the latter should be used sparingly until after the flavoring is added.

Eau de Vie de Dantzic. Eau de Vie de Dantzic is made of brandy, is highly flavored, and contains gold-leaf. It is used for jellies, making them very ornamental. There is seldom enough gold-leaf in it, however, and more should be added. A book of gold-leaf costs less than fifty cents.

Vanilla bean. In French cooking the vanilla bean is generally used instead of the extract. The bean is split and infused in the liquid. Half of one bean is sufficient to flavor one quart, but its use is not always economical, as one bean costs twenty cents. It is said the Tonquin bean, which is much less expensive, very closely resembles the vanilla bean in flavor and can be substituted for it.

Vanilla powder. Vanilla powder is used for ice-creams.

Vanilla sugar. Vanilla sugar is better than the extract of vanilla for meringues, whips, etc., where a liquid is not desirable.

Flavoring sugars. Flavoring sugars can be made as follows:

Vanilla sugar. Cut one ounce of dried vanilla beans into pieces and pound them in a mortar with one half pound of granulated sugar to a fine powder. Pass it through a fine sieve. Pound again the coarse pieces that do not go through at first. Keep it in a well-corked bottle or preserve jar.

Orange sugar. Cut from six oranges the thin yellow rind, or zest, taking none of the white peel. Let it thoroughly dry, then pound it in a mortar with a cupful of granulated sugar and pass it through a fine sieve. Keep it in an air-tight jar. One tablespoonful of this sugar will flavor a quart of custard. The Mandarin orange makes a good flavor.

Lemon sugar. Another way is to rub cut loaf-sugar against the peel of an orange or lemon. As the sugar breaks the oil sacs and absorbs the zest, scrape it off, dry, and pass it through a fine sieve.

Rose sugar. Make the same as orange sugar, using two cupfuls of dried rose leaves to one of sugar.

Orange and lemon syrups. Orange and lemon syrups are made by pounding the thin yellow rinds with a little tepid water to a pulp, then adding it to cold syrup at 32° (see page 513), and letting it infuse for an hour or more. Strain and keep in air-tight jars.

Pistachio flavor. Pistachio flavor can be obtained, when it is not convenient to use the nuts, by first flavoring with orange-flower water, then adding a very little essence of bitter almond.

A peach leaf, infused with milk when it is scalded for custard, will give the flavor of noyau.

Caramel. Caramel (see page 78). This gives a very delicate and agreeable flavor to custards, cream and ices.

Preserved orange and lemon peel. Candied orange and lemon peel cut into shreds is good in custards and cakes. To prepare it, boil the peel in water until tender, then in sugar and water until clear; let it stand in the syrup several hours, then drain and dry. It will keep indefinitely in a closed jar.

COLORING

Vegetable coloring pastes, which are entirely harmless, can be obtained for twenty-five cents a bottle. The green and the red, or carmine, are the colors generally used for icings, creams and jellies. The orange is used for orange-cake icing and candies. Very little should be used, as the colors should be delicate. To guard against using too much it is well to dilute it with a little water and add only a few drops at a time to the mixture.

The various shades of red to pink are obtained by using more or less carmine.

Fruit juices. Fruit juices impart both color and flavor. They should be filtered (see page 415) before using, or they give a muddy color.

GARNISHING

To decorate cold sweet dishes, use fancy cakes, icings, fruits either fresh, candied, compote or glacé; jellies or blanc-mange molded, or made into a layer and then cut into fancy shapes. Spun sugar (see page 515) makes a fine decoration, and can be formed into nests, wreaths, balls, or simply spread irregularly over a dish.

Candied California fruits. The candied California fruits are very useful and beautiful for both cold and hot desserts. They cost sixty to eighty cents a pound, and are not expensive, as but little is used at a time, and they keep indefinitely in closed jars. Cherries are used whole, the other fruits are cut into pieces.

Angelica. Angelica is also very effective for decoration. A piece costing twenty cents will go a long way. It is cut into thin strips and then into diamond-shaped or triangular pieces, and used to simulate leaves. The combination of cherries and angelica is especially pretty.

Currants. A mold sprinkled with currants makes a good garnish for hot or cold puddings.

Raisins and almonds. Raisins and almonds also make an effective garnish for either hot or cold desserts.

Nuts. Almonds, pistachio nuts, filberts, English walnuts and chestnuts are employed in many ways, as see receipts.

Fresh flowers. Fresh flowers and green leaves may be used with good effect on many cold dishes. Pink roses lend themselves particularly to this purpose. Violets, pansies, geraniums, sweet-peas and others are often appropriate. Nasturtiums with salad are good for both decoration and flavor. (See opposite pages 328, 410, 492.)

Colored sugars. Colored sugars and small candies called “hundreds and thousands” are used to sprinkle over icings, méringues, creams and whips. To color sugar sift coarse granulated sugar, spread the coarse grains on stiff paper, and drop on it a few drops of coloring fluid. Roll it under the hand until evenly tinted, then leave to dry on the paper. Keep in corked bottles.

Sauces. Sauces for cold sweet dishes are custards, whipped cream, canned or preserved fruit, fresh fruit juices, or purées. The purées are crushed fruit sweetened to taste (with syrup at 30° if convenient). They are improved with a little flavoring of Maraschino, kirsch, curaçao, or with orange or lemon juice. Peach is improved in appearance if slightly colored with carmine.

Canned fruits. Canned fruits are now very inexpensive, and many of them are fresh in taste as well as appearance. They are useful in a variety of desserts, and often suit the purpose as well as fresh fruits.

THE STORE-CLOSET

Garnishing and flavoring. The various articles needed for garnishing, flavoring, etc., should be kept in glass preserve jars, and labeled. The store-closet, once furnished with the requisites for fancy dishes, will tempt the ordinary cook to a higher class of work, and contribute to the desirable end of presenting dishes that please both sight and taste, and so raise the standard of every-day cooking. It is very easy to garnish a dish or decorate a mold, and the habit once formed will lead to more ambitious attempts.

CUSTARDS

BOILED CUSTARD NO. 1

2 cupfuls, or one pint, of milk.

Yolks of 3 eggs.

½ saltspoonful of salt.

½ teaspoonful of vanilla.

3 tablespoonfuls of sugar.

Boiled custard is the basis of many puddings, ice-creams and sauces. It requires care to get it just right, for the cooking must be arrested at the right point; a moment too soon leaves it too thin, a moment too long curdles and spoils it. It should have the consistency of thick cream, and be perfectly smooth. It is safer to make it in a double boiler. Bring the milk to the scalding-point without boiling; then take from the fire, and pour it slowly into the eggs and sugar, which have been beaten together to a cream; stir all the time; replace on the fire, and stir until the custard coats the spoon, or a smooth creamy consistency is attained; then immediately strain it into a cold dish, and add the flavoring. If vanilla bean, peach leaves, or lemon zest are used for flavoring, they can be boiled with the milk. If by accident the custard begins to grain, arrest the cooking at once by putting the saucepan in cold water; add a little cold milk, and beat it vigorously with a Dover beater. Five egg yolks to a quart of milk will make a good boiled custard, but six or eight make it richer. It is smoother when the yolks only are used, yet the whole egg makes a good custard, and in the emergency of not having enough eggs at hand a little corn-starch may be used.

Boiled custard may be flavored with vanilla, almond, rose, maraschino, noyau, caramel, coffee, chopped almonds, grated cocoanut, or pounded macaroons. The cocoanut makes a delicious custard, but must be rich with eggs and stiff enough to keep the cocoanut from settling to the bottom.

BOILED CUSTARD NO. 2.

Make a boiled custard (see preceding receipt), using a pint of milk, three egg yolks, three tablespoonfuls of sugar, dash of salt, and any flavoring preferred. Let it get entirely cold; just before serving mix in lightly the whites of three eggs beaten to a stiff froth. This will give a sponge-like texture, and make a very delicate custard. As the whites are not cooked it will not keep long after they are added. Ornament the top with bits of jelly on small pieces of the whipped egg.

FLOATING ISLAND

Whip the whites of two or three eggs very stiff; add a tablespoonful of powdered sugar (see page 389) to each egg; flavor with essence of almond, and add a few chopped almonds. Turn it into an oiled pudding-mold which has a fancy top; cover and place it in a saucepan of boiling water to poach for twenty minutes. Leave enough room in the mold for the meringue to swell. Let it stand in the mold until cold; it will contract and leave the sides. When ready to serve, unmold the meringue and place it on boiled custard served in a glass dish.

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FLOATING ISLAND. (SEE PAGE 395.)

CHOCOLATE CUSTARD

Make a boiled custard No. 1, using the whites as well as the yolks of the eggs; add one bar of melted chocolate (see page 388). Mix thoroughly and strain into cups.

BAKED CUSTARD

Use the same proportions as for boiled custard. Beat the eggs, sugar, and salt together to a cream; stir in the scalded milk; turn into a pudding-dish or into cups; grate a little nutmeg over the top; stand it in a pan of hot water, and bake in a moderate oven until firm in the center. Test by running a knife into the custard. If it comes out clean, it is done; if milky, it needs longer cooking; but it must be carefully watched, for it will separate if cooked too long.

A custard, to be smooth and solid, must be baked very slowly. The holes often seen in baked custard are caused by escaping bubbles of steam, which rise through the mixture when the heat reaches the boiling-point.

CARAMEL CUSTARD

Put a cupful of granulated sugar into a small saucepan with a tablespoonful of water; stir until melted; then let it cook until a light brown color (see caramel, page 78). Turn one half the caramel into a well-buttered mold which has straight sides and flat top, and let it get cold. Into the rest of the caramel turn a half cupful of hot water, and let it stand on the side of the range until the caramel is dissolved. This is for the sauce.

Stir four yolks and two whole eggs, with three tablespoonfuls of sugar, and one half saltspoonful of salt, to a cream, but do not let it froth; add a pint of scalded milk and a half teaspoonful of vanilla. Strain this into the mold onto the cold hardened caramel. Place the mold in a pan of hot water, and bake in a very moderate oven until firm in the center; test by running in a knife (see baked custard), and watch it carefully. The water in the pan must not boil, and the oven should be so slow that it will take at least an hour to cook the custard. It will then be very firm and smooth. Unmold the custard when ready to serve. It will have a glaze of caramel over the top, and some will run down the sides. Serve the caramel sauce in another dish. This dish is recommended.

CHOCOLATE CREAM CUSTARD

Use the same proportions as for caramel custard. Add one and one half ounces of melted chocolate (see page 388). Strain it into a buttered mold, and bake slowly the same as caramel custard. Unmold when cold, and serve with or without whipped cream.

Both the caramel and the chocolate cream custards may be baked in individual timbale-molds, if preferred.

RENNET CUSTARD

Sweeten and flavor the milk; heat it until lukewarm; then turn it into the glass dish in which it is to be served. Add to each quart of milk a tablespoonful of liquid rennet (which comes prepared for custards), and mix it thoroughly. Let it stand where it will remain lukewarm until a firm curd is formed; then remove carefully to a cold place. If jarred the whey is likely to separate. Brandy or rum make the best flavoring for this custard, but any flavoring may be used. It may be served without sauce, but a whipped cream, colored pink, improves it, and also takes away the suggestion of soured milk which curds give.

CORN-STARCH PUDDINGS

(NO. 1.) A PLAIN CORN-STARCH PUDDING

1 pint of milk.

2 heaping tablespoonfuls

of corn-starch.

3 tablespoonfuls of sugar.

Whites of 3 eggs.

½ teaspoonful of vanilla.

Beat the eggs to a stiff froth. Dissolve the corn-starch in a little of the cold milk. Stir the sugar into the rest of the milk, and place it on the fire. When it begins to boil, add the dissolved corn-starch. Stir constantly for a few moments. When it becomes well thickened, stir in the beaten whites of the eggs, and let it remain a little longer to cook the eggs. Remove from the fire; flavor with vanilla, and turn it into a mold.397-*

This pudding is quickly and easily made. It gives about a quart of pudding, or enough to serve six to eight persons. It may or may not be served with a custard made of the yolks of the eggs, but it requires a good sauce and flavoring, or it is rather tasteless. Several variations of this receipt are given below.

(NO. 2.) CORN-STARCH WITH CANNED FRUIT

When the corn-starch is sufficiently set to hold the fruit in place, stir into it lightly one half can of well-drained fruit (cherries, raspberries, strawberries, or any other fruit), and turn it into a mold to harden. Serve the juice of the fruit with it as a sauce.

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CORNSTARCH PUDDING MOLDED IN RING MOLD WITH WHITE CALIFORNIA CANNED CHERRIES AND CENTER FILLED WITH CHERRIES.

(NO. 3.) COCOANUT PUDDING

When the corn-starch is removed from the fire, and partly cooled, add half a cocoanut grated. Mix it well together and turn into a mold; serve with a custard or, better, with whipped cream. Sprinkle sugar over the half of the grated cocoanut not used, and spread it on a sieve to dry. It will keep for some time when dried.

(NO. 4.) CHOCOLATE PUDDING

When the corn-starch is taken from the fire and flavored, turn one third of it into a saucepan, and mix with it one and a half ounces or squares of chocolate melted, a tablespoonful of sugar if unsweetened chocolate is used, and a half cupful of stoned raisins. Let it cook one minute to set the chocolate. Turn into a plain cylindrical mold one half of the white corn-starch. Make it a smooth, even layer, keeping the edges clean; then add the chocolate; smooth it in the same way; then add the rest of the white corn-starch, making three even layers, alternating in color; after each layer is in wipe the sides of the mold so no speck of one color will deface the other. (See illustration.)

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CORNSTARCH PUDDING IN LAYERS. (SEE PAGE 398.)

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CORNSTARCH PUDDING WITH PANSIES MOLDED IN A LAYER OF JELLY ON TOP—GARNISHED WITH PANSIES.

CORN-STARCH CHOCOLATES

(VERY SIMPLE, AND QUICKLY MADE)

Scald a pint of milk and four tablespoonfuls of sugar; add an ounce of chocolate shaved thin, so it will dissolve quickly; then add two heaping tablespoonfuls of corn-starch which has been diluted with a little of the cold milk. Stir over the fire until the mixture is thickened, add a half teaspoonful of vanilla, and turn it into small cups to cool and harden. Unmold the forms when ready to serve, and use sweetened milk for a sauce. By using a little less corn-starch, this mixture will be a smooth, thick custard, and may be served in the cups.

BLANC-MANGE, OR WHITE JELLY

½ box, or 1 ounce, of gelatine.

3½ cupfuls of milk.

¾ cupful of sugar.

1 teaspoonful of vanilla, or other flavor.

Scald three cupfuls of milk with the sugar; then add and dissolve in it the gelatine, which has soaked for one half hour in a half cupful of milk. Remove from the fire, add the flavoring, and strain into a mold. Blanc-mange may be flavored with any of the liqueurs, and it may have incorporated with it, when stiffened enough to hold them suspended, chopped nuts or fruits, or raisins, currants, and citron.

PLUM PUDDING JELLY

½ box, or 1 ounce, of gelatine soaked ½ hour in 1 cupful of cold water.

1½ ounces of chocolate.

1 cupful of sugar.

1 pint of milk.

1 cupful of raisins stoned.

½ cupful of currants.

¼ cupful of sliced citron.

Dissolve the sugar in the milk, and put it in a double boiler to scald. Melt the chocolate on a dry pan; then add a few spoonfuls of the milk to make it smooth, and add it to the scalded milk. Remove from the fire, and add the soaked gelatine. Stir until the gelatine is dissolved; then strain it into a bowl. When it begins to set, or is firm enough to hold the fruit in place, stir in the fruit, which must have stood in warm water a little while to soften. Flavor with one half teaspoonful of vanilla, or a few drops of lemon. Turn it into a mold to harden. Serve with it whipped cream, or a sauce made of the whipped white of one egg, one tablespoonful of powdered sugar, a cupful of milk, and a few drops of vanilla.

BAVARIAN CREAMS

General remarks about. Bavarian creams are very wholesome, light, and delicious desserts. They are easily made, and are inexpensive, as one pint of cream is sufficient to make a quart and a half of bavarian. They are subject to so many variations that they may be often presented without seeming to be the same dish. Bavarian creams may be used for Charlotte Russe.

General Rules.—Have the cream cold; then whipped, and drained (see whipping cream), and do not add the whipped cream to the gelatine mixture until the latter is beginning to set.

How to make. Have the gelatine soaked in cold water one hour. It will then quickly dissolve in the hot custard.

Do not boil the gelatine.

PLAIN BAVARIAN CREAM

1 pint of cream whipped.

1 pint of cream or milk.

½ cupful of sugar.

Yolks of 4 eggs.

½ saltspoonful of salt.

½ box, or 1 ounce, of gelatine soaked in one half cupful of water.

½ vanilla bean, or 1 teaspoonful of vanilla extract.

Whip one pint of cream, and stand it aside to drain. Scald one pint of cream or milk with the vanilla bean split in two; remove it from the fire, and turn it slowly, stirring all the time, on the yolks, which have been beaten with the sugar and salt to a cream. Return it to the fire a moment to set the egg, but take it off the moment it begins to thicken. Add the soaked gelatine and flavoring (if the bean has not been used). Stir until the gelatine has dissolved, then pass it through a sieve. When it is cold, and beginning to set, whip it a few minutes with a Dover beater and then mix in lightly the whipped cream, and turn it into a mold to harden. Avoid using any of the cream which has returned to liquid. This cream should have a spongy texture.

CHOCOLATE BAVARIAN

Use the receipt given above for plain Bavarian. Melt two ounces of chocolate, and dissolve it in a little milk; add this to the custard mixture before the gelatine.

ITALIAN CREAM, OR BAVARIAN WITHOUT CREAM

Make a custard of one pint of milk, the yolks of three eggs, and three tablespoonfuls of sugar; add a dash of salt. When it is cooked enough to coat the spoon, add an ounce of gelatine, which has soaked for half an hour in some of the cold milk. As soon as the gelatine is dissolved, remove from the fire, and when it begins to stiffen fold in carefully the whites of three eggs whipped to a stiff froth, and turn it into a mold to set.

FRUIT BAVARIAN

Mash and press through a colander any fresh or canned fruit. If berries are used, press them through a sieve to extract the seeds. Sweeten to taste, and flavor with a little orange and lemon-juice, curaçao, or maraschino. To a pint of fruit juice or pulp add a half box or one ounce of gelatine, which has soaked an hour in one half cupful of cold water, and then been dissolved in one half cupful of hot water. Stir the fruit and gelatine on ice until it begins to set, otherwise the fruit will settle to the bottom. Then stir in lightly a pint of cream whipped and well-drained, and turn it into a mold to harden. Strawberries, raspberries, pineapple, peaches, and apricots are the fruits generally used. With fruits it is better to use a porcelain mold if possible, as tin discolors. If a tin one is used, coat it with jelly as directed on page 323, using a little of the dissolved gelatine (sweetened and flavored) prepared for the fruit.

RICE BAVARIAN, OR RIZ À L’IMPÉRATRICE

Put into a double boiler one and one half pints of milk and a few thin cuts of lemon-zest; when it boils stir in one half cupful of well-washed rice and a saltspoonful of salt. Cook until the rice is perfectly tender. The milk should be nearly boiled away, leaving the rice very moist. Then add or mix in carefully a half cupful of sugar and a quarter of a box, or one half ounce, of gelatine, which has soaked in half a cupful of cold water for one hour, and then melted by placing the cup containing it in hot water for a few minutes. When the mixture is partly cold add three tablespoonfuls each of maraschino and of sherry, or of sherry alone, or of any other flavoring. When it is beginning to set, stir in lightly one half pint or more of well-whipped cream, and turn it into a mold. This is a very white dish, and is a delicious dessert. It may be served alone, or with orange jelly cut into croûtons, or with orange compote (see page 536), or with plain or whipped cream.

BAVARIAN PANACHÉE

Make a plain Bavarian; flavor with vanilla; divide it into three parts before the cream is added. Into one third stir one ounce of melted chocolate. Into another third mix two tablespoonfuls of pistachio nuts chopped fine, and color it green (see page 392). Arrange the three parts in layers in a mold, beginning with the white, and stir into each one, after it has begun to set, and just before putting it into the mold, a third of the whipped cream. By keeping it in a warm place the Bavarian will not set before it is wanted, and it can then be made to set quickly by placing it on ice.

BAVARIAN EN SURPRISE

Line a mold with chocolate Bavarian one inch thick. Fill the center with vanilla Bavarian mixed with chopped nuts, or line the mold with vanilla Bavarian, and fill with fruit Bavarian (see double molding, page 325).

DIPLOMATIC PUDDING

This is molded in a double mold, and made of very clear lemon, orange, or wine jelly for the outside, and a Bavarian cream for the inside. With candied fruits make a design on the bottom of the larger mold (see molding, page 325); fix it with a very little jelly, then add enough more to make a half or three quarter inch layer of jelly. When it is set put in the center mold. Make a layer of fruit and a layer of jelly alternately until the outside space is filled, using fruits of different colors for the different layers or stripes. When it is set, remove the small mold, and fill the space with Bavarian, using a flavor that goes well with the one used in the jelly—maraschino with orange; sherry, noyau, or almond with lemon.

DIPLOMATIC BAVARIAN

Take six lady-fingers; open, and spread them with apricot, or with peach jam. Place them together again like a sandwich. Moisten them with maraschino, and cut them in one inch lengths. Boil until softened a half cupful of stoned raisins and a half cupful of currants; drain them, and moisten them with maraschino. Make a plain Bavarian flavored with kirsch. When it is beginning to set and ready to go into the mold, mix it lightly with the cake and fruit, and turn into a mold to harden.

CHARLOTTE RUSSE

Forms. Charlotte Russe is simply a cream mixture, molded, with cake on the outside. It is easily made and always liked. Charlotte pans are oval, but any plain, round mold, or a kitchen basin with sides not too slanting, or individual molds may be used.

General directions. First place on the bottom of the pan an oiled paper which is cut to fit it neatly; then arrange lady-fingers evenly around the sides, or instead of lady-fingers use strips of layer sponge cake, No. 1 (page 466), or of Genoese (page 467). Cut the strips one or one and a half inches wide, and fit them closely together. Fill the center with any of the mixtures given below, and let it stand an hour or more to harden.

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CHARLOTTE RUSSE MADE WITH LADY FINGERS.

A sheet of cake cut to fit the top may, or may not, be used. If cake is used it is better to place it on the Charlotte after it is unmolded and the paper removed. The layer cake should be one quarter or three eighths of an inch thick only. Ornamentation. Charlottes can be ornamented in many ways, and made very elaborate if desired.
Cake in two colors. A simple decoration is obtained by having the strips of cake in two colors, alternating the upper, or browned, with the under, or white, side of the cake. For the top, cut a piece of cake to the right shape. Then cut it transversely, making even, triangular pieces, with the width at the base the same as the side strips. Turn over each alternate piece to give the two colors (see illustration); or, ice the strips and the top piece of cake with royal icing (see illustration) in two colors. Icing in two colors. Let the icing harden before placing it in the mold. Have the sides, as well as the bottom, of the mold lined with paper. Arrange the strips in the mold with the colors alternating. Instead of using cake for the top, some of the filling mixture can be put into a pastry-bag, and pressed through a tube over the top in fancy forms. Decorating the top. Meringue or whipped cream may also be used for decorating the top.

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CHARLOTTE RUSSE WITH CAKE ARRANGED IN STRIPS OF TWO COLORS. (SEE PAGE 404.)

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CHARLOTTE RUSSE WITH STRIPS OF CAKE ICED IN TWO COLORS. (SEE PAGE 404.)

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CHARLOTTE RUSSE MADE OF ONE LAYER OF CAKE—TOP DECORATED WITH DOTS OF ICING.

CHARLOTTE RUSSE FILLING No. 1

Whip a pint of cream to a stiff froth. Soak a half ounce of gelatine in three tablespoonfuls of cold water for half an hour; then dissolve it with two tablespoonfuls of boiling water. Add to the whipped cream a tablespoonful of powdered sugar (or a little more if liqueurs are not used for flavoring), and two dessertspoonfuls of noyau or other liqueur, or a teaspoonful of vanilla. Then turn in slowly the dissolved gelatine, beating all the time. When it begins to stiffen turn it into a mold which is lined with cake.

CHARLOTTE RUSSE FILLING No. 2

Beat well together two yolks of eggs and a half tablespoonful of sugar. Scald a half cupful of milk, and stir it into the beaten yolks; add a dash of salt, and return it to the double boiler. Stir it over the fire until it coats the spoon, thus making a plain boiled custard. Add to the hot custard a level tablespoonful of Cooper’s gelatine, which has soaked for half an hour in four tablespoonfuls of cold water; stir until the gelatine is dissolved, then strain it into a bowl, add two tablespoonfuls of sherry (or use any flavoring desired) and the whipped whites of two eggs; beat until it just begins to thicken, then mix in lightly a pint of cream whipped to a stiff froth, and turn into the mold.

CHARLOTTE RUSSE FILLING No. 3 (Fruit)

Soak an ounce of gelatine in a half cupful of cold water for half an hour. Make a syrup of one cupful of sugar, a half cupful of lemon-juice, and two cupfuls of orange-juice. When it has become a light syrup, turn it slowly onto the beaten yolks of four eggs, beating all the time. Return it to the double boiler, and cook until it is a little thickened, then add the gelatine. When the gelatine is dissolved, strain and beat until it is cold; add the whites of four eggs, and beat until it stiffens, then turn it into the mold. A pint of whipped cream may be used instead of the whipped whites of the eggs if convenient. In place of orange and lemon-juice, any fruit may be used. Stew the fruit until tender, add enough sugar to sweeten, and cook it to a light syrup; then press the fruit through a sieve, and to two and a half cupfuls of fruit syrup or of fruit pulp add the four eggs, and proceed as directed for the orange filling.

CHARLOTTE RUSSE FILLING, No. 4

Use any of the plain or fruit Bavarian creams.

CHARLOTTE RUSSE FILLING No. 5

Use whipped jelly plain, or whipped jelly with fruits, called macédoine of fruits (see page 417).

TIMBALE OF BRIOCHE

Bake a brioche (see page 359) in a cylindrical mold. Cut a straight slice off the top about one inch thick; replace the cake in the tin, and carefully pick out the center of the loaf, leaving a thickness of one inch of the brioche. Spread the inside with a layer of jam. Put in a saucepan the liquor from a can of apricots or peaches. Stir into it two tablespoonfuls of arrowroot, moistened with a little water, and stir over the fire until the juice is thickened and clear. Fill the center of the brioche with the drained fruit, mixed with blanched almonds and raisins; pour over it the thickened syrup, replace the cover. When set turn it onto a dish; spread the outside with a little jam, and sprinkle with chopped blanched almonds. This makes a very simple and wholesome sweet.

CHARLOTTE PRINCESSE de GALLES

Take eight Carlsbad wafers of oblong shape. Stand them on end around the outside of a cylindrical mold, and carefully stick the edges together with sugar cooked to the crack, or with royal icing (see page 483). Make the octagon as regular as possible. When the edges are well set place it on a foundation either of puff-paste or of layer cake cut to the shape of the form. Ornament it with dots of royal icing pressed through a pastry-bag and tube onto the edges. Just before serving fill the center with whipped cream, or with czarina cream, or with whipped jelly and fruits, or whipped jelly and meringue, or with any of the mousses. The wafers quickly loose their crispness, so the form must not be filled until the moment of serving.

A filling may also be made for this Charlotte of any of the Charlotte Russe mixtures, molding them in a form smaller than the form of wafers, and when unmolded the ornamental form placed over it, and whipped cream piled on top. In this way the wafers will not be softened.

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CHARLOTTE PRINCESSE DE GALLES. (SEE PAGE 406.)

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CHARLOTTE PRINCESSE DE GALLES MADE OF ROLLED GAUFFRES. (SEE PAGE 406.)

STRAWBERRY CHARLOTTE

Cut large firm strawberries in two lengthwise; dip them in liquid gelatine, and line a plain mold, placing the flat side against the mold. If the mold is on ice the jelly will harden at once, and hold the berries in place. Fill the center with Charlotte filling No. 1, or with Bavarian cream, or with pain de fraises.

GÂTEAU ST. HONORÉ

This is a combination of puff-paste, cream cakes, glacé fruits, and whipped cream. It is said to be the triumph of the chef’s art, yet one need not fear to undertake it when one has learned to make good pastry and to boil sugar. It is an ornamental, delicious dessert, and one that can be presented on the most formal occasions. First: Roll thin a very short or a puff-paste, so when baked it will be one quarter of an inch thick only. Cut it the size of a layer-cake tin; place it on a dampened baking-tin, and prick it with a fork in several places. Second: make a cream-cake batter (see page 474); put the batter in a pastry-bag with half inch tube, and press out onto and around the edge of the paste a ring of the batter. With the rest of the batter make a number of small cakes (two dozen), forming them with the tube into balls one half inch in diameter. Brush the ring and balls with egg, and bake in a quick oven; then fill them with St. Honoré cream (see below). Third: boil a cupful of sugar to the crack, and glacé some orange sections and some white grapes (see glacé fruits, page 516). Fourth: with some of the sugar used for the fruits stick the small cream cakes onto the ring, making an even border; on top of each cake stick a grape, and between them a section of orange. Place a candied cherry on each piece of orange, and one below it, if there is room. Other candied fruits and angelica may be used also, if desired, and arranged in any way to suit the fancy. Fifth: make a St. Honoré cream as follows: scald one cupful of milk in a double boiler; turn it slowly onto the yolks of six eggs, which have been well beaten with one and one half tablespoonfuls of corn-starch and a cupful of powdered sugar. Return to the fire until it begins to thicken or coats the spoon, then remove, and flavor with one teaspoonful each of vanilla and noyau, and stir in lightly the whites of eight eggs beaten very stiff. Cook it one minute to set the whites, beating all the time. When cold, turn it into the gâteau. Whipped cream may or may not be piled on top of the St. Honoré cream.

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GÂTEAU ST. HONORÉ. (SEE PAGE 407.)

CROQUENBOUCHE OF MACAROONS

Oil the outside of a dome-shaped mold. Beginning at the bottom, cover it with macaroons, sticking the edges of the macaroons together with sugar boiled to the crack, or with royal icing (see page 483). Just before serving turn it off the mold, and place it over a form of plain or fruit Bavarian cream, which has been hardened in a smaller mold of the same shape. There should be an inch or more of space between the two, the outer one covering the other like a cage.

A croquenbouche can also be made of little cakes cut from a layer cake with a small biscuit-cutter, and iced in two colors with royal icing, or with glacé oranges, or with chestnuts. The latter are difficult to make, but are very good with ice-creams.

WHIPPED CREAM

General directions. One half pint of double or very rich cream costs ten cents, and may be diluted one half, giving a pint of cream as called for in the receipts. Cream should be placed on the ice for several hours before it is whipped. Temperature. It is essential to have it very cold, otherwise it will not whip well; and also, if rich cream, it will form particles of butter. If not lower than 60° it will all go to butter. Place the bowl containing the cream in a larger bowl containing cracked ice, and with a cream churn, Dover beater, or wire whip, whichever is convenient, whip it to a stiff froth; continue to whip until it all becomes inflated. If the cream is cold it will take but a few minutes. Texture. This gives a firm, fine-grained cream, which is used for Bavarians, mousses, ice-creams, etc. When a lighter and more frothy cream, called syllabub, is wanted for whips and sauces, dilute the cream more, and remove the froth from the top of the cream as it rises while being whipped, and place it on a fine sieve over a bowl to drain. That which drips through the sieve replace in the whipping-bowl to be again beaten. Time for adding. The flavoring and sweetening are added after it is whipped for the first method; but it is better to add it before for the latter, as mixing breaks down the froth. Whipped cream, like beaten whites of eggs, added to gelatine or custard mixtures, gives them a sponge-like texture. Draining. It should be drained, and added only when the mixtures are cold and ready to be molded or frozen. It is then cut in lightly, not stirred. Some judgment must be used about diluting the cream, and it must stand several hours on ice to insure success.

Cream whipped by the first method is the one recommended for all purposes. When it is added to other things, any liquid cream that may have dripped to the bottom of the bowl should not be put in.

DESSERTS OF WHIPPED CREAM

Preserves and jams served with whipped cream make an excellent dessert.

WHIPS

Flavor a pint of cream with a dessertspoonful of maraschino, kirsch, or rum, or with a teaspoonful of essence of vanilla, rose, or almonds, or flavor it with black coffee. Color it pink, or green, or leave it white. Sweeten with three scant tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar. Whip it to a stiff froth and drain. Let it stand on ice until ready to use; then with a spoon pile it high on a glass dish. If the cream is white sprinkle it with colored pink and green sugar mixed (see page 393). Or, skim off the foam which first rises, placing several spoonfuls of it on a sieve to drain. Color the rest a delicate pink, and whip it until it all becomes firm and of fine grain. Turn this into a glass dish, and with a spoon place the white froth upon it.

CZARINA CREAM

1 pint of cream.

¼ box of gelatine.

⅓ cupful of sugar.

¼ cupful of blanched almonds.

1 teaspoonful of vanilla.

½ teaspoonful of rosewater.

4 tablespoonfuls of sherry.

Put a bowl containing the cream on ice; whip it to a stiff froth; add slowly the sugar, then the gelatine (which has first been soaked an hour in one quarter cupful of cold water, and then dissolved by placing the cup in hot water), beating all the time. Add the vanilla and rosewater, and enough green coloring (see page 392) to give it a delicate color. When it begins to stiffen add the sherry, and lastly the almonds chopped fine. When the cream is quite firm put it in round paper boxes, and sprinkle over the top a little colored sugar, or chopped pistachio nuts and granulated sugar mixed. Let it stand an hour or more on ice before serving.

CHESTNUT PURÉE WITH CREAM

Boil a pound of shelled English chestnuts a few minutes; then drain, and remove the skins. Boil them again until tender; drain, and mash them through a purée sieve; sweeten, flavor with vanilla, and moisten them with a little cream. Put the purée in a saucepan, and stir over a slow heat until dry; then press it through a colander or potato-press onto the dish in which it is to be served. Form it into a circle, using care not to destroy the light and vermicelli-like form the colander has given it. Serve whipped cream in the center of the ring.

CHESTNUTS WITH CREAM

After removing the shells and skins from some English chestnuts, boil them until tender in water, then in sugar and water, until clear. Let them lie in the syrup until cold; then drain, and pile them on a dish. Boil the syrup down to a thick consistency, and pour it over the nuts. Serve cold with whipped cream.

USES FOR STALE CAKE

PINE CONES

With a biscuit-cutter, cut slices of stale cake or bread into circles. Moisten them with sherry, maraschino, or merely with a little hot water. Chop some fresh or canned pineapple into small pieces, and pile it on the cakes. With a knife press each one into the form of a cone or small pyramid. Place them in a shallow tin close together, but not touching. Put the pineapple liquor into a saucepan, and thicken it with arrowroot (which has first been wet with water), using a teaspoonful to a cupful of liquor. Cook until the arrowroot becomes clear and begins to stiffen; then pour it slowly over the cones. It will cover them with a jelly. When cold, trim them carefully so the base of each one will be round, and lift them carefully from the tin.

CAKE WITH CUSTARD

Spread slices of stale cake or cottage pudding with jam; place them in a glass dish, and cover with boiled custard; or first moisten the cake with sherry, then cover with custard.

TRIFLE (Esther)

Slice in two six square sponge cakes (layer cake cut in squares will do), spread with jam or jelly (a tart jelly is best), and put them together like sandwiches. Moisten them in a mixture of one third brandy and two thirds sherry. Put them in a glass dish, and pour over them a custard made of one pint of milk, three eggs, and three tablespoonfuls of sugar; put together as directed for boiled custard No. 2 (page 395). Blanch and cut in fine strips one half cupful of almonds, and stick them into the top cakes standing upright. Cover all with a half pint of whipped cream, and sprinkle the top with hundreds and thousands (see page 393), or with colored sugar (see page 393).

BANANA TRIFLE (Martha)

½ cupful of milk.

½ cupful of water.

1 heaping teaspoonful of cornstarch.

1 even teaspoonful of sugar.

½ saltspoonful of salt.

2 bananas.

6 lady-fingers.

½ pint of cream, or the whipped white of one egg.

Slice the bananas, and lay them in a glass dish in alternate layers with four lady-fingers split in two. Put the milk and water in a saucepan; add the sugar, salt, and the corn-starch diluted in a little cold water. When it has thickened pour it over the bananas, and let it stand until cold and ready to serve; then cover the top with whipped cream, or if that is not convenient use the whipped white of one egg sweetened with one tablespoonful of sugar. Split and break in two the remaining lady-fingers, and place them upright around the edge.

SWEET JELLIES

With different flavors, colors, and combinations, a great variety of attractive desserts can be made with gelatine. They are inexpensive, require no skill, and the work is accomplished in a very few minutes.

Points to observe in making jellies. Points to Observe in Making Jellies.—Have jellies perfectly transparent and brilliant. Use the right proportions, so the jelly will hold its form, but not be too solid. Mold the jelly carefully.

Dissolving. Dissolving.—Gelatine should be soaked in cold water in a cold place (one cupful of water to a box of gelatine) for one or more hours; then dissolved in a little hot water, or added to the hot mixture. Treated in this way it will dissolve quickly, and be free from taste or smell. If soaked in warm water in a warm place it will have a disagreeable taste and odor, requiring much flavoring to overcome.

It does not need cooking. If the jelly is not sufficiently firm, add more gelatine; boiling down will not effect the purpose.

Proportions. Proportions.—Observe the quantity of gelatine stated on the box, as some brands do not contain two ounces. Two ounces will take one and three quarter quarts of liquid, including that used for soaking and flavoring. The directions given on the boxes usually give the proportion of one ounce to a quart of liquid, but this will not insure a jelly which will stand firm, and it is safer to use less liquid.

For this amount two cupfuls of sugar will give about the right sweetening, but must be modified to suit the flavoring used. In summer, or if the jelly will have to stand any length of time after it is unmolded, it is better to use but one and one half quarts of liquid to two ounces of gelatine.

To clear jelly. Clarifying.—Most of the brands of gelatine are already clarified, and need only to be passed through a sieve to remove the lemon-zest and any particles of gelatine that may not have dissolved. Any fruit juices used should be passed through a filter-paper (see below) before being added to the jelly: straining the jelly once or twice through a felt or flannel will usually give perfectly limpid and beautiful jelly. When, however, they need to be clarified, or a particularly brilliant jelly is required, stir into the mixture when it is cool the whites of two eggs, well broken but not too much frothed; add also the shells; stir it over the fire until it boils; let it simmer a few minutes and strain it, twice if necessary, through a bag, without pressure. A piece of flannel laid over a sieve or strainer may be substituted for a bag if more convenient.

Molding for fancy jellies. Molding for Fancy Jellies.—Place the mold in a bowl containing cracked ice; the jelly will then quickly harden, and the process of fancy molding not be tedious. Have the mold perfectly even, so the jelly will stand firm and straight when unmolded; also, do not move the mold while filling, as jarring or shaking is likely to separate the layers and cause them to fall apart. Have the jelly mixture cold, but not ready to set, or it will take in bubbles of air and cloud the jelly. Pour in one layer at a time and let it harden before adding the next. Do not, however, let it become too firm or gather moisture, or it will not unite, and also will be clouded. (See picture facing page 386.)

To mold with fruit or flowers. To suspend a bunch of grapes in the center of a form, first pour into the mold a layer of jelly one half inch deep; let it harden; then place on it, and arrange in good shape the bunch of grapes, leaving one half inch or more space around the sides; pour in another half inch of jelly, but not enough to float the grapes; when that has set, cut with scissors the grape stem in many places, so it will fall apart when served; then fill the mold with jelly. Any fruits, or flowers, can be put in in the same way, care being used to add at first only just enough jelly to fix the ornament; otherwise it will float out of place. Plain jellies are more transparent when molded in forms having a cylindrical tube in the center, like cake-tins. The space left can be filled with whipped cream or with fruits, which gives a pretty effect. (See picture.)

See caption
JELLY WITH A ROSE MOLDED IN IT AND GARNISHED WITH ROSES. (SEE PAGE 414.)

See caption
JELLY WITH A BUNCH OF GRAPES MOLDED IN IT. (SEE PAGE 414.)

Double molding. Double Molding (see page 325) can be used with good effect in sweet jellies in combination with whipped jelly, Bavarian creams, fruit jellies, etc.

Unmolding. Unmolding.—See page 324.

Serving. Serving.—Jellies are improved by serving with them whipped cream, custard, or purée of fruits. It may be poured around, not over, the jelly on the same dish. When a sauce is not used, have a lace paper under the jelly. Jelly is more attractive when served on a flat glass dish.

Fruit jellies. For fruit jellies it is well to use a china mold, or else coat the tin one with clear jelly (see page 323), as tin is likely to discolor it.

To clarify fruit juices. To Clarify Fruit Juices.—Pass the fruit juice through filter-paper laid in a funnel. If filter-paper is not at hand, soak unsized paper to a pulp. Wash it in several waters; press it dry; and spread it on a small sieve or in a funnel, and drain the juice through it. If orange, lemon, or other fruit juices are first clarified, it will often obviate the necessity of straining the jelly. (See illustration facing page 388.)

WINE JELLY

½ box, or 1 ounce, of gelatine.

½ cupful of cold water.

2 cupfuls of boiling water.

1 cupful of sugar.

Juice of 1 lemon.

¾ cupful of sherry, or 3 parts sherry, 1 part brandy.

Soak the gelatine in one half cupful of cold water for one hour or more. Put the boiling water, the sugar, and a few thin slices of lemon-peel in a saucepan on the fire. When the sugar is dissolved, add the soaked gelatine, and stir until that also is dissolved; then remove, and when it is partly cooled add the lemon-juice and the wine. Strain it through a felt or flannel, and turn it into the mold. If the jelly has to be clarified do it before adding the wine. Any wine or liqueur can be used for flavoring. This will make one quart of jelly.

LEMON JELLY

½ box, or 1 ounce, of gelatine.

½ cupful of cold water.

2 cupfuls of boiling water.

1 cupful of sugar.

Juice of 3 lemons, filtered.

Thin slices of lemon-rind.

Put together as directed for wine jelly.

ORANGE JELLY

½ box, or 1 ounce, of gelatine.

½ cupful of cold water.

1 cupful of boiling water.

Juice of 1 lemon.

1 cupful of sugar.

2 cupfuls of orange-juice, filtered.

Combine the same as directed for wine jelly.

A stronger flavor and color of orange can be obtained by soaking with the gelatine the grated yellow rind of one or two bright-skinned oranges. In this case the juice need not be filtered, for the mixture will have to be passed through flannel. Putting it through several times gives a clearer and more brilliant jelly.

COFFEE JELLY

Use the receipt given for wine jelly, using three quarters of a cupful of strong filtered coffee instead of wine, and omitting the lemon; mold in a ring, and fill the center with whipped cream; or, if this is not convenient, use any mold, and serve with it sweetened milk.

CHAMPAGNE JELLY

½ box of Cox’s gelatine soaked in ½ cupful of cold water.

1 cupful of boiling water.

1 cupful of sugar.

1 teaspoonful of lemon-juice, filtered.

1 cupful of champagne.

Combine the same as wine jelly, and do not add the champagne until the jelly is cold. This will give one and a half pints of jelly. It is very clear and transparent, and well suited to fancy molding.

CHAMPAGNE JELLY WITH FLOWERS

Place on ice a broad round mold (a basin will serve the purpose); arrange, on a very thin layer of jelly, some pink rose petals in rosette form, or to simulate an open rose; add carefully a very little jelly with a spoon to set the decoration; when it has hardened, add a very little more, and so continue to do until the petals are half enveloped; then place in right position some angelica cut in diamond shaped pieces to simulate leaves; add a little jelly at a time until the mold is full. The petals will be bent out of shape if the jelly is not added very slowly. When unmolded place around it some green rose-leaves and a few loose pink rose-petals. A little rose-water or essence should be used with the champagne to flavor the jelly. Violets and angelica can be used in the same way, or a spray of roses with leaves can be put in a deeper mold, and when secured in position the stems cut the same as directed for molding grapes.

When flowers are used they must be very fresh.

See caption
PINK JELLY GARNISHED WITH PINK CARNATIONS.

WHIPPED JELLY OR SNOW PUDDING

Make a wine or lemon jelly (page 415). Place it in a bowl on ice; when it is cold, but before it begins to harden, beat it with a Dover beater until it becomes white and a mass of froth. Turn it into a mold to harden. Serve with it a sauce made of boiled custard, or any preserve that will go well with the flavoring, or a compote of orange or any fruit.

JELLIES WITH FRUITS (Macédoine)

Berries or any fresh fruits, peeled and quartered, may be placed in layers, or irregularly through the entire mold, or a mixture of fruits may be used in the same way, when it is called a macédoine. The jelly may be clear or whipped. Strawberries, raspberries, currants (red and white), cherries, peaches, plums, pears, apricots, and pineapples are suitable for this use. Preserved or canned fruits well drained may also be used. Candied fruits are especially good, but should be cut into pieces, and softened in maraschino. Jellies to be used with fruits are best flavored with kirsch or maraschino.

RUSSIAN JELLIES

For these double molds are used (see page 386).

No. 1. Make the outside layer of any transparent jelly. When hard remove the inner mold and fill the space with the same jelly whipped until foamy. No. 2. The outside a transparent jelly, the inside one of different flavor and color, such as champagne and maraschino colored pink, orange and strawberry, lemon and coffee. No. 3. The outside champagne jelly, the inside whipped jelly mixed with macédoine of fruits. No. 4. The outside wine or maraschino jelly, the filling pain de fraises (see page 419). No. 5. The outside fruits in clear jelly, the inside Bavarian cream. No. 6. Maraschino jelly, center Bavarian cream mixed with crushed peaches or with apricot jam.

RIBBON JELLY

Make a plain jelly; divide it into three parts; flavor one with maraschino; the second with strawberry-juice, and deepen the color with a little carmine (see page 392); the third with orange, noyau, or any other flavor, and whip it until foamy. Put it into mold in layers, beginning with the lightest.

ITALIAN JELLY

Make a plain blanc-mange (see page 399). Let it set in a layer one half inch thick; cut it into small circles, diamonds, or fancy shapes with cutters. Arrange these pieces in some design around or inside a mold of transparent jelly (see molding jellies, page 324). The blanc-mange may be colored pink, green, or yellow, and gives a very pretty effect.

DANTZIC JELLY

This is a very clear, ornamental jelly, the gold-leaf giving it the appearance of Venetian glass, and is good in individual molds to serve with ices. Use the receipt for wine jelly, omitting the wine and making the amount of liquid right by using more water; clarify or strain it several times to make it very brilliant; when it is cold add two tablespoonfuls each of eau de vie de Dantzic (see page 390) and brandy.

WHAT TO DO WITH JELLY LEFT OVER

Add a little lemon-juice, and beat the jelly until it becomes entirely white, which will take some time; turn it again into a mold to set. If there is not enough jelly for this, cut the jelly into fine dice with a knife as directed for cutting aspic on page 323, and beat into it lightly an equal quantity of meringue. This should be prepared in a cold place.

PAINS AUX FRUITS, OR JELLIED FRUITS

PAIN DE FRAISES (STRAWBERRIES)

Crush the berries to a pulp; sweeten to taste, and add a little flavoring, either orange and lemon juice, maraschino or Curaçao. To a pint of the pulp add a half box, or one ounce, of Cooper’s gelatine, which has soaked an hour in one half cupful of cold water, and then been dissolved in one half cupful of hot water. Stir until it begins to set; then turn it into a china mold to harden. The mold may be ornamented with blanched almonds split in two, and arranged in star shapes. When a tin mold is used for fruits, it is well to coat it first with plain jelly (see page 323), as tin sometimes discolors fruit juices. A little carmine may be used to heighten the color of red fruits. Raspberries, cherries, peaches, apricots, plums, pineapples, or oranges can be used in the same way. This gives a very good dessert with little trouble. Serve with cream.

SUPRÊME OF STRAWBERRIES

Make a pain de fraises; place it on the outside of a double mold (see page 325), and fill the center space with whole berries, or with any other fruit or mixture of fruits, such as white grapes and oranges, etc. Serve it very cold with whipped cream.

PAIN DE RIZ AUX FRUITS

(RICE WITH FRUITS)

Make a rice Bavarian (see page 402); mix with it a few chopped blanched almonds. Put it in a cylindrical mold in layers with pain de fraises (strawberries) or raspberries, keeping the red layer thinner than the white one; or mold it in a double mold, using the jellied fruit for the center or for the outside.

PAIN DE RIZ À LA PRINCESSE

Decorate a mold with candied cherries and angelica; line it with rice Bavarian, and fill the center with fresh or canned pineapple chopped and jellied. The jelly may be clear or whipped or mixed with whipped cream.

PAIN D’ORANGES

(ORANGES)

Take off the peel and divide into sections eight to ten oranges; run a knife between the skin and pulp and remove it carefully. Place the bare but unbroken pulp on a sieve to drain; roll each piece in powdered sugar, and lay them overlapping in a ring around a cylindrical mold; fix and cover them with clear jelly flavored with kirsch or maraschino. Arrange them in the same way around the outside of a double mold. Fill the center with orange Bavarian, using the juice drained from the pieces to flavor the Bavarian. Serve it with orange quarter cakes (see page 478) around the dish.

PAIN DE PÊCHES

(PEACHES)

No. 1. Make a jelly of peaches the same as rule given above for strawberries; color it with a little carmine, giving it a delicate pink shade; garnish the mold with blanched almonds and angelica, and fill it with the jellied peach-pulp. No. 2. Cut peaches in quarters or halves, and arrange them in a double mold with blanched almonds to look like the pits; fill the center with peach Bavarian.

PAIN DE MARRONS

(CHESTNUTS)

Make a purée of boiled chestnuts; sweeten and flavor with vanilla; add to one pint of purée one ounce of dissolved gelatine; when beginning to set add a few spoonfuls of whipped cream; cover a mold with thin coating of jelly (see page 323), and fill outside of double mold with very brown chocolate Bavarian (see page 401); fill the center with the jellied chestnuts.

397-* Corn-starch has a raw taste unless it is thoroughly cooked. After the mixture has thickened it can be left to cook in a double boiler for half an hour without changing its consistency, and this length of time for cooking is essential to its flavor. A mold of corn starch should not be very firm, but have a trembling jelly-like consistency. The eggs may be omitted from above receipt if desired, but the pudding will not be as delicate.—M. R.

Chapter XIX

HOT DESSERTS

SOUFFLÉS

General remarks. The preparation of soufflés is exceedingly simple, the only difficulty being in serving them soon enough, as they fall very quickly when removed from the heat. They must go directly from the oven to the table, and if the dining-room is far removed from the kitchen the soufflé should be covered with a hot pan until it reaches the door. The plain omelet soufflé is the most difficult. Those made with a cooked foundation do not fall as quickly, but they also must be served at once. In order to insure the condition upon which the whole success of the dish depends, it is better to keep the table waiting, rather than suffer the result of the omelet being cooked too soon. Have everything ready before beginning to make a soufflé, and see that the oven is right. In adding the beaten whites “fold” them in, that is, lift the mixture from the bottom, and use care not to break it down by too much mixing.

OMELET SOUFFLÉ

Whites of 6 eggs.

Yolks of 3 eggs.

Grated zest of ½ lemon.

3 rounded tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar, sifted.

1 tablespoonful of lemon-juice.

Whip the whites of the eggs, with a pinch of salt added to them, to a very dry stiff froth. Beat to a cream the yolks and the sugar, then add the lemon. Fold in the beaten whites lightly (do not stir) and turn the mixture into a slightly oiled pudding-dish. If preferred, turn a part of it onto a flat dish, and with a knife shape it into a mound with a depression in the center. Put the rest into a pastry-bag, and press it out through a large tube, into lines and dots over the mound; sprinkle it with sugar and bake it in a very hot oven eight to ten minutes. Serve at once in the same dish in which it is baked (see soufflés above). The flavor may be vanilla, or orange if preferred.

VANILLA SOUFFLÉ

1 cupful of milk.

2 tablespoonfuls of flour.

3 tablespoonfuls of sugar.

2 tablespoonfuls of butter.

¼ teaspoonful of salt.

1 teaspoonful of vanilla.

4 eggs.

Put the milk into a double boiler with the salt; when it is scalded add the butter and flour, which have been rubbed together. Stir for ten minutes to cook the flour and form a smooth paste; then turn it onto the yolks of the eggs, which, with the sugar added, have been beaten to a cream. Mix thoroughly, flavor, and set away to cool; rub a little butter over the top, so that no crust will form. Just before time to serve, fold into it lightly the whites of the eggs, which have been beaten to a stiff froth. Turn it into a buttered pudding-dish and bake in a moderate oven for thirty to forty minutes; or, put the mixture into buttered paper cases, filling them one half full, and bake ten to fifteen minutes. Serve with the soufflé foamy sauce (page 445). This soufflé may be varied by using different flavors; also by putting a layer of crushed fruit in the bottom of the dish, or by mixing a half cupful of fruit-pulp with the paste before the whites are added. In this case the whites of two more eggs will be needed to give sufficient lightness. Serve at once after it is taken from the oven.

CHOCOLATE SOUFFLÉ

3 ounces of chocolate.

1 heaping tablespoonful of sugar.423-*

2 rounded tablespoonfuls of flour.

½ cupful of milk.

Yolks of 3 eggs.

Whites of 4 eggs.

1 rounded tablespoonful of butter.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan; stir into it the flour and let it cook a minute, but not brown, then add slowly the milk and stir until smooth and a little thickened; remove it from the fire and turn it slowly onto the yolks and sugar, which have been beaten to a cream; mix thoroughly and add the melted chocolate (see page 388); stir for a few minutes, then set it away to cool; rub a little butter over the top so a crust will not form. When ready to serve, stir the mixture well to make it smooth and fold into it lightly the whites of the eggs, which have been whipped until very dry and firm. Turn the mixture into a buttered tin, filling it two thirds full. Have the tin lined with a strip of greased paper which rises above the sides to confine the soufflé as it rises. Place the tin in a deep saucepan containing enough hot water to cover one half the tin. Cover the saucepan and place it where the water will simmer for thirty minutes, keeping it covered all the time. Place the tin on a very hot dish and serve at once. Cover the top with a hot tin until it reaches the dining-room if it has to be carried far.

PRUNE SOUFFLÉ

½ pound of prunes.

3 tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar.

4 eggs.

1 small teaspoonful of vanilla.

Beat the yolks of the eggs and the sugar to a cream, add the vanilla, and mix them with the prunes, the prunes having been stewed, drained, the stones removed, and each prune cut into four pieces. When ready to serve fold in lightly the whites of the eggs, which have been whipped to a stiff froth, a dash of salt having been added to the whites before whipping them. Turn it into a pudding-dish and bake in a moderate oven for twenty minutes. Serve it as soon as it is taken from the oven. A few chopped almonds, or meats from the prune-pits, may be added to the mixture before the whites are put in if desired.

APPLE SOUFFLÉ

Boil some peeled and cored apples until tender; press them through a colander; season to taste with butter, sugar, and vanilla. Place the purée in a granite-ware saucepan and let it cook until quite dry and firm. To one and one quarter cupfuls of the hot reduced apple purée add the whites of four eggs, whipped very stiff and sweetened with three tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar. Mix the purée and meringue lightly and quickly together and turn it into a pudding-dish; smooth the top into a mound shape; sprinkle with sugar and bake in a slow oven twenty to twenty-five minutes. This soufflé does not fall. Serve with a hard, a plain pudding, or an apricot sauce.

FARINA PUDDING

This is a very wholesome, delicate pudding, and is especially recommended. The receipt gives an amount sufficient for six people.

2 cupfuls of milk (1 pint).

4 tablespoonfuls of farina.

3 tablespoonfuls of sugar.

3 eggs.

Grated rind of ½ lemon.

Put the milk and lemon-zest into a double boiler; when it reaches the boiling-point stir in the farina and cook for five minutes; then remove from the fire and turn it onto the yolks and sugar, which have been beaten together until light; stir all the time. Let it become cool but not stiff; when ready to bake it, fold in lightly the whites of the eggs beaten to a stiff froth, a dash of salt added to them before beating. Turn it into a pudding-dish and place the dish in a pan containing enough hot water to half cover it. Bake it in a moderately hot oven for twenty-five minutes. Serve at once, or, like other soufflés, it will fall. Serve with it a sabayon No. 2, or a meringue sauce (pages 446 and 448).

SWEET OMELETS

These desserts are quickly made, are always liked, and serve well in emergencies.

ORANGE OMELET

3 eggs.

3 tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar.

1 orange, using the grated rind and 3 tablespoonfuls of juice.

Beat the yolks of the eggs with the sugar to a cream; add the grated zest of the rind and the orange juice; then fold in lightly the beaten whites of the eggs. Have a clean, smooth omelet or frying-pan; put in a teaspoonful of butter, rubbing it around the sides as well as bottom of the pan. When the butter bubbles, turn in the omelet mixture and spread it evenly. Do not shake the pan. Let it cook until it is a delicate brown and seems cooked through, but not hard. Fold the edges over a little and turn it onto a flat hot dish; sprinkle it plentifully with powdered sugar; heat the poker red hot and lay it on the omelet four times, leaving crossed burnt lines in the form of a star. This ornaments the top and also gives a caramel flavor to the sugar.

JAM OMELET

Make a French omelet as directed on page 264, using four to six eggs; omit the pepper and add a little powdered sugar. When the omelet is ready to turn, place in the center two tablespoonfuls of any jam (apricot is particularly good) and fold. Turn the omelet onto a hot dish and sprinkle it with sugar.

RUM OMELET

Make either a French omelet, or a beaten omelet, using a little sugar and omitting the pepper. Place the dish holding the omelet on a second and larger dish to prevent accident from fire. When ready to place on the table pour over the omelet a few spoonfuls of rum or brandy and light it. It is better not to touch the match to it until it is on the table.

SWEET PANCAKES

3 eggs.

1 cupful of milk.

½ teaspoonful of salt.

1 teaspoonful of sugar.

½ cupful of flour.

½ tablespoonful of oil.

Beat the yolks and whites of the eggs separately; mix them together and add the salt, sugar, and one half the milk; stir in the flour, making a smooth paste; then add the rest of the milk, and lastly the oil; beat well and let it stand an hour or more before using. Bake on a hot griddle in large or small cakes as desired; spread each cake with butter and a little jam or jelly, then roll them, sprinkle with sugar, and serve at once. Any pancake batter can be used. Those made of rice or hominy are good. The batter can be made of a consistency for thick or thin cakes by using more or less milk. Currant or tart jelly is better to use than a sweet preserve.

FRITTERS

With fritter batter a number of good desserts are made, which, if properly fried, will be entirely free from grease, and perfectly wholesome.

FRITTER BATTER

2 eggs.

1 tablespoonful of oil.

1 cupful of flour.

½ cupful of cold water.

1 saltspoonful of salt.

If for sweet fritters, 1 teaspoonful of sugar and 1 tablespoonful of brandy.

For clam or oyster fritters use one tablespoonful of lemon juice or vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, and the liquor of the clams or oysters instead of water.

Stir the salt into the egg-yolks; add slowly the oil, then the brandy and the sugar; the brandy may be omitted if desired, and if so, use two tablespoonfuls of oil instead of one. When well mixed stir in slowly the flour, and then the water, a little at a time. Beat it well and set it aside for two hours (it is better to let it stand longer); when ready to use, stir in the whites of the eggs beaten to a stiff froth. The batter should be very thick and of the consistency to coat completely the article it is intended to cover. If not soft enough add the white of another egg.

APPLE FRITTERS

Cut firm apples crosswise into slices one quarter of an inch thick. With a biscuit-cutter stamp them into circles of uniform size; sprinkle them with orange sugar (see page 391), and moisten them with brandy. Let them stand to soak for ten minutes, then dry one or two at a time on a napkin; dip them in batter, using care to have them completely coated, and drop them into hot fat (see frying, page 72). Fry to an amber color; lift them out on a skimmer and dry on paper in an open oven until all are fried; then roll them in sugar and serve on a folded napkin, the slices overlapping. Fry only two at a time, so they can be kept well apart. Serve with a sauce flavored with brandy or sherry.

PEACH OR APRICOT FRITTERS

Cut the fruit in half; sprinkle with sugar moistened with maraschino, and roll them in powdered macaroons before dipping them in the batter. Fry as directed above. Well-drained canned fruit may also be used for fritters.

ORANGE FRITTERS

Cut the oranges in quarters; take out the seeds and run a knife between the pulp and peel, freeing the orange and leaving it raw. Roll them in powdered sugar and dip in batter before the sugar has time to dissolve; fry as directed for apple fritters.

FRITTERS MADE OF BISCUIT DOUGH

Make a biscuit dough as given on page 352; turn it on a floured board and let it rise until light, then roll it one eighth of an inch thick and cut it into circles with a fluted patty-cutter. Put a teaspoonful of jam in the center of a circle. Wet the edges and cover with a second circle; press the edges lightly together and fry in hot fat.

BALLOONS

Put a cupful of water in a saucepan; when it boils add one tablespoonful of butter; when the butter is melted add one cupful of flour and beat it with a fork or wire whip until it is smooth and leaves the sides of the pan. Remove from the fire and add three eggs, one at a time, beating vigorously each one before adding the next. Let it stand until cold. When ready to serve, drop a spoonful at a time into moderately hot fat and fry for about 15 minutes. Take out on a skimmer and dry on brown paper. The batter will puff into hollow balls. If the fat is very hot it will crisp the outside too soon and prevent the balls from puffing. Fry only a few at a time, as they must be kept separated. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and pile on a folded napkin. Serve with lemon sauce made as follows.

Lemon sauce: Strain the juice of one and a half lemons; add one cupful of powdered sugar, then a half cupful of boiling water.

BATTER PUDDING

1 cupful of milk.

1 heaping tablespoonful of butter.

½ cupful of flour.

3 eggs.

Put the milk in a double boiler; when hot add the butter. Let the milk boil; then add the flour, and beat it hard until it leaves the sides of the pan; then remove from the fire and stir in gradually the eggs, which have been well beaten, the yolks and whites together, and a dash of salt. Continue to beat the batter until it is no longer stringy. Turn it into a warm greased pudding-dish, and bake in a moderate oven thirty to thirty-five minutes. It should puff up like a cream cake, and have a thick crust. Serve as soon as it is taken from the oven, or it will fall. The batter may stand some time before baking if convenient. It may be baked in gem-pans fifteen to twenty minutes if preferred. Serve with plain pudding or hard sauce.

DESSERTS MADE OF APPLES

SNOW APPLE PUDDING

Fill a pudding-dish half full of apple purée or sauce, well seasoned with butter, sugar, and nutmeg. Pour over it a batter made of one and a half cupfuls of flour mixed with two heaping teaspoonfuls of baking-powder, one half teaspoonful of salt, and a tablespoonful of chopped suet or of lard. Moisten it with about three quarters of a cupful of milk, or enough to make a thick batter. It should not be as stiff as for biscuits. Cook in a steamer about three quarters of an hour, and serve at once with a hard, foamy, sabayon, or any other sauce. The top will be very light and white. This quantity is enough to serve six people.

BROWN BETTY

In a quart pudding-dish arrange alternate layers of sliced apples and bread-crumbs; season each layer with bits of butter, a little sugar, and a pinch each of ground cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. When the dish is full pour over it a half cupful each of molasses and water mixed; cover the top with crumbs. Place the dish in a pan containing hot water, and bake for three quarters of an hour, or until the apples are soft. Serve with cream or with any sauce. Raisins or chopped almonds improve the pudding.

BAKED APPLE DUMPLINGS

Make a short pie-crust; roll it thin and cut it into squares large enough to cover an apple. Select apples of the same size; pare them; remove the core with a corer, and fill the space with sugar, butter, a little ground cinnamon, and nutmeg. Place an apple in the center of each square of pie-crust; wet the edges with white of egg and fold together, the points meeting on the top; give the edges a pinch and turn, making them fluted. Bake in a moderate oven about forty minutes, or until the apples are tender, but not until they have lost their form. If preferred, the crust may be folded under the apple, leaving it round. It must be well joined, so the juices will not escape. Brush the top with egg, and ten minutes before removing from the oven dust them with a little sugar to give them a glaze.

Serve with hard sauce.

See caption
BAKED APPLE DUMPLINGS. (SEE PAGE 429.)

APPLE CHARLOTTE

Cut bread into slices one quarter inch thick; then into strips one and a half inches wide, and as long as the height of the mold to be used; cut one piece to fit the top of mold, then divide it into five or six pieces. Butter the mold; dip the slices of bread into melted butter, and arrange them on the bottom and around the sides of the mold, fitting closely together or overlapping. Fill the center entirely full with apple sauce made of tart apples stewed until tender, then broken into coarse pieces, drained, and seasoned with butter and sugar. A little apricot jam can be put in the center if desired; chopped almonds also may be added. Cover the top with bread, and bake in a hot oven about thirty minutes. The bread should be an amber color like toast. Turn it carefully onto a flat dish. Serve with a hard sauce or any other sauce preferred.

APPLES WITH RICE, No. 1

Boil half a cupful of rice with a saltspoonful of salt in milk until tender; sweeten it to taste; drain it if the milk is not all absorbed; press it into a basin; smooth it over the top; when it has cooled enough to hold the form, turn it onto a flat dish. This will be a socle, and should be about one and a half to two inches high. Pare and core as many apples as will stand on the top of the socle; boil them slowly until tender in sugar and water; remove them before they lose shape. Boil the sugar and water down to a thick syrup. Arrange the apples on the top of the rice, and pour over them a little of the thickened syrup; then fill the center of each apple with jam; place a candied cherry on each one, and a pointed piece of angelica between each apple. The syrup should give enough sauce, but Richelieu sauce is recommended instead. Serve hot or cold.

See caption
STEWED APPLES ON A RICE SOCLE—GARNISHED WITH CANDIED CHERRIES AND ANGELICA. (SEE PAGE 430.)

APPLES WITH RICE, No. 2

Boil the rice as above; sweeten it and flavor it with a few drops of orange-flower water, almond, or other essence, and mix into it a few chopped blanched almonds. Turn it onto a flat dish, and press it into a mound or cone. Cut some apples of uniform size in halves, cutting from the stem to the blossom; remove the core with a vegetable scoop (see illustration), and pare off the skin carefully; stew the apples slowly until tender, but still firm enough to hold their shape; before removing them add a few drops of carmine to the water, and let them stand until they have become a delicate pink; then drain and place them evenly and upright against the form of rice. Put some meringue in a pastry-bag, and press it in lines or dots around the apples and over the top of the rice, making it as ornamental as desired. Dust it with sugar, and place for one minute in the oven to slightly color the meringue, but not long enough to dry the surface of the apples. Serve with whipped cream, with fruit sauce, Richelieu sauce, or wine sauce.

Whipped cream may be substituted for the meringue, in which case place the apples overlapping one another around the rice in wreath shape; flatten the top of the rice, and pile the whipped cream on it. Another form may be made by putting the rice in a border-mold to shape it, filling the center of the rice with a well-seasoned apple purée, and finishing as directed above.

See caption
STEWED APPLES CUT IN HALVES AND ARRANGED AROUND A RICE SOCLE—GARNISHED WITH MERINGUE. (SEE PAGE 431.)

APPLES WITH CORN-STARCH (Felice)

Pare and core as many apples as will be used, having them of uniform size. To a quart of water add one half cupful of sugar and the juice of half a lemon; boil the apples in this until tender, but remove them before they lose shape; drain and place them in regular order on the dish in which they are to be served. Boil the water down one half; then stir into it one tablespoonful of corn-starch or arrowroot moistened in a little water; let it cook until the starch is clear; remove from the fire; flavor with lemon, almond, kirsch, or anything preferred; let it stiffen a little; then pour it over the apples; sprinkle with sugar and place in the oven a moment to brown, or, omitting the browning, sprinkle them with green and pink sugar (see page 393), or stick them full of split almonds.

FLAMING APPLES

Pare and core the apples; stew them in sugar and water until tender, but still firm enough to hold their shape. Remove them carefully to the serving-dish; fill the centers with apricot or raspberry jam; boil down the liquor to a thick syrup and pour it over the apples; just before serving pour over them a few spoonfuls of rum or brandy, and light it with a taper after it is on the table. Serve with fancy cakes.

BAKED APPLES

(FOR BREAKFAST)

Select apples of equal size; wash and polish them; remove the core. Place them in a baking-tin a little distance apart, and put a little water in the bottom of the pan. Bake in a moderate oven about thirty minutes; baste frequently, so they will not burn or blacken. Serve with sugar and cream.

BAKED APPLES

(FOR LUNCHEON)

Pare and core the apples; fill the centers with butter and sugar. Let them bake in a pan with a little water until tender, but still in good shape; baste frequently, letting them become only slightly colored. After removing from the oven sprinkle them with granulated sugar and a little powdered cinnamon or nutmeg.

TAPIOCA PUDDING

Arrange evenly in a buttered dish six apples which have been pared and cored. Any other fruit may be used—canned peaches are good. Soak a cupful of tapioca in hot water for an hour or more; sweeten and flavor it to taste and pour it over the fruit. Bake in a moderate oven for an hour.

See caption
PUDDING MOLDS.

RICE PUDDINGS

PLAIN RICE PUDDING No. 1

In a pudding-dish holding a quart, put two heaping tablespoonfuls of well-washed rice; fill the dish with milk, and add a half teaspoonful of salt. Let it cook in the oven for half an hour, stirring it two or three times. Take it out and add two tablespoonfuls of sugar and a scant teaspoonful of vanilla; also a half cupful of stoned raisins if desired. Grate nutmeg over the top; return the dish to the oven and cook slowly for two hours or more; as the milk boils down, lift the skin at the side and add more hot milk. The pudding should be creamy, and this is attained by slow cooking, and by using plenty of milk.

RICE PUDDING No. 2

Scald a pint and a half of milk; add a tablespoonful of cornstarch which has been moistened with a little of the cold milk; cook it for a few minutes; then remove it from the fire and stir in three cupfuls of boiled rice, a cupful or more of sugar to taste, and the beaten yolks of two eggs. Return it to the fire and cook it until thickened, stirring constantly but carefully. Turn it into a dish, cover the top with meringue, and place it in the oven for a few minutes to brown.

RICE AND RAISINS

Mix with two cupfuls of boiled rice a half or three quarters cupful of raisins. The rice should be boiled as directed on page 222, and the raisins should be soaked in hot water until plump, and the seeds removed. Press the mixture into a bowl to give it shape, and turn it onto a flat dish. Grate nutmeg over the top. Serve with sweetened milk a little flavored with vanilla or almond, or only nutmeg.

For Lemon Rice Pudding, see page 242.

For Rice and Orange Marmalade Pudding, see page 242.

BREAD PUDDINGS

BREAD PUDDING No. 1

2 cupfuls of milk.

1 cupful of bread-crumbs or broken bread.

1 tablespoonful of sugar.

2 egg-yolks.

1 egg-white.

½ teaspoonful of vanilla.

1 saltspoonful of salt.

Soak the bread in the milk until softened; then beat it until smooth and add the rest of the ingredients excepting the white of egg. Turn it into a pudding-dish, place this in a pan of hot water, and bake in a slow oven fifteen to twenty minutes, or only long enough to set the custard without its separating. Cover the top with a layer of jam or with tart jelly, and place in the center a ball of meringue made with the white of one egg; dust with sugar, place in the oven a moment to brown the meringue, and then put a piece of jelly on the top of the meringue. Serve hot or cold. The jelly and meringue answers as a sauce.

BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING

Cut stale bread into thin slices; remove the crusts, dip them in melted butter, and arrange them in a small bread or square cake-tin in even layers, alternating with layers of stoned raisins. When the mold is full, pour over it a mixture made of one pint of milk, the yolks of two eggs, and two tablespoonfuls of sugar. Use only as much as the bread will absorb. Bake in a moderate oven twenty to thirty minutes. Turn it onto a flat dish and serve with it a plain pudding sauce. The bread should be dry and crisp and hold the form of the mold.

BREAD TARTS

Cut bread into slices a quarter of an inch thick, then with a biscuit-cutter about three inches in diameter stamp it into circles. Moisten the circles of bread with milk, but do not use enough to cause them to fall apart; then spread them with any jam or preserve and place two together like a sandwich. Place them in a frying-pan with a little butter, and sauté them on both sides to a delicate color. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve very hot. A sabayon or other sauce can be served with them if convenient, but it is not essential.

For other bread puddings see Blueberry Pudding and Cherry Bread, page 241.

CAKE PUDDINGS

COTTAGE PUDDING

1 cupful of flour.

1 heaping teaspoonful of baking-powder.

1 tablespoonful of butter.

½ cupful of sugar.

½ cupful of milk.

1 saltspoonful of salt.

1 egg.

Mix the baking-powder with the flour and sift them. Rub the butter and sugar together to a cream and beat into it the egg; then add the milk, in which the salt has been dissolved. Add the flour; beat well together and turn into a cake-tin having a tube in the center. Bake about twenty-five minutes in a moderate oven. Turn it onto a flat dish, leaving it bottom side up. The chocolate sauce given below is recommended, but any other sauce may be served with it.

Chocolate sauce: Melt three ounces or squares of Baker’s chocolate on a dry pan (see page 388); add one half cupful of sugar and one half cupful of boiling water. Stir until well dissolved and smooth, then add one quarter teaspoonful of vanilla.

CANARY PUDDING

Take the mixture for Genoese cake, which is three eggs, and their weight respectively of sugar, butter, and flour; cream the butter and sugar; then beat in, one at a time, the three eggs; add lightly the sifted flour. Butter a covered pudding-mold; decorate it with raisins, or sprinkle it all over with currants; fill it half full of the mixture; cover and steam for one hour, or put it in individual timbale-molds and bake for twenty minutes. Serve with wine or fruit or Richelieu sauce.

SUET PUDDING

1 cupful of molasses.

1 teaspoonful of soda.

1 cupful of milk

3½ cupfuls of flour.

1 cupful of stoned raisins.

1 cupful of suet, chopped fine.

1 teaspoonful of salt.

Mix the salt, flour, and suet together. Mix the molasses and milk; add the soda and then as much of the flour mixture as will make a stiff batter (not dough), then add the raisins floured, and fill a covered pudding-mold half full; steam for three hours. Serve with foamy, wine, or brandy sauce.

FARINA PUDDING (Boiled)

Stir into three cupfuls of boiling milk one cupful of farina, and cook for ten minutes. Rub together one tablespoonful of butter and two tablespoonfuls of sugar; add the yolks of three eggs, the grated rind of one lemon and twenty-five chopped blanched almonds. Stir this mixture into the farina after it is a little cooled; lastly add the whites of three eggs beaten to stiff froth. Boil this pudding in a covered mold for one and a half hours. Serve with any pudding sauce.

CHRISTMAS PLUM PUDDING

¾ pound of suet chopped very fine; mix with it, while chopping, a tablespoonful of flour.

¾ pound of raisins seeded.

¾ pound of currants.

¾ pound of sugar.

¾ pound of fresh bread-crumbs.

Grated zest of one lemon.

¼ pound candied orange-peel and citron cut into thin shavings.

½ teaspoonful each of ground cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice.

Mix the dry materials together thoroughly, and then add six eggs, one at a time, and one half cupful of brandy; add another egg if too stiff, and more crumbs if too soft. Wet a strong cloth in cold water, wring it dry, butter it, and dredge it well with flour; turn the mixture into the center and draw the cloth together over the top, leaving room for the pudding to swell a little, and tie it firmly; give it a good round shape. Put it into a pot of boiling water, having it completely covered with water; cover the pot and boil four to five hours. Do not let the water fall below the pudding, and in adding more let it be hot, so as to not arrest the boiling. After it is removed from the water let it rest in the bag for ten minutes to harden a little, then cut the string and turn it carefully onto a dish. Cut a small hole in the top of the pudding and insert a paper bonbon case (see page 386); trim it so it does not show. Pour rum or brandy onto the dish and also into the paper box on top; place it on the table and touch it with a lighted taper. Serve with a brandy sauce. The amount given will serve twelve to fourteen persons. The mixture may be divided and boiled in small puddings if it is too much to use at one time. It will keep for a long time, and the puddings can be warmed when used. Slices of cold plum pudding may be steamed and served with a sauce; or they may be rolled in egg and crumbs and fried in hot fat, and be served as fruit croquettes.

FIG PUDDING

½ cupful of chopped figs.

½ cupful of chopped suet.

2 cupfuls of white bread-crumbs.

½ cupful of sugar.

1 cupful of milk.

¼ cupful of flour.

½ cupful of chopped almonds.

4 eggs.

1 teaspoonful of baking-powder.

3 tablespoonfuls of noyau or other flavor.

Flour the figs and suet. Soak the bread-crumbs in the milk, add the sugar, then the egg-yolks, and beat it well; then add slowly, stirring all the time, the figs, suet, almonds, flour mixed with the baking-powder, flavoring, and lastly the whites of the eggs beaten very stiff. Turn it into a covered pudding-mold, filling it three quarters full; steam for three hours. This mixture will fill twelve individual molds. If the small molds are used, place a star of angelica in the bottom of each one and cover it with a thin layer of boiled rice; then fill three quarters full with the pudding mixture; place them in a pan of hot water, cover with a greased paper, and poach on top of the range for one and one half hours. This pudding can have brandy poured over and lighted the same as the plum pudding. Serve with a syrup sauce flavored the same as the pudding.

CABINET PUDDING No. 1

Ornament the bottom of a well-buttered mold with citron and raisins. Cover them with slices of cake; then fill the mold nearly full with alternate layers of fruit and cake, arranging the fruit on the edges of the fruit layers so it will be even and symmetrical. Make a custard mixture of a pint of milk, three egg-yolks, and three tablespoonfuls of sugar. Pour it slowly into the mold, so the cake will be thoroughly soaked, and set it in a pan of water. Bake it in a slow oven for an hour, or until the custard is set. Unmold the pudding, and serve with it a wine sauce.

CABINET PUDDING No. 2

Cut a half pound of candied fruits into dice, using cherries, apricots, plums, limes, etc.; also some candied orange-peel shredded. Butter well a plain cylindrical mold; sprinkle over the bottom a thin layer of the fruit, then a layer of cake (genoese, or sponge layer cake, see page 466). Fill the mold to within an inch of the top with alternate layers of fruit and cake, using also some macaroons. Leave always some fruit on the sides of the mold. Then turn in slowly a custard mixture made of one pint of milk, the yolks of five eggs, and two and one half tablespoonfuls of sugar. Let it stand a few minutes for the cake to absorb the liquid; then place the mold in a pan of hot water, and poach in a slow oven for one hour. This pudding is usually served hot, but may be served cold. Serve with Sabayon, Richelieu, or Bischoff sauces. (See pudding sauces.)

CABINET PUDDING No. 3 (Royale)

Take a loaf of brioche (see page 359 and 361) baked the day before in a cylindrical mold. Cut it into slices one half inch thick. Cut with a small patty-cutter a round piece from the center of all but two of the slices. Cut the crust from the outside, taking as little as possible. Spread each slice with apricot jam, and sprinkle with chopped almonds. Butter the mold well, and replace the slices, using on the bottom one which has not had a hole cut in the center. When all but the last slice are in, fill the well in the center with mixed canned fruits well drained, using pineapple, apricots, a few candied cherries, and chopped almonds; then pour in a custard mixture made of one pint of milk, four yolks of eggs, two and a half tablespoonfuls of sugar. Let the brioche absorb the liquid; then cover with the second whole slice, and pour over that, too, some of the custard mixture. Place the mold in a pan of hot water, and poach in a slow oven for one hour. Let it stand a little while in the mold after it is cooked. When ready to serve, unmold, spread the whole outside with apricot jam, and sprinkle with chopped almonds. Serve with apricot sauce or any other sauce.

CABINET PUDDING No. 4

Cut slices of bread one half inch thick to fit a mold. Fill the mold with alternate layers of bread and chopped drained pineapple (fresh or canned). Pour in a custard mixture made of one pint of milk, yolks of three eggs, and three tablespoonfuls of sugar. Bake in a slow oven for one hour (as directed above), or until the custard is set. Serve with a sauce made of the juice of the fruit diluted and thickened with a little arrowroot, then sweetened and flavored (with kirsch if liked), and a few shredded almonds.

SAVARINS

Butter some individual timbale-molds, sprinkle them with chopped almonds, fill them half full of brioche paste (see page 359), let the paste rise to the top of the molds, and then bake in a hot oven for about twenty minutes. When baked, cut off the top even with the mold, and turn them out. Pour over them a hot syrup made of one cupful of sugar and three quarters of a cupful of water boiled for ten minutes (or to 30°), and flavored with four teaspoonfuls of kirsch. Other flavors may be used if preferred. Let the savarins absorb enough of the hot syrup to be well moistened, but not so much as to lose their firmness. Drain and serve them hot. Or incorporate into the paste before molding a little shredded candied orange-peel. Soak them, when baked, in syrup flavored with orange or curaçao, and cover them with an orange fondant icing (see page 485), and serve cold.

BABA

Into three cupfuls of brioche paste mix one cupful of currants, raisins, and chopped citron, which have soaked for an hour in maraschino. Half fill buttered baba-molds (which are cups holding about one half pint); let it rise to top of mold, which will take about three quarters of an hour. It must not rise in too warm a place, or the butter will separate. Bake them in a moderate oven one half hour. Let them absorb hot syrup at 30°, flavored with kirsch or sherry.

CUSTARDS

CRÊME PARISIENNE

This is the same as caramel custard (page 396), except that it is served hot. Butter well a flat mold or basin, ornament the bottom with a few candied cherries and angelica, pour over them caramel which is not browned deeper than an amber color, and do not use enough to float the fruits. Let it cool before adding the custard mixture. When it is baked, let the mold stand in the hot water until the moment of serving.

FRIED CREAM

1 pint of milk.

½ cupful of sugar.

½ teaspoonful of butter.

Yolks of 3 eggs.

2¼ tablespoonfuls of cornstarch.

1 tablespoonful of flour.

½ teaspoonful of vanilla.

½ saltspoonful of salt.

Put the milk into a double boiler with the salt and a piece of cinnamon or lemon-zest. When it is at the boiling-point add the sugar; then the cornstarch and flour, which have been moistened in cold milk. Stir until thickened; remove, and turn it over the beaten yolks of the eggs. Place it on the fire again for a few minutes to set the eggs. Add the butter and flavoring, and strain it onto a flat dish, or biscuit-tin, making a layer three quarters of an inch thick. Let it stand until perfectly cold and firm (it may be made the day before it is used); then cut it into pieces three inches long and two inches wide. Handle the pieces carefully, using a broad knife-blade. Cover each one with sifted cracker-crumbs, then with egg, and again with crumbs; be sure they are completely covered. Fry the pieces in hot fat to an amber color; lay them on a brown paper in the open oven to dry, sprinkle them with sugar, and serve on a folded napkin. The crust should be crisp, and the center creamy, the same as a croquette. If the pudding stands long enough before being fried, it will not be difficult to handle. Have the fat smoking hot, and do not fry too long. This dish is recommended, as it is particularly good, and very easy to make.

SHORT CAKES

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE

4 cupfuls of sifted flour.

3 heaping teaspoonfuls of baking-powder.

1 teaspoonful of salt.

1 teaspoonful of butter.

1 teaspoonful of lard.

Milk.

2 quarts of strawberries.

Sift the baking-powder and salt with the flour, rub in the shortening; then with a fork stir in lightly and quickly sufficient milk to make a soft dough—too soft to roll. Turn it into a greased tin, and bake in a hot oven for thirty minutes. Watch to see that it rises evenly. Unmold, and leaving it inverted, cut a circle around the top, within one inch of the edge; lift off the circle of crust, and with a fork pick out the crumb from the center, leaving about three quarters of an inch of biscuit around the sides. Spread the inside of the cake with butter, and then fill it with crushed strawberries, which have been standing half an hour or more mixed with sugar enough to sweeten them. Turn off the juice from the berries before filling the cake. Replace the circle of crust, and cover the whole cake, top and sides, with meringue, heaping it irregularly on the top. Use a pastry-bag if convenient to give the meringue ornamental form. Place it in the oven a moment to slightly color the meringue. Arrange a few handsome berries on the top. Serve the strawberry-juice as a sauce. Whipped cream may be used instead of meringue, if convenient. Shortcake, to be good, should be freshly made, and served as soon as put together.

CURRANT SHORTCAKE

Make a biscuit dough as directed for strawberry shortcake above, using half the quantity. Turn it into a pie-tin to bake. While it is still hot cut the edges and pull it apart with forks (do not cut it). Turn the crumb sides up; butter them and cover each one with a thick layer of crushed currants, which have been standing at least two hours with enough sugar to sweeten them. Place one layer on the other, cover the top with meringue, and ornament it with a few currants in lines or arranged in any way to suit the fancy. This is a delicious shortcake, the acid of the currants giving it more character than strawberry shortcake.

STRAWBERRY CAKE

Make two layers of Genoese (page 467) or of sponge cake No. 1 (page 466); cover them with whipped cream, and arrange whole strawberries close together over the entire top; place one layer on the other, and serve at once. The cream moistens the cake if it stands long.

Shortcakes are good made of peaches or pineapple, using the biscuit mixture.

ROLY-POLY PUDDING

Make a biscuit dough, and roll it out a quarter of an inch thick; spread it with any kind of berries (whortleberries or blackberries are best). Then roll it, and tie it in a cloth, leaving room for the pudding to expand, and boil or steam it for an hour. Serve with any sauce.

FRUIT PUDDING

Beat two eggs; add a cupful of milk, three teaspoonfuls of baking-powder and enough flour to make a stiff batter; then stir in as much fruit as it will hold (cherries, whortleberries, strawberries, or raspberries are the best fruits to use). Turn the mixture into a pudding-mold large enough to give room for the pudding to expand, and boil it for an hour. Serve with it plain pudding sauce, Sabayon, or a fruit sauce.

BAKED INDIAN PUDDING

¼ cupful yellow meal.

Scant half cupful of molasses.

¼ teaspoonful of salt.

1½ tablespoonfuls of butter.

3 cupfuls of milk.

1 egg.

¼ cupful of water.

Dash of nutmeg.

Put two cupfuls of milk, a quarter cupful of water, and the salt, on the fire; when it boils stir in the meal, and let it cook five minutes, stirring all the time; then remove from the fire, and add the rest of the milk mixed with the molasses, the butter, the beaten egg, and the nutmeg (or ginger, if preferred), and turn it into a baking-dish. Bake it in a slow oven for three hours. This quantity makes a pint and a half of pudding.

Note.—Some small bits of candied orange-peel sprinkled on the bottom of the dish before the batter is put in give a delicious flavor to the pudding.

PUDDING SAUCES

Pudding sauces are quickly made. They call for but few materials, and, like other sauces, often give the whole character to the dish. Serving the same pudding with a different sauce, makes it a different dish; therefore it is well to vary as much as possible the combinations. Farina pudding can be served with almost any of the sauces given below. Cake, cornstarch, rice, apple, or bread puddings can also be served with almost any sauce, if the flavorings are the same, or such as go well together. Hot puddings can be served with cold sauces. Jellies, creams, and blanc-manges can be served with whipped cream, the fruit sauces, or the whipped egg sauces.

Stewed prunes or compote of orange are good to serve with plain boiled rice, or with sweetened hominy, farina, or cerealine molded in cups.

PLAIN PUDDING SAUCE No. 1 (Hot)

¾ cupful of sugar.

2 cupfuls of boiling water.

1 teaspoonful of butter.

Zest of lemon.

1 tablespoonful of cornstarch.

Flavoring to taste of vanilla or any essence, or brandy, rum, or wine.

Dilute the corn-starch with a little cold water, and stir it into the boiling water; add the sugar and stir until the starch becomes clear; then add the butter and flavoring. If the sauce becomes too thick, dilute it with a little boiling water; the whipped white of one egg may be added, but is not essential.

PLAIN PUDDING SAUCE No. 2 (Cold)

Stir a heaping teaspoonful of corn-starch, which has been moistened with a little cold milk, into a pint of boiling milk, and stir for five minutes, or until it is well cooked; add three quarters of a cupful of sugar, and remove from the fire. When the mixture is cold flavor it, and just before serving beat in the whipped whites of two eggs and serve at once.

RICH PUDDING SAUCE

(FOR FRUIT PUDDINGS OR CROQUETTES)

3 tablespoonfuls of butter.

3 tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar.

2 tablespoonfuls of hot water.

½ cupful of sherry.

Juice of ½ lemon.

2 egg yolks.

Dash of nutmeg.

Cream the butter; add the sugar, and cream again thoroughly; then add the yolks and beat until light; add the hot water and the nutmeg. Place it in a saucepan of hot water, and beat, adding slowly the lemon-juice and the wine. The sauce should be foamy.

FOAMY SAUCE

(STEAMED AND BAKED PUDDINGS)

½ cupful of butter.

1 cupful of powdered sugar.

1 teaspoonful of vanilla.

¼ cupful of boiling water.

2 tablespoonfuls of sherry.

1 egg white.

Cream the butter and sugar; add the vanilla and wine, and beat them well. Just before serving stir in the boiling water; add the whipped white of one egg, and beat until foamy.

BRANDY, RUM, OR KIRSCH SAUCE

(FRUIT OR PLUM PUDDINGS)

Put in a saucepan two cupfuls of water with one cupful of sugar. When the sugar is dissolved and the water boils, add slowly a heaping tablespoonful of corn-starch or arrowroot diluted with a little cold water; stir until the corn-starch is clear; then remove from the fire, and add two tablespoonfuls of the liquor. Serve it hot.

SABAYON No. 1

4 egg-yolks.

4 tablespoonfuls of wine.

4 tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar.

Beat in a small saucepan the eggs and sugar to a light cream; add the wine. When ready to serve, place the saucepan in another one containing hot water, and beat until the sugar is melted and the egg beginning to thicken.

SABAYON No. 2

Put one cup of sugar, one half cup of sherry, and one egg all together in a saucepan and whip over the fire until it is a little thickened.

SYRUP SAUCE

Put two cupfuls of sugar and three tablespoonfuls of water into a saucepan on the fire, and stir until the sugar is dissolved; then let it boil without touching until it is a light syrup, and remove from the fire; add a teaspoonful of butter and flavoring, which may be fruit juice, liqueur, brandy, or flavoring extract.

FRUIT SAUCES

Canned fruits, preserves, or jams make good sauces for blanc-mange, corn-starch, rice, or boiled puddings.

The juice of canned fruit, boiled and thickened a little with arrowroot, and flavored or not with liqueur or essence, makes a good hot sauce.

APRICOT SAUCE

Dilute one half cupful of apricot jam with one half cupful of hot water; sweeten if necessary; strain and flavor with vanilla or one teaspoonful of Madeira or maraschino.

PURÉE OF FRUIT SAUCES

Strawberries, raspberries, peaches and apricots make excellent pudding sauces. Mash the fruit and press it through a colander or coarse sieve; sweeten to taste; serve hot or cold; if hot, let it come to the boiling-point and thicken with arrowroot, using one teaspoonful to a cupful of purée.

PINEAPPLE SAUCE

Chop the pineapple (fresh or canned) fine; sweeten and thicken with arrowroot. Serve with fritters, corn-starch, rice, or batter puddings.

BOILED CUSTARD SAUCE

Yolks of 2 eggs.

1 cupful of milk.

2 tablespoonfuls of sugar.

¼ teaspoonful of vanilla.

Beat the yolks and sugar to a cream; pour over them the scalded milk; return to the fire to cook the eggs, but let it only slightly thicken; remove; add the flavoring and beat with a wire whip to make it light and foamy. When served with plum pudding add rum or brandy to flavor it. Almonds chopped fine improve it for hot puddings.

CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Put a half cupful each of sugar and water in a saucepan and let boil five minutes. Let the syrup cool, then stir it slowly into four ounces of unsweetened chocolate melted; add one half teaspoonful of vanilla. Let it stand in a pan of hot water until ready to serve; then add one half cupful of cream or of milk.447-*

BISCHOFF SAUCE

Put in a saucepan one cupful of white wine, one cupful of hot water, and sugar to taste; add the zest of one half of an orange and one half of a lemon; let it come to the boiling-point; remove from the fire; take out the orange and lemon peel and add one half cupful of seedless raisins, one tablespoonful of shredded almonds, and a tablespoonful of finely shredded candied orange and lemon peel; cover and let stand a half-hour. When ready to serve let it again come to the boiling-point. Serve with cabinet puddings.

RICHELIEU SAUCE

Put one cupful of sugar into a saucepan with one cupful of boiling water; let it boil five minutes; add one teaspoonful of arrowroot moistened with a little water, and cook until clear; then remove from fire. Flavor with one tablespoonful of kirsch and add two tablespoonfuls of shredded almonds and candied cherries cut into small pieces.

MERINGUE SAUCE

Whip the whites of two or three eggs to a very stiff froth. Take as many tablespoonfuls of sugar as you have egg-whites; add a little water and let it cook to the ball (see page 512), or so that when dropped into water it will roll into a ball between the fingers. Turn this hot syrup slowly onto the whipped eggs, beating all the time; then beat it over the fire for a minute where the heat is moderate. This is called Italian meringue. Remove it from the fire and add a little lemon-juice or kirsch to take away the excessive sweetness; or a little currant jelly can be used, also grated orange-peel and shredded candied peel; serve it at once. This is a good sauce for soufflés or light puddings.

HARD SAUCE

Beat together one half cupful of butter and one cupful of sugar until they are very white and light; flavor with vanilla, wine, or brandy. The success of this sauce depends upon its being beaten a long time. It may be varied by beating with it the yolk of an egg, or adding the whipped white of an egg after the butter and sugar are beaten. Let it stand on ice to harden a little before serving.

STRAWBERRY SAUCE

Make a hard sauce as directed above; add the whipped white of one egg and a cupful of strawberries mashed to a pulp. Any fruit-pulp may be added in the same way and makes a good sauce for fruit puddings.

COCOANUT SAUCE

Make a hard sauce as directed above; add the yolks of two eggs; when it is very light and creamy add the whipped whites and a cupful of grated cocoanut.

COLD JELLY SAUCE

Stir a half glassful of grape, currant, or any jelly until smooth; then beat into it lightly the whipped whites of two eggs. Serve with any light pudding or with jelly.

423-* If unsweetened chocolate is used, add about three more tablespoonfuls of sugar or to taste, and a teaspoonful of vanilla.

447-* This sauce should be smooth and of the consistency of heavy cream. If it is to be used with ice-cream, omit the cream or milk and make it of the right consistency with water. See also page 435.—M. R.

Chapter XX

PIES AND PUFF-PASTE

Seasons. The American pie is perhaps the most ridiculed of all dishes. It has, however, great popularity and undoubted merits. Were the crust, especially the under one, always right, it would remove the most salient point of criticism. The tart pies, made with puff-paste, are a temptation to the most fastidious taste. The mince pie, probably the most indigestible of all, is the one universally accepted as a treat, and seldom refused by the scoffer. Pies have their seasons, like other good things, the apple pie being the only one served the year round. The berries and fruits, each one in their time, make most acceptable and delicious pies and tarts, while rhubarb introduces the spring, and pumpkin announces the autumn. In this day of canned and dried fruits the season need not be so strictly observed, but fresh fruits will always be preferable to preserved ones, and tradition goes far to hold the place for pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, and mince pie at the Christmas feasts.

PIES

PLAIN PASTRY FOR PIES

1 quart of flour.

1 cupful of butter.

1 cupful of cold water.

1 teaspoonful of salt.

Or use one-half butter and one half lard or cottolene.

This quantity gives enough for three or four pies. Cottolene makes good pastry. The shortening may be mixed, but the flavor is better where butter alone is used. The richness of pastry depends upon the amount of shortening used.

Sift the salt and flour together, reserving a little flour for the board. With a knife, cut the butter into the flour. Add the water a little at a time, and mix it in lightly with the knife; turn it onto the board, and roll it twice—that is, after it is rolled out once, fold it together and roll it again. If the paste is wanted richer for the top crust, put bits of butter over the paste when rolled; fold and roll it again several times. Fold the paste, and put it in the ice-box for an hour before using, keeping it covered. In making pastry everything should be cold, the handling light, and the hands used as little as possible. Paste will keep several days in a cool place, but should be rolled in a napkin, so it will not dry and form a crust.

To Put a Pie Together.—Roll the paste one eighth inch thick, and a little larger than the tin. Dust the pan with flour; place the paste on it, letting it shrink all it will. Lift it from the sides to fit it into place, and press it as little as possible. Cut a narrow strip of paste, and lay around the edge; moisten it so it will stick. Brush the top of the bottom crust with white of egg, so the filling will not soak in and make it heavy. Put in the filling, and cover with another sheet of pastry. Moisten the top of the strip of pastry so the top crust will adhere to it; this gives three layers around the edge. Trim and press them lightly together. Cut several slits in the top crust to let the steam escape in cooking.

A thin piece of paste cut into fancy shape can be placed in the center for ornament if desired.

PASTRY FOR TARTS OR OPEN PIES

2 cupfuls of flour.

¾ cupful of butter.

½ teaspoonful of salt.

1 tablespoonful of sugar.

Yolks of 2 eggs.

Water.

Sift the flour, salt, and sugar together. Cut in the butter as directed above. Mix in the beaten yolks, then enough water to make a paste which is not very stiff; roll it two or three times, then wrap it in a cloth, or cover it closely, and put it in the ice-box for an hour. This gives enough paste for four small tart pies like those shown in illustration.

TART PIES

(APRICOT, PLUM, APPLE, BERRY)

Roll the paste one eighth of an inch thick, lay it on a deep pie-dish; let it shrink all it will, and use as little pressure as possible in fitting it to the tin. Cut the paste an inch larger than the dish, and fold it under, giving a high twisted edge. Prick the paste on the bottom in several places with a fork. Lay over it a thin paper, and fill the tart with rice, dried peas, beans, cornmeal, or any dry material convenient. Brush the edge with egg, and bake it in a moderate oven. When done remove the rice, or other filling, and the paper. Brush the bottom with white of egg. This will insure a dry under crust. If apricots or peaches are to be used, peel and cut them in halves, lay them evenly over the tart with the center side up.

Place the half of a blanched almond in each one to represent the pit. Put the juice of the fruit into a saucepan on the fire; if there is no juice use a cupful of water. Sweeten to taste, and when it boils add to each cupful of juice one teaspoonful of arrowroot dissolved in a little cold water, and let it cook until clear; then pour it around the fruit, but not over it, as the fruit should lie on top and show its form. Place in the oven only long enough to cook the fruit tender. If canned fruit is used, cook the juice and arrowroot until a little thickened and clear; then pour it around the fruit, and let cool. It will not need to be put in the oven.

When plums or cherries are used, remove the pits carefully, and place the fruit close together, with the whole side up. For apple tarts, cut the apples in even quarters or eighths; stew them in sweetened water, with a little lemon-juice added, until tender. Lay them overlapping in even rows or circles in the tart. To a cupful of water in which the apples were stewed add a teaspoonful of arrowroot, and cook until clear; pour it over the apples, sprinkle with sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon. With berries, the fruit may be stewed or not before being placed in the tart; then strips of paste are laid across it, like lattice-work, and the paste brushed with egg. Bake long enough to cook the fruit and the strips of paste. When cold place a fresh berry on each piece of crust where it crosses; or place a drop of meringue on the crusts, and the berries in the openings.

The California canned fruits, costing thirty-five cents, make very good pies. One can of fruit will make two pies. Tart-rings are better to use than pie-tins, as the sides are straight. Place them on a baking-sheet, or tin, before lining them with pastry.

See caption
TART RINGS AND CRUSTS.

1, 2. Tart Rings.

3. Crust baked in ring No. 1.

4. Crust filled with rice as prepared for baking. (See page 452)

See caption
TART PIES.

1. Pie filled with quarters of apples arranged in rows.

2. Pie filled with apricots cut in halves—a blanched almond in the center of each piece. (See page 452.)

ORANGE PIE

Juice and grated yellow rind of 1 orange.

⅔ cupful of milk.

3 eggs.

1 cupful of granulated sugar.

1 tablespoonful of flour.

½ saltspoonful of salt.

Beat the yolks and the sugar together; add the flour, the milk, and the grated rind and juice of the orange. Place it on the fire in a double boiler, and stir until it is a little thickened; then pour it into an open or tart pie, and bake thirty minutes. The crust of the pie should be brushed with white of egg before adding the thickened mixture. The tart crust may be first baked, as directed above, if preferred. Cover the top with meringue made with the whites of the eggs and sweetened with three tablespoonfuls of sugar. Pile it on irregularly, or press it through a pastry-bag into fancy shapes. Place it in the oven a moment to brown. A little more flour may be used if the pie is wanted more solid.

A PLAIN APPLE PIE

Fill a pie with apples sliced thin, using enough to make the pie at least an inch thick when done. Add a little water to the apples, and cover with a top crust which is a little richer than the under one. This is done by rolling out a part of the same paste, covering it with bits of butter, folding it together, and rolling it again, repeating the operation two or three times. Cut a few slits in the paste to let out the steam while cooking. Brush the top with beaten yolk of egg.

When the pie is baked, and while it is still hot, lift off carefully the top crust; add sugar, nutmeg, and a little butter, and mix them well with the apples. Replace the top crust, and dust it with powdered sugar. Apple pies seasoned in this way are better than when seasoned before being baked.

PUMPKIN PIE

Cut a pumpkin into small pieces; remove the soft part and seeds. Cover and cook it slowly in its own steam until tender; then remove the cover and reduce it almost to dryness, using care that it does not burn. Press it through a colander. To two and one half cupfuls of pulp add two cupfuls of milk, one teaspoonful each of salt, butter, cinnamon, and ginger, one tablespoonful of molasses, two eggs, and sugar to taste. Add the beaten eggs last and after the mixture is cold. Pour it into an open crust and bake slowly forty to fifty minutes. Squash pies are made in the same way, but are not the same in flavor, although they are often given the name of pumpkin pies.

MINCE PIE MIXTURE

3 pounds of lean boiled beef chopped fine, or half beef and half boiled tongue.

1½ pounds of suet chopped fine.

3 quarts of apples chopped not very fine.

1 quart of stoned raisins.

2 cupfuls of cleaned currants.

¼ pound of citron cut into thin slices.

1 cupful of candied orange and lemon peel shredded.

1 teaspoonful each of cloves, allspice and cinnamon.

Grated zest and juice of two oranges and two lemons.

2 nutmegs grated.

1 tablespoonful of salt.

1 cupful of molasses.

3 cupfuls or sugar.

3 cupfuls of brandy.

1 cupful of sherry.

1 cupful of cider.

Mix the meat and suet together; then add all the dry ingredients and then the liquids. Pack in an earthen jar. It should stand several days before using, and will keep an indefinite time.

The pies should be made of good puff paste for the upper crust and tart paste for the under one, the edge having three layers as directed on page 451. The filling of mince meat should be one and a half inches thick. Paint the top crust with egg and trace with a pointed knife some simple design on it, cutting the paste very slightly. Bake for one hour and a quarter. Glaze the top by sifting a very little powdered sugar over it a few minutes before removing it from the oven.

CREAM PIE

3 eggs.

1 cupful of sugar.

1 teaspoonful of baking-powder.

1 cupful of flour.

Sift the flour and baking-powder together; beat the yolks and sugar together; add the flour and lastly the whipped whites of the eggs. Bake this cake mixture in two layers, and place between them when cold, and just before serving, a thick layer of whipped cream. Have the top piece covered with a boiled icing, or use between the cakes a cream filling made as follows:

CREAM FOR FILLING.

2½ cupfuls of milk.

2 tablespoonfuls of flour.

¾ cupful of sugar.

1 egg.

1 teaspoonful of vanilla.

Scald the milk; turn it onto the beaten egg; return it to the fire; add the flour moistened with a little milk, and the sugar, and stir until thickened. Let it cool before adding it to the cake. Serve with whipped cream if desired.

COCOANUT PIE

Line a tin basin which is two inches deep with pie paste, and bake it as directed for tart pies (page 452). Make a custard of one pint of milk, three egg-yolks, three tablespoonfuls of sugar, and two tablespoonfuls of corn-starch. Scald the milk and turn it onto the yolks and sugar beaten together; return it to the fire; add the corn-starch moistened with cold milk, and stir until well thickened; add one half teaspoonful of vanilla, and the whites of two eggs whipped to a froth; cook one minute to set the egg, then remove, and when nearly cold and stiffened stir in the half of a grated cocoanut. Brush the bottom of the baked pie-crust with white of egg; cover it with a thin layer of grated cocoanut and turn in the thickened custard. Cover the top with meringue made with the white of one egg. Return it to the oven one minute to color the meringue. Let the pie stand long enough to get firm and cold before serving. If the grated cocoanut is not added until the custard has stiffened, it will not sink to the bottom.

CRANBERRY PIE

Chop one cupful of cranberries and a half cupful of seeded raisins together into small pieces; add to them a cupful of sugar, a half cupful of water, a tablespoonful of flour, and a teaspoonful of vanilla. Bake with an upper and under crust. This resembles cherry pie.

WASHINGTON PIE

Make two round layer cakes, of sponge or of Genoese cake; spread between them a layer of pastry cream or of chocolate filling. Dust the top with powdered sugar in crossed lines to imitate strips of pastry.

Pastry Cream—Boil with a pint of milk or water five tablespoonfuls of sugar; add two tablespoonfuls of corn-starch, the yolks of five eggs, and a tablespoonful of butter; stir until thickened, add flavoring, and when partly cool spread it on the cake.

Chocolate Filling—Mix a half cupful of milk and a cupful of sugar, and stir until the sugar is dissolved; then add an ounce of shaved chocolate, and the beaten yolks of two eggs; stir until it is thickened; flavor with one half teaspoonful of vanilla, and let it partly cool before spreading it on the cake.

PUFF-PASTE

It is a mistake to consider the making of puff-paste too difficult for any but an experienced cook to undertake. No one need hesitate to attempt it, and if the few simple rules are strictly observed there will be success. The materials are few and inexpensive, and within the compass of the most moderate household. If light, good pastry can be substituted for the sodden crust of the ordinary pie, it will be found not only more palatable, but far more digestible and wholesome. Confections of puff-paste can be served on all occasions, and always make an acceptable dish, whereas ordinary pastry is excluded from any but the most informal service.

GENERAL RULES

The most important rule for making puff-paste, and the secret of success, is to have cold paste and a hot oven. It is well to have a marble slab to roll it on, but this is not positively essential. A warm, damp day should be avoided. The paste will keep on ice for a day or two before it is baked, and for several days in a dry place after it is baked, and if placed in the oven for a few moments just before serving, it will have the same crispness as when just baked. If there is no room colder than the kitchen to work in when mixing the paste, stand by an open window or in a current of air, for it is necessary to keep the paste cold during the whole time of preparing it. Use pastry flour if convenient (Plant’s St. Louis Flour). It can be obtained at all first-class grocers. It has a very fine grain, and can easily be distinguished from ordinary flour by rubbing a little between the thumb and forefinger.

RECEIPT FOR PUFF-PASTE

½ pound or 1 cupful of butter.

½ pound or 2 cupfuls of flour.

½ teaspoonful of salt.

¼ to ½ cupful of ice-water.

1st. Put the butter in a bowl of ice-water, and work it with the hand until it becomes smooth and flexible; then place it in a napkin and knead it a little to free it from moisture. Pat it into a flat square cake, and place it on the ice until ready to use.

2d. Sift the flour and salt together on a board or marble slab; reserve a little flour to be used for dusting the slab. Make a well in the center, and pour in a part of the water. Work in the flour, and use enough water to make a smooth paste. The exact amount of water cannot be given, as at certain times the flour absorbs more than at others. Gather in all the crumbs, and work the paste as you would bread dough until it becomes smooth. Roll it in a napkin, and place it on ice for fifteen minutes, that it may become thoroughly cold.

See caption
THREE PANS ARRANGED FOR CHILLING PUFF PASTE—THE UPPER AND UNDER ONES HOLDING CRACKED ICE, THE CENTER ONE HOLDING THE PASTE WRAPPED IN A NAPKIN.

3d. Sprinkle the slab lightly with flour. Roll the cold paste into a square piece; place the cold butter in the center, and fold the paste over it, first from the sides and then the ends, keeping the shape square, and folding so the butter is completely incased, and cannot escape through the folds when rolled. This must be absolutely guarded against at all times, and can be prevented if the paste is rolled evenly and folded properly. Turn the folded side down, and with a rolling-pin roll it lightly away from you into a long, narrow strip, keeping it as even as possible. Fold it over, making three even layers of paste. This is called “giving it one turn”; then roll the folded strip again, and fold as before. This must be repeated until it has had six turns, which is as many as it should receive to give it its greatest lightness. After each turn, if it shows signs of softening, otherwise after each two turns, wrap the paste in a napkin, and place it in a pan, which should be placed between two other pans containing cracked ice, and let it remain there twenty to thirty minutes. Great care must be used in rolling the paste to keep the edges even, so that the layers will be even, and to roll lightly and always away from you, so as not to break the air-bubbles which give the lightness to the paste. The rolling is made easier by lightly pounding as well as rolling the paste. After each folding press the edges gently with the rolling-pin to shut in the air, and turn the paste so as to roll in a different direction. The paste should slip on the slab. If it does not, it sticks, and must be put on the ice at once. When it has had six turns cut it into the desired forms, and place again on the ice for twenty to thirty minutes before putting it in the oven. The trimmings, put together and rolled, make a good bottom crust for tart bands, or a top crust for mince pies.

The baking of puff-paste is as important a matter as the rolling. The oven must be very hot, with the greatest heat at the bottom, so the paste may rise before it begins to brown; therefore put it on the bottom of the oven and lay a paper on the shelf for a few minutes. Do not open the door for the first five minutes. It is essential to have the oven very hot. It must not, however, scorch the paste, and if it scorches open the draughts at once, and place a basin of ice-water in the oven to lower the temperature. The amount given in this receipt makes about six pâté shells or one vol-au-vent case.

PÂTÉ SHELLS

Roll puff-paste which has had six turns to a quarter-inch thickness; cut it into circles with a fluted or plain cutter two and a quarter inches in diameter. It should be icy-cold when cut, for if it sticks on one side it will not rise evenly. From one half the circles cut a hole in the center with a cutter one inch in diameter. Moisten the edges of the whole circles, and place on them the rings. Brush over the top with egg. (This is to glaze them, and the egg must not touch the edges.) Place them on the ice for half an hour, then bake in hot oven for twenty minutes. Bake the small circles cut from the center on a separate tin, as they do not require as much time; when baked pick out from the center any uncooked paste. Use the small pieces for covers after the cases are filled. If preferred, roll the paste one half inch thick, and with the small cutter cut half-way through the paste. When baked lift off the inner circle, and remove the uncooked paste from the interior.

See caption
PÂTÉ SHELLS.

TART BANDS

Make a good short paste, using the receipt for tart paste. Roll it one eighth inch thick, and cut it into a circle six inches in diameter, using a basin for guide. Wet the edges and lay around it a band of puff-paste cut in a strip one and one half inches wide and one quarter inch thick. Place the strip neatly and carefully around the edge, using care not to press it; cut the edges that are to join in a sharp diagonal line, and moisten them so they will adhere. Prick the bottom crust in many places with a fork to prevent its puffing up; brush the top of the band with egg, but do not let the egg touch the edges; let it rest on ice for half an hour, then bake in hot oven thirty to forty minutes.

When ready to serve fill it with jam, preserves, purée, or any other mixture used for tart pies.

These tarts are very good, and can be served where pies would not be admissible.

MILLEFEUILLES

Roll puff-paste turned six times to the thickness of one half inch; cut it with a pastry wheel into pieces three inches long and one inch wide. Brush the tops of the pieces with egg, and sprinkle them with sugar. Let them stand on ice one half hour, and then bake in a hot oven for twenty minutes, or until well browned; these are served in place of cakes. Or, cut the paste three and a half inches long and two inches wide, and when baked place two pieces together with a thin layer of apricot jam between them, and cover the top with meringue. These are served as a dessert dish for luncheon.

TARTLETS

Cut puff-paste into rings the same as for pâté shells. Use tart paste for the under crust. After they are baked fill the center with pineapple, with any preserves, or with apple purée covered with apricot jam.

PAGANINI TARTLETS

Roll puff-paste one eighth inch thick; cut it with a pastry wheel into squares of three and a half to four inches. Turn the points together in the middle, and press them down lightly. Bake; then put a spoonful of jam in the center of each, and cover the jam with meringue; place them in the oven a moment to brown.

TO GLAZE PASTRY

Take an egg and one tablespoonful of water, and beat the egg enough to break it, but not enough to make it froth. The yolk alone may be used with the water, but the white alone will not give it color. Brush it lightly over the pastry, using a brush or quill-feather, and dust it with a very little sugar. This will give a brown and polished surface to the pastry.

When two layers of pastry are to be stuck together, brush the top of one with water, and lay the other on it before baking them.

Chapter XXI

CAKE

Baking. The most difficult part of cake-making is the baking. Unless the oven is right, the cake will be a failure, no matter how carefully it may have been mixed.

RULES

Have everything ready before beginning to mix the cake.

Have the weights and measures exact.

Fire. Have the fire so it will last through the baking, and the heat of the oven just right (see below), for on this the success of the cake mostly depends.

Do not mix the cake until the oven is entirely ready for it to go in.

Sift the flour before measuring it.

If baking-powder or cream of tartar is used, sift it with the flour.

Mix in an earthen bowl with a wooden spoon.

Beat the yolks and whites of the eggs separately.

Grease the tins with lard, as butter blackens.

For some cakes it is better to line the pans with paper.

Fruit. When fruit is used, roll it in flour, and add it the last thing.

If the fruit is wanted in layers, add it while the mixture is being poured into the tins.

Salt. Add one quarter teaspoonful of salt to all cakes.

Sugary crust. If a sugary crust is wanted, sprinkle the top with sugar before the cake is baked.

Cause of cracking. If the cake cracks open as it rises, too much flour has been used.

Uneven rising. If it rises in a cone in the center, the oven is too hot.

Beating. Beating eggs and butter makes them light, beating flour makes it tough; hence the rule to add it last.

Adding white of egg. When the whipped whites are added do not stir, but turn or fold them in lightly, so as not to break the air-cells.

Pans, how filled. In filling the pans let the mixture be a little higher on the sides than in the middle.

Soda and baking powder. When molasses is used, baking-powder (also cream of tartar) must be omitted, and soda alone used for raising the cake.

Equivalents. One teaspoonful of baking-powder is the equivalent of one teaspoonful of cream of tartar, and one half teaspoonful of soda.

HOW TO BEAT EGGS

Whites. Place the whites on a flat dish, being careful that not a particle of the yolk gets in. Add a pinch of salt, and with a daisy beater held flat whip the whites with an upward motion to a stiff, dry froth. It will take but a very few minutes if the eggs are fresh and cold. Yolks. Put the yolks in an earthen bowl, and with a wooden or silver spoon beat them until a lemon color. If sugar is used add it at this time, and stir until the whole becomes light and creamy.

HOW TO LINE TINS WITH PAPER

Turn the tin bottom side up, lay over it the paper, and crease the circle for the bottom. Cut the paper in several places down to the circular mark, fold it around the pan, and cut away the paper that doubles over. Grease the paper, and fit it neatly inside the pan, leaving an inch of paper rising above the edge.

See caption
CAKE TINS AND BAKING SHEET.

HOW TO GREASE PANS

Flouring tins. Warm the pan, and with a brush spread evenly the lard or cottolene. For flat tins to be used for small cakes, brush them lightly with oil; then with a paper or cloth rub them dry, and sprinkle with flour. Jar them so the flour will completely cover them; then turn over the tins, and strike them against the table. All the superfluous flour will fall, leaving the tins lightly coated with flour. This will give a clean surface to the bottom of the cake.

HOW TO BAKE CAKE

Rising. The oven should be only moderately hot at first, so that the cake can get heated through, and can rise before forming a crust; the heat should then be increased, so that when the cake has been in the oven one half the time required for baking a light crust will be formed. It should rise evenly, and be smooth on top. When it rises in a cone in the center it is because the oven is too hot, and a crust has formed on the edges before it has had time to rise. Sometimes it rises on one side, showing the oven is hotter on one side than the other, in which case it should be turned or a screen interposed; but it must be done with the greatest care. Moving or jarring the cake before the air-cells are fixed is almost sure to cause it to fall. Do not open the oven door for the first five minutes, and then open and shut it very gently, so as not to jar the cake. Time. Cake takes from fifteen minutes to an hour to bake, according to its kind and thickness. A hotter oven is needed for a thin cake than for a thick one. It is done when it shrinks from the pan, and makes no singing noise; or when a broom straw run into it comes out clean and smooth. Be sure the cake is done before removing it from the oven. Let it stand a few minutes in the tin, and it will then come out easily. Always handle the cake carefully.

Tests for the oven. The following test for the oven is given by Miss Parloa. Put in a piece of white paper. If at the end of five minutes the paper is a rich yellow color, the oven is right for sponge-cake; if light yellow, it is too cool; if dark brown, too hot. For pound or butter-cakes, it should be light yellow at the end of five minutes. For gingerbreads and thin rolled cakes, it should be dark brown.

MIXING SPONGE-CAKES

Cream the yolks and sugar together. Add the flavoring and water; then fold in the beaten whites, and lastly the flour, sprinkling it in, and lightly folding, not stirring it in. If baking-powder is used, it is mixed with the flour.

MIXING CAKE MADE WITH BUTTER

Rub the butter until it is light and smooth. Add the sugar, and stir until creamy. If there is too much sugar to mix with the butter, beat one half with the yolks of the eggs. Add the beaten yolks to the creamed butter and sugar. (If only a little butter is used melt it, and add it to the yolks and sugar.) Next add the flavoring, and then the milk and flour alternately, until all are in. Beat the batter a few minutes to give it fine grain; then fold in the whipped whites of the eggs lightly. If fruit is used, flour and add it the last thing. Turn it into the pans, and put it at once into a moderate oven.465-*

SPONGE-CAKE No. 1

6 eggs.

3 cupfuls of sugar.

4 cupfuls of flour.

1 cupful of cold water.

2 teaspoonfuls of baking-powder.

Juice and grated rind of 1 lemon.

¼ teaspoonful of salt.

In this cake the beaten whites are added last. The baking-powder mixed with the flour is added to the yolks, sugar, and flavoring. This is a good cake to use for layer-cakes or rolls. It is sufficient for two loaves.

SPONGE-CAKE No. 2

Weigh any number of eggs; take the same weight of sugar and one half the weight of flour; the grated rind and juice of one lemon to five eggs. For mixing this cake, see the directions given above; the mixture should be very light and spongy, great care being used not to break down the whipped whites. The oven should be moderate at first, and the heat increased after a time. The cake must not be moved or jarred while baking. The time will be forty to fifty minutes, according to size of loaf. Use powdered sugar for sponge-cake. Rose-water makes a good flavoring when a change from lemon is wanted. Almonds chopped fine mixed in the cake, and also orange rind grated over the cake before it is frosted, are good.

SPONGE-CAKE No. 3

10 eggs.

1 pound of powdered sugar.

½ pound of flour.

Juice and grated rind of ½ lemon.

Beat the yolks and sugar together for at least half an hour. It will not be right unless thoroughly beaten; add the lemon, then the whites beaten very stiff, and the flour last; sprinkle the top with sugar. Put it at once into a moderate oven. This is a moist cake and has a thick crust.

WHITE SPONGE, OR ANGEL CAKE

Whites of 6 eggs.

¾ cupful of granulated sugar.

1 cupful of flour.

½ teaspoonful of vanilla.

½ teaspoonful of cream of tartar.

Put the cream of tartar into the flour and sift it five or six times; sift the sugar twice. Put a pinch of salt with the whites of the eggs and whip them very stiff; add the sugar to the whipped whites, placing it on the end of the platter and gradually beating it in from below; add the flour in the same way, and lastly add the flavoring. Do not stop beating after the mixing is begun, and keep the mixture light. Bake it in a perfectly bright ungreased pan, or one lined with paper; a pan with a tube in the center is best. Bake in a moderate oven thirty to forty minutes. Do not move or jar it while it is baking. Try it with a broom-straw before removing it from the oven, and do not let it get too deeply colored. Let it stand in the pan a few minutes, then loosen it around the sides, and it will fall out. Turn the cake upside down and ice the bottom and sides if desired. The usual receipt is double the above quantities, eleven eggs being used, but this one gives a cake large enough to serve six people, and as it should be used while it is very fresh, it is better not to make more than enough to serve once. It can be made with five eggs and is very good, but not quite as spongy. Do not cut the cake, but break it apart with two forks.467-*

SUNSHINE CAKE

Make the same as angel cake, adding the beaten yolks of two eggs before putting in the flour.

GENOESE CAKE

Three eggs, and the same weight of butter, of sugar, and of flour. Beat the butter and sugar together until very light and creamy; add one saltspoonful of salt and flavoring (one half teaspoonful of vanilla or almond, or one tablespoonful of brandy); then add the eggs one at a time and beat each one well before adding the next. Beat the mixture for fifteen to twenty minutes; then stir in lightly the sifted flour and turn it into a pan, filling it three quarters full. This cake can be used for layers, rolls, canary pudding, or can be cut into small forms for fancy cakes. Bake slowly about forty minutes.

JELLY ROLLS

Make a layer of Genoese, or of sponge-cake No. 1. Put the mixture on the layer tins in spoonfuls, placing it around the edges; then with a broad knife smooth it over toward the middle, making it as even as possible. Another way is to press it through a pastry bag in lines onto the tins. The layers should be only one half inch thick when baked, and the crust should not be hard. As soon as it is removed from the oven, and before it has had time to cool, cut off the hard edges, spread it with currant, or any jelly or jam, and roll it up evenly; then roll it in a paper and tie, so it will cool in a round, even shape.

LAYER CAKES: CHOCOLATE, VANILLA, COFFEE

Bake Genoese or sponge-cake No. 1 (one half the receipt will give three layers) in round layer tins, using three for each cake; when baked spread two of them with filling and pile them one on the other. Trim the outside with a sharp knife so it will show a white even edge instead of crust. Cover the top with a soft royal icing made of confectioners’ sugar and flavored the same as the filling.

CREAM FILLING

Beat well together the yolks of five eggs, one half cupful of sugar, and one heaping tablespoonful of cornstarch; dilute it with two cupfuls of boiling milk, and stir it over the fire until thickened; then remove, add the flavoring, and let it cool. If coffee flavoring is wanted, use one half black coffee and one half milk. If chocolate, melt three or four ounces and add it to the custard.

CHOCOLATE FILLING

Melt four ounces of chocolate; dilute it with three tablespoonfuls of milk, and then add a cupful of sugar mixed with a well-beaten egg, and stir until thickened.

ORANGE CAKE

Whites of 9 eggs.

2 cupfuls of granulated sugar.

3 heaping cupfuls of flour sifted three or four times.

1 cupful of butter.

1 cupful of milk.

2 teaspoonfuls of baking-powder.

1 teaspoonful of lemon-juice.

Cream the butter; add the sugar, and beat for ten minutes; add the milk, and then add alternately the whipped eggs and the flour, the baking-powder having been sifted with the flour; add the lemon-juice last, and mix all lightly. Bake in layer tins; spread the layers with orange filling and frost the top with royal icing flavored with orange-juice and a little lemon.

ORANGE FILLING

Beat the whites of two eggs to a stiff froth. Boil one and one quarter cupfuls of sugar with one half cupful of water to the small ball (see page 512). Pour the boiling sugar in a very fine stream onto the whipped whites, beating hard all the time. Add the grated rind and juice of one orange and continue to beat until it is cold and the sugar is stiffened enough to place between the cakes without running.

PISTACHIO CAKE

Make three layers of cake after the receipt given for orange cake. Make a cream filling as directed for layer cakes. Flavor it with orange-flower water and a little bitter almond, to give the flavor of pistachio (see page 391), and color it a delicate green. Frost the top with a soft royal icing (page 484) made of confectioners’ sugar; color it a delicate light green and sprinkle the top with chopped pistachio nuts. This cake is rather soft and creamy, and should not be cut before going on the table.

PLAIN CUP CAKE

½ cupful of butter.

1½ cupfuls of sugar.

1 cupful of water or milk.

3 cupfuls of flour.

2 teaspoonfuls of baking powder.

4 eggs.

Juice and rind of 1 lemon.

Beat the butter and sugar to a cream; add the beaten yolks; then add slowly the water and three quarters of the flour. Beat it a long time until very smooth and light; then add the lemon and the rest of the flour in which the baking-powder is mixed; beat well together, and lastly add the whipped whites of the eggs. Bake in gem-pans, putting a tablespoonful of the mixture into each pan. Raisins may be added to this cake, or two ounces of melted chocolate may be used instead of the lemon-juice, making it chocolate cake; or it may be made into spice cakes by using two tablespoonfuls of molasses with enough water to give one cupful of liquid; add also one half teaspoonful each of ground cloves, cinnamon, and allspice, and a few currants if desired; use one teaspoonful of soda instead of the baking-powder if molasses is used. Bake in a moderate oven about one half hour, and see that the cakes rise evenly and are of the same size. Turn them out of the pans bottom side up, and frost the bottom and sides with royal icing while they are still warm. For chocolate or spice cakes, use chocolate icing.

See caption
PLAIN CUP CAKES ICED AND SMALL PIECE OF ANGELICA PLACED IN CENTER OF EACH CAKE.

GOLD-AND-SILVER CAKE

Use the receipt given for plain cup cake. Divide the materials; use the whites of the eggs with one part, the yolks and one whole egg with the other. Bake in separate tins; cut before serving; arrange the slices with the two colors alternating on a lace paper.

MARBLE CAKE

Make a mixture as directed for plain cup cake; divide it into three parts; color one with carmine, another with melted chocolate (one ounce), and leave the third one white. Do this quickly, so the baking-powder will not lose its force before going into the oven. Pour the mixtures into a tin, alternating the colors twice; they will run together and make a mottled cake.

RICHER CUP; OR, 1, 2, 3, 4 CAKE

Use one cup of butter, two of sugar, three of flour, and four eggs, and one half teaspoonful of vanilla. Mix as directed for butter-cake mixtures (page 465).

POUND-CAKE

Use one pound each of butter, sugar, and flour; ten eggs; one quarter teaspoonful of mace and one half cupful of brandy. Mix as directed for butter-cake mixtures. Divide it into two loaves and bake in tins lined with paper forty to fifty minutes in a moderate oven. This cake may be filled with sliced citron and raisins if desired, or may have nuts mixed with it, making a nut cake, or some nuts may be sprinkled over the top before it goes in the oven.

WHITE CAKE

Whites of 6 eggs.

¾ cupful of butter.

1¼ cupfuls of powdered sugar.

2 cupfuls of flour.

Juice of half a lemon.

¼ teaspoonful of soda.

Sift the soda with the flour three times; cream the butter and add the flour to it; whip the eggs to a stiff froth and add the sugar, then beat them gradually into the butter and flour, and add the lemon-juice. When it is thoroughly mixed and smooth put it into a biscuit or flat tin, so it will make a layer one and a half inches thick when done. Bake it in a moderate oven; while it is still warm spread it with royal icing (see page 483). Before the icing fully hardens, mark two lines down the length of the cake, dividing it into three sections, then across in even lines, giving slices one inch broad and about two and a half inches long; to do this hold over it a straight edge and mark it with the back of a knife. Put into a pastry bag some of the frosting, made a little stiffer with sugar, and place two dots of icing on each slice. This cake may be made with baking-powder, using one teaspoonful and mixing it in the usual way. It will then be a lighter cake and should be baked in a loaf; the first gives a firm, fine-grained cake.

PLAIN FRUIT CAKE

1 |  | ¾ cupful of butter. |  | Cream these together well.
2 cupfuls of granulated sugar.
2 |  | 3 eggs.
3 |  | 1 teaspoonful of allspice.
½ teaspoonful of grated nutmeg.
⅓ teaspoonful of ground cloves.
¼ teaspoonful of ground mace.
4 |  | 1 cupful of milk with ¾ teaspoonful of soda dissolved in it.
5 |  | 3 cupfuls of sifted flour with 1 teaspoonful of cream of tartar mixed in it.
6 |  | 1 cupful of sliced citron.
2 cupfuls of raisins.

Mix the materials in the order given, beating well each one before the next is added; add part of the flour and the milk at the same time, then the rest of the flour. Flour the fruit and add it last. More fruit can be used if desired. This will make one large or a dozen small cakes. Bake in a moderate oven about one hour if in one cake.

BROD TORTE

9 eggs.

2½ cupfuls of sugar.

2 cupfuls of bread-crumbs—Graham preferred.

2 teaspoonfuls of ground cinnamon.

Citron size of small egg.

¾ cupful of blanched almonds.

Grated rind of one lemon.

¼ cupful of brandy or rum.

2½ ounces of chocolate.

1 teaspoonful of ground allspice.

Put into a bowl the bread-crumbs, dried and pounded fine, the citron and almonds both chopped fine, the spices and lemon-rind and the chocolate grated fine; mix them thoroughly and evenly together. In a second bowl put the yolks of the nine eggs and whites of five with one and one half cupfuls of sugar. Beat them until quite stiff. In a third bowl put the whites of four eggs; beat them to a stiff froth; then stir in the remaining cupful of sugar. Now gradually and lightly mix the dry ingredients of bowl No. 1 with No. 2; then add the whites from No. 3. Lastly, add the brandy or rum, and quickly put it into the oven to bake for three quarters of an hour. Cover with chocolate icing, and decorate with lines of white icing.

See caption
ICED CAKE DECORATED WITH CANDIED CHERRIES CUT IN HALVES, ANGELICA CUT INTO TRIANGULAR PIECES, AND A SCALLOPED LINE OF ICING.

See caption
CAKE COVERED WITH CHOCOLATE ICING AND ORNAMENTED IN CENTER WITH LINES OF WHITE ICING.

See caption
CAKE ORNAMENTED WITH A MEDALLION IN CENTER FORMED BY A RING OF CANDIED PLUMS CUT IN QUARTERS AND STOOD ON EDGE. THE CENTER OF THE CIRCLE IS COVERED WITH BOILED ICING AND DECORATED WITH CANDIED CHERRIES AND ANGELICA. THE CAKE OUTSIDE THE MEDALLION IS BRUSHED WITH WHITE OF EGG AND THEN COVERED WITH BLANCHED ALMONDS CUT IN THIN SLICES.

FRUIT CAKE

1 pound of flour.

1 pound of sugar.

1 pound of butter.

½ pound of candied citron (sliced).

4 pounds of currants.

4 pounds of raisins (stoned and chopped).

9 eggs.

1 tablespoonful of ground cinnamon.

1 tablespoonful of mace.

1 tablespoonful of nutmeg.

3 gills of brandy.

Mix the fruit together and flour it; mix the spices with the sugar. Cream the butter and sugar; add the beaten yolks, then the whipped whites and the brandy, then the flour, and lastly the fruit. Put the mixture in two large tins lined with double paper, and bake in a moderate oven for three hours. If preferred, add the sliced citron in layers as the mixture is poured into the pans. One pound of chopped almonds may be substituted for one of the pounds of currants. This cake will keep any length of time, therefore the quantity may not be too great to make at one time.

CREAM CAKES AND ÉCLAIRS

These are made of cooked paste, and are very easy to prepare. The cream cakes differ from the éclairs only in form and in not being iced.

CREAM CAKES

1 cupful of water.

1 tablespoonful of sugar.

2 tablespoonfuls of butter.

1½ cupfuls of flour (pastry flour preferred).

3 to 4 eggs.

½ saltspoonful of salt.

Put the water, sugar, salt, and butter in a saucepan on the fire. When the butter is melted remove; add to it the flour, and beat until it is a smooth paste; return it to the fire, and stir vigorously until the paste leaves the sides of the pan; then remove; let it partly cool, and then add the eggs, one at a time, beating each one for some time before adding the next. When all are in, beat until the batter is no longer stringy. It should be consistent enough to hold its shape without spreading when dropped from the spoon on a tin. Three eggs make it about right unless they are very small or the flour very dry. The batter is better if it stands for an hour or two before being used; but this is not essential. Put the mixture into a pastry-bag with a tube of one half inch opening; press the batter through into balls one and a half to two inches in diameter. A spoon can be used, but does not give the cakes as good shape. Brush the tops with egg. Put them in a slack oven and bake slowly for about forty minutes. They will feel light when done, and be puffed very high. Oil and flour the pans or baking-sheets as directed on page 464. When the puffs are cool make an incision in the side and fill with cream filling as given for layer cakes, page 468. The whipped whites of the eggs may be added to this filling if it is wanted thinner and lighter.

These cakes are good made very small, filled with jam and a little whipped cream, and the tops dipped in sugar boiled to the crack, then sprinkled with chopped burnt almonds.

CHOCOLATE, VANILLA, AND COFFEE ÉCLAIRS

Make a mixture as for cream cakes; put it into a pastry-bag with a tube of three eighth inch opening. Press the batter onto tins (floured as directed for cream cakes) in strips three and one half inches long, and a little distance apart, the same as lady-fingers. Egg the tops and bake in a slack oven about thirty minutes. Cut open one side and fill with cream filling made the same as for cream cakes. Make a chocolate icing No. 2 (page 485); dip the éclairs into it, covering them one half. For vanilla or coffee éclairs use fondant icing, page 485. Flavor the filling with vanilla or coffee, the same as the icing.

CAROLINES

Make small éclairs two inches long, using a tube with opening no larger than a pencil. When baked run a wooden skewer through them, leaving an opening at each end, so the filling will go all the way through. Put the filling in a bag, and press it through the carolines. Cover the top with fondant icing. Have the filling flavored with coffee.

FANCY SMALL CAKES

MERINGUES AND KISSES

Add a half saltspoonful of salt to the whites of three eggs; beat them, and add gradually, while whipping, three quarters of a cupful of powdered sugar. Continue to beat until the mixture is smooth and firm enough to hold its shape without spreading when dropped in a ball; add the flavoring of lemon-juice or any essence. Place the meringue in a pastry-bag and press it through a tube into balls of the size desired onto strips of paper laid on a board that will fit the oven. With a wet knife flatten down the point on top left by the tube, and sprinkle them with sugar. Put them into a very slack oven, and let them dry for at least an hour; then remove from the papers and either press in the bottoms or scoop out the soft center and turn them over to dry inside. If small kisses, it is better to give them plenty of time to dry, so none of the center has to be taken out. They can be removed to the warm shelf if the oven is giving them too much color. They should be only slightly colored on top and dried all the way through. For large meringues to be filled with cream, use one and a half tablespoonfuls of meringue for each piece. Make them an oblong shape. Place them in an oven hot enough for cake and watch them closely until they have formed a light-colored crust; then remove and take out the soft center or press in the bottom, and turn them over to dry inside. These meringues may be dried like the kisses, but take longer time, as they are larger. When a board is not at hand the papers holding the meringues may be laid in biscuit-tins, a second tin placed like a cover over the top, and set on the shelf over the range for several hours. This serves very well where the fire is too great for the ovens to be cool. There is no difficulty in making meringues if the eggs are sufficiently whipped. They soon become stiff when whipped after the sugar is in. They must be dried rather than baked. If the meringues stick to the paper turn them over, slightly moisten the paper, and it will soon come off. Make kisses small and stick two together with white of egg. When very small they are good with a little jam or jelly between them. Large meringues can be filled with ice-cream or with whipped cream just before serving them, and two placed together.

One quarter cupful of powdered sugar is needed for the white of each egg.

See caption
1. SMALL KISSES. (SEE PAGE 475.)
2. MADELEINES—ROUND, SQUARE, DIAMOND-SHAPED, AND CRESCENTS, EACH ONE ICED AND GARNISHED WITH PIECE OF ANGELICA CUT THE SAME SHAPE AS THE CAKE. (SEE PAGE 477.)

LADY-FINGERS

6 eggs.

½ pound or 1¼ cupfuls of powdered sugar.

¼ pound or 1 cupful of sifted flour.

½ saltspoonful of salt.

Flavoring of vanilla, lemon, or orange-flower water.

Beat the yolks and sugar to a light cream; add the flavoring. Stir in lightly the flour and then the whites of the eggs whipped very firm; the salt is added to the whites before being whipped. Have a sheet of paper on the baking-pan or sheet. Place the mixture in a pastry-bag, and press it through a tube having an opening one half to three quarter inch wide. Have the strips four and a half inches long. Cut off the paste from the tube with a knife so the ends will be clean; dust them with sugar and bake in a moderate oven ten to twelve minutes, or until a light crust has formed. The crust should not be colored. When done, stick two together, using white of egg.

For Biscuit Balls.—Drop the mixture in balls one half inch in diameter, and bake the same as fingers. Stick two together with a little jam between them.

MACAROONS

½ pound of almonds.

Whites of 4 eggs.

1¼ cupfuls of powdered sugar.

Pound the blanched almonds to a paste, adding a teaspoonful of rose-water to keep them from oiling; add also the sugar, a little at a time, while pounding the almonds; add a few drops of almond essence and the whipped whites of the eggs; beat thoroughly together. Drop the mixture in balls one half inch in diameter on strips of paper, using a pastry-bag. If not stiff enough to hold their shapes without spreading, add one tablespoonful of flour.

COCOANUT BALLS OR CONES

Grate a cocoanut; add to it half its weight of sugar; then stir in the whipped white of one egg. Boll the mixture into balls or cones, and bake in a moderate oven twenty to thirty minutes. If the mixture is too soft to hold its shape, add a very little flour.

MADELEINES No. 1

Make two thin layers of Genoese cake (page 467), flavored with brandy; place them together with a thin layer of jelly or jam between them. Cut the cake into fancy shapes, such as diamonds, squares, circles, and crescents, having them not more than one and a quarter to one and a half inches in diameter, and the same in thickness. Ice them with fondant (see page 485), flavored with ram, kirsch, or maraschino, or vary the flavor for the different shapes; or, make the cakes of one layer one and a quarter inches thick, and ice them on top and sides with royal icing or with fondant, making it of different colors, pink, green, chocolate, white, and flavor to correspond. Place in the center of each cake a currant, bit of candied cherry, piece of angelica, or almond.

MADELEINES No. 2

Take a sponge-cake No. 1, or a Genoese cake mixture, and make it a little stiffer with flour (enough batter can usually be saved from layer cake to make a few fancy cakes). With a spoon or pastry-bag drop it in balls one half inch in diameter; bake, and place two together with a little jam or jelly between them. Cover them with soft royal icing; have them all of the same color. If green, use pistachio flavor as directed, page 391, and sprinkle the tops with chopped pistachio nuts; if white, with almonds; if pink, leave them plain, and flavor with rose.

LITTLE POUND-CAKES

Use the Genoese mixture with a few currants added, or the plain pound-cake mixture. Bake in small tins one and a half inches in diameter; take care that they rise evenly so they are flat on top. Ice the top only with any kind of icing.

See caption
1. SMALL POUND CAKES AND TINS IN WHICH THEY WERE BAKED.
2. ORANGE-QUARTER CAKES AND BAKING TIN. (SEE PAGE 478.)
3. SHELL-SHAPED GENOESE CAKES AND BAKING TIN.

ORANGE QUARTERS

Use the Genoese or any butter-cake mixture, making it quite stiff with flour; flavor it with lemon- and orange-juice, and add a little of the grated rind of orange. Drop a small tablespoonful of the cake mixture at intervals into the tin made for this cake (see illustration), and bake in a moderate oven; cover the wedge-shaped sides of the cakes with soft royal icing flavored and colored with orange-juice.

ALMOND WAFERS

Take one tablespoonful each of flour and powdered sugar and one half saltspoonful of salt. Sift them well together. Beat the white of one egg just enough to break it, and add as much of it to the flour and sugar as it will take to make a creamy batter; flavor with a few drops of almond essence. Grease the pans lightly and flour them as directed on page 464. Drop a half teaspoonful of the paste on the pan, and with a wet finger spread it into a thin round wafer. Bake it in a very moderate oven until the edges are slightly browned, then, before removing from the oven door, lift each wafer, and turn it around a stick. They stiffen very quickly, and the rolling must be done while they are hot.

VENETIAN CAKES

½ cupful of butter.

½ cupful of powdered sugar.

1½ cupfuls of pastry flour.

1 cupful of almonds.

1 teaspoonful of vanilla.

Yolks of 3 eggs.

Cream the butter and sugar together until very light; add the yolks well beaten; then the almonds blanched and cut in strips; mix; add the vanilla and stir in lightly the flour. The dough should be rather soft. Take a small piece at a time, drop it in powdered sugar, and roll it between the hands into a ball one inch in diameter. Put a piece of pistachio nut on the top. Place the balls a little distance apart on floured pans (see page 464), and bake in a moderate oven ten to fifteen minutes, or to a pale color. They will flatten in baking and have the shape of macaroons.

GAUFFRES

This receipt was obtained in Paris, and makes the little cakes one sees for sale at all the French fêtes, and also on the sea-beaches, where the vender calls so cheerily, “Voici les plaisirs.” They are baked in a kind of small waffle-iron. The plaisirs are rolled as soon as taken from the iron.

Add a dash of salt to the whites of six eggs, and whip them to a stiff froth. Put a half pound of flour in a bowl, and add enough water to make a thin batter; flavor it with vanilla, then add the whipped whites of the eggs. Bake one gauffre to see if the batter is of the right consistency. It should be very thin, and water can be added until it is right. Have the iron hot, and grease it well with butter or oil. Pour in the batter, and let it run evenly into all the grooves; close the iron, and bake on both sides over hot coals. The iron must be very clean, smooth, and well greased, or the gauffres will stick. Dredge them with powdered sugar as soon as baked.

See caption
GAUFFRE IRON. (SEE PAGE 479.)

JUMBLES, COOKIES, AND PLAIN CAKES

JUMBLES

Beat to a cream one cupful of butter with two cupfuls of sugar. Add three eggs, the yolks and whites beaten separately; then the flavoring. Stir in lightly enough flour to make a paste just firm enough to roll thin. Cut it into circles, and with a smaller cutter stamp out a small circle in the middle, leaving the jumbles in rings. Place them in a floured pan, brush the tops with white of egg, and sprinkle with pounded loaf sugar. The sugar should be in small lumps. Bake in a moderate oven to a light color.

SAND TARTS

Make the mixture given for jumbles. Cut it into squares or diamonds, place them in floured pans, brush the top with white of egg. Sprinkle with granulated sugar mixed with ground cinnamon. Place a piece of blanched almond in the center of each one.

ROLLED JUMBLES

Make a mixture as directed for jumbles, using only enough flour to make a thin batter. Drop a teaspoonful of batter for each cake on a floured pan. In the oven it runs out into a thin cake, so leave plenty of room for the batter to spread. As soon as the edges begin to brown lift the cakes, and at the oven door roll them around a stick. Leave them in the oven a few moments longer to dry.

PLAIN COOKIES

1 cupful of butter.

2 cupfuls of sugar.

1 cupful of milk.

2 eggs.

½ teaspoonful of vanilla.

Flour.

2 teaspoonfuls of baking-powder.

Mix in the order given. Use enough flour to roll the dough thin. Cut it into circles, and bake in a moderate oven. Brush the tops with white of egg, and sprinkle them with sugar. Caraway seeds may be mixed with the dough, or sprinkled over the tops if liked. For soft cookies do not roll the dough so thin. Stamp them out with a fluted cutter, and remove them from the oven as soon as baked, not leaving them to dry as for crisp cookies.

GINGER SNAPS

Put a half cupful of butter and a cupful of molasses on the fire; as soon as the butter is softened remove them, and add a half cupful of brown sugar, a teaspoonful of ginger, and a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a little hot water; then mix in enough flour to make a stiff dough. Roll it very thin, and stamp it into circles.

CRULLERS

Beat three eggs together; add four tablespoonfuls of sugar and four tablespoonfuls of melted butter or lard; then enough flour to make a dough stiff enough to roll. Roll it a quarter of an inch thick. Cut it into pieces three and a half inches long and two inches broad. Cut two slits in each piece, and give each one a twist. Fry the crullers in hot fat, the same as doughnuts.

DOUGHNUTS

2 eggs.

1 cupful of sugar.

1 cupful of milk.

4 tablespoonfuls of melted butter.

Flour enough to make a soft dough.

1 saltspoonful each of salt and ground cinnamon.

½ teaspoonful of soda and 1 teaspoonful of cream of tartar, or 1 teaspoonful of baking-powder.

Roll the dough one inch thick. Cut it into small circles, or rings, or strips and twist them. Drop the cakes into smoking hot fat, and fry to light brown; drain, and roll them in powdered sugar while still warm.

BREAD CAKE

Take a piece of raised bread-dough large enough for one loaf. Mix into it one tablespoonful of butter, one cupful each of sugar, raisins, and currants; one half teaspoonful each of ground cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. Let it rise, which will take some time, and bake the same as bread.

ONE-EGG CAKE

Cream together a half cupful of butter and a cupful of sugar. Add a cupful of milk, and one beaten egg; then two cupfuls of flour mixed with two teaspoonfuls of baking-powder. Bake in a moderate oven.

WARREN’S CAKE

2 eggs.

1 cupful of sugar.

1 cupful of flour.

½ cupful of hot water.

2 teaspoonfuls of baking-powder.

Beat the yolks and whites of the eggs together well, add the sugar, then the flour, in which the baking-powder is mixed, and lastly the water. Put it into the oven at once.

MOLASSES WAFERS

Mix well together one cupful of butter, one cupful of sugar, two cupfuls of molasses, and two cupfuls of flour. Drop a few spoonfuls into a pan, in different places, and put it in the oven; it will melt and run together. Let it bake until it begins to harden on the edges; then remove, cut it into squares, and while it is still hot and soft roll each piece around a stick.

SOFT GINGERBREAD

1 cupful of molasses.

1 tablespoonful of butter.

1 tablespoonful of boiling water.

2 to 3 cupfuls of flour.

1 teaspoonful each of ginger, ground cloves, cinnamon, and soda.

½ saltspoonful of salt.

Add the melted butter to the molasses, then the spices. Dissolve the soda in the boiling water, and stir it into the molasses. Add enough flour to make a very soft dough—too soft to roll. Bake in a biscuit-tin lined with paper, in a moderate oven, for thirty-five minutes. Mix it quickly and put it into the oven at once.

MOLASSES CAKE

Put together two cupfuls of New Orleans molasses and one cupful of butter, and heat them enough to soften the butter; remove from the fire, and add a teaspoonful each of powdered ginger and cinnamon, and one half teaspoonful of cloves, then three well-beaten eggs. When it is well mixed add alternately, in small quantities, three cupfuls of flour and one cupful of boiling water in which have been dissolved three teaspoonfuls of baking soda.

ICING AND DECORATING CAKES

ROYAL ICING

Place the white of an egg in a bowl or plate. Add a little lemon-juice or other flavoring, and a few drops of water. Stir in powdered sugar until it is of the right consistency to spread. While the cake is still warm pile the icing on the center of the cake, and with a wet knife smooth it over the top and sides of the cake. It will settle into a smooth and glossy surface. If the icing is prepared before the cake is ready, cover it with a wet cloth, as it quickly hardens. If it becomes too stiff add a few drops of water, and stir it again. Color and flavor as desired. One egg will take about a cupful of sugar, and will make enough icing to cover one cake. If a little more is needed add a little water to the egg, and it will then take more sugar. When icing is wanted for decorating a cake, beat the whites to a froth, then beat in the sugar instead of stirring it, and continue to beat until it is firm enough to hold its form. Stirring more sugar into the unwhipped whites will make it firm enough for decorating, but the whipped icing is better. Put it into a pastry-bag with small tube, or into a paper funnel, and press it through into any shapes desired. A good icing is made of milk and sugar alone.

ROYAL ICING WITH CONFECTIONER’S SUGAR

Make this icing the same as the other, using confectioner’s sugar, which is finer than the powdered sugar, and use a little water with the egg. This makes a soft, creamy icing; the more water used, the softer it will be. If beaten instead of stirred it will become firm enough to hold in place without so much sugar being used, but in this way it dries sooner and is not so creamy. This is a good icing for layer cakes, fancy cakes, and éclairs.

BOILED ICING No. 1

Put a cupful of sugar into a saucepan with one quarter cupful of boiling water and a half saltspoonful of cream of tartar; stir till dissolved, then let it boil without stirring until it threads when dropped from the spoon. Turn it in a fine stream onto the white of one egg whipped to a stiff froth. Beat the egg until the mixture becomes smooth and stiff enough to spread, but do not let it get too cold. Pour it over the cake.

BOILED ICING No. 2

Boil sugar as directed above to the soft ball; then remove from the fire, add the flavoring, and stir it until it looks clouded, and turn it at once over the cake.

CHOCOLATE ICING No. 1

Melt in a dry saucepan some chocolate; dilute it with a little water and add enough powdered or confectioner’s sugar to make it of the right consistency. Use it while warm, as chocolate quickly hardens. Flavor it with vanilla.

CHOCOLATE ICING No. 2

Melt in a dry pan four ounces of Baker’s chocolate, or of cocoa. Boil one and three quarter cupfuls of sugar with a cupful of water till it threads when dropped from the spoon, the same as for boiled icing. Turn it slowly onto the chocolate, stirring all the time. Use this icing for dipping éclairs and small cakes, and for layer cakes. Chocolate icing loses its gloss when at all stale.

CHOCOLATE ICING No. 3

Melt one ounce of chocolate; dilute it with two tablespoonfuls of milk; add two tablespoonfuls of sugar and a quarter teaspoonful of butter; stir till smooth and spread on the cake.

ICING FOR SMALL CAKES

Stir into confectioner’s sugar enough syrup of thirty degrees (see page 513) to dissolve it; add fruit-juice or liqueur to flavor it. When ready to use, heat it, stirring all the time, and stand it in a pan of hot water while the cakes are dipped into it.

COFFEE ICING FOR ÉCLAIRS

Make the same as the one given above, using very strong coffee or coffee essence to color and flavor it. Use enough sugar to make a soft flowing icing, and dip the cakes into it while it is hot.

FONDANT ICING

This is the best of all icings. It is soft and glossy, and is used especially for small cakes and éclairs. If the fondant is already made, it gives very little trouble. To make fondant see page 514. It will keep in tight preserve jars any length of time. Fondant does not work so well after it has been melted two or three times, therefore it is better to take only the amount to be used for one flavor or color at a time. Place it in a cup and stand it in a pan of boiling water. Stir the fondant constantly while it is melting, or it will become a clear liquid. It will soften at a low degree of heat; add the flavoring and coloring and dip the cakes into it. If it becomes too hard, add a few drops of syrup at thirty-four degrees (see page 513). When liqueurs are used for flavoring, add a drop or two at a time only, or they will dilute it too much. Should this occur, add a little more fondant to the cup. Maraschino, curaçao, kirsch, orange-flower water, rose, almond, and coffee essences make good flavorings for fancy-cake icings.

GARNISHING CAKES

WITH POWDERED SUGAR

The simplest of all garnishings is to sprinkle the cake with powdered sugar; strips of paper can be laid over the cake before it is dusted, so as to give lines or squares of white over the top; In lines or squares. stencils for this purpose are easily cut, giving circles or diamonds.

WITH CHOPPED NUTS

Almonds, walnuts, or pistachio nuts. Brush the cake with white of egg and then sprinkle with nuts chopped or sliced fine; or the cake may be lightly coated with a red jelly or jam, and then sprinkled with chopped nuts.

WITH COLORED SUGARS

Cover the cake with royal icing, and before it hardens sprinkle it with red and green colored sugar (see page 393). It may be put on in dots or sprinkled evenly over the whole.

WITH TWO COLORS

Loaf cake may be iced in sections of alternate colors. To do this, place a strip of stiff paper upright between the colors while spreading them, and remove it carefully as soon as the icing is on. This will give a clean, sharp line. Cakes iced with chocolate or with boiled icing may be ornamented with fine lines of royal icing.

TO DECORATE IN DESIGNS

Place royal icing in a pastry bag having a tube with small opening. Press the icing through slowly, following any design one may have in view. Points may be pricked in the flat icing at regular intervals as a guide. It requires some practice to acquire the facility for making very elaborate designs, but straight lines, dots, and circles around the cake are easy to make, and with these a great variety of combinations can be made. Tubes of various-shaped openings are made to give different forms to the icing pressed through them. To practise elaborate designs. If one cares to practise making fancy decorations, draw a design on a paper or slab and follow the lines with icing; scrape off the icing when it is done, and repeat the operation until familiar enough with the design to be able to make it without a guide.

465-* Cake made with butter needs to have the dough quite thick with flour, as the butter when melted acts as a wetting.

467-* If baked too fast this cake will be tough. It is well to set the cake-pan in a pan of water in the oven.

Chapter XXII

FROZEN DESSERTS

ICE-CREAMS, WATER-ICES, PARFAITS, MOUSSES, FROZEN FRUITS, PUNCHES, AND SHERBETS

Frozen desserts are the most acceptable of any that can be presented in the summer-time, and at any season they are served and expected at dinner entertainments.

Comparative trouble and expense. The trouble of making them is not greater than that of making any dessert of the same class, and the expense no more than any dessert using the same amount of eggs and cream; thus a plain ice-cream is the same as a custard, a mousse the same as whipped cream, etc.

Parfaits are especially delicious creams, and as they require no stirring while freezing are very quickly and easily made. The freezing of ice-creams which require stirring is accomplished in twenty to twenty-five minutes, and is much easier work than beating eggs for cake. In fact, the whole process of making ice-creams is easier than that of making cake, but the latter is so generally practised that nothing is thought of it. It will be the same with ice-cream if the habit is once formed. They have the advantage over hot desserts that they require no attention at dinner-time.

CLASSIFICATION OF ICE-CREAMS

Philadelphia ice-creams are cream sweetened, flavored, and stirred while freezing.

French ice-creams are custards of different degrees of richness stirred while freezing.

Parfaits, biscuits, and mousses are whipped cream, with or without eggs, frozen without stirring.

Water-ices are fruit-juices sweetened with sugar syrup, stirred while freezing.

Punches and sherbets are water-ices with liquors mixed with them either before or after they are frozen.

Fancy creams. These creams, in different degrees of richness and with different flavorings, give an infinite variety, and their combinations and forms of molding give all the fancy ices.

GENERAL RULES FOR MAKING ICE-CREAMS—TO PREPARE ICE-CREAM MIXTURES

The cream. Unless the cream is to be whipped it should be scalded, as it then gives a smoother and better ice; otherwise it has a raw taste. It is scalded as soon as the water in the outside kettle boils. If the cream is too much cooked it will not increase in bulk when stirred, therefore do not boil the cream. When whipped cream is used it should be very cold, whipped to a stiff, firm froth with a wire whip, and the liquid which drains from it should not be used. (See whipping cream, page 408.)

The sugar. Ices are much better when the sugar is added in the form of syrup. (See sugar syrup, page 503; and boiling syrup, page 513.) Frozen fruits are smoother when sweetened with syrup, and water-ices should be made of a thick syrup diluted with fruit-juice to 20° on the syrup gauge.

Custards In custard creams the milk should be scalded, and when a little cool stirred into the beaten yolks (the whites of the eggs are not generally used). The whole is then placed on the fire, and stirred continually until it coats the spoon no longer. The flavoring is then added, and it is beaten until cold. This makes it light and smooth, and increases its bulk.

Biscuits and parfaits. For biscuits and parfaits the custard is made of sugar syrup and yolks of eggs cooked together until it coats the spoon, and is then beaten until cold.

Freezing. Freezing.—Put the ice in a strong cloth or bag, and pound it quite fine. The finer the ice the quicker will be the freezing. Snow may be used in place of ice. Use one part of rock salt (fine salt will not do) to three parts of ice. Rock salt can be had at feed-stores when not found at grocers'. Place the can in the freezing pail with the pivot of the can in the socket of the pail, have the cover on the can, and a cork in the opening on top. Hold the can straight, and fill around it three inches deep of ice; then an inch of salt. Alternate the layers of ice and salt, observing the right proportions, until the packing rises to within an inch of the top of the can; pack it down as solid as possible. See that the can will turn, and be careful not to lift it out of the socket. Take off the top of the can; put in the paddle, placing the pivot in the socket at the bottom; then pour in carefully the ice-cream mixture, which must be perfectly cold. Time. Adjust the tops and crank, and turn it for twenty to twenty-five minutes, by which time the cream should be frozen. The crank turns harder when the mixture has stiffened, and it is not necessary to look in order to know it is frozen. If the cream is frozen too quickly it will be coarse-grained. To have it fine-grained it must be turned constantly, and not frozen in less time than twenty minutes.

Packing.—When the cream is frozen take off the crank and the top of the pail. Wipe carefully the top of the can, and see that the ice and salt are well below the lid, so none will get into the cream; lift off the top, take out the paddle, and with a spoon or wooden spatula work down the cream. Adding fruit, nuts, cream, etc. If fruit, whipped cream, or anything is to be added to the cream, put it in at this time and work it well together. If the cream is to be molded, remove and place it in the molds; if not, smooth the top, and make the cream compact with a potato masher. Replace the top, put a cork in the opening of the lid, draw off the water in the pail by removing the cork from the hole in the side of the pail, add more ice and salt. Cover it with a heavy cloth, and let it stand until ready to use. Ripening. The cream ripens or becomes blended by standing, so should be made before the time for serving. Look at it occasionally to see that the water does not rise above the opening of the can. If properly watched, and if the packing is renewed as required, the cream can be kept for any length of time.

Molding. Molding Ice-Creams.—Put the frozen ice-cream into the mold, filling it entirely full; press it down to force out any air bubbles. Rub butter around the edge where the lid fits on. Lay a wet thin paper over the top, and put on the lid. Fill the edges around the lid with butter or lard. Precaution. This will harden, and make the joints tight. Too much care cannot be taken to prevent the salt water leaking into the mold. Imbed the mold in ice and salt for from one to six hours. Mousses require four to six hours, and parfaits two to three hours. Watch to see that the water does not rise above the lid of the mold, and draw it off when necessary.

See caption
ICE-CREAM MOLDS IN BRICK FORMS AND INDIVIDUAL LEAD MOLDS.

Fancy Molding.—When two or more kinds of creams are to be combined in the same mold, first place the mold in ice and salt; line it an inch or more thick with one kind of cream, and fill the center with a cream of different flavor and color. Bombs. These are called bombs. Or, place two or more kinds in even layers.
Panachée. Where two colors are used they are panachée; if three, they are neapolitan.

Neapolitan. If the colors are to run in vertical strips, which is desirable in pyramidal molds, cut a piece of stiff paper or cardboard to the shape of the mold; fill each side with a different cream, and then withdraw the paper. Arrange layers of creams so that when unmolded the most solid one will be at the bottom, as it has the weight of the others to sustain; for instance, do not put water-ices or parfaits under French creams. Individual creams. Biscuits are put into paper boxes, and individual creams into lead molds. The latter must be thoroughly chilled, then filled according to fancy or color suitable to the form. Freezing box. They are then closed, and put into a freezing-box, or into a pail, the joints of the pail tightly sealed with butter, and packed in ice and salt. A freezing-box with shelves is desirable to have for these creams, but a lard-pail answers very well for a small number of molds, as the lid fits over the outside, and so can be made tight. Molds packed in this way require to stand longer than those which come in direct contact with the ice and salt.

Decorating. The individual creams have to be frozen very hard, and when unmolded should be brushed with a little color to simulate the fruit or flower they represent. Thus, a peach or a pear would be of French cream, which is yellow in color, and the sides brushed with a little diluted cochineal to give pink cheeks, and a piece of angelica stuck in to represent a stem. A flower would be molded in white cream, and the center made yellow. A mushroom stem would be dipped in powdered cocoa, etc.

Individual creams are perhaps too difficult for an amateur to undertake, and hardly repay the trouble when so many ornamental creams are more easily made.

Unmolding. To Unmold Creams.—Dip the mold into cold water; wipe it dry and invert it on the dish. If it does not come out at once let it stand a moment, or wring a cloth out of warm water, and wipe quickly around the mold. This must be done quickly, or the sharp edges of the molded cream will be destroyed. With parfaits and mousses it is better not to use a hot cloth, as they melt very easily. It destroys the attractiveness of ices to have the dish swimming in melted cream, or to have the mold soft and irregular in shape, which partial melting produces. Hence the unmolding of creams requires great care.

Ornamental Creams.—A plain ring-mold of ice-cream in any color can be made an ornamental cream, by filling the center with berries or with whipped cream for sauce. The whipped cream may be colored to give pleasing contrast. For instance, a white ice-cream-ring filled with pink whipped cream and a few pink roses laid on one side of the dish, or a ring of pistachio ice-cream filled with white whipped cream or with strawberries, and a bunch of green leaves laid on one side of the dish.

See caption
ICE-CREAM MOLDED IN A RING MOLD, THE CENTER FILLED WITH WHIPPED CREAM COLORED PINK, AND THE DISH GARNISHED WITH PINK ROSES AND LEAVES.

Melon cream. A melon mold may be lined with pistachio ice-cream, the center filled with pink ice-cream mixed with a few small chocolates to represent seeds, or with French ice-cream, which is yellow, and mixed with blanched almonds. The surface of the melon when unmolded is sprinkled with chopped browned almonds to simulate a rind. This dish may be garnished with leaves.

Spun sugar. Spun sugar can be employed to ornament any form of cream. It may be spread over or be laid around it, and makes a beautiful decoration.

Individual Creams, representing eggs or snow-balls, can be served in a nest of spun sugar. Glacé grapes or oranges can be arranged on the same dish with individual creams representing peaches and pears, the whole lightly covered with a little spun sugar.

Combinations. Individual ice-creams, representing roses, can be held by artificial stems, stuck into a rice socle, with natural roses and leaves interspersed, giving the effect of a bouquet.

Individual creams are also served in baskets of nougat or of pulled candy. The baskets can be ornamented by tying a bunch of roses with a ribbon on the handle.

Individual creams representing strawberries are served on flat baskets, or piled on a flat dish and trimmed with natural leaves.

Forms of ice-cream representing animals and vegetables are in questionable taste, and are not recommended.

Attention is called to the following creams given in the receipts, which are especially good:

The coffee and the chocolate pralinée.

The white ice-cream, plain or mixed with candied or preserved chestnuts, or with candied fruits cut into dice.

The maple parfait, which is quite new.

Fruit ice No. 2. Chocolate mousse.

Maraschino, curaçao, and noyau make delicious flavorings for cream.

RECEIPTS FOR ICE-CREAMS AND ICES

VANILLA ICE-CREAMS

NO. 1. PHILADELPHIA ICE-CREAM

1 quart of cream.

½ pound, or 1 cupful, of sugar.

1 vanilla bean or 1 tablespoonful of vanilla extract.

If the cream is very rich dilute it with a little milk, or the ice-cream will be too rich, and also it may form fine particles of butter while being stirred. Put the cream and the sugar into a double boiler and scald them; when they are cold add the flavoring. If a vanilla bean is used it should be infused with the cream when it is scalded. Freeze and pack as directed in general directions, page 490.

Note.—Plain vanilla ice-cream is very good served with hot chocolate sauce. Page 447.

NO. 2. AMERICAN ICE-CREAM (VERY PLAIN)

1 quart of milk.

1 cupful of sugar.

3 whole eggs,

1 tablespoonful of vanilla.

Scald the milk. Beat the eggs and sugar together; stir the scalded milk into them slowly; replace on the fire in a double boiler and stir constantly until the custard coats the spoon; do not let it boil, or it will curdle. Beat it for a little while after taking it off the fire. When it is cold add the flavoring, and freeze it as directed at head of chapter.

Cream will improve this mixture, even if it be only a few spoonfuls. More eggs, also, will give a richer ice-cream. When the cream is frozen remove the dasher, press the cream down with a potato-masher to smooth the top and make it compact, and leave it in the freezer until time to serve. A few raisins, thin slices of citron, or a little fresh or preserved fruit may be mixed in when the dasher is removed, and will much improve the cream.

NO. 3. FRENCH ICE-CREAM

1 pint of milk.

1 pint of cream.

1 cupful of sugar.

6 egg-yolks.

1 tablespoonful of vanilla extract or of powder, or 1 vanilla bean.

Scald the pint of milk in a double boiler. (It is scalded when the water in the outside kettle boils). Beat the yolks and sugar together until light and smooth. Stir the scalded milk slowly into the beaten eggs and sugar. Put this into a double boiler and cook, stirring constantly until it thickens enough to coat the spoon. Do not let it boil or cook too long, or it will curdle. If a vanilla bean is used it should be cut in two lengthwise and infused with the scalded milk. Remove the custard from the fire; add the cream and the flavoring and stir until it is partly cooled. When cold freeze it as directed at head of chapter.

Note 1.—This makes a solid, fine-grained cream. It can be made with one quart of cream instead of half milk, and eight to ten eggs may be used instead of six. The richness depends upon the amount of cream, and the solidity upon the number of yolks used.

Note 2.—With the whites of the eggs make an angel cake, or keep them until next day, and make an angel cream (page 497), or an angel parfait (page 505).

CHOCOLATE ICE-CREAM

Use either of the receipts given for vanilla creams, according to the richness and quality of cream desired; add to the custard while it is hot four ounces of melted chocolate. To melt the chocolate break it into small pieces; place it in a small saucepan on the side of the range where the heat is not great. When it is melted add a very little milk or custard to dilute and smooth it before adding it to the ice-cream mixture. Freeze and pack as directed at head of chapter.

CARAMEL ICE-CREAM No. 1

1 pint of milk.

1 pint of cream.

3 whole eggs.

1½ tablespoonfuls of scraped chocolate.

Caramel.

Scald the milk; add it slowly to the beaten eggs; add the chocolate, and cook in a double boiler, stirring constantly until the custard coats the spoon; then add the hot caramel. When the mixture is perfectly cold add the cream, whipped, and freeze. See general directions.

To make the caramel, put a cupful of sugar with a half cupful of water into a saucepan; stir until the sugar is dissolved; then, without touching, let it cook until a golden color—not longer, or it will blacken. This is the caramel stage, and registers on the thermometer 345° (see page 512).

CARAMEL ICE-CREAM No. 2

Add the hot caramel to any of the mixtures given for vanilla creams, omitting the sugar and vanilla. The caramel supplies both sweetening and flavoring. It must be mixed with the custards while hot, as it quickly hardens, and will not then dissolve.

COFFEE ICE-CREAM No. 1

To any of the receipts given for vanilla cream add a half cupful of black coffee, and omit the vanilla.

COFFEE ICE-CREAM No. 2

1 quart of milk.

1 quart of cream.

½ cupful of very black coffee.

1½ cupfuls of sugar.

½ ounce of isinglass soaked for half an hour in a little of the cold milk.

Scald the milk; add the coffee and isinglass and sugar. When it is cold add the cream, whipped, and freeze.

WHITE OR ANGEL ICE-CREAM

Whites of 6 eggs.

1 cupful of powdered sugar.

1 pint of cream.

Italian meringue made of the whites of 2 eggs and 1 tablespoonful of hot syrup.

2 tablespoonfuls of noyau or of orange-flower water.

Break the whites of the eggs, but do not beat them to a froth; stir into them the cupful of powdered sugar, and then add the cream. Place it in a double boiler, and stir until it is scalded, but do not let it boil; remove from the fire and stir until it is cold, to make it light. When it is cold add the flavoring, and freeze. When it is frozen remove the dasher, stir in the Italian meringue, turn it into a mold, and pack in ice and salt for two or three hours. This cream requires a little longer to freeze than the other creams.

ITALIAN MERINGUE

Whip the whites of eggs to a stiff froth; beat into them slowly some boiling syrup cooked to the ball. This cooks the eggs enough to prevent their separating. The syrup is made by boiling sugar and water until, when a little is dropped into cold water, it will form a ball when rolled between the fingers.

RICE ICE-CREAM

Cook a cupful of rice until very soft. Have the juice of a lemon in the water in which the rice is boiled. When the rice is steamed dry, cover it with a thick sugar syrup and let it stand for an hour or more. Drain off the syrup, add a half pint of cream, whipped (this may be omitted if preferred); stir this into vanilla cream No. 1 or 3, or with angel ice-cream after it is well frozen. Mold and pack in ice and salt for one or two hours.

PISTACHIO ICE-CREAM

Blanch two ounces of pistachio nuts; this is done by pouring over them boiling water: after a few minutes the skins can be easily removed. Pound the nuts in a mortar to a smooth paste, using a little cream to prevent their oiling. Add this quantity of nuts to one quart of vanilla cream mixture No. 3; color it green, the shade of green peas; flavor with a little orange-flower water, then freeze. When nuts are not obtainable, the flavor of pistachio can be produced with orange-flower water and a very little bitter almond.

NEAPOLITAN ICE-CREAM

This cream is molded in brick form in three layers of different flavors and colors. Make a cream after the receipt for vanilla cream No. 3, using eight or ten yolks, as it should be solid and of fine grain; omit the vanilla flavoring. Have a pail packed in ice; when the cream is frozen, remove one third of it to the pail and stir in quickly a little vanilla, using the vanilla powder if convenient; put this into the brick-shaped mold, also packed in ice, and smooth it down to an even layer. Take from the freezer one half of the cream remaining in it and put it into the pail; stir into it one ounce of melted chocolate diluted and made smooth with a little cream or milk. Place the chocolate cream in an even layer on the layer of vanilla cream. To the cream remaining in the freezer add an ounce of pistachio nuts, prepared as directed in receipt for pistachio cream; color it green and add it to the mold for the third layer. Seal the joints of the mold with butter to make it very tight, as directed for molding, page 491. Pack in ice and salt for several hours. The molding of this cream must be done quickly, but with care to have the layers even. Strawberry ice is often used for one of the layers instead of chocolate cream.

NESSELRODE PUDDING

1 cupful of French chestnuts.

1 cupful of granulated sugar.

Yolks of 3 eggs.

½ pint of cream.

¼ pound of mixed candied fruits.

1 cupful of almonds.

½ can of pineapple (drained).

1½ tablespoonfuls of maraschino, or 2 tablespoonfuls of sherry.

½ teaspoonful of vanilla sugar, or ¼ teaspoonful of vanilla extract.

1. Remove the shells from the chestnuts; put them in boiling water for three minutes, then into cold water, and take off the skins. Boil the blanched chestnuts until tender. Take one half of them and press them through a sieve. They will go through more easily while hot.

2. Blanch the almonds; chop them fine and pound them.

3. Cut the candied fruits and the chestnuts into dice; pour over them the maraschino and let them stand until ready to use.

4. Put into a saucepan on the fire a cupful of granulated sugar and one quarter cupful of boiling water; stir until the sugar is dissolved, then let it cook slowly for five minutes, making a sugar syrup.

5. Beat the yolks of three eggs until light. Pour onto them slowly, stirring all the time, the sugar syrup; place them on the fire and stir constantly until the mixture is enough thickened to coat the spoon and has the consistency of thick cream. Remove it from the fire, turn it into a bowl, and beat it until it is cold. When it is cold add a half pint of cream, the mashed chestnuts, the pounded almonds, and the vanilla flavoring, and freeze it. When it is frozen remove the lid of the freezer, add the fruits, replace the lid, and turn the freezer for another five minutes. Put the cream into a fancy mold and pack in ice and salt until ready to use. Serve with it whipped cream, or the sauce given below for plum pudding glacé flavored with maraschino. This makes a quart of cream, and, being very rich, is enough to serve to ten persons.

Gouffé gives the receipt for this pudding, which he says he obtained from the chef of Count Nesselrode. He omits the grated almonds, and uses stoned raisins and currants instead of candied fruits. When the cream is half frozen he adds a half pint of whipped cream. The raisins and currants are boiled until plump and added after the cream is frozen, but before it is packed.

PLUM PUDDING GLACÉ

Make a chocolate ice-cream as directed on page 496, using the French ice-cream mixture. Have a scant three quarters of a pound of mixed fruit, composed of seeded raisins and currants boiled until plump, thin slices of citron, a few candied cherries and apricots if convenient. Pour over them a little sherry and let them stand long enough to be a little softened. When the cream is frozen, drain the fruit and mix it into the cream, turning the dasher for a few minutes to get it well mixed and again hardened. Place it in a melon mold and pack in ice and salt. This will make about two quarts of cream. Serve with a sauce placed around it on the same dish. The sauce may be whipped cream flavored with a little kirsch or brandy, or a sauce made as follows.

SAUCE FOR PLUM PUDDING GLACÉ OR FOR NESSELRODE PUDDING

Beat the yolks of two eggs with two tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar to a cream. Stir it over the fire in a double boiler until the egg is a little thickened, but not hard. Continue to beat the egg until it is cold. It will then be light and creamy; add a tablespoonful of brandy, or of kirsch, or of rum, or of maraschino; and then mix in lightly a half pint of cream whipped to a dry, stiff froth.

TUTTI-FRUTTI

Make a French vanilla ice-cream, page 495. Cut into small dice four ounces each of candied cherries, apricots, and plums; and other fruits may be used if desired. Let them soak until a little softened in maraschino, or kirsch, or sherry. When the cream is frozen, stir in the salpicon of fruit, drained; replace the lid of the freezer and turn it for five minutes. Turn it into a fancy mold and pack in ice and salt until ready to use. The angel ice-cream, page 497, may be used instead of the vanilla No. 3 if preferred. Serve with the Tutti-Frutti a sauce of whipped cream flavored with kirsch, maraschino, or sherry.

FRUIT ICE-CREAMS

No. 1. Berries, or any kind of larger fruit cut into small pieces, may be added to any of the vanilla creams after they are frozen. Remove the paddle of the freezer, mix the fruit in well, then mold and pack in ice and salt for one or two hours. The fruit will become too solid if packed for a long time.

No. 2. Crush any fruit or berries to a pulp. Sweeten it to taste with a thick sugar syrup (32° on the syrup gauge). Freeze the same as any ice cream, and pack in ice and salt if molded. This makes a delicious ice. Sugar may be used instead of syrup for sweetening, but the latter gives a better result.

No. 3. Using canned fruit. Strain the liquor from the fruit; sweeten it if necessary with sugar or with syrup. Mix it with an equal quantity of cream, and freeze. When it is frozen add the drained fruit. Mix it well together. Mold and pack in ice and salt for one or two hours. The fruit will become hard if it is packed too long. Preserved strawberries are a particularly good fruit to use for ice-cream.

Note.—Strawberries, raspberries, cherries, peaches, apricots, plums, pineapple, bananas, and oranges are the fruits generally used for ices and creams.

FRUIT PUDDINGS

No. 4. Line a mold one or one and a half inches thick with vanilla ice-cream; fill the center with fresh strawberries, raspberries, whortleberries, peaches, bananas, or any fruit. Cover the top with cream. Pack in ice and salt for two hours. The fruit may be mixed with whipped cream, if convenient, when it is put in the center of the mold. Whipped cream may also be served as a sauce with this cream.

NUT ICE-CREAMS

Vanilla ice cream No. 3, also angel ice-cream, is good with chopped nuts mixed with it after it is frozen and before it is packed. Boiled chestnuts cut into small pieces, chopped English walnuts, filberts, pecan nuts, or almonds may be used. Almonds should be blanched, chopped, and browned; and a caramel or an almond flavoring is better than vanilla for the cream when almonds are used.

PARFAITS

This class of ice-creams is very easily made, as they are not stirred while freezing. The yolks of eggs are cooked with sugar syrup to a thick smooth cream, then flavored and beaten until cold and light, and mixed with drained whipped cream. They are then simply put into a mold and packed in ice and salt for three or four hours, according to size of mold. They are not solid like the custard ice-creams, but have a sponge-like texture. They should not be frozen too hard. It is because they have no water in them to crystallize that they do not require to be stirred while freezing.

SUGAR SYRUP

Put two cupfuls of sugar and a half cupful of water into a saucepan on the fire. Stir until the sugar is dissolved, then let it cook slowly without touching it for about ten minutes, or until it is a clear syrup. The syrup can be made in larger quantities and kept in preserve jars ready for use. To keep well it should be boiled to a rather thick consistency, or should register 32° on the syrup gauge. For parfaits it should be thinner or register 20°. For water ices it should register 32° (see boiling sugar, page 513).

In using syrups by measure, articles may be too much sweetened if the right degree is not designated; but if one has not a syrup gauge the sweetening must be determined by taste. All classes of ice-creams are better sweetened with syrup than with sugar. It seems to give them more smoothness and delicacy.

VANILLA PARFAIT

Beat the yolks of eight eggs until light; add one cupful of syrup. Place the mixture on a slow fire and stir constantly until the eggs have thickened enough to make a thick coating on the spoon. Turn it into a bowl and beat it with a whip until it is cold; it will then be very light. If a vanilla bean is used for flavoring, infuse it with the syrup; if the extract is used add a teaspoonful of it to the custard when it is taken from the fire. When the custard is cold add a pint of cream whipped to a stiff froth. (If any liquid has drained from the cream do not let it go in.) Stir these lightly together; turn the mixture into a mold holding three pints. Pack in ice and salt for four hours. Make the joints of the mold very tight as directed for molding at head of chapter.

This cream can be varied by using different flavorings in place of the vanilla: a tablespoonful of curaçao or of noyau, two ounces of chocolate melted and smoothed with a little cream, etc., etc.

MAPLE PARFAIT

This is made the same as the vanilla parfait, using maple syrup in place of the sugar syrup, and omitting the vanilla flavoring. Maple syrup may be made by adding water to maple sugar and cooking it to the right consistency.

PARFAIT AU CAFÉ AND CAFÉ PRALINÉ

Put the yolks of five eggs into a saucepan; beat them light; add three tablespoonfuls of sugar syrup and four tablespoonfuls of strong black coffee. Stir the mixture over a slow fire until it is enough thickened to make a thick coating on the spoon. Turn it into a bowl and beat it until it is cold and light. If making coffee praliné, add three tablespoonfuls of praline powder (see below). Mix in lightly a pint of cream whipped to a stiff froth. If any liquid has drained from the cream do not let it go in. Turn the mixture into a mold holding three pints and pack in ice and salt for four hours.

CHOCOLATE PARFAIT AND CHOCOLATE PRALINÉ

Put the yolks of five eggs into a saucepan; beat them until light; add three tablespoonfuls of sugar syrup. Cook over a slow fire, stirring constantly until it makes a thick coating on the spoon. Turn it into a bowl; add two ounces of melted unsweetened chocolate and beat until it is cold and light. If making chocolate praliné, add three tablespoonfuls of praline powder; stir in lightly a pint of cream whipped to a stiff froth. If any liquid has drained from the cream do not let it go in. Pack in ice and salt for four hours. This makes three pints of cream.

PRALINE POWDER

Put one and a half cupfuls of sugar and a half cupful of water into a saucepan on the fire; stir until the sugar is well dissolved; then add a cupful of shelled almonds and a cupful of shelled filberts without removing the skins. Let it cook, without touching, until it attains a golden color, the caramel stage. Turn it onto a slab or oiled dish. When it is cold pound it in a mortar to a coarse powder. Keep the praline powder in a close preserve jar ready for use.

ANGEL PARFAIT

Whip the whites of three eggs to a stiff froth. Put a half cupful of sugar and a half cupful of water into a saucepan on the fire. Stir until the sugar is dissolved, then let it cook slowly, without touching, to the ball, or until a little dropped into cold water will form a ball when rolled between the fingers. Pour three tablespoonfuls of the boiling-hot syrup slowly onto the whipped whites, beating constantly. Add a teaspoonful of vanilla, or of maraschino, or of sherry, or of noyau, or any other flavoring. When the Italian meringue is cold, add a pint of cream whipped to a stiff froth. Do not let any liquid that has drained from the cream go into the mixture. Mold and pack in ice and salt for four hours.

IMPERATRICE OF RICE PUDDING GLACÉ

Boil a scant half cupful of rice in milk and water as directed for boiling rice, page 222, so each grain will be separate; but it must be quite soft, so boil it half an hour. This will make a cupful of rice when boiled. Whip half a pint of cream to a stiff froth; mix into it four tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar and one tablespoonful of noyau or any flavoring desired; mix the rice lightly with the whipped cream. Turn it into a mold, and as quickly as possible pack it; leave it in the ice and salt for three hours.

This gives about a quart of cream.

PARFAITS OF CHESTNUTS, CANDIES, FRUITS, FRESH FRUITS, OR BERRIES

Make a vanilla parfait as directed, page 503. When the mixture is ready to go in the mold add a cupful of boiled chestnuts, or marrons glacé, or of mixed candied fruits cut into dice. Roll them in powdered sugar so each piece will be dry and separate and not sink to the bottom. Stir them in quickly and pack the mold as quickly as possible after the fruit is mixed in. When fresh fruits or berries are used crush the fruit; strain off the juice; add enough powdered sugar to the pulp to make it of the same consistency as the whipped cream. Pack in ice and salt for three hours.

BISCUITS GLACÉ

Make a syrup of one cupful of sugar and a quarter cupful of water. Beat the yolks of four eggs; add to them three quarters of a cupful of syrup and a half cupful of cream or milk. Place the mixture on the fire and cook, stirring constantly until it makes a thick coating on the spoon. Turn it into a bowl; place it on the ice, and beat it until it is cold and quite stiff and light; then fold in lightly a pint of cream whipped to a stiff froth. If any liquid has drained from the cream do not let it go in. For flavoring infuse a vanilla bean with the syrup, or add a teaspoonful of vanilla extract, or of maraschino, or any flavoring desired, to the custard when it is taken from the fire. Put the mixture into paper boxes; sprinkle over the top some chopped browned almonds or some macaroons rolled to crumbs, and pack. Tin boxes containing a framework of shelves are made for holding individual ices while freezing, but a tin lard-pail can be used if necessary, placing a sheet of paper between each layer of boxes. Securely seal with butter the lid of the pail and pack in ice and salt for four or five hours.

MOUSSES

Whip a pint of cream very stiff; turn it onto a sieve to drain for a few minutes so it will be entirely dry. Return it to the bowl and whip into it lightly four tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar and a tablespoonful of curaçao, of noyau, of kirsch, or of very black coffee, or a teaspoonful of any flavoring extract, or an ounce of chocolate, melted, and diluted with a little milk or cream, and flavor with a few drops of vanilla. When a liqueur is used for flavoring less sugar is needed than with coffee, chocolate, or essences. Turn the cream into a mold and pack it in ice and salt for four hours. Garnish the dish with small iced cakes.

FRUIT MOUSSES

Whip a pint of cream very stiff and drain as directed above. Mix with it a cupful of any fruit-pulp, the juice drained off and the pulp mixed with enough powdered sugar to make it of the same consistency as the whipped cream; a little cochineal added to strawberry or to peach mousse gives it a better color. A little vanilla improves the flavor. Mold and pack in ice and salt for three hours.

GOLDEN MOUSSE (Made without Cream)

3 eggs.

3 tablespoonfuls of sherry.

½ tablespoonful of lemon-juice.

1 tablespoonful of syrup with the yolks.

2 tablespoonfuls of syrup with the whites.

Beat the yolks smooth; add a tablespoonful of syrup, and cook, stirring constantly until the mixture makes a thick coating on the spoon. Remove from the fire, add the sherry and lemon-juice, and beat it until it is light and cold; whip the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth; pour into them slowly two tablespoonfuls of boiling syrup cooked to the ball (see Italian meringue, page 498); add the Italian meringue to the mixture of yolks, put it into a mold, and pack in ice and salt for four hours. This mousse can be flavored with a tablespoonful of kirsch, rum, or brandy instead of sherry. A few white grapes or candied cherries laid in the bottom of the mold before the mixture is put in, makes the dish more ornamental.

WATER-ICES

Water-ices are made of fruit-juice sweetened with sugar syrup. Sugar may be used, but the result is better with syrup. The liquid mixture should register 20° on the syrup gauge, but if one is not at hand, it can be sweetened to taste.

A good way of preparing it is to make a syrup of 32° and add enough fruit juice to dilute it to 20°. Freeze the same as ice-cream, and pack in salt and ice. The ices will not get so hard as creams. The following method may also be used:

ORANGE-ICE

Boil a quart of water and two and one half cupfuls of sugar for ten minutes; strain and add the juice of six oranges and one lemon. When cold, freeze.

LEMON-ICE

Add to the amount of sugar and water given above the juice of four lemons and one orange.

STRAWBERRY-ICE

To a quart of syrup made as given above, add a cupful and a half of strawberry-juice.

Ices may be made of any fruit used in the same proportions.

PUNCHES AND SHERBETS

Serving. These ices are served in glasses after the joint or last entrée, and before the game. A quart is enough for twelve portions.

Liquors. Punches differ from sherbets only in having a little Italian meringue added to them just before serving. They are simply water-ices with liquors added. Roman Punch has a cupful or two gills of rum added to a quart of lemon-ice. Punches having other names are made in the same way, but have other liquors or mixtures of liquors. These may be kirsch, kirsch and rum, kirsch and maraschino, rum and sherry, or any other combination desired. When champagne is used it is generally added to orange-ice.

Strawberry, raspberry, pineapple, or orange-ices are generally used for sherbets with liqueurs such as curaçao, maraschino, noyau, etc., combined with kirsch, rum, or champagne.

Mixing in the liquors. The liquors can be added to the ice mixture before it is frozen, in which case it takes them longer to freeze; (in fact, spirits will not freeze at all, and hence these ices are always soft, and have to be eaten with a spoon); or the liquors may be poured over the frozen mixture and stirred in with the paddle. Sometimes the water-ice is placed in the glasses and a teaspoonful of the liquor or mixture of liquors is poured over each glassful at the moment of serving.

COFFEE PUNCH

Mix together a quart of black coffee, a cupful of cream, three quarters cupful of sugar; freeze, and then mix in a half cupful of brandy or rum, and a half pint of cream, whipped, and let it stand half an hour. Stir it well before serving.

CAFÉ FRAPPÉ

Mix a quart of black coffee with a quart of cream and a cupful of sugar, or, better, sweeten with syrup. Freeze the same as ice-cream, and serve in glasses. A little brandy may be mixed in just before serving, if desired.

LALLA ROOKH

Make a vanilla cream No. 3. When it is frozen add a cupful of Jamaica rum. Turn the dasher until it is well mixed.

Allow a cupful of rum to each quart of cream. Serve in glasses the same as punch.

Chapter XXIII

SUGAR AND ITS USES

BOILING SUGAR AND MAKING CANDIES

BOILING SUGAR

To boil sugar is one of the niceties of cooking, but as the uses of boiled sugar in fancy cooking are so various, it is worth some practice to acquire the requisite skill. With the ordinary ways of testing, it requires much experience to tell the exact point at which to arrest the cooking, and on this the success depends. The stages named “thread,” “blow,” “ball,” etc., give the different degrees required for different purposes. It passes quickly from one to the other and needs careful watching and close attention. The professional cook’s method of testing it by dipping in the fingers is not practicable for ordinary use. It is also difficult to judge by dropping it in water unless experienced, but with a sugar thermometer it can easily be determined with perfect exactness and much less trouble. A sugar thermometer costs $1.75 or $2.00, a syrup gauge costs fifty cents, and both should be considered as necessary cooking utensils as are molds, mortars, and other articles used in fancy cooking. For measuring syrups, the syrup gauge is used as explained below. Ice-creams and frozen fruits are much nicer when sweetened with syrup instead of sugar. Water-ices and compotes to be right must measure a certain density, and for this the syrup gauge is employed. Fondant, one of the very useful articles, candies, and spun sugar are easily made with the aid of the thermometer. Eleven stages of sugar are explained below, but it is not essential to learn exactly more than the four which are most used, namely: the “thread” for boiled icing, the “soft-ball” for fondant, the “crack” for glacé fruit, and the “caramel.”

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SUGAR THERMOMETER AND SYRUP GAUGE. (SEE PAGE 510.)

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UTENSILS FOR BOILING SUGAR.

1. Thermometer standing in saucepan of sugar on gas-stove.

2. Cup of water and brush for washing crystals from side of saucepan.

3. Wooden spatula for working sugar on marble slab to make fondant.

4. Wooden skewer for testing sugar when thermometer is not used.

5. Candy wire for dipping nuts or other things to be coated.

GRANULATION

The tendency of sugar, when the water which holds it in solution is evaporated, is to resume its original form of crystals; to prevent this is the chief care: the liquid must not be jarred or stirred after the sugar is dissolved. The grains which form on the sides of the pan as the boiling proceeds must be wiped away; this is done by dipping a cloth or brush into water and passing it around the pan above the sugar. If these crystals are allowed to remain, the whole mass will become granular. Also the sugar has a great affinity for water, and care must be used to have a dry atmosphere. No steam from boiling kettles, etc., must be in the room, and it is useless to attempt confections requiring the ball or crack stages on a rainy or damp day. When the right degree is reached, place the sugar pan in one containing cold water, to prevent the cooking from proceeding any farther. The different stages follow very quickly after the thread; it is therefore well to have a moderate heat and give it undivided attention. A very little cream of tartar (a scant half saltspoonful to a pound of sugar) added at the beginning makes the sugar less liable to grain. If cream of tartar is not used, a few drops of lemon-juice should be added at the crack stage. If the sugar passes the degree desired, add a spoonful of water and continue the boiling. No sugar need ever be wasted unless it becomes burned. In working the sugar, if it begins to grain there is nothing to do but to add a little water and boil it again.

DEGREES OF BOILING SUGAR

First and second degrees.

Small Thread, 215°.

Large Thread, 217°.

Press a little of the syrup between the thumb and finger. A ring will form and a fine thread be drawn out which breaks at once and returns to the drop; for the second stage the thread draws a little farther than the first.

Third and fourth.

Little Pearl, 220°.

Large Pearl, 222°.

The sugar forms a thread between the fingers which stretches long, but breaks. For the fourth it stretches without breaking. The first four degrees are syrups.

Fifth and sixth.

The Blow, 230°.
}crystallization.

The Feather, 232°.

Dip in a broom-straw twisted to form a small loop at the end. A film will fill the loop, which will blow into a bubble.

At the sixth stage fine threads will fly from the bubble. The candy stages follow:

Seventh and eighth.

Small Ball, 236°-238°.

Large Ball, 246°-248°.

Drop a little into cold water; for the 7th a soft ball can be rolled between the fingers; for the 8th a hard ball.

Ninth and Tenth.

Small Crack, 290°.

Crack, 310°.

At the 9th a little, dropped into water, will break when cooled. At 300° it begins to assume a light color, and a few drops of lemon-juice should be added (four drops to a pound of sugar). At 310° it breaks off sharp and crisp, and crackles when chewed.

Eleventh.

The Caramel, 345°-350°

It now assumes a yellow color, and great care must be used or it will burn. The cooking must be arrested as soon as it is taken from the fire by holding the pan in cold water for a minute or so. A skewer or stick is the best thing to use for testing, as the little sugar that adheres to it will cool quickly. Dip the stick first into water, then into the sugar, and again into water.

SYRUPS

Syrup kept in stock. To use a syrup gauge have a glass deep enough to allow the gauge to float. A small cylindrical glass like the one shown in illustration is best, as it requires so little syrup that removing and pouring it back does not arrest the boiling. Syrups can be prepared and kept in air-tight preserve jars until needed for use. It is well to have in stock syrup at 34° for softening fondant when used for icing cakes, éclairs, etc. Water-ices should register 18°-20° on the gauge when ready to freeze. Fruits to be frozen are better when sweetened with syrup at 32° than when sugar is used.

Making syrup without a gauge. To prepare syrup without a gauge the following method can be employed: Put into a saucepan three and one half cupfuls of sugar and two and one half cupfuls of water. Stir it over the fire until the sugar is dissolved. After it has boiled five minutes, counting from the time it is actually boiling, it will register 28°; every five minutes’ additional boiling will thicken it one degree.

At the end of 15 minutes it is 30°.

At the end of 25 minutes it is 32°.

At the end of 35 minutes it is 34°.

FONDANT

The uses of fondant. Fondant is the basis of all French cream candies. It can be kept any length of time in air-tight preserve jars, and used as needed for the various purposes which it serves. A great variety of bonbons can be made of it by using different flavors, colors, and nuts in various forms and combinations. Some of these are given under “Candies,” but each one’s taste may suggest something different. Fondant makes the nicest icing for small cakes; strawberries with the hulls on dipped into fondant make a delicious fruit glacé. It will be found easy to make fondant if the directions given below are strictly followed.

TO MAKE FONDANT

Place in a copper or a graniteware saucepan two cupfuls of granulated sugar, one cupful of water, and a scant half saltspoonful of cream of tartar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved, but not a minute longer. As it boils, a thin scum of crystals will form around the edge of the pan. These must be wiped away by wetting a cloth or brush in water and passing it around the dish without touching the boiling sugar. This must be done frequently, or as often as the crystals form, or the whole mass will become granular. Testing. When large bubbles rise it must be carefully watched and tested, as from this time it quickly passes from one stage to another. Have a cup of ice-water and a skewer or small stick; dip it into the water, then into the sugar, and again into the water. If the sugar which adheres to it can be rolled into a soft ball, it is done. This is the stage of small-ball, and the thermometer registers 236°-238° (see page 512). Have ready a marble slab, very lightly but evenly rubbed over with sweet-oil. If a slab is not at hand, a large platter will serve the purpose. Cooling. The moment the sugar is done, pour it over the slab and let it cool a few minutes, or until, pressing it with the finger, it leaves a dent on the surface. If stirred while too warm it will grain. If a crust forms, every particle of it must be taken off, or else the boiling must be done again, as it shows it has cooked a little too long. When it will dent, work it with a wooden spatula, keeping the mass in the center as much as possible. Working. Continue to stir until it becomes a very smooth, fine, white, creamy paste, which is soft and not brittle and can be worked in the hands like a thick paste. If the results are not right and the mass becomes grained, the sugar need not be wasted, but can be put in the saucepan with a spoonful of water and boiled again. In stirring the fondant do not mix in the scrapings unless the whole is still very soft. They can be worked by themselves afterward. Confectioners use one part of glucose to ten of sugar and boil to 240°.

SPUN SUGAR

Three requisites. Although spinning sugar has been called the climax of the art of sugar work, one need not be deterred from trying it; for with a dry atmosphere, the sugar boiled to the right degree, and care given to prevent graining, it can be accomplished. It is upon these three things alone that success depends. Spun sugar makes a beautiful decoration for ice-creams, glacé fruits, and other cold desserts. The expense of making it is only nominal, but it commands a fancy price.

DIRECTIONS FOR SPINNING SUGAR

Keeping. Put in a copper or a graniteware saucepan two cupfuls (one pound) of sugar; one half cupful of water, and one half saltspoonful of cream of tartar. Boil the sugar as directed for fondant above, letting it attain the degree of crack, or 310°. This is the degree just before caramel, and care must be used. When it has reached the crack, place the sugar pan in cold water a moment to arrest the cooking, for the heat of the pan and sugar may advance it one degree. For spinning, two forks may be used, but a few wires drawn through a cork are better, as they give more points. Have also two iron bars or rods of any kind (pieces of broom handle will do), placed on a table or over chairs so the ends project a little way; spread some papers on the floor under them. Take the pan of sugar in the left hand, the forks or wires in the right; dip them into the sugar and shake them quickly back and forth over the rods; fine threads of sugar will fly off the points and drop on the rods. If the sugar gets too cold it can be heated again. Take the spun sugar carefully off the rods from time to time and fold it around molds, or roll it into nests or other forms desired. Place the spun sugar under a glass globe as soon as made. Under an air-tight globe with a small piece of lime it may keep crisp for a day or two, but it readily gathers moisture, and it is safer to make it the day it is to be used. Do not attempt to make it on a damp or rainy day, and have no boiling kettles in the room (see general directions for boiling sugar, page 513).

GLACÉ ORANGES AND GRAPES

Causes of failure. Divide an orange into sections; do not break the inside skin, for if the juice escapes in ever so small a quantity the section must be discarded. Let them stand several hours until the surface has become very dry. Remove grapes from the bunch, leaving a short stem attached to each one. Boil some sugar to 340°, or the point just before the caramel stage (see directions for boiling sugar, page 512). Remove the pan from the fire and place it for a moment in water to arrest the cooking. Drop the orange sections into the sugar, one at a time, and remove them with a candy wire or with two forks, and place them on an oiled slab to dry. With a pair of pincers take each grape by the small stem and dip it into the sugar, and be sure it is entirely coated. Place each separately on the slab to dry. If the day is damp, the sugar not sufficiently boiled, or the fruit at all moist, the sugar will all drain off; therefore the work must be done only under the right conditions. Candied cherries may be treated in this way: first wash them to remove the sugar; let them dry, then pierce them with an artificial stem and dip them carefully so as not to deface the stem.

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GLACÉ ORANGES AND GRAPES IN PAPER BOXES.

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GLACÉ GRAPES AND ORANGES COVERED WITH SPUN SUGAR.

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GLACÉ GRAPES IN NEST OF SPUN SUGAR.

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GLACÉ GRAPES COVERED WITH SPUN SUGAR.

CANDIES

When making candies observe carefully the rules for boiling sugar. When sugar reaches the candy stage, the water has evaporated, and the tendency is to return to the original state of crystals. To prevent granulation. If it is jarred, or is stirred, or if the thin line of crystals formed around the pan by the sugar rising while boiling is allowed to remain, the whole mass will granulate, hence, for success, it is necessary to avoid these things. To keep the sides of the pan washed free of crystals dip a brush in water and pass it around the pan close to the edge of the sugar as often as is necessary; a sponge or a small piece of cloth may be used, but with these there is danger of burning the fingers. A very little acid added at the crack stage also prevents graining; this is termed “Greasing.” Greasing. If too much acid is used it prevents the sugar advancing to the caramel stage, and also may cause granulation. A few drops, only, of lemon-juice, of vinegar, or a little cream of tartar are the acids used.

The success of candy-making depends entirely upon boiling sugar to just the right degree. The candy will not harden if boiled too little. Another stage, where it hardens but sticks to the teeth, means the boiling was arrested at the hard-ball instead of the crack stage. Making candies. Unless a thermometer is used, a little practice seems necessary before one recognizes the small differences upon which success depends; but the experience once gained, it is easy to make a pound or more of candy at slight expense. In the country, where it is often impossible to get fresh candies, it is desirable to be able to make them. Where fondant is already prepared and kept in preserve jars, the cream bonbons can be quickly made. Carameled nuts are perhaps the least trouble to make of any candies.

Marble slab and iron bars. A marble slab is almost requisite in making candy, though greased papers and tins can be used. Candy poured upon a slab cools quickly, has an even surface, and can be easily removed. Four square iron bars are useful to confine the sugar. These can be placed so as to form bays of the size suitable to the amount of sugar used and the thickness required.

NOUGAT No. 1 (For Bonbons)

Blanch one cupful of almonds. Chop them and place them in the oven to dry. They must be watched that they do not brown. Put into a saucepan two and a half cupfuls of powdered sugar and a tablespoonful of lemon-juice. Place it on the fire and stir with a wooden spoon until it is melted and slightly colored. Let it stand a few minutes so it will be thoroughly melted and not grainy, then turn in the hot almonds, mix them together quickly, not stirring long enough to grain the sugar, and turn it onto an oiled slab. Spread it out in an even sheet, one eighth of an inch thick, using a half lemon to press it with. While it is still warm, mark it off into squares or diamonds. Break it into pieces when cold. These sheets of nougat can be lifted and pressed into molds, but it hardens quickly and is not as easy to work as the receipt No. 2.

NOUGAT No. 2 (For Molding)

Put two cupfuls of granulated sugar into a saucepan with a half cupful of water. Let it boil to the crack (310°) without stirring (see boiling sugar, page 511), add a few drops of lemon-juice, and then turn in a half cupful of hot chopped blanched almonds which have been dried in the oven. Mix them together, stirring only enough to mix them and not grain the sugar. Pour it on an oiled marble slab, and press it as thin as an eighth of an inch or less. Cut the sheet of nougat into pieces of the right size and press them into oiled molds. Do this while the nougat is only just cool enough to handle, so it will be pliable. Loosen the form from the mold while it is still warm, but keep it in the mold until cold. The work has to be done quickly, as the nougat hardens in a few minutes. Perhaps the first trial to make nougat forms will be a failure, but a few trials will enable one to accomplish it.

If any pieces get broken off the molded forms, they can be stuck on again with liquid sugar or with royal icing. Horns of plenty are favorite forms for nougat. The molds come of different sizes. These pieces filled with glacé fruits make very ornamental pieces. The horns are molded in halves. When the nougat has hardened, the two pieces are tied together, rested on a muffin ring, and royal icing pressed through a pastry-tube into any ornamental shape along the edges. This quickly hardens and binds the horn together. A support for the form is made from nougat cut into strips and formed into a box-shape, open at one end.

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HORN OF PLENTY IN NOUGAT FILLED WITH GLACÉ GRAPES.

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HORN OF PLENTY IN NOUGAT FILLED WITH GLACÉ ORANGES AND GRAPES COVERED WITH SPUN SUGAR.

NOUGAT No. 3 (Soft White Nougat)

Put into a saucepan the whites of three eggs whipped to a stiff froth; beat into them one pound of heated strained honey, then add a pound of sugar cooked to the ball, 236°. Continue beating until it attains 290°. A little of the mixture cooled in water will then crumble between the fingers. At this stage add a pound of sugar cooked to the crack, 310°, a pound of whole blanched almonds, and a few pistachio nuts. Pour the mixture into a dish lined with wafers, making the nougat one inch thick. Cover the top with wafers, and when cold cut it into pieces three inches long and one inch wide. To make wafers, see receipt for gauffres (page 479); but instead of baking them in the gauffre-iron, spread the mixture as thinly as possible on an oiled paper and dry in a slow oven without coloring.

NOUGAT No. 4 (Bonbons)

Blanch, chop, and dry without coloring one cupful of almonds. Melt one cupful of powdered sugar with one teaspoonful of lemon-juice, stirring all the time. When it is thoroughly melted and a delicate color, turn in the hot almonds. Mix them together and turn into an oiled tin. Press down the nougat evenly, leaving it an inch thick. Cut it in inch squares before it becomes hard. This nougat has only enough sugar to bind the nuts together.

BURNT ALMONDS

Put a cupful of brown sugar into a saucepan with a very little water. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Let it boil a minute, then throw in a half cupful of almonds and stir over the fire until the sugar granulates and is a little browned. When the nuts are well coated, and before they get into one mass, turn them out and separate any that have stuck together.

SUGARED ALMONDS

Put a cupful of granulated sugar in a saucepan with a little water. Stir until it is dissolved, then let it cook to the ball stage without touching except to test. Turn in a half cupful of blanched almonds and stir off the fire until the nuts are well covered with the granulated sugar, but turn them out before they become one mass. Boil another cupful of sugar to the ball, turn in the coated almonds and stir again in the same way, giving them a second coating of sugar, but not leaving them in the pan until they are all stuck together. The nuts may be given a third coating in the same way, if a larger size is wanted.

For pink almonds, add a little carmine to the sugar just before putting in the almonds for the last coating. Any flavoring desired may also be added at this time.

MARRONS GLACÉ (Candied Chestnuts)

Remove the shells from a dozen or more French chestnuts. Cover them with boiling water and let them stand a few minutes until the skins can be removed. Put them again in hot water and simmer slowly until the nuts are tender, but not soft.

Put a cupful of sugar and a cupful of water in a saucepan and stir until dissolved. Add the boiled chestnuts and let them cook in the syrup until they look clear, then turn them onto a sieve, using care not to break the nuts, and let them cool. Return the strained syrup to the saucepan and cook it to the hard-ball stage. Remove it from the fire, add a few drops of lemon-juice and a half teaspoonful of vanilla extract. Drop the chestnuts into it, one at a time, turn until thinly coated, and remove with a candy wire to an oiled paper or slab; or, when the sugar has reached the ball stage, add a few drops of lemon-juice, let it cool a few minutes, and then stir until it begins to whiten; then immediately place in a pan of hot water, flavor with vanilla and stir until it again becomes liquid, and dip the nuts as directed above.

MARSHMALLOWS

Soak four ounces of gum arabic in a cupful of water until it is dissolved. Strain it to take out any black specks that may be in the gum. Put the dissolved gum arabic into a saucepan with a half pound of powdered sugar. Place the saucepan in a second pan containing boiling water. Stir until the mixture becomes thick and white. When it begins to thicken, test it by dropping a little into cold water. When it will form a firm ball remove it from the fire, and stir into it the whites of three eggs whipped to a stiff froth. This will give it a spongy texture. Lastly, flavor it with two teaspoonfuls of orange-flower water. Turn the paste into a pan covered thick with corn-starch. The layer of paste should be one inch thick. Too large a pan must not be used, or it will spread and make a thin layer. After the paste has stood twelve hours, turn it onto a slab and cut it into inch squares, dust them well with corn-starch or with confectioner’s sugar, and pack in boxes. As the paste is more or less cooked, it will be more or less stiff. Marshmallows become harder the longer they are kept, but are best when as soft as they can be handled.

CARAMELS

CHOCOLATE

Put into a saucepan a half cupful each of molasses, of white sugar and of brown sugar, a cupful of grated chocolate, and a cupful of cream or milk. Stir the mixture constantly over the fire until it reaches the hard-ball stage, then add a teaspoonful of vanilla and turn it onto an oiled slab between iron bars, or into a greased tin, having the paste an inch thick. Mark it in inch squares and cut before it is quite cold. Wrap each piece in paraffin paper.

VANILLA, COFFEE, MAPLE

Put into a saucepan one cupful of sugar and three quarters of a cupful of cream. Stir constantly over a hot fire until it reaches the hard-ball stage; remove from the fire, add a teaspoonful of vanilla, and turn it onto an oiled slab between iron bars, or into greased tins, the same as directed for chocolate caramels. For coffee caramels use a half cupful of cream and a quarter of a cupful of strong coffee. For maple caramels use a cupful of maple syrup in place of sugar, and omit the vanilla.

BONBONS OF FONDANT

HARLEQUIN BALLS

Take several small portions of fondant and color each one a different shade Do this by dipping a wooden toothpick into the coloring matter and then touching it to the paste. The colors are strong, and care must be used not to get too much on the fondant, for the candies should be delicate in color. For orange balls, color and flavor with orange-juice; for pistachio, color green and flavor with orange-flower water and then with bitter almond (see page 391); for pink, color with carmine and flavor with maraschino or with rose-water; for chocolate, mix in cocoa powder and flavor with vanilla; for white, flavor with noyau, peach, or anything preferred. When liquid flavors are used, if the fondant becomes too soft, mix in a little confectioner’s sugar; use as little as possible, as too much gives a raw taste. Work in the flavorings and colors by hand, and wash the hands between each different color. After the fondant is prepared, roll it into balls the size of filberts, then roll them in almonds chopped fine. The nuts improve them, but may be omitted if desired. Let the balls stand for two or more hours to harden before putting them together. If the balls are wanted of one color on the outside, omit the nuts and dip them in liquid fondant colored as desired.

NEAPOLITAN SQUARES

Color and flavor fondant in three colors as directed above; roll it into layers one quarter inch thick, and place the layers one on the other; press them together lightly and cut into inch squares.

NUT CREAMS

Mix chopped nuts of any kind into flavored fondant, then roll into a layer three quarters of an inch thick, and cut into squares.

SUGAR-PLUMS

Take small pieces of fondant, flavored and colored to taste; form it into olive-shaped balls. Hold one in the palm of the hand, cut it half through and press into it an almond; form the fondant around it, leaving a narrow strip of the nut uncovered, giving the appearance of a shell cracked open, showing the kernel. If chocolate color is used the almond should be blanched, but with light colors the skin is left on to give contrast. When green color is used it represents a green almond.

CHOCOLATE CREAMS

Roll fondant flavored with vanilla into small balls; let them stand a few hours to harden. Melt an ounce of unsweetened chocolate, add to it two tablespoonfuls of milk, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, and a quarter teaspoonful of butter. Stir till smooth; drop the balls into it and remove with a fork or candy wire. If the chocolate becomes too stiff, add a few drops of syrup and heat it again.

CREAMED NUTS AND CREAMED FRUITS

Put one or two tablespoonfuls of fondant into a cup. Place the cup in a basin of hot water and stir constantly until the fondant becomes soft like cream or molasses. If it is not stirred it will go back to clear syrup; flavor and color the liquid fondant as desired. Drop the nuts in one at a time, turn them until well covered with fondant, lift them out with a candy-spoon, and place them on an oiled paper, or on an oiled slab. English walnuts, cherries, strawberries, and grapes are very good creamed in this way. The hulls are left on strawberries, the stems on cherries and grapes. Brandied cherries may also be creamed in the same way. If the fondant becomes too stiff, melt it again. After it has been melted twice it no longer works well. A few drops of syrup at 34° can then be added. It is well to have some syrup prepared to keep in stock for this purpose. A drop or two of liquid is sufficient to soften fondant, and unless care is used it will be diluted too much, in which case confectioner’s sugar can be mixed in; but this gives a raw taste to the fondant, and should be avoided if possible.

COCOANUT CREAMS

Grate some cocoanut fine. Mix it with as much liquid fondant as will bind it well, and flavor with a little vanilla. Spread it in a layer one inch thick and cut into one inch squares, or roll it into balls, and dip the balls into melted chocolate, the same as directed for chocolate creams, or into liquid fondant, flavored and colored as desired.

COCOANUT CAKES

Moisten a cupful of sugar with the milk of a cocoanut; boil it to the soft-ball; then stir in as much grated cocoanut as the boiled sugar will moisten; stir it only enough to mix and not granulate. Drop a spoonful at a time on an oiled slab, making flat round cakes about two inches in diameter. If the sugar granulates before the cakes are all spread, add a little water and cook it again to the soft-ball.

PEPPERMINT CREAMS

Melt fondant as directed for creamed nuts; flavor it with essence of peppermint. With a spoon drop the liquid fondant in even amounts upon an oiled slab, making lozenges; or, better, turn it into starch molds (see starch molds, below).

CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINTS

Dip the peppermint lozenges into liquid chocolate, as directed for chocolate creams.

TO MAKE STARCH MOLDS AND CAST CANDIES

Fill a box-cover with corn-starch, having it very light and dry; shake it down even. Press into it a die of any shape desired, making the indentations carefully. Plaster casts are made for this purpose, but buttons make very good dies. A smooth flat button one half inch in diameter makes a good shape for peppermints. Molds are used for cream drops, chocolates, or any of the flavored clear candies.

The liquid candy is dropped carefully into the molds and removed when cold and the starch dusted off. The starch can then be stirred light and again pressed into molds.

CANDIES MADE FROM SUGAR BOILED TO THE CRACK OR THE CARAMEL

PEPPERMINT DROPS

Boil a cupful of sugar to the hard-ball. Remove it from the fire; add a half teaspoonful of essence of peppermint and stir it just enough to mix in the flavoring and cloud the sugar. Drop it into starch molds or upon an oiled slab, letting four drops of the candy fall in exactly the same spot; it will then spread round and even.

These drops should be translucent or a little white. Unless care is used the candy will grain before the drops are molded; therefore it is better to pour it from the spout of the pan than to dip it out with a spoon.

CARAMELED NUTS

Boil a cupful of sugar to the crack or to the caramel, as preferred; add a few drops of lemon-juice. Blanch a few almonds and dry without coloring them. Drop one at a time into the sugar; turn it until well covered without stirring the sugar; lift it out with the candy-spoon, and place it on an oiled slab. Do not drain the nuts when lifting them out, and enough sugar will remain to form a clear ring of candy around each one. English walnuts, filberts, or any other nuts may be used in the same way. They should be warmed so as not to chill the candy. The work should be done quickly. If the sugar becomes hard before the nuts are all done, return it to the fire to heat. Add a teaspoonful of water if necessary, and boil it to the right degree again. If the sugar is boiled to the crack, the candy will be without color; if boiled to the caramel, it will be yellow.

ALMOND HARDBAKE

Blanch some almonds and split them in two. Dry them in a moderate heat without coloring them. Lay them with the flat side down on an oiled layer-cake tin, entirely covering it. Pour over the nuts enough sugar boiled to the crack to entirely cover them. The almonds may be laid in regular order like wreaths, or in groups like rosettes, if desired. Mark off squares or circles on the candy while it is warm, and it can then be broken in regular pieces when cold.

PEANUT CANDY

Fill a small square tin a half inch deep with shelled peanuts, leaving the skins on. Boil some sugar to the crack or to the caramel, and pour it over the nuts, just covering them. Cut it into two-inch squares before it becomes quite cold.

TAFFY

Put into a saucepan two and a half cupfuls of sugar and a half cupful of water; stir until it dissolves; then wash the sides of the pan, and let it boil without touching until it reaches the soft-ball stage; add a tablespoonful of butter and a half teaspoonful of lemon-juice, and let it boil to the crack; add a teaspoonful of vanilla, and turn it onto an oiled slab or a tin to cool. Mark it off into squares before it becomes cold.

MOLASSES CANDY

Put into a large saucepan a cupful of brown sugar, two cupfuls of New Orleans molasses, and a tablespoonful each of butter and vinegar. Mix them well and boil until it will harden when dropped in water. Then stir in a teaspoonful of baking-soda, which will whiten it, and turn it into a greased tin to cool. When it can be handled pull it until white and firm; draw it into sticks and cut it into inch lengths.

CANDIED ORANGE OR LEMON PEEL

Keep the peel of the fruit, as it is used, in a weak brine until enough has collected to preserve. Wash it thoroughly in several waters. Let it boil in plenty of water until tender, changing the water several times. If the peels are fresh they need be boiled in one water only. When they can be pierced with a straw, drain off the hot water. Let them cool, and scrape out the white pulp with a spoon. Make enough syrup to cover the yellow peels, using the proportion of a pound of sugar to a pint of water. When the syrup is boiling, drop in the peels and let them cook slowly until they are clear. Then boil rapidly until the syrup is reduced almost to dryness, using care that it does not burn. Spread the peels on a flat dish and place them in a warm place to dry for twelve hours or more. When perfectly dry pack them into preserve jars. They are cut into shreds and used in cakes, puddings, and wherever raisins and citron are used. They are also used in pudding sauces. It is very little trouble to make the candied peels, and they are a delicious addition to various sweet dishes. The boiled peel can be cut into shreds before being cooked in the syrup if preferred.

Chapter XXIV

FRUITS

In point of general usefulness, apples hold the first place among fruits. Oranges also serve a great number of purposes, and, like apples, can be depended on nearly the whole year. Peaches and apricots, although of short season, can be so successfully preserved that they, as well as berries, render important service in cooking. All of these fruits are excellent prepared as compotes, with pastry, with corn-starch, or with gelatine, making a variety of dishes without number. In the index will be found a list of dishes under each of these heads. In the fruit season one is sometimes at a loss to know how to utilize the abundance there may be at command. Usually the fresh fruit is most acceptable at that time, but the little trouble and slight expense of canning should make one provident enough to secure a year’s store to supply the various purposes which cooked fruit serve.

Fresh fruits are always wholesome, beautiful, and inviting, and should always have a place on every table. Temperature. The practice of leaving fruit on the sideboard in a warm room from one meal to another is a mistake, for fruit should be fresh, firm, and cold to be in its best condition. An exception to this rule may be made for fruits fresh from the garden with the heat of the sun upon them. The small fruits are much more delicious when tasting of the sunshine, but fruits obtained from markets are better for being chilled. Arranging. Much taste may be shown in arranging fruits for decorating the table. They may be combined in large dishes, giving effect of abundance, or a quantity of one kind massed together for color-effects, or a few choice specimens of a kind placed on separate compotiers. All the ways are good and, if the fruit is fresh and fair, will be most attractive. Green leaves should be combined with fruits; grape-leaves under small groups of peaches, plums, grapes, etc., are much used by the French, who excel in the beautiful arrangements of fruit. White grapes, shading from those with pink tints to white below, give pleasing effects on white dinner-tables.

Apples. Apples should be washed and rubbed until well polished. Fine apples so treated make an attractive centerpiece dish.

Illustrations. A few ways of preparing oranges are given in illustrations.

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DIFFERENT WAYS OF PREPARING ORANGES.

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SLICED ORANGES.

Oranges, grape-fruit, or shaddocks. The grape-fruit is served at breakfast, or as a first course at luncheon. The pulp must be separated from the thin bitter skin which separates the sections, with a silver knife. A little sugar is added, and sometimes a teaspoonful of sherry, to each portion. The pulp and juice is eaten with a spoon from the peel, one half the shaddock being served to each person, or it may be served in small glasses. The peels prepared as fancy baskets can be kept fresh for several days in water.

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GRAPE FRUIT SERVED IN THE HALF PEEL.

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GRAPE FRUIT SERVED IN A BASKET MADE OF THE PEEL AND A BRANCH OF HOLLY TIED TO THE HANDLE. (SEE PAGE 530.)

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GRAPE FRUIT SERVED IN A BASKET MADE OF THE PEEL—GERANIUM LEAVES TIED TO THE HANDLE.

Peaches. Peaches should have the down taken off lightly with a soft brush before being served. A fruit doily should be given at the time they are passed, as peaches stain the table linen.

Strawberries. Large fine strawberries are served with the hulls on and piled in a pyramid. Sugar is passed with them, or they may be served on individual plates around a small mound of sugar, made by pressing the sugar in a wineglass and then unmolding it in the center of the plate.

Berries. No berries should be washed. If strawberries are sandy, cold water must be poured over them and drained off at once, but the berries will no longer be at their best. Sugar should always be passed, and not put over the berries before serving them, as it extracts their juice and destroys their firmness. They should also be served in small dishes, as they crush with their own weight. Where a large quantity is being served, several dishes should be used.

Currants. A mixture of red and of white currants makes an attractive breakfast fruit. They may be served on the stems if fine and large clusters.

Bananas sliced, sautéd, and fried. Bananas sliced and covered with whipped cream make a good light dessert for luncheon. They may be moistened with orange-juice or with sherry before the cream is added, if desired. Bananas may be cut in two lengthwise, sautéd in a little butter, and served as a vegetable or as an entrée; or they may be cut in two, the ends cut square, so they will resemble croquettes, then rolled in flour, and fried in hot fat to a light color, and served as a dessert with currant jelly sauce. To make the sauce, dilute the jelly with boiling water; add a few chopped blanched almonds and shredded candied orange-peel. The unripe and not fully developed banana is devoid of sweetness and when roasted resembles a baked potato. In hot climates the natives live mostly on bananas, and a nation is said to be cursed where they grow, because the ease with which they get their living makes them lazy.

Stewed figs. Soak dried figs in cold water for several hours, then stew them slowly until plump. Drain and pile them on a dish, and serve with whipped cream slightly sweetened and flavored with vanilla, sherry, maraschino, or with essence of almond. Arrange the cream in a circle around the figs.

Salpicon of fruits. Mix together lightly an equal proportion of orange-pulp, bananas cut into half-inch dice, and grapes cut in two and the seeds removed. Add sugar if necessary, and a little sherry or liqueur if desired; serve in glasses or in half-orange skins. Grape-fruit may be used in the same way; it may also be combined with the orange salpicon. There should be a good quantity of juice with the mixture.

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SALPICON OF FRUITS IN ORANGE-SKIN.

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SALPICON OF FRUITS IN GLASS.

Melons. Melons are in perfection in hot dry weather. They absorb water readily and should not be gathered after a heavy rain storm. Small melons are cut in two, the seeds removed, a piece of ice placed in each piece, and a half melon served to each person. Large melons are cut in broad sections and a generous piece served as a portion. Melons may be served at the beginning or the end of any meal. They are usually most acceptable as a first course. They should be thoroughly cold.

Frozen fruits. Any of the fruits can be partly frozen and served as an ice. Cut them into pieces, sweeten with sugar syrup, and pack in ice and salt for an hour, but do not leave them long enough to become stiff. Berries are of course left whole.

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PLUMS.

Quinces baked. Pare and core quinces the same as apples. Put them in a shallow earthen dish, with enough water to fill the dish a quarter inch deep. Place them in a moderate oven and bake until tender, basting them often. Serve them hot with butter and sugar as a luncheon dish.

Nuts. Nuts with hard shells are cracked, the meats removed and placed in bonbon dishes, or are piled on lace papers in small compotiers. Almonds with paper shells are served whole. Almonds are also served blanched. Peanuts with the shells and skins removed, and served in bonbon dishes, are much liked and seldom recognized as the much-despised nut. Peanuts may be salted the same as almonds.

Salted almonds. Blanch the almonds by putting them in boiling water for a few minutes; the skins can then be easily rubbed off. Put the blanched nuts into a pan with a small piece of butter, and place them in a moderate oven. Stir them frequently so they will brown on all sides. Sprinkle them freely with salt as soon as they are taken from the oven.

Salted almonds No. 2. Blanch the almonds, and when they are thoroughly dry pour a tablespoonful of oil on every cupful of nuts. Let them stand in the oil for an hour, then add a tablespoonful of fine salt to each cupful. Stir them and place in a shallow pan in the oven until they are colored a light brown. Stir them occasionally while in the oven, so they will be evenly colored. Turn them onto a paper to dry, and shake off the loose salt before serving.

Salted English walnuts and filberts. Brown them in the oven with a little butter the same as almonds. Filberts are blanched, but walnuts do not have the skin removed.

A mixture of salted almonds, walnuts, and filberts makes a good combination.

Salted nuts are served at luncheon or dinner, and are eaten at any and all times during those meals.

SALPICON OF FRUIT PUNCH

This is served in glasses, in place of and in the same way as frozen punch after the roast. Cut a pineapple into small dice; remove the bitter skin carefully from the segments of three shaddocks and cut them into pieces. Cut in two and remove the seeds from a pound of white grapes; mix the fruit together. Put a cupful of rum and a cupful of sugar into a saucepan on the fire and let them come to the boiling point, then pour them over the fruit and let stand until cold. The rum will not penetrate the fruit so well if put on cold. Put the mixture into a freezing-can and pack in ice and salt for several hours, or until ready to serve. Stir the mixture together carefully every little while.

PUNCH OF WHITE CALIFORNIA CANNED CHERRIES

Drain off the liquor; make a rum syrup as above; soak and freeze in the same way.

JELLIED FRUIT

Cut the pulp of two oranges into small pieces; cut two bananas into dice; cut half a dozen candied cherries into quarters; chop a dozen blanched almonds. Mix all lightly together and turn them into a bowl or a china mold. Soak a half ounce of gelatine in a half cupful of cold water for an hour; dissolve it in a cupful of boiling water; add a half cupful of sugar and stir over the fire until dissolved; then add the juice of half a lemon, the juice which has drained from the fruit, and a tablespoonful of sherry. Turn it into the mold slowly, so it soaks into the fruit, and set aside to cool. Serve with cream if convenient. Any mixture of fresh fruits may be used in the same way; raisins may be used instead of cherries, or both may be omitted. This is a good way to utilize fruits that are going to waste.

FRUIT JUICES

The juice of oranges, strawberries, currants, or any fruit makes a delicious first course for luncheon in summer time or the fruit season, when prepared as directed below. It is served cold in small glasses and eaten with a spoon.

Take a quart of fruit-juice; this will require about a dozen oranges, or two quarts of strawberries or other juicy fruit; strain it through filter paper to make it clear (see page 415); put it in an earthenware or porcelain-lined saucepan on the fire, and as soon as it steams, stir in three teaspoonfuls of arrowroot moistened in a little cold water. Cook it until clear; then add a half cupful of sugar (or more if an acid fruit), and as soon as the sugar is dissolved turn it into a bowl to cool. At the moment of serving put a piece of ice in each glass.

Chapter XXV

COMPOTES, PRESERVING AND CANNING, PICKLES

COMPOTES

For plain desserts. Compotes are fresh fruits stewed. They are good served with cake as a plain dessert. In combination with rice or other molded cereals they are a very wholesome sweet for children.

Serving. Make a syrup of 28° (see page 513). When it is boiling drop the fruit in, a few pieces at a time, so it will not get broken or crushed. Let it cook until tender, but still firm enough to hold its form. Remove it carefully with a skimmer. Arrange the pieces in regular order, overlapping, or piled like uncooked fruit in a glass or silver dish. After the fruit is cooked, let the syrup boil down until thick, or about 32°, and strain it over the fruit. Let it cool before serving.

APPLE COMPOTE

Pare and core the apples; leave them whole, or cut them into halves, quarters, or thick round slices. Boil them until tender, and finish as directed above. Have a few slices of lemon in the syrup and serve them with the fruit. Pieces of cinnamon and cloves boiled with the fruit give a good flavor.

For jellied apples boil down the syrup to the jelly point. When partly cooled pour it slowly with a spoon over the apples, so enough will adhere to give them a glaze. The center of the apples may be filled with a bright-colored jelly or jam.

COMPOTE OF PEARS

Use pears that are not quite ripe. Cut them in two lengthwise, splitting the stem. Remove the core carefully with a scoop. Boil and serve them as directed above.

COMPOTE OF PEACHES OR APRICOTS

Peel the fruit and cut it in halves. Prepare it as directed above. Mix with the syrup some meats taken from the pits.

COMPOTE OF ORANGES

Peel the oranges down to the pulp, using a sharp knife. Cut them in two crosswise. Remove with a pointed knife the core and seeds from the center. Boil them, one or two at a time, until tender, in a syrup with a little lemon-juice added, and be careful to keep them in good shape. Boil the syrup down until it threads, and pour it over the oranges piled in a glass dish. A candied cherry in the center of each one gives a pretty garnish. Orange compote is good served plain, or with whipped cream, with ice-creams, Bavarians, or corn-starch puddings. Mandarin oranges make a delicious compote.

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COMPOTE OF ORANGES GARNISHED WITH CANDIED CHERRIES. (SEE PAGE 536.)

PRESERVING AND CANNING

Sterilizing the fruit. The success of preserving and canning depends upon heating the fruit until all germs are destroyed, then sealing it air-tight while still scalding hot. In this way no new germs of ferment or mold can reach the fruit. Patent jars are generally used, and must be put into scalding water before being filled to prevent their breaking, and also to sterilize them. The preserve must be put into them scalding hot, a spoon-handle run down the sides to liberate any bubbles of air, the jar filled to the very brim, and the top put on each one at once after it is filled. Use of paraffin. A simple and very effectual way of hermetically sealing fruit is to cover it with paraffin. This can be obtained at any pharmacy. Place the paraffin in a small saucepan on the side of the range; it melts at a low degree of heat. When the jar or glass is filled with hot preserves wipe the glass close to the fruit to free it of syrup. Cover the top with a tablespoonful of liquid paraffin, and do not move the jar until the paraffin has set; it will then adhere closely to the glass. This will be found a very easy and satisfactory way of sealing fruits. The paraffin when taken off the fruit can be washed and kept to use again. Proportions. In preserving, sugar is used in the proportion of three quarters of a pound or one pound of sugar to a pound of fruit, and the fruit is thoroughly cooked. In canning, one quarter of a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit is used, the fruit is only thoroughly scalded, and so retains its flavor better. Fruits should be under rather than overripe for preserving, and only the finest should be selected. Inferior fruit may be used for jams. It is most abundant when at its best, and at this time it is cheapest. Utensils. A porcelain-lined kettle and wooden spoons should be used in the cooking, and a wide-mouthed funnel is a convenience for filling the jars.

PRESERVED PEACHES

The skin can easily be removed from peaches, leaving a smooth surface, by placing them in a wire basket and plunging it for a moment into boiling lye. The lye is made by adding two cupfuls of wood ashes to four quarts of water. From the lye put the fruit into cold water and rinse it several times, then rub off the skin. Cut each peach in two and place again in cold water to preserve the color until ready to use. Place in a porcelain-lined kettle three quarters the weight of sugar you have of fruit. Add a very little water to dissolve the sugar. Let it boil a minute, and take off any scum that rises. Then add as much fruit as will float without crowding, and cook until it is transparent, but not until it loses shape. Remove each piece separately as soon as it is cooked. When ready to fill the jars place them carefully in a pan of boiling water; have the tops and rubbers also in hot water. Part of the fruit has become cooled while the rest was cooking, but, as it must go into the jars hot, place it again in the boiling syrup, a little at a time. Use a ladle or cup to dip out the fruit; run a spoon-handle around the inside of the jars after they are filled to liberate any air bubbles. Add enough syrup to fill them to overflowing, and adjust the rubber and top on each jar as it is filled. Any juice that is left over may be boiled down to a jelly, or it may be bottled to use as flavoring or for sauces.

PRESERVED PEARS

Peel the pears; cut them in two lengthwise, splitting the stem, or they may be left whole if preferred. Place them carefully in jars; fill the jars with a syrup of 30° (see page 513); cover the jars without fastening the tops. Place the jars in a boiler of warm water, half covering them. Stand the jars on muffin-rings, slats of wood, or something to raise them off the bottom of the boiler, or they will break while cooking. Cover the boiler and cook the fruit until it is tender and looks clear. Remove the jars carefully, fill them completely full, using more hot syrup, or the contents of one of the cooked jars. Adjust the tops and set them to cool where the air will not strike them. (See canning.) Pears may be cooked the same as peaches, but they are such a very tender fruit, it is better to use the method given, as the shape is kept better in this way.

PRESERVED PLUMS

Preserve plums in the same way as directed for peaches or for pears. Remove the skin from them or not. If left on it is likely to crack open and come off if boiled too long. To prevent this, in a measure, prick the plums in several places with a fork before cooking.

GRAPE PRESERVES

Press the pulp out of each grape. Boil the pulps until tender, then pass them through a colander to remove the seeds. Mix the skins with the pulp and juice, add as many cupfuls of sugar as there are of grapes, and boil all together until well thickened.

Seal while hot the same as other preserves.

Green grapes are preserved by cutting each grape in halves, taking out the seeds, then adding an equal quantity of sugar, and boiling all together until of the right consistency.

PRESERVED STRAWBERRIES No. 1

Select firm, large berries and remove the hulls. To each pound of fruit (one basketful of berries will weigh about a pound) add three quarters of a pound of granulated sugar. Mix it with the berries, and let them stand ten to fifteen minutes, or long enough to moisten the sugar but not soften the berries. Put them in a granite or porcelain-lined saucepan and let them boil slowly five to ten minutes, or until the berries are softened: do not stir them, as that will break the berries, and do not boil long enough for them to lose their shape. Cook one basketful of berries only at a time. A larger quantity crushes by its own weight. A good method is to have two saucepans and two bowls, and leave the berries, after being hulled, in the baskets until ready to use; then put a basketful at a time in a bowl with sugar sprinkled through them; while one bowlful is being cooked, the bowl refilled, and the glasses filled, the other one is ready to use. In this way no time is lost, and the cooking is accomplished in as short a time as though all were put into a preserving kettle together. It is well to put strawberries into glasses. One basketful of berries will fill two half-pint tumblers. Cover the tops with paraffin as directed above, page 537.

PRESERVED STRAWBERRIES No. 2

Fill pint jars with as many berries as they will hold; pour over them a hot syrup of 32° (see page 513). After standing a few minutes they will shrivel, and more berries should be added. Cover and cook them in a boiler as directed for preserved pears and canning.

Strawberries require more sugar than other fruits to preserve their color, therefore they do not can well.

Strawberries, if carefully prepared by either of the foregoing receipts, will resemble the Wiesbaden preserves.

RASPBERRY PRESERVE

Raspberries are preserved the same as strawberries.

CITRON PRESERVE

Pare and core the citron; cut it into strips and notch the edges; or cut it into fancy shapes. Allow a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit, and to six pounds of the fruit allow four lemons and a quarter of a pound of ginger root. Tie the ginger in a cloth, and boil it in a quart and a half of water until the flavor is extracted; then remove it, and add to the water the sugar and the juice of the lemons; stir until the sugar is dissolved and the syrup is clear; take off any scum; then add the citron, and cook until it is clear, but not soft enough to fall apart. Can and seal while hot.

CANNING

APPLES, PEACHES, PEARS, PLUMS, CHERRIES, BERRIES, ETC.

Proportions. Canning does not differ from preserving, except in the amount of sugar used. A quarter of a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit is the rule, but none at all need be used, as the fruit will keep just as well without it if it is thoroughly sterilized by heat and immediately sealed. Fruits that require sugar when eaten fresh need sugar in like proportion when canned. The fruit may be boiled in a syrup of 14°, which is made of one pound of sugar to a quart of water, and bottled the same as when preserved, but an easier and better way is to cook it in the jars. Red fruits. Pack the fruit tightly in the jars and cover it with a syrup of 14°; red fruits need more sugar to preserve their color, and should have a syrup of 24°, which is one pint of water to a pound of sugar. Place the jars in a boiler of water, half covering them; raise them off the bottom of the boiler by standing them on muffin-rings or slats of wood. Do not let them touch. Cooling. Cover the boiler, and let them cook until the fruit is tender; the fruit will fall a little, so the jars will have to be filled up again; use for this the contents of another jar, or plain boiling water; adjust and fasten the tops at once, and place them where the air will not strike them while cooling.

Another way is to pack the dry jars full of fruit, fasten down the tops at once, place them in a boiler of cold water nearly covering them, raise it to the boiling-point and cook for an hour, and leave them in the water until cold again. In this way they are cooked in their own juice, and are said to retain their flavor better than where water is used. Canned apples make a very good substitute for fresh ones for pies, compotes and apple-sauce.

JAMS OR MARMALADES

Testing. Use three quarters of a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit. Place the fruit, pared and cored, in layers with the sugar in the preserving kettle. Let it stand a few minutes to extract some of the juice from the fruit; then place it on the fire and cook until it becomes a thick, consistent mass. Stir it frequently to break the fruit. When it has become tender, use a potato-masher to crush it. When it looks clear, put a little on a plate, and if it thickens, it is done. Put it into tumblers and cover. This does not require to be hermetically sealed. In making preserves it is well to reserve all the fruit which is not perfect and make it into jam.

QUINCE MARMALADE

Pare, core, and cut into pieces the fruit. Put the skins and cores into a kettle; cover them with water, and boil thirty minutes, or until tender; strain off the water through a colander, and as much pulp as will pass without the skins. To this add the rest of the fruit and three quarters of a pound of sugar to each pound of fruit. Boil it until it becomes a jelly-like mass. Mash the fruit as much as possible. It may be colored red, if desired, with cochineal. Turn it into glasses, tin boxes, or wooden salt-boxes. It becomes solid, and is served cut into slices. The Russians cut it into inch squares, and serve it as a bonbon.

ORANGE MARMALADE

Allow the juice and grated rind of one lemon to every five oranges. Weigh the fruit before cutting it, and allow three quarters of a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit. Remove the peel in quarters, and boil it in plenty of water until it is tender enough to pierce easily with a broom-straw; then drain off the water and let it cool. Remove the seeds and as much of the skin as possible from the pulp. Boil the pulp with the sugar until the orange is well cooked. When the peel is cool take one piece at a time in the palm of the hand, and with a tablespoon cut out all the white pithy part, leaving the thin yellow rind. Place a number of these pieces together, and with a sharp knife cut them into thin shreds. By cutting many together in this way it is done quickly. Add the shredded rinds to the cooked oranges and let them cook until of the right consistency. It should be very thick, but not solid like jelly. This is a very good marmalade, and resembles the Dundee brand.

APPLE MARMALADE

Make the same as directed for jams.

BRANDY PEACHES

Cook the fruit the same as directed for preserving peaches; but for this purpose the peaches are left whole, the skin left on or not, as desired. If the skins are retained they should be carefully brushed to remove all the down; use only fine fruit. When the jars are filled, add to each quart a half cupful of brandy, and seal; or, after filling the jars with fruit, boil down the syrup until it is very thick, and to each cupful of syrup add a cupful of brandy; pour it over the fruit and seal. California brandy serves very well for this purpose.

JELLIES

CURRANT OR ANY BERRIES

To make clear jelly use only the perfect fruit. Pick it over carefully and remove the stems. Place it in a porcelain-lined kettle and crush it enough to give a little juice so it will not burn. Cook it slowly until the fruit is soft, then turn it into a heavy cloth and press out all the juice. Strain the juice several times if necessary, to make it clear. Passing it through filter paper is recommended. Measure the juice, and to each pint allow a pound of sugar. Put the sugar in the oven to heat, but do not let it burn. Put the strained juice into the kettle and let it boil twenty minutes; then add the hot sugar, and stir until the sugar is dissolved and the juice is clear again. Pour it into glasses and let it stand until set. Grapes and cherries do not jelly easily, and a little gelatine added will insure success. When fruit does not jelly it is usually because it is over ripe. The fruit should not be gathered after a rain, nor should it be washed.

APPLE JELLY

Wash the apples; cut them in pieces without peeling or coring, but remove any imperfect parts. Barely cover them with water and boil slowly until they are tender, then strain off the liquor through cheese-cloth without pressing. Measure the juice, and to each pint of juice allow a pound of sugar. Put the juice in the preserving kettle and let it boil five minutes; then add the sugar and stir until it dissolves. Continue to boil it until a little dropped on a cold plate will jelly. It will take twenty to thirty minutes. Turn it into tumblers and cover. This jelly spread on the apple used in tarts improves them very much.

CRAB-APPLE JELLY

Make the same as apple jelly.

QUINCE JELLY

Make the same as apple jelly.

SPICED GRAPES

Prepare the grapes as for preserving, by removing the skins, boiling the pulp, and straining out the seeds. To seven pounds of fruit (weighed before the seeds are removed), add a cupful of strong vinegar, a cupful of grape-juice taken from the grapes used for preserves, two ounces of cinnamon, one ounce of cloves (tie the spices in a cloth so they can be removed), three and one half pounds of sugar. Boil until it becomes thick like a marmalade, which will take about an hour and a half. When done turn it into glasses. This is good with roast meats.

PLUM SAUCE FOR MEATS

To each pound of Damson plums, add a half cupful of sugar, one half ounce each of cinnamon, mace, and cloves (tie the spices in a bag). Remove the stones from the plums and boil until it becomes thick like jam.

SWEET PICKLED PEACHES AND PLUMS

Allow three and three quarter pounds of sugar to seven pounds of fruit. Put the sugar into the preserving kettle with a quart of vinegar and two ounces each of cloves and a stick of cinnamon. Boil them for five minutes after the sugar is dissolved. Pare the peaches and stick a clove into each one. Place a few at a time in the boiling syrup and cook them until they look clear, but are not softened enough to fall apart. When all are cooked, continue to boil the syrup until it is reduced nearly one half and pour it over the peaches. Plums are pickled in the same way. The skins may be left on both peaches and plums if preferred; in which case the down must be brushed off the peaches, and the plums must be pricked with a fork in several places to prevent the skins cracking when placed in the hot syrup.

PICKLED WALNUTS

Gather the walnuts when well grown, but still soft enough to be pierced through with a needle. Run a heavy needle through them several times and place them in strong brine, using as much salt as the water will absorb. Let them remain in brine for a week or ten days, and change the brine every other day; then drain the nuts and expose them to the air until they have turned black. Pack them in jars and cover them with boiling hot vinegar prepared as follows: To a gallon of vinegar add an ounce each of ginger root, mace, allspice, and cloves, and two ounces of peppercorns; boil them together for ten minutes and strain over the nuts. Let them stand a month before using.

CUCUMBER OR GHERKIN PICKLES

Gather each day the cucumbers of the size desired; rub them smooth with a cloth and place them in brine strong enough to float an egg. They will keep in the brine until wanted to pickle. Soak the cucumbers in water for two days after taking them from the brine, changing the water once, and then scald them in vinegar, or pour the boiling vinegar over them and let them stand in it two days before using. Put into each two quarts of vinegar an ounce of peppercorns, a half ounce each of mustard seed and mace, a piece of horseradish, a piece of alum the size of a pea, and a half cupful of sugar; boil them together for ten minutes before straining it over the cucumbers. The very small cucumbers are called gherkins.

GREEN TOMATO PICKLE

1 peck of green tomatoes.

2 quarts of onions.

Vinegar.

½ tablespoonful of cayenne.

¼ tablespoonful of ground mustard.

1 teaspoonful of turmeric.

2 pounds of brown sugar.

½ pound of white mustard seed.

½ ounce of ground mace.

1 tablespoonful of celery seed.

1 tablespoonful of ground cloves.

Slice the tomatoes and onions very thin; sprinkle a little salt through them and let them stand over night. Drain them through a colander and put them on to boil with enough vinegar to cover them and boil slowly until they are clear and tender, then drain them from the vinegar. Put into some fresh vinegar the sugar, mustard seed, mace, celery seed, and cloves, and let them boil for a few minutes; then pour it over the drained tomatoes, which have been mixed with the cayenne pepper, ground mustard, and turmeric. Mix them well together; add a half bottle of salad oil, and when cold put it in jars.

CHOW-CHOW

Cut into pieces,

½ peck of green tomatoes.

2 large cabbages.

15 onions.

25 cucumbers.

Mix them together and pack them in layers with salt; let them stand for twelve hours, then drain off the brine and cover them with vinegar and water, and let them stand another twelve hours.

Drain off the vinegar and cover them with one and one half gallons of scalding hot vinegar which has been boiled a few minutes with one pint of grated horseradish, one half pound of mustard seed, one ounce of celery seed, one half cupful of ground pepper, one half cupful of turmeric, one half cupful of cinnamon, and four pounds of sugar.

Let them stand until perfectly cold, then add one cupful of salad oil and one half pound of ground mustard. Mix them all thoroughly together and place in jars.

NASTURTIUM PICKLE

Pick the nasturtium seeds green; leave a short stem on them and place them in a weak brine for two days; then soak them in fresh water for a day. Pack them in jars and turn over them boiling vinegar; seal and let them stand a month before using.

Chapter XXVI

BEVERAGES

FILTERED WATER

Boiling the water. It is a recognized fact that many diseases are contracted through drinking impure water, yet many are so careless as not to take the simple means of removing this danger. It only requires boiling the water to destroy the germs. This, however, does not remove the foreign matter, such as decayed vegetable growth and other substances, therefore it is well to filter as well as to boil water. Many good filters are made which are cheap and easy to clean. The Gate City Stone Filter is perhaps the simplest one, being an earthen crock with a porous stone bottom. Although all filters claim to remove germs as well as impurities from water, it is safer to boil it first. Bright, crystal-like water in clear glass carafes is an ornamental addition to the table service as well as a convenient way of serving it. If the carafes are stopped with cotton and placed in the refrigerator for several hours, the water will be refreshingly cool, and cracked ice, which many do not use, in the belief that it arrests digestion, will not be required.

TO FREEZE CARAFES

Packing. Fill the bottles a little less than half full. The water should be below the largest part of the bulb; stop the bottles with cotton, and over the top of each one invert a tin cup. Individual timbale-molds may be used. Cover the bottom of a tub with ice and salt, place the bottles on it, leaving some space around each one, then fill the tub with ice and salt, the same as in packing ice-creams, and cover it. Within two or three hours the water will become frozen. Care must be taken that the water in the tub is never high enough to flow into the top of the carafes. When ready to serve, wipe the frozen carafes and fill them with ice water.

TEA

The water. You cannot have first-rate tea or coffee unless you use freshly-boiled water. Water that has been boiled for an hour or more lacks life, and gives a dull taste to the decoction. Draw freshly filtered water and let it come to a hard boil before using.

Scald the pot and immediately put into it the tea-leaves.

When the water boils hard, pour upon the tea-leaves the required quantity of water. Shut down the cover of the tea-pot and let it stand just five minutes before serving.

Proportions. To give the proportions of tea and water is impossible, as such different degrees of strength are demanded. One teaspoonful of tea to a pint of water, steeped five minutes, makes a weak tea. Two teaspoonfuls give the color of mahogany, if an English breakfast tea is used. Oolong tea does not color the water very much, so its strength cannot be as well judged in that way. Steeping. Tea, to be perfect, should not steep longer than five minutes; it may continue to grow stronger after that time, but the flavor is not as good, and if the leaves remain too long in the water the tea becomes bitter.

The Russians, who are reputed to have the best tea, prepare it at first very strong, getting almost an essence of tea; this they dilute to the strength desired, using water which is kept boiling in the samovar. Water removed from the kettle and kept in a pot where it falls below the boiling-point, will not give satisfactory results in diluting a strong infusion.

The tea-bag. Where a quantity of tea is to be used, as at receptions, it is well to put the tea into a swiss muslin bag, using enough to make a very strong infusion. Place the bag in the scalded pot; add the boiling water; after five minutes remove the bag. Keep a kettle of water boiling over an alcohol flame, and use it to dilute the tea as needed. The tea will then be as good as though freshly made. If, however, the leaves are allowed to remain in the pot the tea will not be fit to use after a short time, and no matter how much it may be diluted, it will still have an astringent taste.

The tea-ball. Silver balls are convenient to use where one or two cups at a time only are to be made for the friend who drops in for the afternoon cup of tea. The ball holding the tea is placed in the cup, water from the boiling kettle poured over it, and the ball removed when the water has attained the right color.

Russian tea. Various preparations of tea are made by adding flavorings.
Tea punch. The so-called Russian tea is made by adding sugar and a thin slice of lemon to each cup; tea punch by soaking the sugar first in rum or brandy. These, however, as well as milk, destroy the flavor of tea and change the character of the drink. Iced tea. Iced tea is a very refreshing drink in summer. It is served in glasses, with plenty of cracked ice, and should not be made very strong, or it will become clouded when the ice is added. Iced tea is improved by adding lemon. One tablespoonful of lemon-juice to a glass of tea is a good proportion.

COFFEE

CARE OF THE COFFEE-BEAN

It is generally understood that tea becomes air-drawn if not kept closely covered. It is also desirable to keep coffee in the same way.

COFFEE MIXTURES AND BRANDS

⅔ Java,
⅓ Mocha. Mandhaling coffee, which is grown by the Dutch government on the island of Sumatra, is considered the finest coffee in the world. The finest Mocha which comes to this market contains twenty per cent. of “Long Bean.” The best-known mark of this coffee in New York is H. L. O. G. A favorite mixture is two thirds Mandhaling to one third Mocha. The ordinary mixture of two thirds Java to one third Mocha is misleading, as there are an indefinite number of inferior qualities of both “Mocha” and “Java.” The best Java comes from the port of Padang in Sumatra, and the only true Mocha comes from Aden in Arabia. The finest grades of Mexican, Maracaibo, Bogota, and Jamaica coffees are highly esteemed. High grades of “Washed Rio” are also richly flavored coffees. These high-class coffees are difficult to get unadulterated. Another difficulty in buying coffee is that each variety has many grades, so the only assurance one can have of the quality received is the good faith of the grocer with whom one deals. A practice among grocers is to make mixtures which they sell under their own trademark.

TO MAKE COFFEE

To have the coffee right is one of the difficulties of the housekeeper. The making of coffee is a very simple operation, but the nicety and care with which it is prepared mark the difference between the good and bad decoction. The best quality of coffee carelessly made is not as acceptable as that well made from an inferior bean. Coffee readily absorbs foreign flavors. If the pot is wiped out with a soiled cloth, or if the coffee is strained through a flannel not perfectly sweet, the coffee betrays it. If the spout is allowed to collect a film of stale coffee, it will ruin all the fresh coffee put into the pot. To have perfect coffee, use an earthen or china pot, and have the water boiling when turned onto the coffee. Like tea, the results will not be right if the water is allowed to fall below the boiling-point before it is used. Have the coffee ground to a fine powder in order to get its full flavor as well as strength. There is great waste in having coffee ground coarse. A pound will go three times as far in the former as in the latter case, therefore a good coffee-mill is an economy in a household. Like tea, it should also be freshly made. It seems to lose its fine flavor if kept hot for any considerable time. Black coffee is usually made by dripping. Any coffee is better made in that way, using less coffee if less strength is desired, but a strong infusion diluted with hot milk makes a better drink than weak coffee flavored with milk.

DRIP COFFEE

One heaping tablespoonful of coffee to a cupful, or half pint, of water will make black coffee. Put the coffee powder into a felt bag, or on a thick flannel laid on a strainer and pour the boiling water over it. The flannel must be thick, and close enough to prevent the fine powder straining through. If enough coffee is used to make it of much depth in the strainer, the water will pass through very slowly and the coffee will be cold, therefore have the pot hot before beginning, and stand it in a pan of hot water while it is dripping. Coffee will not be right unless the water is violently boiling when poured on the grounds. Serve the coffee at once.

BOILED COFFEE

Put the ground coffee into the pot, pour over it boiling water; let it come to the boiling-point; remove, and stir into it the slightly beaten white of an egg and the crushed shell; replace it on the fire and let it boil one minute. This is to clear the coffee of the fine particles held in suspension. Pour a tablespoonful of cold water down the spout and place it on the side of the range where it will be perfectly still for five minutes, then pour off carefully the liquid coffee. Do not let the coffee boil three minutes altogether. The aroma of the coffee is the escaped volatile oils—all that is lost detracts just so much from the flavor of the drink.

ICED CAFÉ AU LAIT

Add enough cold black coffee to milk to give it the desired strength and flavor. Sweeten to taste and let it stand on ice until ready to serve. Serve it in glasses instead of cups. Any coffee left from breakfast prepared in this way makes a refreshing and acceptable drink for luncheon in summer.

CHOCOLATE

Maillard’s chocolate is excellent; his receipt is given below. For each cup of chocolate use one cupful of milk and one bar of chocolate. With Maillard’s chocolate this is nearly one and a quarter ounces. Put the cold milk into a porcelain-lined saucepan, break the chocolate into small pieces, and add them to the milk. Place the saucepan on the fire, and with a wooden spoon stir constantly and rapidly until the chocolate is dissolved and the milk has boiled up once. Beat it vigorously to make it smooth, and serve at once. More milk may be added if this is too rich. Chocolate should not be kept standing.553-*

COCOA

Dissolve a teaspoonful of cocoa in half a cupful of boiling water; then add a half cupful of boiling milk and boil it for one minute, stirring vigorously all the time. Sweeten to taste.

Brioche or Bath buns are good to serve with chocolate or cocoa for a light lunch.

LEMONADE

Squeeze the lemons, allowing two lemons for every three glasses of lemonade; remove any seeds that may have fallen in, or strain the juice if the lemonade is wanted clear. Sweeten the juice with sugar, or, better, with sugar syrup. When ready to use, add the necessary amount of water and a large piece of ice if served in a bowl, or put cracked ice into the glasses if only a few glassfuls are made. Put a thin slice of lemon or a few shavings of lemon-zest into each glass.

ORANGEADE

To two and one half cupfuls of orange-juice, the juice of two lemons, and the grated rind of one orange, add two cupfuls of syrup at 32° (see page 513), or sweeten to taste; add enough water to bring it to 11° on the syrup gauge, or to taste; strain and place it on ice until ready to use.

COBBLERS

Put a claret-glassful of claret into a tumbler; add a teaspoonful of sugar, or sweeten to taste; fill the glass with ice cracked fine, and add a little water if desired. Place a shaker over the glass and mix it well; add a strawberry, raspberry, bit of pineapple, orange, or any fruit convenient; add, also, two straws. Cobblers may be made of sherry, Catawba, or any wine, using a quantity in proportion to the strength desired. They are meant as light cooling drinks, and should not be strong of wine.

CLARET CUP No. 1

1 pint of claret.

1 pint of soda.

Juice of 1 lemon.

1 sherry-glassful of liqueur.

1 slice of cucumber rind.

1 orange.

Grapes.

Bunch of mint.

Large piece of ice.

CLARET CUP No. 2

1 quart of claret.

1 glassful of white Curaçao.

1 glassful of sherry.

1 slip of borage, or a slice of cucumber.

1 pint of soda.

Juice of 1 orange.

Sweeten to taste.

CHAMPAGNE CUP No. 1

Juice of ½ lemon.

1 teaspoonful of powdered sugar.

1 sherry-glassful of liqueur.

1 pint of champagne.

1 pint of soda.

1 slice of cucumber.

1 slice of pineapple.

1 orange cut in pieces.

Bunch of mint.

Large piece of ice.

CHAMPAGNE CUP No. 2

1 quart of champagne.

1 glassful of white Curaçao.

1 glassful of sherry.

Juice of 1 orange.

1 slip of borage, or a slice of cucumber, or green celery-tops.

1 pint of Apollinaris.

MOSELLE CUP

1 quart of Braunberger or Zeltinger.

1 pony of brandy.

Juice of 1 orange.

Juice of 1 lemon.

1 slip of borage or a slice of cucumber.

1 pint of Apollinaris.

No sugar.

SAUTERNE CUP

Use brand “Graves.”

To a quart of Sauterne add the strained juice of four large lemons. Sweeten with powdered sugar to taste, add a cocktail glassful of brandy, two thirds glassful of maraschino (noyau can be used, but it is not so good), and a teaspoonful of Angostura bitters. Put it on ice until ready to use, and then, not before, add a bottle of Delatour soda, also chilled, or the same amount of soda from syphon. Lastly, add six thin slices of cucumber and a few pieces of any fruit convenient, such as pineapple, raspberries, strawberries, etc., and a piece of ice. Borage is better than cucumber for cups if it can be had.

CIDER CUP

1 pint of cider.

1 sherry-glassful of sherry.

1 sherry-glassful of brandy.

1 liqueur-glassful of Curaçao.

Piece of ice.

½ of 1 orange sliced.

1 yellow rind of 1 lemon.

1 slice of cucumber.

A dash of nutmeg.

Sugar to taste.

THE THORP COCKTAIL

The following formula is for one cocktail only; the same proportions must be observed in making any number of them. Have the glasses well chilled before beginning, and always use sugar syrup instead of sugar for sweetening.

1 teaspoonful of sugar syrup.

1 teaspoonful of orange bitters.

5 teaspoonfuls of Old Tom gin.

5 drops of noyau or maraschino.

Enough cracked ice to chill but not to dilute. Stir with a spoon until thoroughly chilled and blended. The mixture must not be shaken, as that fills it with air. Lastly, take a piece of lemon zest the size of a ten-cent piece, hold it over the cocktail, and express a little of the oil, then drop it in the glass.

EGG-NOG

Beat the yolk of one egg and a teaspoonful of sugar to a light cream; whip the white of the egg to a stiff froth; mix them together; turn them into a glass; add one teaspoonful of rum or brandy and as much milk as the glass will hold. Stir or shake it well together; add more sugar and rum if desired. Grate a dash of nutmeg over the top; whipped cream may be used instead of milk, and will give more nourishment when it is used for an invalid.

MILK SHAKE

Fill a glass two thirds full of milk; sweeten it to taste with any fruit syrup, or with a syrup made of boiled sugar flavored with vanilla, orange-flower water, or any liqueur; strained preserve of any kind or liquefied jelly may be used. Fill up the glass with cracked ice and shake together until well mixed.

MILK PUNCH

Add to a glass of milk a teaspoonful or more of sherry, brandy, or rum; sweeten to taste; shake well and dust over the top a little grated nutmeg.

FRUIT SYRUPS

A refreshing drink can be made of fresh strawberries, raspberries, cherries, or currants. Cook a quart of fruit with a pint of water until well softened; then strain and press out the juice through a heavy cloth. When cold, sweeten and dilute to taste and serve in glasses filled with cracked ice.

GRAPE-JUICE

Add a quart of water to three quarts of grapes, free from the stems; let them come slowly to the boiling-point; then strain through a thick cloth. Return the liquid to the fire, let it again come to the boiling-point, and turn at once into glass jars and seal immediately. Use a porcelain-lined kettle and wooden spoon in preparing the juice.

RASPBERRY VINEGAR

Put three quarts of ripe raspberries into an earthen bowl; pour over them a quart of vinegar; at the end of twenty-four hours press and strain out the liquor and turn it over another three quarts of fresh ripe berries. Let it stand another twenty-four hours; again express and strain the juice, and to each pint add a pound of sugar, and boil for twenty minutes. Turn it into bottles, and cork when cold. When used dilute the raspberry vinegar with three parts of water.

KOUMISS

Koumiss, which is simply fermented milk, can easily be made at home after the receipt given below, and can then be had sweet and is much more palatable than the acid koumiss sold at pharmacies. It is a valuable drink or diet for invalids with weak digestion, or for dyspeptics.

For making koumiss it is necessary to have strong bottles (champagne bottles are best), and they must be scrupulously clean. Driving the corks. A corking machine is requisite for driving in the corks. This is placed over the bottle; the cork, which has steamed an hour or more in hot water until softened, is placed in the side opening and the rammer pounded until the cork is free from the machine. Tying the corks. The cork must be tied down to insure safety. A loop of twine is placed over it, then drawn tight around the neck of the bottle, brought back, and tied over the top of the cork.

See caption
UTENSIL FOR DRIVING CORKS INTO BOTTLES.

See caption
METHOD OF TYING DOWN CORKS IN KOUMISS BOTTLES.

The champagne tap. A champagne tap for drawing the koumiss is also necessary, as it contains so much gas, it is impossible to draw the cork without losing a good part of the contents of the bottle.

See caption
CHAMPAGNE TAP FOR DRAWING KOUMISS OR ANY EFFERVESCING DRINK WITHOUT UNCORKING THE BOTTLE.

See caption
SHAKERS FOR MIXING ANY ICED DRINKS.

Receipt.—Fill quart bottles three quarters full of fresh milk; add to each one a tablespoonful of fresh brewer’s yeast and a tablespoonful of sugar syrup. The syrup is made by boiling sugar and water together to a syrup (the sugar must be used in this form). Shake the bottles for some minutes to thoroughly mix the ingredients, then fill them nearly full with milk and shake them again. Cork and tie them, and stand them upright in a cool place for two and a half days; then turn them on the side and use as needed. They should be kept in a cool, dark place, so the fermentation will be slow, and the temperature should be about 52°, or low enough to prevent the milk from souring.

Brewer’s yeast is best and gives the koumiss the taste of beer; but compressed yeast may be used, a fifth of a cake dissolved being added to each bottleful of milk.

553-* Huyler’s, Baker’s, and other brands of chocolate may be prepared in the same way, the proportions being regulated by the richness desired.—M. R.

Chapter XXVII

WINES

The temperance movement has made great advance since the days when it was not considered etiquette for a man to leave the table sober, and also from recent times when men lingered at the table after the ladies had withdrawn, to partake of strong liquors with their cigars.

To-day there are some people who exclude wine entirely from their table, and many others who serve it only in moderation. It is common now to have but three kinds, such as sherry, claret and champagne, and sometimes only one. In this respect, therefore, one may follow his own conviction without fear of being considered peculiar.

The usual order of serving wines is as follows:

White wines. With the first course of the dinner there should be served a white wine of some kind, such as Niersteiner, Hochheimer, or Liebfrauenmilch amongst the Rhine wines; Zeltinger, Josephshöfer, or Scharzberger Muscatel amongst the Moselle wines; Haut Barsac, Haut Sauterne, or Château Yquem amongst the white Bordeaux wines; and Chablis, Nuersault or Montrachet amongst the white Burgundies.

Sherry. Sherry is served with soup. It should be light and dry, and should be chilled by being placed in the ice-box for some time before dinner. Champagne. Champagne is now served with the fish and continued all through dinner.
Claret. Claret or Burgundy is served with the game. Pontet Canet, Larose, Léoville, Margaux, and Lafite are standard vintages amongst the clarets.
Burgundy. Chambertin, Clos de Tart, Clos de Vougeot and Romanée amongst the Burgundies. Claret is sometimes, and very properly, served at the same time as champagne, as many people drink no other wine. In this case a higher grade of claret or a fine Burgundy should be served with the game. Temperature.The white Bordeaux and Burgundy wines should be served cool.

Rhine and Moselle wines are best at a temperature of about 40° F.

The champagne should be very dry (brut) and served very cold. Half an hour in ice and salt before dinner will bring it to about the right temperature. Sweet champagnes are but seldom served nowadays, and are more appreciated, perhaps, at ladies’ luncheons than at dinners. Sweet champagne. Sweet champagne cannot be too cold and should be frappé if convenient. Clarets and Burgundies should stand upright on the dining-room mantelpiece for at least twenty-four hours before they are required, in order that the wine may acquire the temperature of the room, as well as be prepared for decanting. Care of wines. Wines old in bottle will form more or less deposit, which, if shaken up with the wine, will injure it.
Decanting. After standing twenty-four hours the sediment will fall and the wine should then be decanted (with the aid of a candle), care being taken that no sediment passes into the decanter.

Port. Neither claret nor Burgundy is good the second day after decanting. They contain too small a percentage of alcohol to keep their flavor more than a few hours after the bottle is opened, and what remains over from dinner should be put into the vinegar demijohn. Ports and Madeiras are but little used at dinners, but may still be served with the cheese at the end of dinner, or with the dessert. A glass of port with a biscuit at five o’clock is very popular in many quarters, and will be welcomed by those who are afraid of tea.

Madeira. A fine Madeira may be served with the soup instead of sherry, and is the wine par excellence to drink with terrapin.
Brandy. A superior quality of brandy and various liqueurs are usually served with coffee. In buying wines it is always best to go directly to a reliable wine merchant and take his advice. Liqueurs. Especially is this true when the buyer himself has no great knowledge of the different kinds of wines. It has been said that a man’s wine merchant should stand in as close relation to him as his lawyer or his physician.

INDEXES

ALPHABETICAL INDEX

A

Agra Dolce, 291.

Allemande Sauce, 279.

Almonds, burnt, 520.

Chopping, 59.

Hardbake, 526.

Salted, 533.

“ No. 2, 533.

Sugared, 520.

“ Wafers, 478.

Anchovy canapés, 368.

Angel cake, 467.

Ice-cream, 497.

Parfait, 505.

Angelica, 392.

Apples, 530.

Baked for breakfast, 432.

“   “  luncheon, 432.

Compote of, 535.

Clarified, 243.

Charlotte, 430.

Dumplings, 429.

Flaming, 432.

Fritters, 427.

Fried with pork, 176.

Jelly, 544.

Marmalade of, 543.

Pie, 454.

Pudding, 429.

Sauce, 243, 288.

Soufflé, 424.

With rice, 430.

“   “    No. 2, 431.

“ Corn-starch, 432.

Apricot Sauce, 446.

Artichokes, 220.

Bottoms, 221.

Asparagus, 211.

Cream of, 106.

Tips, 212.

Aspic jelly, 321.

To chop, 323.

To clear, 322.

Chicken, 323.

Croûtons, 323.

To mold, 323.

To ornament molds for, 324.

Quick, 322.

Of pâté en Bellevue, 384.

B

Baba, 440.

Bacon, 178.

“    how to cut, 78.

Baked Apples, 432.

Beans, 217, 234.

Custard, 396.

Fish, 115.

Ham, 177.

Lobster, 137.

Macaroni, 225.

Baking, 69.

Bread, 343.

Cake, 464.

Custards, 396.

Balloons, 428.

Banana trifle, 412.

Bananas, sliced, 531.

Sautéd, fried, 531.

Barbecue of fish, 331.

Bath buns, 358.

Batter pudding, 428.

Bavarian creams, 400.

General directions for making, 400.

Chocolate, 401.

Diplomatic, 403.

Fruit, 401.

en surprise, 402.

Italian cream, 401.

Panachée, 402.

Plain, 400.

Rice, 402.

Beans, 217.

Baked, 217, 234.

Boiled, 217.

Croquettes of, 217.

Dried, 217.

Lima, 210.

Purée of, 217.

Salads, 377.

Soup, 229, 256.

String, 209.

Béarnaise sauce, 288.

Beating, 78.

Béchamel sauce, 279.

Beef, 146.

à la mode, 148.

Bouilli, 149.

Braised, 147.

Cold roast, 151.

Corned, 157, 234.

“   hash, 158.

Fillet of, 149.

“   How to buy, 150.

Inside flank of, 153.

Pie, 152.

Raw sandwiches, 367.

Ragoût of, 153.

To roast, 146.

Rolled roast of, 146.

Round of, 147.

Shin of, to prepare, 250.

Stock, 88.

Tongue, 174.

Warmed over, 152.

Beefsteaks, 155.

To broil, 156.

Pie, 235.

Pudding, 251.

Beets, 217.

Berries, 531.

Berry Design for molds, 326.

Beverages, 548.

Bird’s-Nest salad, 385.

Bischoff sauce, 447.

Biscuits, beaten, 247.

Bran, 357.

Dough fritters, 428.

Tea, 352.

Biscuit glacé, 506.

Bisque of lobster, 109.

Black bean soup, 229.

Blanc-mange, 399.

Blueberry pudding, 241.

Boiled beans, 217.

Cabbage, 212, 253.

Calf’s head, 175.

Chicken, 185.

Cucumbers, 218.

Custard, 394.

Eggs, 262.

Fish, 114.

Ham, 177.

Lobster, 136.

Mutton, 163.

Boiling, 67.

Sugar, 510.

Bonbons, 522.

Bone, to, a fowl, 181.

Bones, grilled, 188.

Marrow, 159.

Boned chicken, 182.

Turkey, 193.

Shoulder of mutton, 163.

Shoulder of veal, 168.

Boning, 77.

Boston brown bread, 237, 347.

Boudins Rouennais, 302.

Bouilli, 149.

Salad, 383.

Bouillon, 97.

Bouquet for soups, 85.

Brains, calf, 307.

Marinade of, 307.

Braising, 71.

Braised beef, 147.

Chicken, 186.

Bran biscuits, 357.

Brandy peaches, 543.

Sauce, 445.

Bread, 338.

General directions for making, 340.

Baking, 343.

Boston brown, 237, 347.

Braids and twists of, 350.

Care of, 344.

Cake, 482.

Corn, 353.

“ soft, 247.

Fritters, 349.

Graham, 346.

Gluten, 347.

Made with baking powder, 346.

Milk, 345.

Mixing, 342.

Pans, 344.

Panada, 298.

Potato, 345.

Pulled, 349.

Puddings, 434.

Rolls, 349.

Sauce, 287.

Sticks, 357.

Tarts, 435.

Thin Indian, 236.

Water, No. 1, 345.

“  No. 2, 345.

Whole wheat, 346.

Bread and Butter Pudding, 434.

Brioche, 359.

Roll, 360.

Crown, 360.

For timbales, 361.

Timbale of, 361.

Brod Torte, 472.

Broiled Lobster, 137.

Oysters, 132.

Broiling, 70.

Broth, Chicken, 95.

Clam, 95.

Mutton, 95.

Made quickly for invalids, 96.

Brown Betty, 429.

Brown butter sauce, 291.

Brown sauce, 282.

Brown stock, 88.

Browned oysters, 231.

Brussels sprouts, 214.

Buckwheat cakes, 363.

Buns, Bath, 358.

Brioche, 360.

Burnt almonds, 520.

Butter, 34, 58.

How to make, 258.

C

Cabbage, 212.

Boiled, 212, 253.

Hot slaw, 214.

With Cheese, 213.

Swedish, 213.

Cabinet puddings, 438.

Café frappé, 509.

Parfait, 504.

au lait, iced, 553.

Cake, 462.

Rules for making, 462.

To line tins with paper, 463.

To grease pans, 464.

To bake, 464.

Mixing sponge, 465.

Mixing batter, 465.

Angel, 467.

Almond wafers, 478.

Bread, 482.

Brod Torte, 472.

Cakes, small fancy, 475.

Carolines, 475.

Chocolate éclairs, 474.

Chocolate filling for, 469.

Cocoanut balls, 477.

Coffee, 358

Cookies, plain, 481.

Cream, 474.

Cream filling for, 468.

Cream cakes and éclairs, 473.

Crullers, 481.

Cup, plain, 470.

Cup, richer, 471.

Doughnuts, 481.

Éclairs, 474.

Election, 244.

Fruit, plain, 472.

Fruit, rich, 473.

Garnishing, 486.

Gauffres, 479.

Genoese, 467.

Gingerbread, soft, 483.

Gingersnaps, 481.

Gold and silver, 470.

Hoe, 246.

Hoe, No. 2, 247.

Hoe, Colonial, 237.

Hominy, 356.

Icing and decorating, 483.

Jelly rolls, 468.

Johnny, 237.

Jumbles, cookies, plain, 480.

Jumbles, 480.

Layer, 468.

Lady fingers, 476.

Little pound-cakes, 478.

Macaroons, 477.

Madeleines, 477.

Marble, 470.

Meringues and kisses, 475.

Molasses, 483.

One egg, 482.

Orange, 469.

Orange filling for, 469.

Orange quarters, 478.

Pound, 471.

Pistachio, 469.

Sand tarts, 480.

Sponge, 466.

Sunshine, 467.

Uses for stale, 411.

Venetian cakes, 479.

Warren’s, 482.

White, 471.

White sponge, 467.

With custard, 411.

Calf’s brains, 307.

à la poulette, 308.

à la vinaigrette, 307.

Head boiled, 175.

With vinaigrette sauce, 176.

Soup, 103.

Heart, 174.

Liver, 172.

Canapés, 368.

Anchovy, 368.

Cheese, 368, 371.

Ham, 368.

Lorenzo, 369.

Pineapple, 336.

Sardine, 368.

Canary pudding, 436.

Candied fruits, California, 392.

Candies, 517.

General remarks about making, 517.

Candy, Molasses, 527.

Peanut, 527.

Taffy, 527.

Canned fruits, 393.

Canning, 536.

Canvasback ducks, 196.

Caper sauce, 164, 279.

Carafes, to freeze, 548.

Caramel, 78, 391, 522.

Carameled nuts, 526.

Caramels, chocolate, 522.

Vanilla, coffee, maple, 522.

Caramel custard, 396.

Ice-cream, 496.

Carrots and turnips, 216.

Casserole of rice, 327.

Of potato, 327

Cauliflower, 214.

au gratin, 215.

Salad, 377.

Celery, cream of, 106.

Stewed, 216.

au jus, 216.

Salad, 376.

And walnut salad, 381.

Sauce, 279.

Cereals, 227.

Chafing dish cookery, 329.

Kind of, to use, 329.

Dishes suitable for, 330.

Oysters in, 233, 331.

Meats in, 335.

Champagne cup, No. 1, 555.

No. 2, 555.

Jelly, 416.

“ with flowers, 416.

Sauce, 283.

Charlotte, apple, 430.

Russe, 403.

Filling, No. 1, 404.

“ No. 2 (With Eggs), 405.

“ No. 3 (With Fruit), 405.

“ No. 4, 405.

“ No. 5, 405.

“ Princesse de Galles, 406.

Strawberry, 406.

Timbale of Brioche, 406.

Chartreuse, 83.

Of chicken, 190.

Of spinach, 211.

Chateaubriand, 157.

Chaudfroid of chicken, 191.

Of sweetbreads, 306.

Sauce, 281.

Cheese, 369.

Cottage, 373.

Dishes, 369.

“   General directions for, 369.

Canapés, 368, 371.

And crackers, 371.

Fondue, 335.

Golden Buck, 372.

Patties, 373.

Sandwiches, 367.

Soufflé, 370.

Straws, 372.

Welsh Rarebit, 371.

Cherry bread pudding, 241.

Chestnuts, candied, (marrons glacé), 521.

Parfait of, 506.

Pain de marrons, 420.

Purée, 215, 410.

Stuffing, 185.

With cream, 410.

Chickens, 179.

To judge of, 179.

To clean and draw, 180.

To bone, 181.

To truss, 183.

à la Vienne, 189.

Aspic, 323.

Aspic with walnuts, 384.

Baltimore style, 189.

Boiled, 185.

Braised, 186.

Breasts with poulette sauce, 190.

Broiled, 186.

Broth, 95.

Consommé, 100.

Chartreuse of, 190.

Chaudfroid, 191.

Fricassee, white, brown, 186.

Fried, 187.

Fritters, 187.

Gumbo, 249.

Imperial, 189.

Jellied, boned, 182.

Legs stuffed, 188.

Livers, 309, 333.

Mayonnaise, 192.

Pie, English, 192.

Purée, 310.

Soufflé, 190.

Soup, plain, 100.

Chocolate, 388, 553.

To melt, 388.

Bavarian, 401.

Caramels, 522.

With condensed milk, 337.

Cream, 397.

Creams, 524.

Custards, 395.

Éclairs, 474.

Filling for cake, 469.

Ice-cream, 496.

Icing No. 1, 484.

“   No. 2, 485.

“   No. 3, 485.

Parfait, 504.

Peppermints, 525.

Praliné, 504.

Pudding, 398.

Sauce, 435, 447.

Soufflé, 423.

Chops cut from shoulder, 253.

Fish, 121.

Lobster, 138.

Mutton, 165.

In paper cases, 166.

à la Maintenon, 167.

Pork, 177.

Chow-chow, 546.

Chowder, clam, 111, 230.

Fish, 110, 230.

Potato, 110.

Christmas plum pudding, 437.

Cider cup, 556.

Clam broth, 95.

Chowder, 111, 230.

Fritters, 136.

Soup, 104, 230.

Clams, 135.

To open, 135.

Cream of, 107.

Creamed, 135.

Roasted, 136.

Claret cup No. 1, 555.

“ “  No. 2, 555.

Clarified apples, 243.

Clarifying fat, 74.

Fruit juices, 415.

Jelly, 413.

Soups, 86.

Club house fish balls, 128.

Cobblers, 554.

Cocoa, 554.

Cocoanut balls, 477.

Cakes, 525.

Creams, 524.

Pie, 456.

Pudding, 398.

Sauce, 449.

Codfish and cream, 233.

Codfish balls, 128, 232.

Salt, 127.

Coffee, 551.

Care of beans, 551.

Mixtures and brands, 551.

To make, 551.

Drip, 552.

Cake, 358.

Ice-cream, 497.

Iced (au lait), 553.

Icing for éclairs, 485.

Jelly, 416.

Cold chicken pie, 192.

Desserts, 394.

Jelly sauce, 449.

Tongue, 175.

Fish, 123.

Roast beef, 151.

Slaw, 378.

Coloring, 392.

Soups, 87.

Sugar, 393.

Common stock, 87.

Compote of apples, 535.

Oranges, 536.

Peaches and apricots, 536.

Pears, 536.

Consommé, 98, 100.

Cookies, plain, 481.

Cooking for pleasure, 38.

Corned beef, 157, 234.

Hash, 158.

Corn bread (soft), 247.

No. 1, 353.

No. 2, 353.

Canned, 220.

Cream of, 106.

Dodgers, 247.

On the ear, 220.

Mock oysters, 220.

Pudding, 236.

Cornmeal mush, 228.

Fried, 224.

Cornstarch with apples, 432.

Pudding, plain, 397.

With canned fruit, 398.

cocoanut, 398.

chocolate, 398.

Chocolates, 398.

Cottage pudding, 435.

Courses, 24.

Court bouillon, 115.

Crab-apple jelly, 544.

Crabs, 141.

Deviled, 141.

Crabs, oyster, 143, 310.

Entrée of, 310.

Soft-shell, 142.

Stew, 144.

St. Laurent, 143.

Stuffed with mushrooms, 142.

Toast, 334.

Cracked wheat, 228.

Cranberry jelly, 244.

Pie, 456.

Sauce, 287.

Cream of asparagus, 106.

Celery, 106.

Clams, 107.

Of corn, 106.

Of green peas, 106.

Of oysters, 108.

Of string beans, 106.

Cakes, 474.

Chicken forcemeat, No. 1, 297.

“ “   No. 2, 297.

Czarina, 410.

Devonshire, 258.

Dressing, 235.

Fried, 441.

Italian, 401.

Pie, 455.

To whip, 408.

Soups, 84, 105.

Whips, 409.

Creamed clams, 135.

“ dishes, 332.

“ mackerel, 127.

Creams, chocolate, 524.

Cocoanut, 524.

Nut, 523.

Peppermint, 525.

Crême Parisienne, 441.

Croquenbouche of Macaroons, 408.

Croquettes, 292.

Sauce for mixing, 293.

To mold, 293.

To fry, 294.

Materials used for, 295.

Bean, 217.

Egg, 272.

Potato, 202.

Sweet potato, 207.

Croustade of shrimps, 130.

Bread, 328.

Rolls, 328.

Croûte-au-pot, 89.

Croûtons and croustades, 81.

Crullers, 481.

Crumbs, 51, 75.

Crumpets, 355.

Cucumbers, boiled, 218.

Pickles, 545.

Salad for fish, 377.

Stuffed, 218.

And tomato salad, 377.

Cup cake, 470, 471.

Currant jelly, 543.

Shortcake, 442.

Currants, 531.

Curried eggs, 271.

Curry, 254.

Madras, 254.

Sauce, 284.

Custards, 394.

Baked, 396.

Boiled, No. 1, 394.

“  No. 2, 395.

Caramel, 396.

Chocolate, 395.

“   baked, 397.

“   cream, 397.

Rennet, 397.

Sauce, boiled, 447.

D

Dabs, 238.

Daisy designs for molds, 326.

Daubing, 76.

Decorating cakes, 486.

Decorations for meat jelly, 326.

Desserts, information pertaining to, 386.

Cold, 394.

Deviled crabs, 141.

Devonshire cream, 258.

Diplomatic Bavarian, 403.

Pudding, 403.

Dishes à la Newburg, 139, 333.

Doughnuts, 481.

Dried beans, 217.

Mushrooms, 320.

Drip coffee, 552.

Drippings, 51, 59.

Ducks, tame, 195.

Canvasbacks and redheads, 196.

Salmi of, 196.

Dumplings, apple, 429.

With baking powder, 170.

“ suet, 170.

E

Éclairs, 473.

Chocolate, vanilla, coffee, 474.

Economical living, 44.

Eggs, 58, 261.

à l’Aurore, 270.

à la Bourguinonne, 270.

à la Polignac, 267.

à la Reine, 273.

à la Villeroi, 269.

au beurre noir, 273.

au miroir, 266.

Balls for soup, 92.

Boiled, 262.

Cocotte, 266.

Croquettes, 272.

Curried, 271.

Fried, 264.

Golden cream toast, 270.

How to judge and keep, 261.

Livingston, 273.

Nog, 557.

Omelet, 264.

Poached, 263.

On anchovy toast, 268.

“ “ “ (entrée), 268.

Salads, 381.

Sandwiches, 366.

Sauce, 278.

Scrambled, 264.

Shirred, 266.

Stuffed, 271, 272.

Sur le plat, 266.

With tomatoes, 268, 332.

In tomatoes, 380.

To whip, 389, 463.

Plant, 215.

“ stuffed, 215.

Election cake, 244.

Emergencies, 55.

English muffins, 355.

Enterprise chopper, 293.

Entrées, 292.

Espagnole sauce, 282.

F

False terrapin, 308.

Fancy molding, 413.

In aspic, 324.

Farinaceous foods, 222.

Farina balls, 223.

Pudding, 424.

Boiled, 436.

Fat, to clarify, 74.

To try out, 74.

Saving, 51.

Figs, 531.

Fig pudding, 438.

Fillet of beef, 149.

Fillets of fish, 112, 118, 125.

Fillets mignon, 157.

Of salmon, 130.

Filtered water, 548.

Fish, 112.

Balls, 128, 232.

“   fresh, 128.

Baked, 115.

Barbecue of, 331.

Bones of, 112.

To bone and remove fillets, 112.

To boil, 113.

Time to boil, 113.

To boil whole, 114.

To serve boiled, 114.

Sauces for boiled, 114.

Court bouillon for, 115.

To broil, 116.

To carve, 113.

Cold, 123.

Cooking, 112.

Chops, 121.

Chowder, 110, 230.

Dish for pink luncheon, 124.

Dressing, 112.

Fillets of, 112, 118, 122, 125.

Fillets of, baked with custard or tomatoes, 122.

To fry, 117.

Fillets of fried, 118.

Freshness of, 112.

Frozen, 112.

Forcemeat of, 297.

Garnishing, 114.

Kettle, 113.

Keeping, 112.

Pudding, 123.

And oysters, 231.

Sauces for, 275.

Sandwiches, 366.

Scalloped, 120.

“   au gratin, 121.

Stock and soup, 103.

To sauté, 117.

Timbale, 123.

Trimming, 112.

Five o’clock tea, 33.

Flageolets, 210.

Flaming apples, 432.

Flavoring, 60, 80.

When to add, 389.

Flavors, 389.

Floating Island, 395.

Flounder, rolled fillets of, 125.

Flowers for garnishing, 393.

Floor polish, 260.

Foamy sauce, 445.

Fondant, 513.

To make, 514.

Bonbons of, 522.

Icing, 485.

Fondue, 335.

Fontage cups, 300.

Forcemeat, chicken, cream, 297.

No. 2, 297.

Fish, cream, 297.

Quenelle, 298.

Balls, 92.

For boned fowls, 183.

Fowls, to bone, 181.

To truss, 183.

French dressing for salads, 375.

Omelet, 264.

Fricasseeing, 71.

Fricassee of chicken, 186.

Oysters, 232.

Fried bananas, 531.

Cream, 441.

Corn-meal mush, 224.

Hominy, 224.

Fried oysters, 132.

Fritters, 426.

Apple, 427.

Batter, 426.

Biscuit dough, 428.

Bread, 349.

Chicken, 187.

Orange, 427.

Peach or apricot, 427.

Frogs’ legs, fried, 313.

à la poulette, 313.

Frosting, instantaneous, 245.

Frozen desserts, 488.

Remarks about, 488.

Fruits, 501, 532.

Punches, 508.

Fruit cake, plain, 472.

Rich, 473.

Fruits, 529.

Remarks about, 529.

Bavarian, 401.

Frozen, 501, 532.

Ice-creams, 501.

Jellied, 534.

Juices, 534.

“ To thicken, 389.

Pudding, 443, 502.

Salpicon of, 532.

“     punch, 533.

Sauces, 446.

Syrups, 557.

Frying, 72.

To prepare articles for, 75.

G

Galantine of turkey, 193.

Garnishing, 392.

Boiled fish, 114.

Cakes, 486.

With flowers, 393.

Garnishes for soups, 92.

Gâteau St. Honoré, 407.

Gauffres, 479.

Gelatine, 60, 388.

Gems, corn, 354.

Graham, 237, 354.

Genoese cake, 467.

Giblet sauce, 185.

Gingerbread, soft, 483.

Ginger snaps, 481.

Glacé oranges and grapes, 516.

Glaze, 277.

Gluten bread, 347.

Gold and silver cake, 470.

Golden buck, 372.

Cream toast, 270.

Goose, roast, 194.

Graham bread, 346.

Gems, 237, 354.

Grape fruit, 530.

Grapes glacé, 516.

Juice, 557.

Preserved, 539.

Spiced, 544.

Grease, removing from soups, 86.

Saving, 51.

Green peas, 209.

Cream of, 106.

Timbale of, for soups, 94.

Grilled bones, 188.

Grouse, roasted, 197.

Gumbo filé, 248.

H

Halibut steaks, boiled, 119.

Turkish style, 120.

Timbale, 303.

Ham boiled, 177.

Baked, 177.

And eggs, broiled, 178.

à l’Aurore, 178.

Canapés, 368.

Omelet, 266.

Hamburg steaks, 151.

Hard sauce, 448.

Harlequin balls, 522.

Slices for soups, 94.

Hartford election cake, 244.

Hash, corned beef, 158.

Brown, 159.

Heart, calf’s, 174.

Hoe cake, 246.

No. 2, 247.

Colonial, 237.

Hollandaise sauce, 281.

Home dinner, 27.

Homily on cooking, 35.

Hominy cake, 356.

Fried, 224.

Horseradish sauce, 284.

Hot slaw, 214.

I

Ices, 508.

Lemon, 243, 508.

Orange, 508.

Strawberry, 508.

Ice-creams, 488.

American, 495.

Angel, 497.

Caramel, 496, 497.

Coffee, 497.

Chocolate, 496.

Classification of, 488.

Fancy molding of, 491.

Freezing, 490.

French, 495.

Fruit, 501.

General rules for making, 489.

Imperatrice, 505.

Individual, 492, 493.

Molding, 491.

Neapolitan, 498.

Nesselrode, 499.

Nut, 502.

Ornamental, 493.

Packing, 490.

Philadelphia, 494.

Pistachio, 498.

Plum pudding glacé, 500.

Rice, 498.

Tutti frutti, 501.

Vanilla, 494.

Iced tea, 550.

Icing, boiled, 484.

Chocolate, 484, 485.

Coffee for éclairs, 485.

Fondant, 485.

Royal, 483.

“  with confectioners’ sugar, 484.

For small cakes, 485.

And decorating cakes, 483.

Indian bread, 236.

Pudding, 240, 241, 443.

Individual salads, 383.

Inside flank of beef, 153.

Irish stew, 165.

Italian cream, 401.

Jelly, 418.

Meringue, 498.

J

Jams, 541.

Jam omelet, 425.

Jellied chicken, 182.

Fruit, 534.

Fruits (Pain aux fruits), 419.

Tongue, 175.

Veal, 171.

Jellies, 412, 543.

Jelly rolls, 468.

Jelly, to clarify, 413.

Apple, 544.

Aspic, 321.

Berry design for mold, 326.

Coffee, 416.

Cold, sauce, 449.

Crab-apple, 544.

Cranberry, 244.

Champagne, 416.

“ with flowers, 416.

Currant, 543.

Daisy design for mold, 326.

Dantzic, 418.

Decorations for meat, 326.

Dissolving, 412.

Italian, 418.

Lemon, 415.

Macédoine, 417.

Molding fancy, 324, 413.

Orange, 415.

Points to observe in making, 412.

Plum pudding, 399.

Proportions for, 413.

Prune, 243.

Quince, 544.

Ribbon, 418.

Rolls, 468.

Russian, 417.

Sauce, 449, 287.

Serving, 414.

Wine, 415.

With fruits (macédoine), 417.

What to do with left over, 418.

Whipped, 417.

White or blanc-mange, 399.

Unmolding, 324.

Johnny cake, 237.

Julienne soup, 89.

Jumbles, 480.

K

Kidneys, stewed, 173.

Kisses, 475.

Kneading bread, 342.

Koumiss, 558.

L

Lady fingers, 476.

Lalla Rookh, 509.

Lamb, spring, 167.

Larding, 76.

Layer cakes, 468.

Lemonade, 554.

Lemon ice, 243, 508.

Jelly, 415.

Sugar, 391.

Syrup, 391.

Lettuce salad, 376.

Stewed, 219.

Lima beans, 210.

Little pound cakes, 478.

Liver and bacon, 172.

Braised, 172.

Broiled, 172.

Loaf or false pâté de foie gras, 308.

Sauté, 255.

Livers, chicken, 309, 333.

Loaf of chicken, 191.

Liver, 308.

Veal, 171.

Lobster, 136.

To bake, 137.

To boil, 136.

To broil, 137.

To kill, 136.

To open, 137.

à la Newburg, 139.

Bisque of, 109.

Butter, 109.

Chops, 138.

Farci, 138.

Filling for patties, 140.

Freshness of, 136.

Salad, 382.

Salpicon of, 140.

Sauce, 279.

Season of, 136.

Stew, 140.

Stewed, 232.

Luncheon, 31.

Luncheon and tea-rolls, 351.

M

Macaroni, 224.

à la Albi, 236.

au gratin, 225.

Baked with cheese, 225.

Mrs. Maspero, 226.

With tomato or other sauce, 225.

With minced meat, 226.

Timbale, 302.

“ Honeycomb, 302.

Sauce for, 226.

“  No. 2, 226.

“  No. 3, 227.

Soup, 89.

Macaroons, 477.

Macédoine jelly, 417.

Salad, 378.

Of vegetables, 216.

Mackerel, salt, 127.

Creamed, 127.

Madeleines, No. 1, 477.

No. 2, 478.

Mâitre d’hôtel sauce, 286.

Marble cake, 470.

Marinate, to, 79, 374.

Marmalade, 541.

Apple, 543.

Orange, 542.

Quince, 542.

Marrow balls, 94.

Bones, 159.

Marrons, pain de, 420.

Glacé, 521.

Marshmallows, 521.

Mayonnaise, 288, 375.

Arrowroot, 290.

Green, 289.

Jelly, 290.

Red, 290.

White, 289.

Of chicken, 192.

Measuring, 77.

Meats, 52, 145.

Cooking, 145.

Cleaning, 145.

General remarks about, 145.

Juices of, 145.

Piercing, 146.

Scalloped, 151.

Sandwiches, 364.

Seasoning, 145.

Menus, luncheon, 31.

Inexpensive dinners, 47, 249.

Meringues, 475.

Meringue sauce, 448.

To sweeten, 389.

Mignon fillets, 157.

Milk, 54, 58, 389.

Bread, 345.

When scalded, 389.

Punch, 557.

Toast, 348.

Shake, 557.

Sterilized, 257.

Millefeuilles, 461.

Mince pie, 454.

Mint sauce, 287.

Miscellaneous receipts, 257.

Mixing liquids and solids, 59.

Mock oysters, 220.

Mock turtle soup, 103.

Molasses cake, 483.

Candy, 527.

Pie, 242.

Wafers, 482.

Molding, 389.

Articles to fry, 76.

Fancy, 413.

Jellies, 323.

Ice-creams, 491.

Molds, 60.

Double, 325.

To ornament, 324.

Moselle cup, 555.

Mousses, 506.

Fruit, 507.

Golden, 507.

Muffins, 355.

English, 355.

Raised, 355.

Mushrooms, remarks about, 45, 314.

Cooking, 316.

à la poulette, 320.

Agaricus campestris, 317.

“ procerus, 318.

“ russula, 318.

Boleti, 318.

Coprinus comatus, 318.

“ atramentarius, 318.

Clavaria, 319.

Hydnum caput Medusæ, 319.

Puff balls, 319.

Marasmius oreades, 317.

Scalloped, 320.

Sauce, 286.

To dry, 320.

Mustard sauce, 284.

Mutton, remarks about, 160.

Boiled, 163.

Breast of, 255.

Broth, 95.

Chops, 165.

“   in paper cases, 166.

à la Maintenon, 167.

Leg of, 162.

Loin of, 162.

Ragoût of, 164.

“   cold boiled, 165.

Réchauffé of, 234.

Rolled loin of, 162.

Saddle of, 162.

Shoulder of, stuffed, 163.

N

Nasturtium pickle, 547.

Neapolitan ice-cream, 498.

Squares, 523.

Nesselrode pudding, 499.

Noodles, 93.

Balls, 93.

To serve as vegetables, 93.

Soup, 89.

Nougat, 518.

For bonbons, 518.

“ molding, 519.

Soft white, 519.

Nuts, 532.

Carameled, 526.

Creams, 523.

Ice-creams, 502.

Salted, 533.

O

Oat cake, 356.

Oatmeal, creamed, 238.

Porridge, 227.

Olives, to stone, 78.

Olive sauce, 285.

Omelets, 264.

aux fins herbes, 266.

Beaten, 266.

Green, 266.

Ham, 266.

Jam, 425.

Orange, 425.

Plain French, 264.

Potato, 203.

With peas and tomatoes, 266.

Rum, 426.

Variations of, 265.

Soufflé, 422.

Spanish, 274.

Onions, 219.

Juice, 59.

“ how to extract, 78.

Soup, 105.

Spanish, stuffed, 219.

Orangeade, 554.

Oranges, 530.

Glacé, 516.

Cake, 469.

Compote of, 536.

Fritters, 427.

Ice, 508.

Indian pudding, 241.

Jelly, 415.

Juice, 534.

Marmalade, 541.

Omelet, 425.

Or lemon peel candied, 391, 527.

Pie, 453.

Salad, 382.

Sugar, 391.

Syrup, 391.

pain d', 420.

Oysters, 131.

à la poulette, 133.

“ Villeroi, 132.

Broiled, 132.

Browned, 231.

Cooking, 131.

“ in chafing-dish, 233.

Crabs, 143, 310.

“ entrée of, 310.

Cases, 308.

Creamed, 331.

Cream of, 108.

Filling for patties, 134.

And fish, 231.

Fried, 132.

Fricassee, 232.

Mock, 220.

Panned, 133, 331.

Pickled, 232.

Raw, 131.

Roasted, 133.

Salad, 383.

Sauce, 279.

Soup, 104.

Scalloped, 134, 231.

Stew, 331.

Ox-tail soup, 99.

Ovens, 63.

P

Panada, bread, 298.

Flour, 298.

Pancakes, remarks about, 361.

Adirondack, 363.

Bread, 362.

Buckwheat, 363.

Cornmeal, 363.

Plain, 362.

Rice, 362.

Sweet, 426.

Pans, bread, 344.

Cake, 463, 464.

Panned oysters, 133, 331.

Pain aux fruits, 419.

de fraises, 419.

d’oranges, 420.

de pêches, 420.

de marrons, 420.

de riz aux fruits, 419.

“   à la princesse, 419.

de volaille, 300.

Parched rice, 223.

Parfaits, 489.

General rules for making, 502.

Angel, 505.

au café and praliné, 504.

Of chestnuts, 506.

Maple, 504.

Vanilla, 503.

Parker House rolls, 351.

Parsnips, 218.

Partridges, roasted, broiled, 199.

Pastry, 451.

Plain, 239, 451.

For tarts, 452.

To glaze, 461.

Timbale, 303.

Pâté de foie gras en bellevue, 384.

Pâté shells, 460.

Patties, 305.

Pea soup, 102, 229.

Peaches, 530.

Compote of, 536.

Peach-leaf flavor, 391.

Fritters, 427.

Frozen, 501, 532.

Pickled, sweet, 545.

Preserved, 537.

Pudding, 241.

Peanut candy, 527.

Peanuts, 532.

Pears, stewed, 244.

Preserved, 538.

Peppermint creams, 525.

Drops, 526.

Peppers, stuffed, 215.

Philadelphia ice-cream, 494.

Pickled oysters, 232.

Pickles, 545.

Chow-chow, 546.

Cucumber or gherkins, 545.

Green tomato, 546.

Nasturtiums, 547.

Peaches, 545.

Plums, 545.

Walnuts, 545.

Pies, 450.

Apple, 454.

Beef, 152.

Beefsteak, 235.

Chicken, 192.

Cocoanut, 456.

Cranberry, 456.

Cream, 455.

Mince mixture, 454.

Molasses, 242.

Orange, 453.

Plain apple, 454.

“ pastry for, 239, 451.

Pumpkin, 239, 454.

Squash, 238.

Tart, 452.

Washington, 457.

Pigeons, potted, 197.

Roasted, 197.

Pineapple canapés, 336.

Sauce, 447.

Pine cones, 411.

Piquante sauce, 283.

Pistachio cake, 469.

Flavor, 391.

Ice-cream, 498.

Plain pudding sauces, 444, 445.

Plum-pudding, 437.

Jelly, 399.

Glacé, 500.

Sauce for, 501.

Plum sauce for meats, 544.

Polenta, 227.

Pone, 246.

Pork, 176.

And beans, 217, 234.

Chops, 177.

Roast, 176.

Pot-pie, 169.

Potatoes, baked, 204.

Baked with meat, 204.

Balls, 203.

“  fried, 205.

Boiled, 201.

Bread, 345.

Broiled, 204.

Cakes, 201.

Casserole, 327.

Chowder, 110.

Creamed, 203.

Croquettes, 202.

And fish timbale, 304.

Fried, 205.

Lyonnaise, 204.

Mashed, 201.

Omelet, 203.

Puffed, 206.

Rice, 202.

Roses, 202.

Salad, 378.

Saratoga, 205.

Soufflé, 202.

Soup, 105.

Straws, 205.

Stuffed, 204.

Supports for hot meats, 328.

Sweet, 206.

“   baked, 206.

“   browned, 206.

“   Croquettes, 207.

“   Purée of, 207.

Poulette sauce, 280.

Poultry and game, 179.

To clean and draw, 180.

Pound cake, 471.

Pound cakes, small, 478.

Prairie chicken and grouse, 197.

Praline powder, 505.

Preserved citron, 540.

Grapes, 539.

Peaches, 537.

“ brandied, 543.

Pears, 538.

Plums, 538.

Raspberries, 540.

Strawberries, 539.

“ No. 2, 540.

Preserving, 537.

Printanière soup, 89.

Prune jelly, 243.

Soufflé, 423.

Pudding batter, 428.

Beefsteak, 251.

Bermuda, 242.

Blueberry, 241.

Bread, 434.

“   and butter, 434.

Brown Betty, 429.

Cabinet, 438.

“ No. 2, 439.

“ No. 3 (Royal), 439.

“ No. 4, 440.

Canary, 436.

Chocolate, 398.

Cherry bread, 241.

Cocoanut, 398.

Cottage, 435.

Cornstarch, 397.

Diplomatic, 403.

Fig, 438.

Fish, 123.

Fruit, 443.

Indian, 240, 241, 443.

Peach, 241.

Plum, 437.

“ glacé, 500.

Rice, plain, 433.

“ and marmalade, 242.

Roly-poly, 443.

Snow apple, 429.

Suet, 436.

Tapioca, 433.

Yorkshire, 147.

Puffs or pop-overs, 354.

Puff-paste, 457.

Rules for, 457.

Receipt for, 458.

Pulled bread, 349.

Pumpkin pie, 239, 454.

Punch, frozen, general rules, for, 508.

Coffee, 509.

Milk, 557.

Salpicon of fruit, 533.

“ of California cherries, 534.

Purée of beans, 217.

Chestnuts, 185, 215.

Chicken, 310.

Fruit sauce, 447.

Q

Quails broiled, 198.

Roasted, 198.

Quenelles, 300.

Forcemeat, 298.

Quick aspic, 322.

Quinces, baked, 532.

Jelly, 544.

Marmalade, 542.

R

Ragoût of beef, 153.

Of mutton, 164.

Raisins, 60, 389.

Range, 63.

Raspberry vinegar, 558.

Preserve, 540.

Raw beef sandwiches, 367.

Oysters, 131.

Réchauffé of mutton, 234.

Redhead ducks, 196.

Refrigerator, 62.

Rennet custard, 397.

Rhode Island Johnny cake, 237.

Ribbon jelly, 418.

Rice, to boil, 222.

Southern way of boiling, 248.

Bavarian, 402.

Ice-cream, 498.

Pancakes, 362.

Parched, 223.

Pudding No. 1, 433.

“   No. 2, 433.

Lemon rice-pudding, 242.

And marmalade pudding, 242.

And raisins, 434.

Pudding glacé, 505.

And tomatoes, 223.

Rich pudding sauce, 445.

Richelieu sauce, 448.

Rissotto, 227.

Rissoles, 305.

Roast beef, 146.

Cold, 151.

Roasted oysters, 133.

Roasting, 70.

Rolled loin of mutton, 162.

Rolls, baking, 344.

Bread, 349.

Cleft, 351.

Luncheon and tea, 351.

Parker House, 351.

Roly-poly pudding, 443.

Rose sugar, 391.

Roux, to make, 79.

Royal icing, 483.

Royale, 92.

Rum omelet, 426.

Sauce, 445.

Rusks, 357.

Dried, 358.

Russian jellies, 417.

Salad, 383.

Bowls, 329.

S

Sabayon sauces, 446.

Saddle of mutton, 162.

Salads, general remarks about, 374.

Aspic of pâté en bellevue, 384.

“ with walnuts, 384.

Bean, 377.

Bird’s nest, 385.

Bouilli, 383.

Cauliflower, 377.

Celery, 376.

“ and walnut, 381.

Chicken, 235, 382.

Cold slaw, 378.

Cucumber, 377.

“   and tomato, 377.

Egg, No. 1, 381.

“ No. 2, 381.

French dressing for, 375.

Hot slaw, 379.

Lettuce, 376.

Lobster, 382.

Macédoine, 378.

Mayonnaise dressing for, 288, 290, 375.

To marinate, 374.

Orange, 382.

Oyster, 383.

Potato, 378.

Russian, 383.

“ Individual, 383.

Sandwiches, 366.

String bean, 377.

Sweetbreads with celery, 381.

Tomato No. 1, 379.

“ and egg, 380.

“ jelly, 380.

“   “    molded, 380.

“ stuffed, 380.

Water cress and apples, 376.

Sally lunn, 355.

Salmi of duck or game, 196.

Salmon, 128.

Broiled slices of, 129.

Canned, 129.

Cutlets, 129.

Fillets for green luncheon, 130.

Slices with mayonnaise, 129.

Salpicon, 80, 299.

Of fruits, 532.

Punch, 533.

Lobster, 140.

Salt codfish, 127.

Mackerel, 127.

Salted nuts, 533.

Sandwiches, remarks about, 364.

Shapes of, 364.

How to prepare meat for, 364.

How to prepare bread for, 365.

Butter, 33.

Cheese, 367.

Egg, 366.

Fish, 366.

Meat, 365.

Raw beef, 367.

Rolls, 365.

Salad, 366.

Spanish, 367.

Sweet, 367.

Sardine canapés, 368.

Sardines, broiled, 128.

Sauces for meats, 275.

Sauces for sweet puddings, 444.

Sauces for cold sweet desserts, 393.

Sauces for macaroni, rissotto, 226.

Sauces for boiled fish, kinds of, 114.

Sauces, 275.

General directions for, 275.

Agra dolce, 291.

Allemande, 279.

Apple, 288.

Béarnaise, 288.

Béchamel, 279.

Beurre Noir or Brown Butter, 291.

Bread, 287.

Brown, 282.

Caper, 279.

Celery, 279.

Champagne, 283.

Chaudfroid, 281.

Cranberry, 287.

Curry, 284.

Egg, 278.

Espagnole, 282.

For mixing croquettes, 293.

“ macaroni, 223, 226.

Giblet, 185.

Glaze, 277.

Hollandaise, 281.

Horseradish, 284.

Jelly, 287.

Lobster, 279.

maître d’hôtel, 286.

Mayonnaise, 288.

“ with arrowroot, 290.

“ green, 289.

“ jelly, 290.

“ red, 290.

“ white, 289.

Mint, 287.

Mushroom, 286.

Mustard, 284.

Olive, 285.

Oyster, 279.

Piquante, 283.

Poulette, 280.

Pudding sauces, sweet, 444.

Roux for, 277.

Soubise, 284.

Tartare, 290.

Tomato, 285.

Velouté, 279.

Villeroi, 280.

White, 277.

“  for fish, 278.

Sauce, apricot, 446.

Bischoff, 447.

Brandy, rum, kirsch, 445.

Cocoanut, 449.

Cold jelly, 449.

Chocolate, 447.

Custard, 447.

Foamy, 445.

Fruit, 446.

“   purée of, 447.

Hard, 448.

Meringue, 448.

Pineapple, 447.

Plain pudding, No. 1 (hot), 444.

Plain pudding, No. 2 (cold), 445.

Rich pudding, 445.

Richelieu, 448.

Sabayon, No. 1, 446.

“ No. 2, 446.

Strawberry, 449.

Syrup, 446.

For plum pudding glacé, 501.

Saratoga potatoes, 205.

Sautéing, 72.

Savarins, 440.

Scalloped fish, 120.

Meat, 151.

Mushrooms, 320.

Oysters, 231.

Tomatoes, 207.

Veal, 172.

Scallops, 136.

Scotch broth, 252.

Scrambled eggs, 264.

Seasoning, 80.

Meats, 145.

Serving boiled fish, 114.

Dinners, 10.

“     the informal, 29.

Jellies, 414.

Wines, 560.

Shad, 125.

Planked, 125.

Spiced, 233.

Roe, broiled, 126.

“  croquettes, No. 1, 126.

“ “ No. 2, 126.

Shell fish, 131.

Sherbets, 508.

General remarks about, 508.

Shirred eggs, 266.

Shin of beef, 250.

Shortcake, currant, 442.

Strawberry, 443.

Shrimps, croustade of, 130.

Smelts à la Toulouse, 334.

Broiled, 118.

To fry, 117.

Fried on skewers, 118.

Snipe, 198.

Snow apple pudding, 429.

Snow pudding, 417.

Soap, to make, 259.

Socles, 326.

Of rice, 327.

Soubise sauce, 284.

Soufflés, 421.

Apple, 424.

Cheese, 370.

Chicken, 190.

Chocolate, 423.

Omelet, 422.

Potato, 202.

Prune, 423.

Spinach, 211.

Vanilla, 422.

Soup, general directions for, 84.

Meats, 85.

Vegetables, 85.

Inexpensive, 255.

Garnishes for Soup, 90, 92.

Forcemeat balls, 92.

Egg balls, 92.

Green pea timbale, 94.

Harlequin slices, 94.

Marrow balls, 94.

Noodles, 93.

“     balls, 93.

Sweet potato balls, 94.

Soup, bean, 102.

Black bean, 102, 229.

Bouillon, 97.

Calf’s head or mock turtle, 103.

Chicken, 100.

“ consommé, 100.

Clam, 104, 230.

Croûte au pot, 90.

Fish stock and, 103.

Julienne, 89.

Lobster bisque, 109.

“ butter for, 109.

Macaroni, 89.

Noodle, 89.

Onion, 105.

Oyster, 104.

Ox-tail, 99.

Pea, 102, 229.

Potato, 105.

Tapioca, 90.

Tomato bisque, 106.

“   purée, 101.

Vegetable, 89.

“ or printanière, 89.

Vermicelli, 89.

White, 99.

Broths, 95.

Clam, 95.

Chicken, 95.

Mutton, 95.

Made quickly for invalids, 96.

Chowders, 110.

Potato, 110.

Clam, 111, 230.

Fish, 110, 230.

Soups, cream, 105.

“    asparagus, 106.

“    celery, 106.

“    clams, 107.

“    corn, 106.

“    green peas, 106.

“    oysters, 108.

“    spinach, 106.

“    string beans, 106.

“ à la reine, 108.

Southern dishes, 246.

Spaghetti, 225.

Spanish omelet, 274.

Spanish Sandwiches, 367.

Spiced Grapes, 544.

Spinach, 210.

Chartreuse of, 211.

Soufflé, 211.

Sponge, to make bread, 342.

Sponge cake, Nos. 1, 2, 3, 466.

“   white, 467.

“   mixing, 465.

Spring lamb, 167.

Squabs, 197.

Squash, 218.

“   Pie, 238.

Starch molds for candies, 525.

Steaks, Hamburg, 151.

Stew, Irish, 165.

Stewed figs, 531.

“   pears, 244.

“   kidneys, 173.

“   lobster, 232.

“   oysters, 331.

Sterilized Milk, 257.

Sticks, bread, 357.

“  cheese, 369.

Stock, soup, 84.

“ “ brown, 88.

“ “ white, 99.

Strawberries, 530.

Strawberry Cake, 443.

Charlotte, 406.

Shortcake, 442.

Preserved, 539, 540.

Suprême of, 419.

Sauce, 449.

Ice, 508.

Ice-cream, 501.

Stirring, 78.

Store-closet, 55, 394.

Strainers, 60.

String beans, 209.

“ salad, 377.

Stuffing for baked fish, 116.

“ “ Boned fowls, 183.

“ “ fowls, 184.

chestnut, 185.

Stuffed chicken legs, 188.

Cucumbers, 218.

Eggs, 271, 272.

Egg-plant, 215.

Mushrooms, 309.

Peppers, 215.

Potatoes, 204.

Shoulder of mutton, 163.

“ “ veal, 168.

Spanish onions, 219.

Tomatoes, 207.

Succotash, 220.

Suet, to try out, 74.

Chopping, 59.

Pudding, 436.

Sugar and its uses, 510.

Boiling, 510.

“ degrees of, 512.

Colored for garnishing, 393.

“ how to make, 393.

Creams, 524.

Spun, 515.

“ directions for making, 515.

Syrup, 503.

Syrups, 513.

Sugared Almonds, 520.

Sunshine Cake, 467.

Supply closet, 62.

Supports for hot meats, 328.

Sweetbreads, to prepare, 305.

à la poulette, 306.

Baked, 306.

Braised, 306.

Chaudfroid of, 306.

Fried, 306.

Salad, 381.

Sautéd, 306.

Sweet pancakes, 426.

Sweet potatoes, baked, 206.

balls for soup, 94.

boiled, 206.

browned, 206.

croquettes, 207.

Purée of, 207.

Sweet sandwiches, 367.

Swedish cabbage, 213.

Syrups, fruit, 557.

sauce, 446.

sugar, 503, 513.

T

Table, laying the, 13.

Time, inside of cover.

Weights and measures, 387.

Taffy, 527.

Tapioca, Soup, 90.

and apples, 252.

Pudding, 433.

Tartare sauce, 290.

Tart bands, 460.

bread, 435.

Pies, 452.

Tartlets, 461.

Paganini, 461.

Tea, 549.

Five o’clock, 33.

Iced, 550.

Biscuits, 352.

“   with sour milk, 352.

Terrapin, 311.

à la Newburg, 313.

General rules about, 311.

Maryland style, 313.

False, 308.

Thickening for soup, 90.

Things to remember, 58.

Timbales, 296.

To mold and cook, 298.

Fish, 123.

Halibut, 303.

Honeycomb, 302.

Macaroni, 302.

of brioche, 361.

Pastry, 303.

Potato and fish, 304.

Toast, 348.

milk, 348.

Tomato bisque, 106.

broiled, 208.

Farci, 208.

Jelly, 380.

Purée, 101.

Roasted, 208.

Salads, 379, 380.

Sauce, 285.

Scalloped, 207.

Stewed, 207.

Stuffed, 207.

“   with eggs, 380.

and rice, 223.

Tongue, beef, 174.

cold, 175.

Hot sliced, 174.

Jellied, 175.

Trifle, 411.

Banana, 412.

Tripe, 173.

Truffles, 296.

To decorate with, 326.

Turkey, 193.

Boned, 193.

Galantine, 193.

Turnips, 160, 216.

Tutti Frutti, 501.

U

Uses for stale cake, 411.

Utensils, care of, 61.

For desserts, 386.

V

Vanilla soufflé, 422.

Ice-cream, 494.

Sugar, 391.

Veal, 168.

Cutlets, 169.

Fricandeau, 169.

Jellied, 171.

“ Loaf, 171.

Roast fillet of, 168.

Scallop, 172.

Stuffed shoulder of, 168.

With white sauce, 253.

Vegetables, general remarks about, 200.

Soup, 101.

for soup, 85.

Macédoine of, 216.

Velouté sauce, 279.

Venetian cakes, 479.

Venison, 199.

“   steak, 199.

Vermicelli soup, 89.

Villeroi sauce, 280.

Vol-au-vent, 304.

W

Wafers, molasses, 482.

Waffles, 356.

Walnuts, pickled, 545.

English, salted, 533.

Warren’s Cake, 482.

Washington Pie, 457.

Wastefulness, 50.

Water, 548.

Water-cress salad, 376.

Water-Ices, 508.

Weights and measures, 387.

Welsh rabbit, 371.

Wheat, cracked, 228.

Whole, bread, 346.

Whips, 409.

Whipped Cream, 408.

Jelly, 417.

Whitebait, 118.

White cake, 471.

Jelly, 399.

Soup, 99.

Stock. 99.

Wines, serving, 560.

Wine jelly, 415.

Woodcock, 198.

Wooden spoons, 330.

Y

Yeast, 338.

Remarks about, 338.

Dick Bennet’s, 339.

Receipt No. 2, 339.

Yorkshire Pudding, 147.

Z

Zephyrs, 238.

Zwieback, 349.

GENERAL INDEX

PART I.

Dinner-giving and the etiquette of dinners, 1.

Manner of serving dinners, 10.

Laying the table, 13.

Table decoration, 17.

Courses, 24.

The home dinner, 27.

Serving the informal dinner, 29.

Luncheon, 31.

The five o’clock tea, 33.

A homily on cooking, 35.

Cooking as a pleasure and an accomplishment, 38.

To train a green cook, 40.

Economical living, 44.

Mushrooms, 45, 314.

Menus. “Al Fresco“ dinner, 23.

“ Luncheon, 31.

“ Economical living, 47, 252.

Wastefulness, 50.

How to utilize what some cooks throw away, 51.

Bread, 51.

Fat, 51.

Bones, 51.

Tough pieces, 52.

Small pieces, 52.

Cold meats, 52.

Eggs, 52.

General odds and ends, 53.

Cereals, 53.

Vegetables, 53.

Sour milk, 54.

Fruits, 54.

Cheese, 54.

Emergencies, 55.

Things to Remember.

Items about

Eggs, 58.

Milk, 58.

Butter, 58.

Crumbs, 58.

Meats, 59.

Drippings, 59.

Onion juice, 59.

Chopping suet, 59.

“ almonds, 59.

Mixing liquids and solids together, 59.

Gelatine, 60.

Molds, 60.

Strainers, 60.

To keep dishes warm, 60.

Flavoring, 60.

Raisins, 60.

Baking, 60.

Utensils, care of, 61.

“ cleaning, 61.

Tins, sieves, woodenware, 62.

Tins, arrangement of, 62.

Supply closet, 62.

Refrigerator, 62.

Coal and range, 63.

Ovens, 63.

PART II.

CHAPTER I.

Methods of Cooking Explained.

Boiling, 67.

Baking, 69.

Roasting, 70.

Broiling, 70.

Braising, 71.

Fricasseeing, 71.

Sautéing, 72.

Frying, 72.

To clarify fat, 74.

To try out suet and other fats, 74.

To prepare articles for frying by covering them with egg and crumbs, 75.

The crumbs, 75.

The egg, 75.

The molding, 76.

Larding, 76.

Daubing, 76.

Boning, 77.

Measuring, 77.

Stirring and beating, 78.

How to stone olives, 78.

How to cut bacon, 78.

How to extract onion juice, 78.

Caramel, 78.

To make roux, 79.

To marinate, 79.

Salpicon, 80.

Seasoning and flavoring, 80.

Croûtons and croustades, 81.

Chartreuse, 83.

CHAPTER II.

Soups.

General directions for preparing soups, including directions for

Brown stock, 84, 88.

White stock, 84, 99.

Chicken consommé, 100.

Cream soups, 85, 105.

Soup meats, 85.

“ vegetables, 85.

The bouquet, 85.

Proportions, 85.

The order of preparation, 85.

Removing the grease, 86.

Clarifying, 86.

Coloring, 87.

Meat stock, 87.

Common stock (pot-au-feu), 87.

Beef or brown stock, 88.

Macaroni soup, 89.

Noodle soup, 89.

Vermicelli soup, 89.

Vegetable or printanière soup, 89.

Julienne soup, 89.

Tapioca soup, 90.

Croûte au pot, 90.

Garnishes for soup, 90.

Thickening for soup, 90.

Garnishes for soups, 92.

Royale, 92.

Forcemeat balls, 92.

Egg, 92.

Egg balls, 92.

Noodles, 93.

“ to serve as a vegetable, 93.

Noodle balls, 93.

Marrow balls, 94.

Sweet potato balls, 94.

Green pea timbale, 94.

Harlequin slices, 94.

Broths.

Chicken broth, 95.

Clam broth, 95.

Mutton broth, 95.

Broth made quickly for invalids, 96.

Soups.

Bouillon, 97.

Consommé, 98.

Ox-tail soup, 99.

White stock, 99.

White soup, 99.

Chicken consommé, 100.

Plain chicken soup, 100.

Vegetable soup, 101.

Tomato purée, 101.

Split-pea or bean soup, 102.

Black bean soup, 102.

Calf’s head or mock turtle, 103.

Fish stock, 103.

Oyster soup, 104.

Clam soup, 104.

Cream Soups.

Onion soup, 105.

Potato soup, 105.

Tomato bisque, 106.

Cream of asparagus, 106.

Green peas, 106.

String beans, 106.

Spinach, 106.

Corn, 106.

Celery, 106.

Clams, 107.

Oysters, 108.

Soup à la reine, 108.

Bisque of lobster, 109.

Lobster butter, 109.

Chowders.

Potato chowder, 110.

Fish chowder, 110.

Clam chowder, 111.

CHAPTER III.

Fish.

Cooking, 112.

Freshness, 112.

Dressing, 112.

Keeping, 112.

Frozen fish, 112.

Trimming, 112.

The bones, 112.

To skin, bone, and remove fillets, 112.

To carve, 113.

To boil, 113.

Time to boil, 113.

The kettle, 113.

To boil a fish whole, 114.

Serving boiled fish, 114.

Garnishing boiled fish, 114.

Sauces used for boiled fish, 114.

Court bouillon, 115.

Baked fish, 115.

Stuffings for baked fish, 116.

To broil fish, 116.

To sauté fish, 117.

To fry fish, 117.

To fry smelts, 117.

Fried smelts on skewers, 117.

Fried fillets of fish, 118.

Smelts broiled, 118.

Whitebait, 118.

Boiled halibut steaks, 119.

Halibut, Turkish style, 120.

Scalloped fish, 120.

Au gratin, 121.

Fish chops, 121.

Fillets baked with custard or tomatoes, 122.

Cold fish, 123.

Fish pudding, 123.

Fish timbale, 123.

Fish dish for pink luncheon, 124.

Rolled fillets of flounder, 125.

Shad, 125.

Planked shad, 125.

Broiled shad roe, 126.

Shad roe croquettes, No. 1, 126.

No. 2, 126.

Salt mackerel, 127.

Creamed mackerel, 127.

Salt codfish, 127.

Club house fish balls, 128.

Broiled sardines on toast, 128.

Fresh fish balls, 128.

Salmon, 128.

Canned salmon, 129.

Salmon cutlets, 129.

Broiled slices of salmon, 129.

Slices of salmon with mayonnaise, 129.

Fillets of salmon for green luncheon, 130.

Croustade of shrimps, 130.

Shell-fish, Lobsters, and Crabs.

Oysters, 131.

Raw oysters, 131.

Precaution, 131.

Cooking, 131.

Fried oysters, 132.

Oysters à la Villeroi, 132.

Broiled oysters, 132.

Panned oysters, 133.

Roasted oysters, 133.

Oysters à la poulette, 133.

Scalloped oysters, 134.

Oyster filling for patties, 134.

Clams, 135.

To open clams, 135.

Creamed clams, 135.

Roasted clams, 136.

Clam fritters, 136.

Scallops, 136.

Lobsters, 136.

Season, 136.

Freshness, 136.

To kill a lobster, 136.

Boil a lobster, 136.

Open a lobster, 137.

Broil a lobster, 137.

Bake a lobster, 137.

Lobster farci, 138.

Chops, 138.

à la Newburg, 139.

Stew, 140.

Filling for patties, 140.

Salpicon of lobster, 140.

Crabs, 141.

Deviled crabs, 141.

Stuffed crabs with mushrooms, 142.

Soft-shell crabs, 142.

Oyster-crabs, 143.

Crabs St. Laurent (chafing-dish), 143.

Crab stew, 144.

CHAPTER IV.

Meats.

General remarks, 145.

Slow cooking, 145.

Juices, 145.

Degree of cooking, 145.

Cleaning, 145.

Seasoning, 145.

Piercing, 146.

Beef.

To roast beef, 146.

Rolled roast beef, 146.

Yorkshire pudding, 147.

Round of beef, 147.

Braised beef, 147.

À la mode, 148.

Bouilli, 149.

Fillet of beef, 149.

How to buy a fillet, 150.

Cold roast beef, 151.

Scalloped meat, 151.

Hamburg steaks, 151.

Beef pie, 152.

Warmed-over beef (chafing-dish), 152.

Inside flank, 153.

Ragout of beef, 153.

Beefsteaks, 155.

To broil a beefsteak, 156.

Chateaubriand, 157.

Mignon fillets, 157.

Corned beef, 157.

Corned beef hash, 158.

Hash, 158.

Brown hash, 159.

Marrow bones, 159.

Mutton.

Remarks about mutton, 160.

Roast leg of mutton, 162.

Loin of mutton, 162.

Saddle of mutton, 162.

Rolled loin of mutton, 162.

Shoulder of mutton stuffed, 163.

Boiled mutton, 163.

Caper sauce, 164.

Ragout of mutton or lamb, 164.

of Cold boiled mutton, 165.

Irish stew, 165.

Mutton chops, 165.

Chops in paper cases, 166.

à la Maintenon, 167.

Spring lamb, 167.

Veal.

Remarks about veal, 168.

To roast fillet of veal, 168.

Stuffed shoulder of veal, 168.

Fricandeau of veal, 169.

Veal cutlets, 169.

A plain pot-pie, 169.

Dumplings with baking-powder, 170.

Dumplings with suet, 170.

Jellied veal, 171.

Veal loaf, 171.

Veal scallop, 172.

Liver and bacon, 172.

Broiled liver, 172.

Braised liver, 172.

Stewed kidneys, 173.

Tripe, 173.

Calf’s heart, 174.

Beef’s tongue, 174.

Hot sliced tongue, 174.

Cold tongue, 175.

Jellied tongue, 175.

Boiled calf’s head, 175.

Calf’s head with vinaigrette sauce, 176.

Pork.

Roast pork, 176.

Fried apples, 176.

Pork Chops, 177.

Boiled ham, 177.

Baked ham, 177.

Broiled ham and eggs, 178.

Ham and eggs à l’aurore, 178.

Bacon, 178.

CHAPTER V.

Poultry and Game.

Chickens, 179.

To judge of chickens, 179.

To clean and draw poultry, 180.

To bone a fowl, 181.

Roasted boned chicken, 182.

Braised boned chicken, 182.

Jellied boned chicken, 182.

Forcemeat or stuffing for boned fowls, 183.

To truss a fowl, 183.

Roasted chicken, 184.

Stuffing for fowls, 184.

Chestnut stuffing, 185.

Giblet sauce, 185.

Boiled chicken, 185.

Braised chicken, 186.

Broiled chicken, 186.

Fricasseed chicken, white and brown, 186.

Fried chicken, 187.

Chicken fritters, 187.

Stuffed chicken or turkey legs, 188.

Grilled bones, 188.

Chicken à la Vienne, 189.

Baltimore style, 189.

Imperial, 189.

Breasts with poulette sauce, 190.

Chartreuse, 190.

Soufflé, 190.

Loaf, 191.

Chaudfroid, 191.

Mayonnaise, 192.

English chicken pie (cold), 192.

Turkey, 193.

Galantine or boned turkey, 193.

Roast goose, 194.

Tame ducks, 195.

Game.

Canvasbacks and redhead ducks, 196.

Salmi of duck or game, 196.

Potted pigeons, 197.

Roasted pigeons or squabs, 197.

Prairie chicken or grouse, roasted, 197.

Quails roasted, 198.

Broiled, 198.

Snipe and woodcock, roasted, 198.

Partridges, roasted and broiled, 199.

Venison, 199.

Steak, 199.

CHAPTER VI.

Vegetables.

General directions, 200.

Potatoes, boiled, 201.

Mashed, 201.

Cakes, 201.

Rice, 202.

Soufflé, 202.

Roses, 202.

Croquettes, 202.

Balls, 203.

Omelet, 203.

Creamed, 203.

Broiled, 204.

Baked, 204.

Stuffed, 204.

Baked with meat, 204.

Lyonnaise, 204.

Fried, 205.

Balls, fried, and straws, 205.

Saratoga, 205.

Puffed, 206.

Sweet potatoes boiled, 206.

“ Baked, 206.

“ Browned, 206.

“ Croquettes, 207.

“ Purée, 207.

Tomatoes, stewed, 207.

Scalloped, 207.

Stuffed, 207.

Roasted, 208.

Broiled, 208.

Farci, 208.

Green peas, 209.

Purée of peas, 209.

String beans, 209.

Flageolets, 210.

Lima beans, 210.

Spinach, 210.

Soufflé, 211.

Chartreuse of spinach or cabbage, 211.

Asparagus, 211.

Tips, 212.

Cabbage, 212.

Boiled cabbage, 212.

with cheese, 213.

Swedish, 213.

Hot slaw, 214.

Brussels sprouts, 214.

Cauliflower, 214.

au gratin, 215.

Egg-plant, 215.

Stuffed, 215.

Peppers, stuffed, 215.

Chestnut purée, 215.

Celery, stewed, 216.

au jus, 216.

Carrots and turnips, 216.

Macédoine of vegetables, 216.

Dried beans, 217.

Boiled  “    217.

Baked  “    217.

Purée of beans, 217.

Croquettes of Beans, 217.

Beets, 217.

Summer squash, 218.

Parsnips, 218.

Cucumbers, boiled, 218.

Stuffed, 218.

Lettuce stewed, 219.

Onions, 219.

Spanish onions, stuffed, 219.

Corn on the ear, 220.

Mock oysters, 220.

Canned, 220.

Succotash, 220.

Artichokes, 220.

Bottoms, 221.

CHAPTER VII.

Farinaceous Foods used as Vegetables—Receipts for Macaroni—Cereals.

To boil rice, 222.

Rice and tomatoes, 223.

Parched rice, 223.

Farina balls, 223.

Hominy fried, 224.

Cornmeal mush fried, 224.

Receipts for Macaroni.

Macaroni, 224.

Spaghetti, 225.

Baked macaroni with cheese, 225.

“ au gratin, 225.

“ with tomato or other sauces, 225.

Baked macaroni with minced meat, 226.

Receipt for macaroni from Mrs. Maspero, 226.

Sauce for macaroni, for rissotto, and for polenta, 226.

Sauce for macaroni No. 2, 226.

“       “      “  3, 227.

Polenta, 227.

Risotto, 227.

Cereals.

Oatmeal porridge, 227.

Cracked wheat, 228.

Cornmeal mush, 228.

CHAPTER VIII.

A Group of Receipts from a New England Kitchen.

Split-pea soup, 229.

Black bean soup, 229.

Clam soup, 230.

Clam chowder, 230.

Fish chowder, 230.

Browned oysters, 231.

Fish and oysters, 231.

Scalloped oysters, 231.

Pickled oysters, 232.

Fricasseed oysters, 232.

Stewed lobster, 232.

Fish balls, 232.

Codfish and cream, 233.

Oysters on a chafing-dish, 233.

Pilau, 233.

Spiced shad, 233.

Pork and beans, 234.

A réchauffé of cold mutton, 234.

Corned beef, 234.

A beefsteak pie, 235.

Easy chicken salad, 235.

Cream dressing, 235.

Macaroni à l’albi, 236.

Corn pudding, 236.

Thin Indian bread, 236.

Graham gems, 237.

Colonial hoe-cakes, 237.

Rhode Island johnny-cake, 237.

Boston brown bread, 237.

Dabs, 238.

Cream oatmeal, 238.

Zephyrs, 238.

Squash pies, 238.

Pumpkin pies, 239.

A rule for simple pie-crust, 239.

A boiled Indian pudding, 240.

A baked Indian pudding, 240.

Orange Indian pudding, 241.

Blueberry pudding, 241.

A peach pudding, 241.

Cherry bread, 241.

Lemon rice pudding, 242.

Bermuda pudding, 242.

Rice and marmalade pudding, 242.

Molasses pie, 242.

Prune jelly with almonds, 243.

Clarified apples, 243.

Lemon ice, 243.

Apple sauce, 243.

Stewed pears, 244.

Cranberry jelly, 244.

Hartford election cake, 244.

Instantaneous frosting, 245.

CHAPTER IX.

Distinctively Southern Dishes.

General remarks, 246.

Pone, 246.

Hoe-cake No. 1, 246.

No. 2, 247.

Kentucky corn dodgers, 247.

Maryland beaten biscuits, 247.

Soft corn bread, 247.

Southern way of cooking rice, 248.

Chicken gumbo, 249.

Gumbo filé (New Orleans), 248.

Very Inexpensive Dishes.

Very inexpensive dinners, 249.

To prepare a shin of beef, 250.

“ “  “ another way, 250.

Beefsteak pudding, 251.

Menus for inexpensive dinners, 252.

Scotch broth, 252.

Tapioca and apples, 252.

Veal with white sauce, 253.

Purified cabbage, 253.

Chops cut from the shoulder, 253.

Apple dumplings, 253.

Curry, 254.

Madras curry, 254.

Liver sauté, 255.

Breast of mutton, 255.

Tomato soup, 255.

Carrot “ 256.

Potato “ 256.

Bean “ 256.

Celery “ 256.

Miscellaneous receipts.

Sterilized milk, 257.

Devonshire cream, No. 1, 258.

“ “ No. 2, 258.

To make fresh butter, 258.

To make white hard soap, 259.

Floor polish, 260.

CHAPTER X.

Eggs.

To judge of freshness, and how to preserve eggs, 261.

Boiled eggs, 262.

“ “ 1, 262.

“ “ 2, 262.

“ “ 3, 262.

Poached eggs, No. 1, 263.

“ “ No. 2, French style, 263.

“ “ No. 3, 263.

Fried    “  264.

Scrambled, 264.

Plain French omelet, 264.

Variations of the, 265.

No. 1, 265.

No. 2, 265.

No. 3, green, 266.

No. 4, aux fines herbes, 266.

No. 5, with peas or tomatoes, 266.

No. 6, with ham, 266.

Beaten omelet, 266.

Shirred eggs, 266.

sur le plat, 266.

au miroir, 266.

cocotte, 266.

Molded eggs, 267.

à la polignac, 267.

Ham and eggs, 268.

Poached eggs on anchovy toast (supper dish), 268.

Poached eggs on anchovy toast (entrée for luncheon), 268.

Poached egg with tomato, 268.

Eggs à la villeroi (entrée for luncheon), 269.

Egg à la Bourguinonne, 270.

“ à l’aurore, 270.

Golden cream toast, 270.

Curried eggs, 271.

Stuffed  “ No. 1, 271.

“   “ “ 2, 272.

Egg croquettes, 272.

Other ways of serving hard-boiled eggs, 272.

Tomatoes stuffed with eggs, 272.

Œufs à la reine,
Eggs Livingston,
}
Downtown club, N.Y., 273.

Eggs au beurre noir, 273.

Spanish omelet, 274.

CHAPTER XI.

Sauces.

General directions, 275.

Glaze, 277.

Roux for sauces, 277.

White sauce, 277.

“ “   for fish, 278.

Egg “ 278.

Caper  “ 279.

Oyster “ 279.

Celery “ 279.

Lobster “ 279.

Velouté and allemande, 279.

Béchamel, 279.

Poulette, 280.

Villeroi, 280.

Hollandaise, 281.

Chaudfroid, 281.

Brown sauce, 282.

Espagnole, 282.

Champagne sauce, 283.

Piquante “ 283.

Soubise  “ 284.

Horseradish  “ 284.

Mustard “ 284.

Curry “ 284.

Olive  “ 285.

Tomato  “ 285.

Mushroom “ 286.

Maître d’hôtel, 286.

Mint sauce, 287.

Bread sauce, 287.

Jelly sauce, 287.

Cranberry sauce, 287.

Apple, 288.

Béarnaise, 288.

Mayonnaise, 288.

White, 289.

Green, 289.

Red, 290.

Jelly, 290.

With arrowroot, 290.

Tartare, 290.

Agra dolce, 291.

CHAPTER XII.

Entrées.

Croquettes, general directions for making, 292.

The Enterprise chopper, 293.

Sauce for croquette mixture, 293.

To mold croquettes, 293.

To fry croquettes, 294.

Materials used for croquettes, 295.

Timbales, 296.

Truffles, 296.

Cream chicken forcemeat, 297.

Cream forcemeat No. 2, 297.

Fish cream forcemeat, 297.

Quenelle forcemeat, 298.

Bread panada, 298.

Flour panada, 298.

To mold and cook timbales, 298.

Salpicon, 299.

Fontage cup, 300.

Pain de volaille, 300.

Quenelles, 300.

Palmettes, 301.

Celestines à la Maintenon, 301.

Boudins Rouennaise, 302.

Macaroni timbale, 302.

Honeycomb timbale, 302.

A simple timbale of halibut, 303.

Pastry timbale, 303.

Potato and fish timbale, 304.

Vol-au-vent, 304.

Patties, 305.

Rissoles, 305.

To prepare sweetbreads, 305.

Baked sweetbreads, 306.

Braised sweetbreads, 306.

Sautéd sweetbreads, 306.

Fried sweetbreads, 306.

Sweetbreads à la poulette, 306.

Chaudfroid of sweetbreads, 306.

Calf’s brains, 307.

Head à la vinaigrette, 307.

Marinade of brains, 307.

False terrapin, 308.

Calf’s head à la poulette, 308.

Oyster cases, 308.

Liver loaf, or false pâté de foie gras, 308.

Chicken livers, 309.

Stuffed mushrooms, 309.

Chicken purée, 310.

Oyster-crabs, 310.

Entrée of oyster-crabs, 310.

Terrapin.

Terrapin, general remarks about, 311.

To prepare, 312.

Stewed in Maryland style, 313.

à la Newburg, 313.

Frogs’ legs, fried, 313.

à la poulette, 313.

Mushrooms.

Remarks about mushrooms, 314.

Cooking mushrooms, 316.

The Fairy Ring Champignon (Marasmius Oreades), 317.

The Agaricus Campestris, 317.

Procerus, 318.

Russula, 318.

Coprinus Comatus, 318.

Atramentarius, 318.

The Boleti, 318.

Puff balls, 319.

Morchellæ Esculentæ, 319.

Hydnum Caput Medusæ, 319.

Clavaria, 319.

To dry mushrooms, 320.

Scalloped mushrooms, 320.

Mushrooms à la poulette, 320.

CHAPTER XIII.

Aspic Jelly, Fancy Molding Supports.

Aspic jelly, 321.

To clear aspic, 322.

Quick aspic, 322.

Chicken aspic or jelly, 323.

Aspic croûtons, 323.

To chop jelly, 323.

Mold jelly, 323.

Unmold jelly, 324.

Ornament molds, 324.

Double molds, 325.

Decorations for meat jelly, 326.

Daisy design, 326.

Berry design, 326.

To decorate with truffles, 326.

Socles, 326.

Rice socle or casserole, 327.

Potato casserole, 327.

A potato support for hot meats, 328.

Croustades of bread, 328.

Roll croustades, 328.

CHAPTER XIV.

Chafing-dish Cooking.

The chafing-dish, 329.

Kind of chafing-dish to use, 329.

Russian bowls, 329.

Wooden spoons, 330.

Dishes suitable for chafing-dish, 330.

Panned oysters, 331.

Oyster stew, 331.

Creamed oysters and clams, 331.

Barbecue of fish, 331.

Eggs with tomatoes, 332.

Tomatoes and rice, 332.

Creamed dishes: eggs, chicken, veal, 332.

Dishes à la Newburg, 333.

Terrapin, 333.

Chicken livers with Madeira, 333.

Crab toast, 334.

Smelts à la Toulouse, 334.

Meats, 335.

Venison, 335.

Mutton, 335.

Beef, 335.

Welsh rabbit and golden buck, 335.

Fondu-Savarin, 335.

Pineapple canapés, 336.

Chocolate made with condensed milk, 337.

CHAPTER XV.

Bread.

Remarks about yeast, 338.

Yeast, 338.

Dick Bennet’s receipt for yeast, 339.

Yeast receipt No. 2, 339.

What to do when yeast is not obtainable to start the fermentation, 339.

Proportions of raising materials and other items, 340.

General directions for making bread, 340.

Time, 340.

Raising, 341.

Proportions of material, 341.

Mixing, 342.

Making a sponge, 342.

The crust on dough, 342.

Kneading and molding, 342.

Baking, 343.

Care of bread after it is baked, 344.

Baking bread rolls, 344.

Flour, 344.

Bread pans, 344.

Water bread No. 1, 345.

“ “ “ 2, 345.

Milk bread, 345.

Potato bread, 345.

Receipt for making one loaf of bread or one pan of biscuits in two hours, 346.

Bread made with baking-powder, 346.

Whole wheat flour, 346.

Graham bread, 346.

Gluten bread, 347.

Boston brown bread, 347.

Toast, 348.

Milk toast, 348.

Panada, 348.

Pulled bread, 349.

Zwieback, 349.

Bread fritters, 349.

Bread rolls, 349.

Crescents, 350.

Braids and twists, 350.

Cleft rolls, 351.

Luncheon and tea rolls, 351.

Parker House rolls, 351.

Tea biscuits made with baking-powder, 352.

Sour milk, 352.

Corn bread No. 1, 353.

“ “   No. 2, 353.

Puffs or pop-overs, 354.

Graham gems, 354.

Corn gems, 354.

Muffins, 355.

Raised muffins, 355.

English muffins or crumpets, 355.

Sally Lunn, 355.

Waffles, 356.

Hominy cake, 356.

Oat cake, 356.

Bran biscuits, 357.

Bread sticks, 357.

Rusks, 357.

Dried rusks, 358.

Bath buns, 358.

Coffee cake, 358.

Brioche, 359.

To make a brioche roll with head, 360.

a brioche crown or ring, 360.

Buns, 360.

Brioche for timbales or cabinet puddings, 361.

Pancakes, 361.

Plain pancakes, 362.

Flannel cakes, 362.

Rice pancakes, 362.

Bread pancakes, 362.

Cornmeal pancakes, 363.

Buckwheat pancakes, 363.

Adirondack pancakes, 363.

CHAPTER XVI.

Sandwiches and Canapés.

General remarks, 364.

Shapes, 364.

How to prepare the meat, 364.

Butter, 365.

Rolls, 365.

How to prepare the bread, 365.

Meat sandwiches, 365.

Fish sandwiches, 366.

Egg sandwiches, 366.

Salad sandwiches, 366.

Spanish sandwiches, 367.

Cheese sandwiches (mock crab), 367.

Raw beef sandwiches, 367.

Sweet sandwiches, 367.

Canapés, 368.

Cheese canapés, 368.

Ham canapés, 368.

Anchovy canapé, 368.

Sardine canapé, 368.

Canapé Lorenzo, 369.

Cheese and Cheese Dishes.

General directions, 369.

Cheese soufflé, 370.

Crackers and cheese, 371.

Cheese canapés, 371.

Welsh rarebit, 371.

Golden buck, 372.

Cheese straws No. 1, 372.

Straws No. 2, 372.

Patties, 373.

Cottage cheese, 373.

CHAPTER XVII.

Salads.

General directions, 374.

To marinate, 374.

Mayonnaise, 375.

French dressing, 375.

Lettuce salad, 376.

Water-cresses and apples, 376.

Celery salad, 376.

Cucumber and tomato salad, 377.

Cucumber salad to serve with fish, 377.

String-bean salad, 377.

Bean salads, 377.

Cauliflower salad, 377.

Macédoine salad, 378.

Potato salad, 378.

Cold slaw, 378.

Hot slaw, 379.

Tomato salads, 379.

No. 1, 379.

No. 2, stuffed tomatoes, 380.

No. 3, tomatoes and eggs, 380.

No. 4, molded tomatoes, 380.

No. 5, tomato jelly, 380.

Celery and walnut salad, 381.

Sweetbreads with celery, 381.

Egg salad No. 1, 381.

“ “ “ 2, 381.

Orange salad, 382.

Chicken salad, 382.

Lobster salad, 382.

Oyster salad, 383.

Bouilli salad, 383.

Russian salad, 383.

Individual salad, 383.

Note, 384.

Aspic of pâté en Bellevue, 384.

Chicken aspic with walnuts, 384.

Bird’s-nest salad, 385.

CHAPTER XVIII.

Cold Desserts.

Information pertaining to making desserts, 386.

Utensils, 386.

Table of weights and measures, 387.

Proportions, 387.

Materials, 388.

Gelatine, 388.

Chocolate, 388.

To melt chocolate, 388.

To whip eggs, 389.

Sweetening meringue, 389.

Milk scalded, 389.

Raisins, 389.

Thickening fruit juices, 389.

When to add flavoring, 389.

Molding, 389.

Liqueurs, 390.

Wines, 390.

Eau de vie de Dantzic, 390.

Vanilla bean, 390.

Powder, 390.

Sugar, 390.

How to make vanilla sugar, 391.

Orange sugar, 391.

Lemon sugar, 391.

Rose sugar, 391.

Orange and lemon syrups, 391.

To get pistachio flavor, 391.

Peach-leaf flavor, 391.

Caramel, 391.

How to make candied orange or lemon peel, 391.

Coloring, 392.

Garnishing, 392.

California candied fruits, 392.

Angelica, 392.

Currants, raisins, nuts, for garnishing, 393.

Fresh flowers for garnishing, 393.

Colored sugars for garnishing, 393.

How to make, 393.

Sauces for cold sweet dishes, 393.

Canned fruits, 393.

The store-closet, 394.

Custards.

Boiled custard No. 1, 394.

“ “ “ 2, 395.

Floating island, 395.

Chocolate custard, 395.

Baked custard, 396.

Caramel custard, 396.

Chocolate cream custard, 397.

Rennet, 397.

Cornstarch Puddings.

No. 1, a plain cornstarch pudding, 397.

No. 2, cornstarch with canned fruit, 398.

No. 3, cocoanut pudding, 398.

No. 4, chocolate pudding, 398.

Cornstarch chocolates, 398.

Blanc-mange or white jelly, 399.

Plum-pudding jelly, 399.

Bavarian Creams.

General rules for, 400.

Plain Bavarian cream, 400.

Chocolate Bavarian cream, 401.

Italian cream or Bavarian without cream, 401.

Fruit Bavarian, 401.

Rice Bavarian, or Riz à l’impératrice, 402.

Bavarian panachée, 402.

en surprise, 402.

Diplomatic pudding, 403.

Bavarian, 403.

Charlotte Russe.

Charlotte russe, filling, No. 1, 404.

No. 2 (with eggs), 405.

No. 3 (with fruit), 405.

No. 4, 405.

No. 5, 405.

Timbale of brioche, 406.

Charlotte princesse de Galles, 406.

Strawberry Charlotte, 406.

Gâteau St. Honoré, 407.

Croquenbouche of macaroons, 408.

Whipped Cream.

How to whip cream, 408.

Whips, 409.

Czarina cream, 410.

Chestnut purée with cream, 410.

Chestnuts with cream, 410.

Uses for Stale Cake.

Pine cones, 411.

Cake with custard, 411.

Trifle (Esther), 411.

Banana trifle (Martha), 412.

Sweet Jellies.

Points to observe in making jellies, 412.

Dissolving, 412.

Proportions, 413.

Clarifying, 413.

Molding for fancy jellies, 413.

Serving jellies, 414.

To clarify fruit juices, 415.

Wine jelly, 415.

Lemon jelly, 415.

Orange jelly, 415.

Coffee jelly, 416.

Champagne jelly, 416.

Champagne jelly with flowers, 416.

Whipped jelly or snow pudding, 417.

Jellies with fruits (macédoine), 417.

Russian jellies, 417.

Ribbon jelly, 418.

Italian jelly, 418.

Dantzic jelly, 418.

What to do with jelly left over, 418.

Pains aux Fruits or Jellied Fruits.

Pain de fraises (strawberries), 419.

Suprême of strawberries, 419.

Pain de riz aux fruits (rice with fruits), 419.

Pain de riz à la princesse, 419.

Pain d’oranges (oranges), 420.

de pêches (peaches), 420.

de marrons (chestnuts), 420.

CHAPTER XIX.

Hot Desserts.

Soufflés, 421.

Omelet, 422.

Vanilla, 422.

Chocolate, 423.

Prune, 423.

Apple, 424.

Farina pudding, 424.

Sweet Omelets.

Orange omelet, 425.

Jam omelet, 425.

Rum omelet, 426.

Sweet pancakes, 426.

Fritters.

Fritter batter, 426.

Apple fritters, 427.

Peach or apricot fritters, 427.

Orange fritters, 427.

Biscuit dough, 428.

Balloons, 428.

Batter pudding, 428.

Desserts made of Apples.

Snow apple pudding, 429.

Brown Betty, 429.

Baked apple dumplings, 429.

Apple Charlotte, 430.

Apples with rice, No. 1, 430.

“   “ “ “ 2, 431.

With cornstarch (Felice), 432.

Flaming apples, 432.

Baked apples (for breakfast), 432.

“ “ (for luncheon), 432.

Tapioca pudding, 433.

Rice Puddings.

Plain rice pudding No. 1, 433.

“ “ “ “ 2, 433.

Rice and raisins, 434.

Bread Puddings.

Bread pudding, 434.

Bread and butter pudding, 434.

Bread tarts, 435.

Cake Puddings.

Cottage pudding, 435.

Canary pudding, 436.

Suet pudding, 436.

Farina pudding, boiled, 436.

Christmas plum pudding, 437.

Fig pudding, 438.

Cabinet pudding No. 1, 438.

“ “ “ 2, 439.

“ “ “ 3 (royale), 439.

“ “ “ 4, 440.

Savarins, 440.

Baba, 440.

Custards.

Crême Parisienne, 441.

Fried Cream, 441.

Shortcakes.

Strawberry shortcake, 442.

Currant shortcake, 442.

Strawberry cake, 443.

Roly-poly pudding, 443.

Fruit pudding, 443.

Baked Indian pudding, 443.

Pudding Sauces.

Plain pudding sauce No. 1 (hot), 444.

“ “ “ “ 2 (Cold), 445.

Rich pudding sauce, 445.

Foamy pudding sauce, 445.

Brandy, rum, or kirsch sauce, 445.

Sabayon No. 1, 446.

“ “ 2, 446.

Syrup sauce, 446.

Fruit sauces, 446.

Apricot sauce, 446.

Purée of fruit, 447.

Pineapple sauce, 447.

Boiled custard sauce, 447.

Chocolate sauce, 447.

Bischoff sauce, 447.

Richelieu sauce, 448.

Meringue sauce, 448.

Hard sauce, 448.

Strawberry sauce, 449.

Cocoanut sauce, 449.

Cold jelly sauce, 449.

CHAPTER XX.

Pies.

Plain pastry for pies, 451.

Pastry for tarts or open pies, 452.

Tart pies, 452.

Orange pie, 453.

A plain apple pie, 454.

Pumpkin pie, 454.

Mince pie mixture, 454.

Cream pie, 455.

Cocoanut pie, 456.

Cranberry pie, 456.

Washington pie, 457.

Puff-Paste.

General rules, 457.

Receipt for puff-paste, 458.

Pâté shells, 460.

Tart bands, 460.

Millefeuilles, 461.

Tartlets, 461.

Paganini tartlets, 461.

To glaze or egg pastry, 461.

CHAPTER XXI.

Cake.

Rules for making cake, 462.

How to beat eggs, 463.

To line tins with paper, 463.

To grease pans, 464.

To bake cake, 464.

Mixing sponge cake, 465.

Cake made with butter, 465.

Sponge cake No. 1, 466.

“ “  2, 466.

“ “  3, 466.

White sponge or angel cake, 467.

Sunshine cake, 467.

Genoese cake, 467.

Jelly rolls, 468.

Layer cakes—chocolate, vanilla, coffee, 468.

Cream filling, 468.

Chocolate filling, 469.

Orange cake, 469.

Filling, 469.

Pistachio cake, 469.

Plain cup cake, 470.

Gold and silver cake, 470.

Marble cake, 470.

Richer cup, or 1, 2, 3, 4 cake, 471.

Pound cake, 471.

White cake, 471.

Plain fruit cake, 472.

Brod torte, 472.

Fruit cake (rich), 473.

Cream cakes and éclairs, 473.

Cream cakes, 474.

Chocolate, vanilla, and coffee éclairs, 474.

Carolines, 475.

Fancy Small Cakes.

Meringues and kisses, 475.

Lady-fingers, 476.

Macaroons, 477.

Cocoanut balls or cones, 477.

Madeleines No. 1, 477.

“ “ 2, 478.

Little pound cakes, 478.

Orange quarters, 478.

Almond wafers, 478.

Venetian cakes, 479.

Gauffres, 479.

Jumbles, Cookies, and Plain Cakes.

Jumbles, 480.

Sand tarts, 480.

Rolled jumbles, 480.

Plain cookies, 481.

Ginger snaps, 481.

Crullers, 481.

Doughnuts, 481.

Bread cake, 482.

One-egg cake, 482.

Warren’s cake, 482.

Molasses wafers, 482.

Soft gingerbread, 483.

Molasses cake, 483.

Icing and Decorating Cakes.

Royal icing, 483.

“ with confectioner’s sugar, 484.

Boiled icing No. 1, 484.

“ “   2, 484.

Chocolate icing No. 1, 484.

Chocolate icing No. 2, 485.

“ “ 3, 485.

Icing for small cakes, 485.

Coffee icing for éclairs, 485.

Fondant icing, 485.

Garnishing Cakes.

With powdered sugar, 486.

Chopped nuts, 486.

Colored sugars, 486.

Two colors, 486.

To decorate in designs, 487.

CHAPTER XXII.

Frozen Desserts.

Ice-Creams, Water-ices, Parfaits, Mousses, Frozen Fruits, Punches, and Sherbets.

Remarks about frozen desserts, 488.

Classification of ice-creams, 488.

General rules for making ice-creams, 489.

The cream, 489.

Sugar, 489.

Custards, 489.

“ for biscuits and parfaits, 490.

Freezing, 490.

Packing, 490.

Molding, 491.

Fancy molding, 491.

Unmolding, 493.

Ornamental creams, 493.

Individual creams, 493.

Vanilla ice-creams, 494.

No. 1, Philadelphia, 494.

No. 2, American (very plain), 495.

No. 3, French, 495.

Chocolate ice-cream, 496.

Caramel ice-cream No. 1, 496.

“ “  “ 2, 497.

Coffee ice-cream No. 1, 497.

“ “ “ 2, 497.

White or angel ice-cream, 497.

Italian meringue, 498.

Rice ice-cream, 498.

Pistachio ice-cream, 498.

Neapolitan ice-cream, 498.

Nesselrode pudding, 499.

Plum pudding glacé, 500.

Sauce for plum pudding glacé or for Nesselrode pudding, 501.

Tutti frutti, 501.

Fruit ice-creams, 501.

No. 1, 501.

No. 2, 501.

No. 3, 502.

No. 4, fruit puddings, 502.

Nut ice-creams, 502.

Parfaits.

General remarks about parfaits, 502.

Sugar syrup, 503.

Vanilla parfait, 503.

Maple parfait, 504.

Parfait au café and café praliné, 504.

Chocolate parfait and chocolate praliné, 504.

Praline powder, 505.

Angel parfait, 505.

Imperatrice or rice pudding glacé, 505.

Parfaits of chestnuts, candied fruits, fresh fruits or berries, 506.

Biscuits glacé, 506.

Mousses.

Fruit mousses, 507.

Golden mousse (made without cream), 507.

Water-ices.

Orange ice, 508.

Lemon ice, 508.

Strawberry ice, 508.

Punches and Sherbets.

General remarks about punches and sherbets, 508.

Coffee punch, 509.

Café frappé, 509.

Lalla Rookh, 509.

CHAPTER XXIII.

Boiling Sugar and Making Candies.

Boiling sugar, 510.

Granulation, 511.

Degrees of boiling sugar, 512.

Syrups, 513.

Fondant, 513.

To make fondant, 514.

Spun sugar, 515.

Directions for spinning sugar, 515.

Glacé oranges and grapes, 516.

Candies.

General remarks about candy making, 517.

Nougat No. 1 (for bonbons), 518.

  “ “ 2 (for molding), 519.

  “ “ 3 (soft white nougat), 519.

  “ “ 4 (bonbons), 520.

Burnt almonds, 520.

Sugared almonds, 520.

Marrons glacé, 521.

Marshmallows, 521.

Chocolate caramels, 522.

Caramels, vanilla, coffee, maple, 522.

Bonbons of Fondant.

Harlequin balls, 522.

Neapolitan squares, 523.

Nut creams, 523.

Sugar-plums, 523.

Chocolate creams, 524.

Creamed nuts and creamed fruits, 524.

Cocoanut creams, 524.

Cakes, 525.

Peppermint creams, 525.

Chocolate peppermints, 525.

To make starch molds and cast candies, 525.

Candies made from Sugar Boiled to the Crack or the Caramel.

Peppermint drops, 526.

Carameled nuts, 526.

Almond hardbake, 526.

Peanut candy, 527.

Taffy, 527.

Molasses candy, 527.

Candied orange and lemon peel, 527.

CHAPTER XXIV.

Fruits.

General remarks, 529.

Apples, 530.

Oranges, 530.

Grape fruit, 530.

Peaches, 530.

Strawberries, 530.

Berries, 531.

Currants, 531.

Bananas, sliced, sautéd, fried, 531.

Stewed figs, 531.

Salpicon of fruits, 532.

Melons, 532.

Frozen fruits, 532.

Quinces, baked, 532.

Nuts, 532.

Salted almonds, 533.

“ “ No. 2, 533.

“ English walnuts and filberts, 533.

Salpicon of fruit punch, 533.

Punch of white California canned cherries, 534.

Jellied fruit, 534.

Fruit juices, 534.

CHAPTER XXV.

Compotes—Preserving and Canning—Pickles.

Compotes, 535.

Compote of apples, 535.

“ “ pears, 536.

“ “ oranges, 536.

“ “ peaches and apricots, 536.

Preserving and canning, 536.

Preserved peaches, 537.

“ pears, 538.

“ plums, 538.

“ grapes, 539.

“ strawberries No. 1, 539.

“ strawberries No. 2, 540.

“ raspberries, 540.

“ citron, 540.

Canning, 540.

Jams or marmalades, 541.

Quince marmalade, 542.

Orange      “    542.

Apple      “    543.

Brandy peaches, 543.

Jellies, 543.

Currant or berries, 543.

Apple jelly, 544.

Crab-apple jelly, 544.

Quince jelly, 544.

Spiced grapes, 544.

Plum sauce for meats, 544.

Pickles.

Sweet pickled peaches and plums, 545.

Pickled walnuts, 545.

 “ cucumbers or gherkins, 545.

Green tomato pickles, 546.

Chow-chow, 546.

Nasturtium pickle, 547.

CHAPTER XXVI.

Beverages.

Filtered water, 548.

To freeze carafes, 548.

Tea, 549.

The tea bag, 550.

“ “ ball, 550.

Russian tea, 550.

Tea punch, 550.

Iced tea, 550.

Coffee, 551.

Care of coffee beans, 551.

Coffee mixtures and brands, 551.

To make coffee, 551.

Drip coffee, 552.

Boiled “ 553.

Iced café au lait, 553.

Chocolate, 553.

Cocoa, 554.

Lemonade, 554.

Orangeade, 554.

Cobblers, 554.

Claret cup No. 1, 555.

“ “ “ 2, 555.

Champagne cup No. 1, 555.

“ “ “  2, 555.

Moselle cup, 555.

Sauterne cup, 556.

Cider cup, 556.

The Thorp cocktail, 556.

Egg-nog, 557.

Milk shake, 557.

“   punch, 557.

Fruit syrups, 557.

Grape juice, 557.

Raspberry vinegar, 558.

Koumiss, 558.

Wines, 560.

Transcriber’s Note

The following typographical errors were corrected.

Page | Error | Correction
iii | household affairs | household affairs.
6 | Mr. and Mrs James’s | Mr. and Mrs. James’s
19 | decorated-dinner table | decorated dinner-table
32 | Foies-Gras | Foie Gras
32 | Chocolate Pralinée | Chocolate Pralinée.
42 | potato soup, page 103 | potato soup, page 103
48 | 1 lb | 1 lb.
79 | tablepoonfuls of water | tablespoonfuls of water
87 | seive | sieve
104 | clam broth, page 100 | clam broth, page 95
108 | Footnote 108-1 | 108-* both in text and footnote
125 | took-pick | tooth-pick
130 | illustration page 324 | illustration page 322
130 | macedoine | macédoine
145 | Seasoning | Seasoning.
148 | if requested, | if requested.
208 | size of the to-tomatoes | size of the tomatoes
219 | pan with, butter, | pan with butter,
223 | cupful of farina | cupful of farina.
223 | cupfuls of milk | cupfuls of milk.
226 | tablepoonfuls of butter | tablespoonfuls of butter
273 | BEURRE NOIR. | BEURRE NOIR
308 | PÂTE | PÂTÉ
316 | make an excellent, | make an excellent
349 | cold color | gold color
359 | lukewarm water, | lukewarm water.
378 | MACEDOINE | MACÉDOINE
384 | MACEDOINE | MACÉDOINE
385 | BIRDS-NEST | BIRD’S-NEST
397 | (NO. 1). | (NO. 1.)
411 | page 393). | page 393),
436 | teaspoonful of vanilla | teaspoonful of vanilla.
445 | 2 egg yolks | 2 egg yolks.
473 | citron (sliced) | citron (sliced).
506 | fruit is mixed in, | fruit is mixed in.
565 | Hard-bake, 526. | Hardbake 526.
565 | Flaming, 433. | Flaming, 432.
565 | Calf’shead, 175. | Calf’s head, 175.
565 | Cucumbers, 208. | Cucumbers, 218.
565 | Boston brownbread | Boston brown bread
565 | Braising, 71. | Braising, 71.
566 | Little pound cakes | Little pound-cakes
566 | Caramel, 78, 391, 512. | Caramel, 78, 391, 522.
566 | Filling, No. 1, 404, | Filling, No. 1, 404.
567 | Leggs stuffed | Legs stuffed
567 | No. 3. 485. | No. 3, 485.
567 | Coffee, 551, | Coffee, 551.
567 | Slaw, 398. | Slaw, 378.
567 | Toast, 334. moved to proper alphabetical posistion under Crabs
567 | No. 2 297. | No. 2, 297.
568 | Rolls, 323. | Rolls, 328.
568 | With baking powder, 179. | With baking powder, 170.
568 | Éclairs, 470. | Éclairs, 473.
568 | Nogg, 557. | Nog, 557.
568 | Omelet, 263. | Omelet, 264.
568 | Enterprize chopper | Enterprise chopper
568 | Farinacious | Farinaceous
568 | Figs, 591. | Figs, 531.
569 | No 2, 247. | No. 2, 247.
569 | Plum pudding glacé, 590. | Plum pudding glacé, 500.
570 | No. 3, 223. | No. 3, 227.
570 | Inexpensive dinners, 47, 352. | Inexpensive dinners, 47, 249.
570 | Milk, 54, 58, 63. | Milk, 54, 58, 389.
570 | Mustard sauce, 285. | Mustard sauce, 284.
571 | Rechauffé | Réchauffé
571 | Glacé, 56 | Glacé, 516
571 | Orange cake, 469. | subentry Cake, 469.
571 | Oxtail | Ox-tail
572 | Plum sauce for meats, 444. | Plum sauce for meats, 544.
572 | “ glacé, 590. | “ glacé, 500.
572 | Pound cakes, small, 478, | Pound cakes, small, 478.
572 | Puff paste | Puff-paste
572 | Quails broiled, 192. | Quails broiled, 198.
572 | Rechauffé | Réchauffé
572 | remarks about, 373 | remarks about, 374
573 | Sauces for meats, 375. | Sauces for meats, 275.
573 | Sauces, 375. | Sauces, 275.
573 | Pudding sauces, sweet, 444. moved to spot as subheading under Sauces
574 | corn, 107 | corn, 106
574 | Spinach, 166. | “ spinach, 106.
574 | String beans, 106. | “ string beans, 106.
574 | Suprème of, 419. | Suprême of, 419.
574 | Tart bands, 400. | Tart bands, 460.
574 | Five o’clock, 31. | Five o’clock, 33.
574 | General rules about, 312. | General rules about, 311.
576 | Vegetables, 33 | Vegetables, 53
577 | pot au feu | pot-au-feu
577 | Fried smelts on skewers, 118. | Fried smelts on skewers, 117.
578 | fish-balls | fish balls (2 times)
578 | A plain potpie | A plain pot-pie
578 | Dumplings with suet, 171 | Dumplings with suet, 170
578 | Veal scallop, 171 | Veal scallop, 172
580 | Fish-balls | Fish balls
580 | rechauffé | réchauffé
580 | A boiled Indian pudding, 239. | A boiled Indian pudding, 240.
580 | A baked Indian pudding, 239. | A baked Indian pudding, 240.
580 | Instantaneous frosting, 244. | Instantaneous frosting, 245.
581 | making, 292, | making, 292.
583 | Raw-beef | Raw beef
584 | Orange salad, 381. | Orange salad, 382.
584 | making desserts, 387. | making desserts, 386.
584 | Utensils, 387. | Utensils, 386.
584 | store closet | store-closet
584 | Floating island, 396. | Floating island, 395.
584 | Chocolate custard, 396. | Chocolate custard, 395.
585 | rice pudding No 1 | rice pudding No. 1
586 | Meringue sauce, 449. | Meringue sauce, 448.
587 | Impératrice | Imperatrice
588 | Salpicon of fruit punch, 534. | Salpicon of fruit punch, 533.
588 | Green tomato pickles, 456. | Green tomato pickles, 546.

Other inconsistencies

The price for milk is given as $0.02 per cup on p. 47 and $0.04 per cup on p. 48.

The price for sugar is given variously as $0.02 per cup (p. 47, 48) and $0.04 per cup (p. 48)

Irregularities in the alphabetization in the Alphabetical Index have been left as printed.

Other changes

Footnotes were moved to the end of the chapters.

The NOTE that appeared at the bottom of p. 364 was moved to p. 366 and placed at the end of the section on sandwiches.

The NOTE that appeared at the bottom of p. 495 was moved to follow the recipe for Vanilla Ice-Cream No. 1.

The following words were inconsistently spelled or hyphenated:

air-bubbles / air bubbles

air-cells / air cells

apple-dumplings / apple dumplings

apple-sauce / apple sauce

baking-dish / baking dish

baking-pan / baking pan

baking-powder / baking powder

baking-sheet / baking sheet

baking-soda / baking soda

baking-tin / baking tin

bean-pot / bean pot

biscuit-cutter / biscuit cutter

boiling-point / boiling point

boiling-hot / boiling hot

border-mold / border mold

bread-boxes / bread boxes

bread-crumbs / bread crumbs

bread-dough / bread dough

breast-bone / breastbone

broom-straw / broom straw

CALF’S-HEAD / CALF’S HEAD

celery-tops / celery tops

center-piece / centerpiece

cheese-cloth / cheesecloth / cheese cloth

close-fitting / close fitting

cold-slaw / cold slaw

corn-meal / cornmeal

Corn-meal / Cornmeal

corn-starch / cornstarch / corn starch

Corn-starch / Cornstarch

CORN-STARCH / CORNSTARCH

cracker-crumbs / cracker crumbs

cream-cake / cream cake

croûte-au-pot / croûte au pot

dessert-spoonful / dessertspoonful

diamond-shaped / diamond shaped

egg-dishes / egg dishes

egg-white / egg white

egg-yolks / egg yolks

filter-paper / filter paper

force-meat / forcemeat

Force-meat / Forcemeat

FORCE-MEAT / FORCEMEAT

fruit-juices / fruit juices

fruit-pulp / fruit pulp

frying-basket / frying basket

frying-pan / frying pan

granite-ware / graniteware

half-shell / half shell

Half-shell / Half shell

hard-ball / hard ball

horse-radish / horseradish

Ice-Cream / Ice Cream

ice-cream / ice cream

ice-water / ice water

layer-cake / layer cake

layer-cakes / layer cakes

lemon-juice / lemon juice

lemon-peel / lemon peel

lemon-rind / lemon rind

lemon-zest / lemon zest

lettuce-leaves / lettuce leaves

measuring-cup / measuring cup

medium-sized / medium sized

meringue / méringue

meringues / méringues

mock-turtle / mock turtle

muffin-ring / muffin ring

onion-juice / onion juice

orange-cake / orange cake

orange-juice / orange juice

orange-peel / orange peel

oyster-liquor / oyster liquor

pastry-bag / pastry bag

pie-dish / pie dish

pie-dishes / pie dishes

potato-balls / potato balls

potato-masher / potato masher

potato-press / potato press

potato-scoop / potato scoop

pudding-dish / pudding dish

pudding-mold / pudding mold

puff-paste / puff paste

ragoût / ragout

Ragoût / Ragout

RAGOÛT / RAGOUT

rice-pudding / rice pudding

ring-mold / ring mold

rolling-pin / rolling pin

rose-leaves / rose leaves

rose-petals / rose petals

rose-water / rosewater

sauce-boat / sauceboat

sauté-pan / sauté pan

scalding-point / scalding point

serving-dish / serving dish

serving-dishes / serving dishes

simmering-point / simmering point

smoking-hot / smoking hot

soft-ball / soft ball

soup-pot / soup pot

sponge-cake / sponge cake

sponge-cakes / sponge cakes

starch-grains / starch grains

stew-pan / stewpan / stew pan

sweet-breads / sweetbreads

stock-pot / stock pot

string-beans / string beans

sweet-oil / sweet oil

tail-shells / tail shells

Tart-rings / Tart rings

terrapin-eggs / terrapin eggs

timbale-mold / timbale mold

timbale-molds / timbale molds

tin-foil / tinfoil

tooth-pick / toothpick

water-cress / watercress

water-ices / water ices

wine-glass / wineglass

Woodenware / Wooden ware

yeast-cake / yeast cake

yeast-cakes / yeast cakes

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